The Core Message of Acts — The Gospel the Early Church Believed

 Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Bible Study on Acts


Today’s content is about the Bible study book titled “Acts of the Apostles Seen from the Perspective of the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit” by Rev. Paul C. Jong, a servant of God from The New Life Mission.


The Acts of the Apostles is a historical book recorded by Luke after the four Gospels in the New Testament, documenting how the gospel that the apostles believed was spread throughout the entire world through the apostles and saints of the early Church, from after the ascension of Jesus Christ.

As such, the core of the Acts of the Apostles is not only to testify to the work of the Holy Spirit, but its central message is how the already completed gospel of the water and the Spirit was testified to the entire world.

The apostles of the early Church preached the already completed salvation through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus Christ had already accomplished — that is, Jesus received baptism to take upon Himself all the sins of the world, was judged and died on the Cross as the wages of those sins, and was resurrected on the third day after His death. Therefore, those who believed in this Way of salvation were confirmed as those without sin and as those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells.

Now, let us look at a portion of what is written in Chapter 1 of Rev. Paul C. Jong’s Bible study book “The Acts of the Apostles Seen from the Perspective of the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit.”


--------


The apostles of the early Church receiving the Holy Spirit, depicted as a dove descending from heaven. An apostle lays his hands on a believer while others worship with raised hands. Above, God's hand holds an image of Jesus receiving baptism from John the Baptist, symbolizing the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Artwork by The New Life Mission.


If we view the words of Acts 1:1–26 from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit preached by Pastor Paul C. Jong,

this chapter is not simply a record of the birth of the church, but a solemn process where God establishes witnesses to testify to the already completed gospel of the water and the Spirit of salvation.


Luke reveals in verses 1 through 3, the opening of Acts,

that he had already recorded the foundation of the gospel in the Gospel of Luke through the expression “all that Jesus began both to do and teach,” The things pertaining to the kingdom of God that He taught while appearing to the disciples for forty days after His resurrection were not a process of creating a new method of salvation. This was a process of revealing to the disciples that Jesus had already taken upon Himself the sins of the world by receiving baptism from John the Baptist at the Jordan River, bore the penalty of sin, received it on the Cross, and confirmed that truth of salvation by the resurrection from the dead, thereby making them evangelists.


In verses 4 and 5, Jesus said to the disciples,

“He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,” This command to wait for the Holy Spirit implies the necessity of the disciples’ ministry to testify to the already completed salvation. The Holy Spirit is not One who accomplishes atonement by Himself, but One who confirms in our hearts the word of the truth of salvation: that Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world by receiving baptism from John and carried them on His body, and paid the wages of sin on the Cross. Therefore, the coming of the Holy Spirit is an event of being clothed with power to boldly testify to the already completed word of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.


In verses 6 through 8, when the disciples asked,

“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus turned their attention away from political restoration or timing and declared, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Here, a witness is not simply one who performs miracles, but speaks of the salvation where Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world through the baptism He received from John and fulfilled the penalty of sin on the Cross. The power of the Holy Spirit is always with the faith that believes in the baptism Jesus received from John and the Cross, and through this, makes one testify to the gospel of the removal of sin to the whole world.


--------


What about you?

Have you been born again as a holy people of God without sin, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart, by believing in the already completed gospel of the water and the Spirit that the early Church believed and preached?

If you do not have this evidence and assurance of faith in your heart, please visit The New Life Mission’s website, where you can read Rev. Paul C. Jong’s numerous sermon books that have been translated into languages from all around the world and produced as eBooks and audiobooks, and be born again as a holy child of God without sin.


--------


Our The New Life Mission, which distributes Pastor Paul C. Jong’s books for the purpose of spreading the gospel worldwide, operates websites translated into 27 major languages.

Every day, about 20,000 people visit our website, and more than 2,000 of them download over 2,000 e-books and more than 3,000 audiobooks for free.

