From the experiences and the attitude of the disciples prior to the day of Pentecost, we have seen what kind of persons they were. In addition to this, we need to see what their inward condition was. After the Lord’s ascension, the disciples knew that the Lord Jesus had borne their sins on the cross and that their sins were forgiven (1 Pet. 2:24; Eph 1:7). They had assurance, the peace of forgiveness, and the pleasant sensation of being reconciled to God (Rom. 5:1, 10). They knew that there was no problem between them and God because they had been forgiven of their sins.
Second, the disciples had forsaken the world. Thus, the things of the world had no power over them. They knew that the Lord Jesus was rejected and crucified by the world but was accepted, raised from the dead, and received into heaven by God (John 19:18-20; 15:18, 20; Acts 1:9-11; 2:24; 4:10-11). They also knew that their Lord was no longer in the world and that they too were rejected by the world. Hence, their heart was not in this world, and the world had no place in them. This was displayed in their actions after the Lord’s ascension and before Pentecost. They left their homes and their families, remained in the hostile environment of Jerusalem, and gave themselves completely to prayer in the upper room. This shows that they had completely forsaken the world.
These one hundred twenty were neither entangled by the world outwardly nor condemned by their conscience inwardly. They had abandoned the world and were forgiven of their sins. Thus, they had the boldness to approach God. Furthermore, their hope was in heaven because the Lord Jesus was there. The One whom they followed and worshipped and into whom they believed was not only the incarnated Jesus, who lived a human life on the earth and was crucified, but also the resurrected and ascended Christ (Acts 2:23-24, 36). His resurrection speaks of His power and victory, and His ascension speaks of His position and authority.
The disciples had a full realization that the One into whom they believed was not only the Savior among men on the earth but also the Christ who had resurrected from the dead, ascended to the throne in the heavens, and obtained the highest position with all authority and glory (Phil. 2:9). They were filled with the resurrected and ascended Christ.
Although they may not have been able to speak of their experience as clearly as we can today, the disciples experienced and were one with the resurrected and ascended Lord. They had never experienced resurrection personally, but because they believed into the resurrected Lord, they were in resurrection. They were not only separated from the world and forgiven of their sins; they were also in resurrection.
According to our experience, in order to be free from the defilement of sin and the entanglement of the world, we need to be absolutely in resurrection. Whenever we are not in resurrection, we are entangled by the world and damaged by sins. Only when we are in resurrection can sins and the worldly things be under our feet.
Ten days before Pentecost the disciples apparently were in an upper room in Jerusalem, but actually they had ascended into the heavens with the Lord Jesus.
The disciples had been with the Lord Jesus for three and a half years. They had followed Him wherever He went. They had seen how the Lord Jesus was crucified and buried and how He resurrected and ascended. In a real sense, the Lord Jesus brought them along with Him through His death, resurrection, and ascension into the heavens. Although they were physically on the earth in Jerusalem, their hearts were in the heavens with Christ. Through Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension the disciples had become a group of heavenly people.
Thus, the disciples’ sins were forgiven, they were separated from the world, they were in resurrection, and their hearts were in the heavens. They were a heavenly people living in the heavenly realm.
The disciples also lived a life of prayer (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 4:24; 6:4). That is, they lived before God, they lived in God, and they lived in the light of God’s face. In order to have a proper understanding of the life of prayer, we need to understand what prayer is. Prayer is not merely man coming before God and asking God for certain persons, things, or matters. This understanding is shallow and superficial. In a deeper sense, prayer is man entering into God and living in the shining of His face.
Many Christians can testify according to their experience that they often begin their prayer by coming to the Lord. However, after praying for some time, they sense that they have entered into God. Whenever we pray in this way and have the realization that we are in God, we touch the reality of prayer. We enter into God, and we touch His heart’s desire.
During the ten days before Pentecost, the disciples “continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer” in the upper room in Jerusalem. The Greek word rendered “continued steadfastly” means “continued persistently.” The living that the disciples had was a life of prayer, a life of entering into God’s presence and even into God and of living in the shining of His face. For at least ten days they lived a life that was not only in the heavens but also in God and in His countenance. Only this kind of living can receive the commission of the gospel and generate the power of the gospel.