June 1931
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discouraged and very sad. But they re membered that, bfefore Jesus had gone away, He had told them to wait, and He would send them help. Lesson Story .—And the help did come, just as Jesus had promised it would 1 The Bible says that this help came to them in the person of the Holy Spirit. He came to the disciples as they waited and prayed together in Jerusalem and gave them the power which they needed to be Jesus’ messengers. Suddenly they were, able to preach so that the crowds of peo ple stopped to listen—and not only to list en, but to believe what the disciples had to say. They found, too, that they could heal the sick, and that they could even speak in different languages, so that every one could understand. How surprised they were! .They had been so powerless and weak before, but now they were so brave and strong! We do not wonder that this Mighty Power is really a part of God. We have studied about God the Father and about God the Son, and now we have learned about God the Holy Spir it. God has promised that we, too, may have His Holy Spirit. We need not be weak messengers, but strong and mighty messengers, as Peter and John and the other disciples were. The Holy Spirit will help us. —o— July 12, 1931 The Preaching of the Apostles Lesson : Acts 3 :1 to 4 :31; 1 Cor. 1 :21- 25. (Lesson Text'. Acts 4:1-14.) Golden Text: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). * * * Before teaching this lesson, it will be necessary to read very carefully the whole section noted above. Without such read ing, the truth contained in today’s lesson will not be clear. Care should be taken not to confuse the passage in 1 Corinth ians with the verses from the Acts. The preaching and the teaching of these two portions are altogether different as far as their purpose is concerned. * * * I. T h e A rrest of t h e A po stles (1 - 4 ). 1. The cause (1, 2). The cause of the persecution was the preaching of the apostles, an account of which is given in chapter 3. Peter had addressed the nation, and had offered Is rael the kingdom (vs. 19-26) if they would receive it by receiving Him who was their Messiah. This preaching had roused the common people to such an ex tent that their leaders (v. 1) were great ly perturbed, not only because the apos tles taught the people, but because they proclaimed the resurrection from the dead. They certainly knew that there was to be a resurrection of the dead, but the resurrection from the dead involved the fact that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, was alive again. At all costs, therefore, they thought they must silence such teaching; so they had the preachers arrested. 2. The consequence (3, 4). The nation, through its leaders, once more rejected the proffered kingdom. The same kind of treatment that had been ac corded to Jesus Christ when He had been with them in person was now. given to
BLACKBOARD LESSON
Spirit, a sign to Israel—a nation accus tomed to signs accompanying messages from God. We should prayerfully note the order liness of the whole scene. The Spirit did not cause untoward disturbances nor speak unintelligibly to the multitude. Each man heard in his own language, without confusion or disorder. And there was perfect self-control on the part of these disciples who were filled with the Spirit, and who were speaking with tongues. Moreover, the outpouring of the Spirit was of such an all-inclusive character that each disciple received the same thing and in the same degree. This was not their initial reception of the Spirit, for they had already been giv en the Spirit when our Lord breathed up on them and said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” But this event marked the com ing of the Spirit in that special sense, which is later referred to as the baptism by the Spirit, by means of which believers are introduced into the church and are made members of the body of Christ. Without this baptism by the Spirit, no one can be a member of the true church; but with it, any one may become a mem ber for time and for eternity (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12,13). The Scriptures teach that there is only one baptism by the Spirit, although in the case of all surrendered saints there may and will be many fillings with the Spirit. 3. The results of the gift. These results are found in the reception accorded to Peter’s discourse. Some re ceived his words, believed, and were saved; but the nation as such rejected his testimony and became all the more steeped in unbelief. ♦ * * L e ss o n Q u e st io n s 1 :6, 7. Was it wrong for the disciples to look for the establishment of an earth ly kingdom? Did the Lord correct their expectation or confirm it? Did these dis ciples know anything at this time about the formation of the church? What is the difference between the kingdom and the church? V. 8. What should be the chief occu pation of every child of God? Is it nec essary to have supernatural strength in order to witness for Christ? Through whom is this strength provided (cf. John 16:7-13)? V. 9. With what event in the earthly life of our Lord is the coming of the Holy Spirit associated? How may the “cloud” be identified? 2:1-4. What two classes are in view in the early chapters of the book of the Acts? What is the attitude of the na tion, as such? Of individuals? What errors may be avoided by discerning this double line of teaching? On the day of Pentecost, was the scene Jewish or Gentile? When the Holy Spirit came, in what sense were believers unified ? Is it to be understood that the Holy Spirit was not in the world prior to Pentecost? What examples can you give of the Holy Spirit’s coming upon men in Old Testament times (Judg. 6:34; 15:14; 1 Sam. 16:13)? What proof can you offer that since Pentecost He is abiding within men (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 3:16)? Vs. 4-8. What Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost (2 :14-21; cf. Joel 2 :28-32) ? How many were filled
with the Holy Spirit? How did they ex press themselves? Of what nationality were those who spoke in tongues? To whom was their testimony given? What was the effect of this testimony? _Was this the initial reception of the Spirit on the part of believers (John 20:22)? If not, what was it (1 Cor. 12:12, 13)? * * * G olden T e x t I l l u st r a t io n About twenty years ago, this news item was current: “The company which is proposing to supply the mines in the Rand with electric power from Victoria Falls, 700 miles away, -hopes to have its system at work soon, The power developed is almost in conceivable. The width' of the river is a full mile, and the drop is 400 feet. At the bottom of the falls, the whole of the volume of water rushes through a nar row, zigzag gorge for several miles. There is no such concentration of water power anywhere else in the world. The power house will be situated 350 feet below the falls and will be completely hidden. Here the electricity will be generated and driv en through cables suspended on steel tow ers, a thousand feet apart, over the 600 miles of uninhabited country, to the sub urbs of Johannesburg. In order to pro vide for the necessary fluctuation in the matter of supply and demand, and to pre vent the waste of power, all the spare pow er will be used to pump water into a res ervoir at the top of a high hill, where it will constitute a reserve supply.” God’s great power cables are stretched from heaven to earth. They furnish the power for millions of souls to give forth light, and the energy to search for hidden treasure. Although the “power house” is out of sight, the currents are as real as those that were to reach the mines of the Rand in South Africa. Let these currents illumine and energize your life. * * * Jesus’ Friends Carrying on His Work Acts 1:6-11; 2:41, 42 Memory Verse. —“But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:8), A p p ro a c h .—When the Lord Jesus Christ went back to heaven, He left His disciples to be 'His' messengers. They felt
very weak and un prepared to do this great work. They couldn’t talk as Je sus had, so that thousands of people would crowd around to listen. They hadn’t pow er to heal the sick people. They had very little money and few friends. They felt
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