TRACINGS FROM THE ACTS OF THE
APOSTLES
XX. CONCLUDING REMARKS.
FROM Jerusalem to Rome, from God's centre on earth to the
capital of the fourth empire, we are taken in this history. Beginning with the
Apostles at Jerusalem, the book closes with one Apostle located for a time in
Rome. Striking and instructive have been the leading features of the then new
movement, as depicted by the inspired writer. Of some of these we would here
remind the reader; and ere ending this volume, we would briefly notice the plan
pursued by the historian in the prosecution of his task.
Leading
Features. - The first of these leading features is necessarily that of the
presence on earth and the working of the Holy Ghost, as the Third Person of the
Godhead. Opening with the Lord's announcement of the near approach of the
Spirit's coming (Acts i. 5), we see the little company of disciples waiting at
Jerusalem for that event. They were, then, an expectant company. On the morning
of the feast of Pentecost, without any premonitory sign, the Holy Ghost
suddenly came. This inaugurated a new dispensation - that of the Spirit. Poured
out then on the company in the upper room, they were all baptised by the one
Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit of which John had spoken was thus an
accomplished fact, and one never to be repeated subsequently to that which took
place in the house of Cornelius at Csesarea. It is a truth, a blessing
distinctive of Christianity.
But the Holy Ghost, though poured out on
Jews at Pentecost, and on Gentiles at Caesarea, will be poured out again
by-and-by, both on the house of Israel (Isa. xxxii. 15, xliv. 3; Ezek. xxxix.
29), and also on all flesh (Joel ii. 28, 29). For Joel's prophecy yet awaits
its fulfilment. Meanwhile no fresh outpouring of the Spirit has taken place,
nor have we any hint that such will again take place in Christian
times.
A third blessing must be noticed - the gift of the Spirit. The
baptism of the Spirit affected the whole company as such. The gift of the
Spirit was and is given individually to every true believer (Acts v. 32). This,
too, was quite new, never before having been enjoyed as now. The gift continues
to be vouchsafed, as individuals come to believe the gospel of their salvation
(Eph. i. 13). For though in apostolic times there were occasions on which the
Spirit was given by the laying on of hands of Peter, John, or Paul (Acts viii.,
xix.), the normal way of receiving the Holy Ghost was then, as is now, by faith
(Gal. iii. 2). Much resulted from the Spirit's coming.
1st. Of
two important events thus brought about we must speak. The Assembly, or Church,
then came into existence, and the Body of Christ began to be formed. The first,
a future thing in Matt. xvi. 18, is spoken of as in existence on earth in Acts
v. 11. The Assembly, too, became God's House (1 Tim. iii. 15), God's habitation
by the Spirit, and the Holy Temple began to grow (Eph. ii. 21, 22). For God.
who had not dwelt on earth in His House at Jerusalem since the Babylonish
captivity, had now a House in which He did dwell, and which He has never left,
even the Church of the Living God. Of the Body of Christ we have spoken. Formed
by the baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor. xii. 13), it is here still, and will be
till the rapture. In the Acts (ix. 4) we have the first revelation of its
existence in the Lord's challenge to Saul near Damascus.
2nd. By
the coming of the Holy Ghost, earth, which had been bereft of a Divine Person
dwelling on it since the Lord's crucifixion, was bereft no longer. And of the
Spirit's real presence in the Assembly Peter reminded both Ananias and Sapphira
(Acts v. 3, 4, 9). Then, too, His distinct guidance on earth Peter proved (x.
19), and Paul most markedly likewise (xvi. 6, 7). Of His sovereign action, too,
on earth we are reminded in x. 20, xiii. 2, 4. He sent the messengers to Peter.
He called and sent forth Barnabas and Saul on their missionary tour.
3rd. By His coming, power was provided for carrying on the work of God
down here (i. 8), as displayed in the ministry of the Word, and in the effects
of it. Various gifts were now called into exercise - as evangelists, like
Philip; teachers and pastors, like Paul; exhorters, as Barnabas ; prophets too,
and prophetesses; but each and all are seen in their place, and under the
guidance of the Holy Ghost they severally carried on their special lines of
service. Very different was God's way of working of old. With the sword the
armies of Israel went forward under the protecting hand and guidance of
Jehovah, and never lost a man, except when they trusted to themselves, and went
against the foe in disobedience to God's command, or had an Achan in the camp.
Now by the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, conquests were to be effected,
though many an one might fall in that fight, of which Stephen, Antipas, and
others are examples. A new way of working was thus introduced, and one most
effective in its action. For Jews and Gentiles alike succumbed. The world, it
was said, was turned upside-down (xvii. 6), and the kingdom of God was advanced
in Jewish and in heathen lands.
