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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
April, 1841
INTERNAT IONAL LESSON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children s Division Object Lesson Golden Text Illustration. By B. B. S utcliffe By G retchen S ibley By H elen F razee -B ower By E lmer L. W ilder By A lan S. P earce Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lajn , President of Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind.
* Philip went to Samaria and “preached Christ unto them.” And the people gave heed to ' his preaching, “seeing the miracles which he did.” The miracles gave credence to the preaching as meet ing the requirements of the Jews (cf. 1 Cor. 1:22). But his preaching was not to the nation of Jews, but to Jews of that nation. When the power of the Lord is put forth and the Word of the Lord is preached, it does not always follow that those who see and hear will be con verted. But in the preaching of the gospel all have the opportunity to ex perience that greater miracle, though it is unseen—that of the new birth ac complished by simple faith in the Word of God. Hi. H armony A ttained (14-17, 25) Before the Holy Spirit could be given to these Samaritans, they had to be brought into harmony with the breth ren at Jerusalem." The rivalry between them must come to an end, and the authority of the twelve apostles, who had been appointed as representative of the twelve tribes of Israel, must be recognized. Remembering the dispensa- tional character of this chapter, one is helped greatly in its understanding. As yet these disciples knew nothing of the church, the Body of Christ. The Book of Acts does not specifically teach church doctrine. It tells of the practice of the early disciples. How church life is expressed must be . sought in the Epistles. The wall between Jerusalem and Samaria was broken down (v. 14) when the Samaritans received the Word of God preached by Philip, and when they received the Holy Spirit in accordance with the prayer of the apostles. The movement was recognized as being from God through the apostles (vs. 15, 16), and then recognized by God Himself by the gift of the Spirit (v. 17). The apostles returned to Jerusalem, and on the way they “preached the gospel in many MAY 4, 1941 THE CHURCH ENLARGING ITS FELLOWSHIP A cts 8 to go forth everywhere preaching the gospel, but they were inclined to settle down as being , merely another Sect among the Jews. Many times the gospel has made more advance under adverse circumstances than under propitious conditions. In whatever way the perse cution comes, we know it cannot ad vance farther than God permits; even Satan cannot exceed that limit. Hence these disciples went forth, not because they desired to go, but because they 'were forced to go. It was not long before they became so imbued with the missionary spirit that they covered the whole known world with the gospel. We are assured that there has been at least one generation of Christians who evangelized the world in their own time. Would to God we could see another generation do the same thing! These early followers of the Lord Jesus promulgated no new civilization, advocated no change in the government, suggested no scheme of union for the benefit of the human race. They simply “preached the gospel” (v. 4; cf. v. 25). The church would be wise to confine her efforts to this one endeavor ofr get ting the Word of God to all peoples of the world. . Perhaps the strange confidence which Stephen showed at the time of his death and the marvelous devotion of the disciples had a deep effect upon Saul of Tarsus and, humanly speaking, gave him some understanding of the power and sustaining grace of that gospel which he himself was to preach. U. P ower M anifested (5-8) Up to this ppint in the Book of Acts, the Lord had been dealing with the Jewish nation as such; from now on, He would be dealing with individuals. God’s purposes concerning the nation are now held in abeyance until the fullness of the Gentiles has been brought in (cf. Rom. 11:25-29). : Acts 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scat tered abroad throughout the regions of Ju dea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And deyout men carried Stephen to. his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 8 As for Saul, he made havoc of the churchy entering into, every house, fend hal- ' ing men and women committed them to prison. 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. ft Then Philip went down to the city of ^amaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many, that were pos sessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8 And there was great Joy in that city. 14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had re ceived the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: i 15 Whoi when they were -come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, re turned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. LESSOR TEXT: Acts 8:1-8, 14-17, 25. GOLDEN TEXT: “ Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). . DEVOTIONAL BEADING: Isa. 42:1-8. Outline and Exposition t I. P ersecution P ermitted (1-4) OLLOWING the death of Stephen, persecution against the disciples increased until finally they were driven from Jerusalem. There may have been many doubts and questionings, among the disciples concerning this ac tion, but behind it all there was the hand of' God. He wanted the disciples [These lessons are developed from outlines prepared by the Committee on Improved Uniform Lessons of the Inter national Council. The outlines are copy righted by the International Council of Religious Education and used by per mission. Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated .] FOR THE CHILDREN Helen Frazee-Bower, whose poems and stories in THE KING’S BUSI NESS have been a delight to many readers, begins in this issue to furnish material for Sunday-school workers who use the Children’s Division.
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