Acts 3:19-21 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time (NASU).
For 2K years of human history God has been working to fulfill his purpose in humankind, establishing the Kingdom of God in all the nations of the world.
God wants to send refreshing to our lives, but also to the nations!
That refreshing is in Jesus presence through the Holy Spirit.
Note what Peter says: whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things.
Paul addresses this in Ephesians 4:1-13
The calling of God is manifested in a number of ways in the life of a believer:
1. A total surrender to our King whereby in suffering we consider ourselves His prisoner
2. A walk worthy of our calling
3. Reflected in humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love
4. being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the abond of peace
We know by Paul’s word here that:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
What is Christ’s gift? Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ (NASU).
We have all been joined to Christ in His death (Romans 6)
We all have been raised to life by the Holy Spirit
We are members of His body
We were born part of the “one human” race, divided and filled with prejudice and hatred
We have been born again and by the Spirit made “one new man” in Christ and like the human body with its many members, the body of Christ also is a body with many members.