Just as God’s Word says, “Freely you have received, freely give,” we are sharing the truth of the gospel of water and the Spirit for free through literature. Please trust and visit our website to download e-books, audiobooks, and bilingual books.

https://www.bjnewlife.org/en/


Copyright © 2026 The New Life Mission.

All content on this blog (text, images, books, etc.) is the intellectual property of The New Life Mission and is protected by copyright. Unauthorized reproduction and commercial distribution are prohibited.

※However, sharing via links for personal use is allowed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Next

Most Popular Posts

Aren’t We Like Those Who Were Robbed, Never Able to Receive Salvation Through Our Own Efforts? [Christian Testimony 18]

Image
  I received genuine true salvation, which freed me from my old salvation that I tried to achieve through my own righteous works, when I read Book 1 in English, “Have You Truly Been Born Again of Water and the Spirit?” from The New Life Mission Pastor Paul C. Jong’s book series. My efforts for my old salvation were truly frustrating. The result was that I had no faith that He took away all my sins because I relied only on the blood of Jesus. This made me live as a sinner, repenting and confessing my sins every day. This was even more endlessly painful as I had to live in constant fear of hell. Then in 2015, when I read the book I mentioned earlier, “Have You Truly Been Born Again of Water and the Spirit?”, the gospel of true salvation reached my heart through my ears. Although I believed in Pastor Paul C. Jong’s written sermons, my carnal thoughts and religious beliefs from my old faith still stood as stumbling blocks between me and the ‘truth of the gospel of water and Spirit’ t...
Read more

What Is 'The Law of the Spirit of Life' in Romans 8? — Salvation Already Completed Through Jesus' Baptism and the Cross

Image
Rev. Paul C. Jong's In-Depth Sermon Collection on the Book of Romans In the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle Paul clearly states that although the Law is good, human beings have no power to overcome sin, and that they cannot attain salvation on their own. Therefore, he confesses that we are wretched beings who can only serve the law of sin in our flesh and are bound for hell. “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans 7:19–20). This is the fundamental condition of both you and me. Even looking at today’s popular culture alone, the unrestrained lusts of the flesh are being exposed without any filter, and people are going mad over them and dying. This generation, where people casually meet and part through the internet and chatting, is the very picture of where humanity stands today. All of us, the entire human race, are...
Read more

Despite Believing in Jesus, My Sins Still Remained in My Heart [Christian Testimony 19]

Image
  Jesus’ baptism is where He takes all the sins of the world when He is baptized by John (Matthew 3:15), and His death on the cross is where He is judged for the sins of the world by shedding His precious blood. But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. I am without sin not because of works but only because of Jesus’ righteousness. I believe He blotted out all my lifetime sins through His baptism, death, and resurrection. We, as human beings, commit sins from the very moment we are born until we die. This is due to our fundamental nature. I acknowledge my sinful nature and confess even the smallest sins, and I have been able to solve the problem of my daily and future sins by believing in the truth that Jesus took these sins when He was baptized by John the Baptist, paid the price on the Cross, and was resurrected. Before believing in the gospel of water and Spirit, though I believ...
Read more

A Spiritual Testimony of Finding and Sharing the Word of True Salvation [Christian Testimony 17]

Image
  My name is Onyege Emmanuel. I would like to introduce you to a book by Pastor Paul C. Jong titled “Have You Truly Been Born Again of Water and the Spirit?” In 2013, while studying at Uganda Technical College Elgon Mbale, I met someone who was distributing this book “Have You Truly Been Born Again of Water and the Spirit?” and explained the following topics: We Must First Know about Our Sins to Be Redeemed Human Beings Are Born Sinners If We Do Things by the Law, Can It Save Us?   Through the Bible, he explained that I was born a sinner and had twelve kinds of sin in my heart as recorded in Mark 7:20–23. And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” <Mark 7:20–23> I took a long time before agreeing with his...
Read more