June, 1936
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
223
INTERNATIONAL LESSON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson B y B. B. S utcliffe B y B essie B. B urch B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , Dean, Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio
JULY S, 1936 THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN POWER A cts 1:6-14; 2:1-47
accept their Messiah whom they had re jected and crucified. III. T he P reaching by the H oly S pirit (32-38). Through Peter, the Holy Spirit pro claimed the truth o f the death of Christ and bore testimony to the resurrection of Christ (v. 32). The literal resurrection of Christ was the particular matter to which the apostles were to bear witness. Peter told his hearers that the crucified Messiah was not only alive, but that He had also ascended into heaven and was there exalted (v. 33). The proof of Christ’s exaltation was in the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and in the at tendant circumstances—all of which had been foretold in the Scriptures. The prophesied events could not refer to David, as some unbelievers might argue, but to the One of whom David wrote (vs. 34, 35; cf. Psa. 110). The application of this logic was appar ent at once (v. 36). God had accepted the One whom Israel had rejected, and that rejected One was now exalted—He was both Lord and Christ. Faced with unanswerable facts, the people were “pricked in their heart” (v. 37). This result o f the Holy Spirit’s operation in human hearts was foretold by our Lord in connection with the promise of the coming of the Comforter (cf. John 16:7-11). “Pricked in their heart,” men cried out: “What shall we do ?” The answer to this inquiry reveals that the setting was Jewish. The hearers were to repent, that is, to change their minds concerning Jesus of Nazareth. They had declared Him to be an impostor and had rejected Him; but in the resurrection of Christ from the dead, God had declared Him to be true and had a c c e p t e d Him. Men were therefore called upon to change their views concerning Jesus of Nazareth, conforming them to God’s standard. Then, having repented, those who heard were to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission o f their sins. Peter declared that if the listeners would thus repent and be baptized, they, too, would receive the gift o f the Holy Spirit. (This teaching is not identical with the gospel that was preached to Gentiles later on. Gentiles were asked only to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” to be saved. See Acts 16:31.) The waiting believers in that day were formed into one mystical body, and as suddenly as this union was effected—and by the same Spirit—the body was joined to Christ, its living Head in heaven, and thus the church came into being. 'Ever since that day, each newly converted soul is made a part o f that spiritual body, the Holy Spirit accomplishing this result. ’ Points and Problems 1. There is a direct connection between the Lord’s promise in Acts 1 :5 and the apostlesl question in verse 6. When the
Lesson T ext: Acts 1:6-9; 2:1-11, 32-38. Golden T ext: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1 :8). Outline and Exposition I. T he P romise of the H oly S pirit (1:6-9). D uring the forty days after our Lord’s resurrection, He spoke to His disci ples of His kingdom, as He had spoken before, but He did not tell them at what time the kingdom would be set up. Being acquainted with Old Testament prophecy, in which the reign of Messiah was mentioned repeatedly, the disciples naturally would be eager to know the time of the establishment of the kingdom. “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel ?” they asked. The Lord Jesus did not answer the question directly, nor did He rebuke the inquirers for ask ing. He replied in such a way as to confirm, not contradict, the testimony of the Old Testament. These disciples did not under stand at that time that there is a distinction between the kingdom, mentioned in the Old Testament, and the church, pictured in the New Testament. The kingdom con cerns the earthly people o f God, Israel, while the church is composed o f the heav enly people, that is, those who, through faith in Jesus Christ, become “sons [chil dren] of God” (John 1:12). So far as their participation is concerned, the heav enly people are not to be concerned with the times and seasons relating to the set ting up of the kingdom. Instead of answering the question di rectly, our Lord told the disciples what was their business on earth, and wherein was the power for the performance o f the task. The needed power would not be found in natural ability nor in self-ac quired enablement, but in the coming of the Holy Spirit o f God. And when He came upon them, the disciples would be wit nesses unto the Lord throughout the whole world. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon y o u : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jeru salem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (v. 8). After giving such a promise and such instruction, Christ was taken up from [These lessons are developed from out- : lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons o f the Interna tional Council. The outlines are copy righted, 1934, by the International Council o f Religious Education and used by per mission .—E ditor .]
His disciples into heaven. There He now waits, a Priest at the right hand of God the Father, until the hour shall arrive for the Son to come forth once more, to set up His kingdom upon the earth after having received His church to Himself in the air (cf. Psa. 110:4; Heb. 1:3; 5:10; 7:25 and 9:24). II. T he P ower of the H oly S pirit (2:1-11). The promise that the Holy Spirit would come was fulfilled (vs. 1-4). Because so little regard is paid to the context, the meaning of these verses has been sadly dis torted by many readers. It was as a group o f Jewish believers, gathered on the ground of the kingdom promised in the Old Testament, that these disciples had assembled. Suddenly unusual events took place coincident with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was given in or der, in a special sense, to bind the disciples together in one body, to give each member the infilling o f the Spirit, and to equip each one for the work of witnessing unto Christ. In the bestowal of this heavenly Gift, there was orderliness, self-control, and inclusiveness that are absent from present-day intemperate gatherings of de luded seekers after spiritual power and signs. To Jews, and none except Jews, the Holy Spirit was first given (vs. 5-11). The Lord was dealing with the Jewish nation as such. The witness given to the nation did not receive a national acceptance, but it was believed by certain individuals, and these individuals were united in the body of Christ, even though the nation as a whole rejected the testimony. At that time, the believers had no conception of the nature of the church. Indeed, church truth was revealed only after the nation had re jected every overture o f the Holy Spirit and was definitely set aside until the full ness of the Gentiles should be brought in (cf. Rom. 11:25). In these verses we observe the work of the Holy Spirit in uniting believers in the body o f Christ, in manifesting His pres ence among them by the gift of tongues and by various signs, and through them appealing to the Jews to then and there BLACKBOARD LESSON
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