THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NESS
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GACITY OP PETER, 5:3-9. (4) SEPARATION, 5:11-13. (1)
be felt, owned, realized. Believers are of one blood, one destiny, and should be one in purpose. There must be unity in church life, but not uniformity. Who knows what possibilities there are in an united church? (5) Wealth for God: That is the grace of liberality. Our means are the earthly instrument which God takes and uses for His own glory. All that we have is to be recognized as from Him. All to be used for Him. There should never be a stingy or illiberal disciple. These pictures of the early church should not be lost sight of. All sought the same thing,— the honor of Jesus; the blessing and prosperity of others. Eusebius writes in the third century: “ The same power of the Divine Spirit goes through all the members; in all is one love, one liveliness o i faith. The cause of division in the Church is found in 1 Cor. 3:3: “ For ye are yet carnal; for whereas there is among you envying, and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” The secret of unity can be found in 1 Cor. 12:12: “ For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.” (2) The Satanic Semblance of Sincer ity, 5:1-8. A holy emulation had sprung up within the Church. Believers vied with each other in testifying to the'ir readiness to sacrifice earthly posses sions for the good of the Church. (Perhaps some apostle had preached upon the text “ Sell all that thou hast.” ) Chief among these was Barnabas “ Son of Consolation” ,— a rich man who made himself poor that he might en rich many, as did our Lord, (2 Cor. 8 :9 ): He was a Levite, and the Le- vites were not to possess any property. A certain disciple named Ananias
THE SOLEMN SENSE OF
The Sacred Society, ch. 4:32-
37. We have in these closing verses of the fourth chapter, another picture of the assembly,— one heart (intellect),-^ one soul (the emotions),— all things in common; g r e a t LESSON power, great grace, EXPOSITION none lacked, all T. C. Horton n e e d s supplied. (Phil. 2:2; 3:16.) There are three pictures in Acts in which five things are prominent. These pictures are found in, 2:41-47; 4:32- 37; 6:1-7. The five things are, (1) The Word of God. (2) The Worth of God. (3) Witnesses for God. (4) Work for God. (5) Wealth for God. (1) The Word of God: All unity of believers is based upon the Word of God. This unity is three-fold,^-unity of heart, intellect, soul. They walked by the same rule (Phil. 3:16). The Word of God is His weapon to slay us, and our weapon to slay men. The life of the believer must be regulated by the Word of God. (2) The Worth of God. They mag nified the name of the Lord in praise and prayer. They made room for the Lord in their hearts. Prayer brings to our help the wisdom and power of God, Prayer must be insistent and persistent. It must be prayer that believes, prayer that receives, prayer that will not take “ No.” Prayer lays hold of God, then God lays hold of us. (3) Witnesses for God: All be came witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not arguing, but speak ing the word humbly, yet boldly. There was united service in witnessing. (4) Work for God: The Spirit makes us one,— first of all swaying us individually, then bringing us into unity. The presence of the Spirit must
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