Effective, we have said, was the
instrument; and simple, how simple, was the message of the gospel. We see how
Peter could preach it (ii., iii., iv., x.). We learn how Paul proclaimed it
(xiii.), noting an advance in his gospel. In common with Peter he preached
forgiveness of sins, but in advance of that he announced justification likewise
(xiii. 38, 39). Then, too, with the different great lines of ministry of the
Word Paul acquaints us, as he enumerates four distinct ones in his address to
the Ephesian elders at Miletus (xx. 21, 24, 25, 27).
The kingdom
advanced by the gospel, the saints needed establishing in the faith. Of this we
learn in xiv. 21, 22. And assemblies formed, care for the maintenance of order
was manifested in the appointment of elders. This brings us to notice the
difference between ministry arid office, though both might be exercised by the
same person (1 Tim. v. 17). The former needed no human authorisation for its
exercise, and its continuance is promised whilst the Church is on earth (Eph.
iv. 12, 13), its instruments being gifts from the ascended Christ. Church
officers derived authority from Apostles or their delegates ; but there is no
promise of their perpetuation, nor any provision for that end beyond the lives
of Timothy and Titus. How perfectly distinct these are in the Word, both as to
their origin and objects !
Then, too, the Assembly is seen engaged in
spiritual exercises, Christians breaking bread together on the Lord's Day in
remembrance of His death (Acts xx. 7); and, as occasion called for it, saints
are seen in prayer (iv. 24-31, x. 9, xii. 5, xiii. 3, xxi. 5). A living,
active, earnest community had been formed on earth.
These are some of
the salient features of the movement. What a movement, then, it was! Like a
rushing river, which carries all before it, regardless of impediments, it moved
along, neither man nor devil able to arrest its course. The like of it had
never been seen. A word spoken changed the current of men's lives, turned them
right round, and gave them a new object and a new prospect (1 Thess. i. 9,10).
It was not a national movement, nor was it patriotism, as men use that term,
that swayed its votaries. Yet life, liberty, and everything here worth enjoying
were sacrificed, if need be, by the converts. It was a movement distinctly
catholic in character, and it knit hearts together in a new and wondrous bond.
A fellowship was formed, and expression given to it, such as had never before
been seen in this world. No wonder, then, that we have a history of it full of
interest, and abounding in almost romantic incidents. And in harmony with the
movement, the very history of it is peculiar, unique in character, and unlike
any other.
The Plan of the Book. From the time of the Lord's
ascension to the Apostle Paul's arrival at Rome is the period of time embraced
by the Acts. Yet we have little else than the labours of Peter and Paul. What
were those of James the Less at Jerusalem, or of Thomas, the reputed Apostle of
India? Where were others at work when Paul found only Peter and James at
Jerusalem (Gal. i. 18, 19)? Did John do nothing worthy of record, till he
finally removed to Ephesus, besides what is told us of him in connection with
Peter at Jerusalem, and in Samaria (iii., iv., viii)? Again the historian of
P.iter and of Paul breaks off in the middle of their work. We read of Peter's
deliverance from prison; then he vanishes from sight, to be seen no more in the
Acts, except at the memorable meeting details of which we meet with in chap.
xv. As the Apostle of the circumcision, it is plain that he regarded the
strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia
as his special charge; and we may gather from his Epistle (1 Peter v. 13) that
he did not in later, any more than in earlier, years remain stationary at
Jerusalem. But where he went after he left Jerusalem (Acts xii. 17); or whither
he betook himself after that passage between Paul and him at Antioch (Gal. ii.
11-21); or what he did at Babylon, whatever place we understand by that name -
all this is left a story untold. So, too, of Paul. Beyond the first interview
with the Jews at Rome, just after his arrival there, we get nothing but the
brief notice of the two years' residence in that city of the most zealous of
the servants of Christ (Acts xxviii. 30, 31).
It is true, we can say.
that the book treats chiefly of the acts of these two Apostles. It is true,
too, we can say, that Luke presents facts chronologically, in telling
Theophilus first of the work in Jerusalem, then of its spread to Samaria, and
after that of the work among the Gentiles. This is in accordance with the order
sketched out by the Lord (i. 8). But whilst stating these facts as facts, we do
not exhaust the chief features of the work. To some of these, not touched on in
what we have stated, we would now turn.
