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When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Characteristics of the Apostolic Age: 1. The Holy Spirit's leadership of the ministry: Christ the Lord, glory be to Him, told His disciples not to depart from Jerusalem until they receive a power from on high and He told them: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever" [John 14:16]; "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" [John 14:26]. These sentences bring a warning against departing from Jerusalem before receiving this power, why? Because the Holy Spirit, since the foundation of the church, will be everything. He will be the leader, the provider, the helper, the guide, the comforter and the worker in the preachers and the believers. + He calls to the ministry: "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" [Acts 13:2] + He teaches the ministers and speaks through them [Peter's sermon in Acts 2]. + He determines the sites of preaching: o Philip's preaching to the Ethiopian eunuch who was of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians. [Acts 8: 26, 27]. o Peter's preaching to Cornelius [Acts 10:19]. o He prevented Paul from speaking in Asia. + The Holy Spirit catches the apostles away and transfers them from one place to another as He did with Philip. + The Holy Spirit performs miracles in support of the ministry: Ananias and Sapphira [Acts 5:9, 10]; Paul with Elymas the sorcerer [Acts 13: 9-11]. + The Holy Spirit guides the counsel at Jerusalem "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us" [Acts 15:28]. + Being full of the Holy Spirit is a requirement of the ministry: "deacons to be chosen must be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom" [Acts 6:3]. 2. The life of fellowship and unified spirit: + Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common [Acts 4:32]. + Most believers sold their possessions and put the proceeds at the apostles' feet and they distributed to each as anyone had need (having the money at the apostles' feet meant that money did not exert control over them and was of no value to them). + Whoever, needs, takes from the church (to avoid embarrassing the needy). + Nor was there anyone among them who lacked [Acts 4:34]. All these matters were the result of a new spiritual concept and the work of grace in the heart. Believers became members in one body and they had one heart and one spirit. ++ The unified spirit: They persevered in breaking the bread and prayer with a unified spirit and this was obvious on the day of the Apostle Peter's arrest. The believers prayed with a unified spirit and the Lord sent the angle who released Peter from the jail. 3. The authority of the church and the church sanctions: This authority was transferred to the church from God Himself when He said to them: "assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" [Matthew 18:18]. We observe that the authority given to the church in the apostles as persons was aimed primarily to edify the believers. The apostles' law dealt with this issue at length and placed under divine retribution anyone who misuses this authority and the Holy Spirit supported this authority. The church sanctions were graded and varied in types depending on the error committed by the person. The most severe sanction was the ex-communication from the church; but even in such a case, the goal was to put the sinner to shame and make him feel what he has committed "Do not consider him as an enemy but warns him as a brother". Intervention