Christ was Believed on in the World
The Breakdown: Jesus told His disciples, “you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Apostles were obedient to Christ’s command as the gospel was preached in Jerusalem (Acts 1-6), Judea and Samaria (Acts 7-8), and to the ends of the earth (Acts 9-28). As Christ was “proclaimed among the nations,” He was “believed on in the world.” Being “believed on in the world,” doesn’t mean that every person in the world believes, but that, as John states, there will be “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9). From around the world, many believe in Him.
Activate: Some “believe” in Jesus and acknowledge His existence (Jas. 2:19), but they remain unchanged. But true faith is the belief in His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and heavenly reign; to believe that He is both Lord and Savior. True belief in Jesus produces transformation—to believe and to receive is to become (Jn. 1:12); you become “a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).
A Thought: Christ is the Savior of the world (1 Jn. 4:14), and the church confidently confesses that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).