Had any one sat down to compose
of his own accord a history of the movement, would he have stopped, unless
prevented by some unforeseen occurrence, just when Paul had arrived for the
first time in the great metropolis of the Roman earth? Surely he would have
given us a little insight into Paul's intercourse with people when in his own
hired house, and some little idea of the way the Word got an entrance into
Caesar's household. Nor would he have refrained from noticing the Apostle
before the Emperor at his first trial; and perhaps would have told us a little
about his subsequent labours in Crete, and his visit to Miletus, where he left
Trophimus sick (Titus i. 5; 2 Tim. iv. 20). And yet we could not say that the
history is incomplete or unfinished, like Stephen's speech, or Paul's defence
(xxii.), interrupted before the speaker had ended, and with no
after-opportunity of completing it. Its composition betrays no such haste; for
if Luke had been minded to have extended it, he had doubtless ample
opportunity, when with the Apostle shortly before his martyrdom (2 Tim. iv.
11), of gathering from him all the details of the hearing before the Imperial
judgment seat, even if Luke had not been an eyewitness of the events as they
took place. But all this is wholly passed over, as well as Paul's labours after
those two years so briefly noticed. And why ? May not the reason be simply
this? The history of the Acts was not intended to give us so much man's work
for God, carried on though it was by the agency and under the supreme direction
of the Holy Ghost, but rather to trace out the Divine manner of working on
earth by the Spirit for and by men after the Lord's ascension. Hence, when the
great features of the work have been set before us, the history closes, never
to be resumed.
These great features are three in number - God working in
power for His people, manifested especially in Jerusalem ; God working
primarily by His word, as manifested especially outside Jerusalem and
elsewhere; God working in grace toward His failing servant, set forth so
beautifully in His dealings with the Apostle Paul. Briefly to express these -
the power of God, the word of God, and the grace of God toward a failing
servant.
To make this plain we must, at the expense of reiterating some
things already noticed, called attention afresh to remarkable displays of
Divine power. As we have seen in what has passed before us in connection with
the work at Jerusalem, the power of God in one form or another is generally the
foremost feature. Outside the city the first place is generally given to the
Word. We have several speeches of Peter at Jerusalem, but they all follow some
manifestation of power, and give usually the reasons for its display. At
Caesarea, on the contrary, we read first of God's word by Peter, which,
listened to and received, was followed by the gift of the Holy Ghost,
accompanied with the speaking of tongues. When the Lord would commence the work
in Samaria, Philip went down and preached Christ unto them. (viii. 5.) He
worked miracles as well (6, 7); but we read, "They believed Philip, preaching
the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, and
were baptised, both men and women" (viii. 12). So at Damascus (ix.); at
Aritioch in Syria (xi. 19-24) ; at Salamis and at Antioch in Pisidia (xiii.);
at Derbe (xiv.); at Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens (xvii.); at Corinth too,
and at Ephesus (xviii.), it is the word of God, and not the manifestation of
power, that we first read of as arresting the attention of both Jews and
Gentiles; and it converted those who gave heed to it.
At Paphos, as we
have seen, and at Philippi, we have accounts of miracles worked; but in each
case it was to remove the hindrance Satan put in the way of the free reception
of the truth already preached. The sorcerer Elymas, a son of the devil, was
struck blind for a season, because he perverted the right ways of the Lord, and
sought to turn away the proconsul from the faith ; and the damsel was delivered
from the evil spirit, only after she had followed Paul and his company many
days. For if the hostility of Satan could not arrest the progress of the work,
the Spirit of God would not receive from such a quarter any testimony in its
favour. At Iconium and at Ephesus we have notices of other miracles wrought,
but they seem to have been in confirmation of the word previously spoken (xiv
3; xix 11,12). Nor need the miracle at Lystra be an exception to this rule ;
for it appears not unlikely that the word had taken hold of the impotent man,
before at Paul's command he leaped up and walked (xiv. 9). At Jerusalem, with
the exception of Stephen's speech, the word follows the manifestation of power.
But even in his case miracles wrought by him are mentioned before we read of
his power in ministry (vi. 8, 10).
