THE KING’S BUSINESS
936
own experience. There are those today, who fancy that their own wonderful experi ences do away with the necessity o f an appeal to the sure word o f God. Let all such learn wisdom from Peter. But Peter’s testimony has .its place and our testimony has its place though it is not the first place. The first place belongs to the word o f God. It was the “ soul” o f Jesus that went into Hades, His body was left in the.tomb, but even His body was not permitted “to, see corruption.” Wednesday, October 4. Acts 2:29-33. Peter next shows why the words that David had written in Psa. 16 and which he has just quoted, could not refer to David himseif, for David had seen corruption. The words therefore must refer to another, whose body did not see corruption, and that was Jesus, “He spoke of the resurrection of the Christ.” Christ Himself, His real self, His soul, (cf. v. 27) which went into Hades was not left unto Hades,” “nor did His flesh see corruption.” Now Peter gives his own testimony. He and his compan ions had been eye witnesses o f the resur rection o f Christ and therefore had a right to testify to it. They testified to what they had personally seen and they sealed their testimony by their death. Their tes timony was unimpeachable. But there is still another witness to the certainty o f the resurrection o f Jesus and this witness is the outpoured Spirit. The outpouring of the Spirit which was a fact that Peter’s hearers could see for themselves was clear proof that Jesus was risen and ascended, and the gift o f the Holy Spirit today is an experimental proof that Jesus is at God’s right hand. W e are not altogether depend ent upon the testimony o f O. T. prophecy or of N. T. eye witnesses for our belief in the resurrection and ascension o f Christ. The testimony o f Old Testament proph ecy and New Testament witnesses would be sufficient to prove the facts, but it is ours to know experimentally that Jesus is ascended because the ascended Christ
They have simply demonstrated the utter impossibility o f reading the miraculous out o f the life o f Jesus. After the failure and utter collapse o f these attempts a genera tion ago, now that there has been a little time for man to' forget his former defeat, Satan is again stirring up men to make the attempt anew. They have gone at it with more subtlety this time. They have begun further off. The attack was first made upon what appeared to be the less vital portions^of the Bible, but the assail ants have worked ingeniously in toward the more vital parts of the Bible, step by step. But Satan’s real goal in all this destruc tive criticism is Jesus and His miracles and His resurrection. This now plainly appears às thè critics have come out into the open and are attacking especially the Virgin birth and resurrection o f our Lord. But God is abundantly able to take care o f the credentials He Himself has provided and the modern enemies o f Christ and o f God will soon be overwhelmed with utter con fusion. Peter goes on from Jesus as a God-approved man, to Jesus crucified by wicked men. But this crucifixion though executed by wicked men was according to “the determinate counsel and foreknowl edge o f God.” Everything comes to pass According to God’s eternal plan o f grace, but this does not in any wise exonerate the crucifiers o f Jesus. Their purpose was bad even if the result was beneficent. They Peter proceeds from the crucifixion to the resurrection. Jesus could not be holden by death, neither can we be holden by death if we are in Him. David, hundreds o f years before had caught a glimpse of the greater David who would go down into Hades but would not stay there, who would not even see corruption but be raised again before corruption had overtaken His body. Peter though he himself was an eye witness o f the resurrection, goes to the Scripture for proof before appealing to his were “wicked” men. Tuesday, October 3. Acts 2:24-28.
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker