What did believers in the early chapters of Acts place their faith in?
In the early chapters of Acts, believers placed their faith in His Name, which signified who Jesus was: the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, the Promised One of the Old Testament. Their confession matched Peter’s, Martha’s, and the Ethiopian eunuch’s: He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Les explains that in the early chapters of Acts, the believers’ faith centered on His Name, and His Name indicated who He was—the Christ, the Son of God. Even Saul of Tarsus was saved under the Kingdom Gospel by believing who Jesus was: the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, the Promised One out of the Old Testament, coming to the Jews under the covenant promises. That was all he understood, and it was enough because that was as much as God had revealed at that time. Les notes this same confession was spoken by Peter, Martha, the Ethiopian eunuch, and all the others: He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But that was not enough for the next phase, so God would move him out from the Jews to the Gentiles.