How suited, then, the candid reader
will surely admit, was all this to the work to be done! If the Apostles could
stand forth at Jerusalem, and proclaim a revelation they had received from God,
their opponents in the council and in the synagogue would meet them on similar
ground, and affirm therefrom the necessity of adhering to the revelation given
by God through Moses at Sinai. Had He not appeared there in the midst of the
people when the Tabernacle was erected ? and had He not manifested afresh His
presence at Jerusalem (Exod. xl. 34; 1 Kings viii. 10, 11)? They could and did
oppose the disciples, as in the case of Stephen with a revelation as much from
God as that which was being declared to them. Did the followers of the Lord
Jesus speak of a gift now given to none but those who believed on His name? The
unbelieving Jews could point to the many marks of special favour bestowed on
their forefathers. From Abraham to the days of Daniel, Jehovah had often
interposed in power on their behalf. For the deliverance of Israel it was that
the destroying angel had passed through the land of Egypt. For Jerusalem's sake
God had at a later date decimated the ranks of the Assyrian invader. For
Israel, too, the sun and the moon had stood still, the stars had fought against
Sisera, and for Hezekiah the shadow had retrograded ten degrees on the dial of
Ahaz. For them the Red Sea had been divided, and the waters of Jordan had stood
on a heap, till all had passed over dryshod. For Daniel, faithful to the God of
heaven, the angel had been sent to shut the lions' mouths. And with Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego a fourth had been seen in the burning fiery furnace,
bearing the likeness of a son of God. What nation but theirs could speak thus
of God's intervention on their behalf, or exhibit so many proofs of His
lovingkindness and tender mercy? How could such arguments be met but on their
own ground 1 If they could appeal to the powers of God exerted so often on
behalf of their fathers as a reason for remaining obdurate, let them see with
whom and for whom He was now working.
That nation which formerly had
experienced His intervention for His people's deliverance, must now witness His
interposition in favour of those they persecuted, and that to death. They had
crucified the Lord of glory; but He was now at the right hand of the Majesty on
high, and had shed forth the Holy Ghost on His followers. At the Temple gate a
miracle, which none could gainsay, had been wrought by two unlearned men,
professedly in the name and by the power of the One the Jews had so recently
crucified; and when charged to speak no more in His name, those two humble
fishermen had bid defiance to the council. They could not make them
afraid.
And still greater wonders were done, so that the sick were
brought out and laid in the street, that the shadow of Peter passing by might
overshadow them for their healing. From within and from without the city the
sick and those afflicted with devils were brought, and all were healed. Despite
the known displeasure of the council the work spread; so, to stop it, the whole
company of the Apostles were next put in prison. In the morning the prison was
empty, though bolts and bars were untouched, and the keepers were standing
before the doors; but the men lately in prison were in the Temple teaching "all
the words of this life." The council now doubted whereunto this would grow. And
well they might! No threats could intimidate those men, no earthly power
restrain them.
Stronger measures were resorted to, and Stephen was
stoned. But here, too, though outwardly seeming to triumph, he really triumphed
over them. For rising above the spirit which legitimately characterised
Judaism, he cried, not for vengeance on his persecutors, but implored their
forgiveness from the Lord. And, stranger still, one who was consenting to his
death, and kept the clothes of the witnesses who stoned him, this one, who
manifested by his acts that he was, and had continued to be, exceedingly mad
against the Christians, was suddenly changed on his journey to Damascus. A
light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, had shone around; his
companions saw it, and, more, they heard him speak to Some One by them unseen,
in answer to words addressed to the persecutor, but unintelligible to the rest.
In this case it was no weak enthusiast, nor any one seeking a fitting
opportunity to declare himself on the side of the Nazoraeans; but a man more
hostile in spirit to the truth than the rulers themselves, for he had
solicited, unasked, letters from them to the synagogues in Damascus, and had
started on his self-imposed mission. Their most zealous instrument converted,
the rulers paused in their career of outward opposition, and "the Church had
rest throughout all Judaea, Galilee, and Samaria" (ix. 31), till the civil
power, in the person of Herod, essayed to put down the spreading sect, by
striking at them in the city of Jerusalem. James, the brother of John, was
killed by the sword, and Peter was kept in prison, guarded by four quaternions
of soldiers, to be killed after the Passover feast had ended. Twice had he been
in prison before. This time, to make all secure, he was chained to two
soldiers, and one night only intervened before the day appointed for his
execution. But on that night the angel of the Lord awoke the Apostle, and,
while the sleeping guards were unconscious, their prisoner escaped them. He
left the prison in a very orderly way, leaving neither sandals nor mantle
behind him; the iron gate, too, which led into the city, opened of its own
accord to let Peter pass and the angel likewise; and he was free. Shortly
afterwards Herod, who had stained his hands with the blood of James, was
smitten by the Lord, and died a most awful, agonising death.
On whose
side, then, was God now? For whom was His power in exercise? Then, too, some of
these displays had a feature most peculiar. They were not miracles worked by
men, but were the direct interventions of God. The finger of God was thus
manifested in that very city of Jerusalem, of which He had said that His name
should be there. The arm of Jehovah was again awake, but this time for those
whom the rulers wished to put down. In no other place on the whole earth could
His power, when exercised, have more plainly declared His approval of the
Apostles and of the brethren. Here, in the very centre of those who claimed to
adhere to and to uphold the revelation He had formerly given at Sinai by Moses,
the Lord was showing Himself strong in favour of those who announced a fresh
revelation from the God of their fathers. God's intervention of old showed that
Israel were His people, and that Moses, who worked miracles, was His servant.
