Mims Chapel Church 

Lesson 13 • Fourth Week

The Gentiles Receive
the Holy Ghost

Background Reading

Matthew 10:5-6; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 11:25; Galatians 3:5­18; Ephesians 1:13;
1 John 4:13

Devotional Reading

Matthew 15:21-28

Central Verse
"When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying Then hath God also to the Gen­tiles granted repentance unto life."
Acts 11:18, KJV

"When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began prais­ing God. They said, "We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting their sins and receiving eternal life."
Acts 11:18, NLT

Key Terms
Gentile—A person who is not Jewish.
Grecians—Being or resembling that of ancient Greece or the ancient Greeks.
Bond—Bound in slavery

Introduction

This lesson is filled with excitement because the Holy Ghost is moving in the lives of the Gentiles in the Book of Acts. Jesus had told His disciples not to go to the Gentiles when He first sent them out. He told them to go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Matthew 10:6). He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many received Him, He gave them power to become God's sons, even to those who believe in His name (John 1:11-12).

Jesus Christ came to the earth for a purpose. His coming was a decision He freely made and was approved by His Father and the Holy Spirit. He traveled around the land of Israel and made God's Kingdom known. He also explained why He came several times. He was not secretive about His coming. In Matthew 17, He said that He did not come to destroy the Law or the prophets, but to fulfill them.

Discussion

The Gentiles were every nationality who were not of the Jewish nation. God designated the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, as His cho­sen people. He made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants and revealed His commandments to them, which they were to live by. Any na­tions outside of Israel were considered Gentiles, but many times in the Old Testament, there are accounts of Gentiles becoming Jewish converts and followers of God.

The Prophet Hosea prophesied, "And I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are not My people!' And they will say, 'You are my God" (Ho­sea 2:23). Daniel and Isaiah also prophesied that the Gentiles would have the opportunity to become a part of Spiritual Israel.

In the New Testament, Jesus told the disciples that He had placed them as a light for the Gentiles, for Jesus became a bridge between the Gentiles and God. Jesus knew that God doesn't want any of His children to perish, but He wants all of them to see the truth. So, the early believers who helped build the New Testament Church intentionally brought the Gospel to all na­tions. Typically, Gentiles make up several different nations, but their com­mon denominator is the fact that they don't follow the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They don't receive the teaching of the Gospel and do not conform to godly living. They believe in and worship many gods.

The Bible names many Gentiles who left their families, gods, and styles of living to embrace righteousness and the Truth. In the New Testament, we have the account of Cornelius, the Roman centurion who converted to Christianity, along with his family. He was very devout and gave himself to righteous living. He had been fasting and praying for several days when God spoke to him in a vision. God told him to send for Peter and let him talk to him. He sent three men to Simon the Tanner's house in Joppa to get him to come. Peter also had a vision of how God dealt with him concerning
his differences. Peter was received into this Gentile's home and preached Jesus Christ. Cornelius and his household received water baptism and were baptized in the Holy Ghost with speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. He and his family were among the first of the Gentile converts. Because of the Gospel, the Gentiles have become heirs together with Israel. God's grace makes it possible for Jews and Gentiles to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit with the gift of speaking in tongues. For if a believer belongs to Christ, then he is the seed of Abraham and an heir according to the prom­ises that God made to Abraham and his seed.

Conclusion

As the disciples scattered, they spread out to several cities as far as An­tioch. Some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, so these men began to witness to the Greeks. The hand of the Lord was upon them, and many people started to believe. The Church continued to grow, for many Gentiles were being added to it. When this good news returned to Jerusa­lem, the leaders sent Barnabas to Antioch. Barnabas, a good man full of the Holy Ghost and faith, began to exhort and encourage the people, and more people were saved and added to the Church.

After Barnabas had finished, he left and went to Tarsus to look for Paul. When he found Paul, he brought him back to Antioch, and they stayed a year teaching, preaching, training, and helping the Church to grow. It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians. Then other Proph­ets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One named Agabus came, and he prophesied through the Spirit that there would be a great dearth throughout the world during the time of Claudius Cesar. Because of the prophecy, the disciples could send relief to the disciples who lived in Judea by Barnabas and Saul.

It is the will of God for all the brethren to help one another. From one blood God made all nations. Whether we're Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female, we are all our Heavenly Father's children, and He loves us.

Questions

What was different about the Gentiles receiving the Holy Ghost?
Who are the Gentiles?
What do they have to do to receive Jesus, God, and the Holy Ghost?
Who was one of the prophets who prophesied about the Gentiles in the Old Testament?

Essential Thought- "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that all who believe in Him can be free."

Copyright © Mims Chapel COGIC. All rights reserved.