Who were His saints now; and who were His chosen servants? The high priest and
the elders of Israel were arrayed on one side, the Apostles and their converts
on the other. On the one side were earthly powers, both religious and civil,
and the prestige of many centuries. On the other was human weakness, and a
revelation at the most a few years old. Then the Lord Jehovah, by the Holy
Ghost personally present on earth, showed plainly in the very metropolis of
Judaism, and under the shadow of that House which the Jews rightly called His
Temple, who were really His. His acts, His interpositions in power, to all who
had eyes to see and hearts to discern, decided the question without
equivocation or the possibility of a doubt. How convincing that should have
been to their enemies! How encouraging it must have been to them!" The Lord of
hosts was with them ; the God of Jacob was their refuge."
The
importance, then, of this display of power who can question? And why miracles
have precedence at Jerusalem all can surely see.
But the Apostles and
others had a work to do - to make known to Jews and to Gentiles that One whom
they themselves had been brought to own - the Lord Jesus Christ. How should
this be accomplished? By the display of miraculous power? No. By the preaching
of the Word. Power reveals God as the Creator and as the Almighty. The Word
preached reveals Him as the God of all grace, and tells of His Son, of Divine
love now manifested, and of the effects of the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
Hence the next thing we see is the manifestation of the efficacy of the Word of
the Lord, and its suitability for all classes and nations - Jews and Gentiles,
learned and unlearned, as well barbarians as the most highly civilised Were the
religion of Jesus only to be propagated by power, those who succeeded the
apostolic age might well have trembled and shrunk back, appalled at the task
before them. But since it was to be propagated by the Word, the same Word which
was effectual then can be effectual still - God's Word applied to the heart and
conscience by the Holy Ghost, the same Divine remedy suited for that age being
equally suited for this. Whatever be the condition of darkness and ignorance
now, it is not worse than that which reigned at Thessalonica or Lystra.
Whatever be the pitch of civilisation, refinement, and intellectual activity
that the world may now exhibit, it will not surpass what could be met with
formerly in Rome, Corinth, or Athens. The preached Word was the suited
instrument then it is equally suited for the civilised world now.
Hence
outside Jerusalem, as has been stated, the prominent feature was God working by
His Word. In Jerusalem the need was first to show that Christianty came from
God. The displays of miraculous power attested that. Outside it, and to all the
ends of the earth, the primary object was to point out what suits lost man. The
Word of God does that. Miracles have then a secondary place - God confirming
the Word with signs following (Mark xvi. 20). But there is something else
displayed in the Acts - the Lord acting in grace toward His failing servant. If
we speak of Paul's failure, we must not forget the honour due to him, surpassed
as he was by none in zeal for the Lord's glory and devotedness to the
maintenance of, as well as to the propagation of, the truth. Yet he failed. And
the Holy Ghost has recorded it for our warning, instruction, and comfort;
because the failure gave occasion for the exhibition of Divine grace towards
him. How often do we need such grace! Blessed be God, what was shown to Paul
can be shown to any of God's people ! How could any conscious of what they are
in themselves stand for one moment without the knowledge of it? As then the
Lord had displayed His power at Jerusalem, and manifested the efficacy of His
Word wherever preached in the world, He would also display His grace toward His
servant, who had for the moment acted in accordance with his heart's desire,
but not in accordance with the Lord's revealed will.
Into proofs of
this, however, we need not here again enter, but only briefly remind the reader
how at Jerusalem, at Caesarea, on ship-board, at Melita, and in Rome the Lord
gave His servant to be honoured and respected. Here the book closes, and the
reason for its structure is, we trust, apparent. God working in power; the
efficacy of the Word with Jews and Gentiles, educated classes and barbarians
alike; the Lord's grace to His servant when he had failed, - these subjects set
forth, the historian's object is accomplished. The Lord on high was still
thinking of His people. From the Father at His request the Holy Ghost had come,
who still remains a witness to the truth, and is the director of the work. And
gifts to men from the ascended Christ were, and are, exercising their ministry
upon earth. How interesting and precious is all this, and not the least that
the last great feature of the book should be the Lord's grace to His servant
Paul! For what He was then, that He is still. And all that He was to Paul, that
He can be in like circumstances to those who serve Him now.
At this
juncture in the movement the book finishes. The object in view was
accomplished, and the historian laid down his pen.