PETER declares that God has raised Christ from the dead, fully testifying that His justice had been satisfied; for the work that the Saviour has accomplished, He has exalted Him to His own right hand (John 13:31, 32; 17:4, 531Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. (John 13:31‑32)
4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. (John 17:4‑5)), testifying to the value of His work, of what He merited by it, and of the glory (save His seat at the right hand of the Father, which belonged to Him as the only-begotten Son) which He has acquired for us; and having received from the Father the promised Spirit, He had sent it, of which they saw and heard the effect. And He was to sit there in the heavens till all His enemies should be made His footstool.
Let us remark here, what we have already observed, that Christ, exalted as a man to the right band of God, has received the Holy Ghost anew, in order to give it to believers. God only dwells with mankind in consequence of redemption. He did not dwell with Adam innocent, nor with Abraham; but as soon as Israel was set free from slavery to Egypt by means of a redemption, though external, God comes to dwell in ‘the cloud in the midst of the people, and His glory filled the tabernacle (Ex. 29:4646And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God. (Exodus 29:46)). Thus, in a way less visible, but much more precious―eternal redemption being accomplished―He dwells, in the person of the Holy Ghost, in the midst of His people. And Christ being glorified as a man―proof of the accomplishment and of the fall effect of this glorious redemption―He receives the Holy Ghost from the Father, and pours it out on His own.
The Spirit unifies them individually with Himself, and gives them the consciousness of being sons of God; and it is the power which operates in believers for the glorifying of Christ here below, and to work in order to accomplish the counsels of God in His assembly, till it shall be caught up to be with Jesus, and like Him, in glory. The believer and the universal assembly are both a temple where the Holy Ghost dwells. Grace has come, and God dwells there where the work and the blood of Christ have rendered it possible, in a world which has rejected Him.
The house of Israel (and later on, the Gentile world) was to know certainly, from this sign, that God had made the Man Jesus, whom Israel had rejected, both Lord and Christ. Pricked in the heart; and feeling their horrible position in having cast out the Christ, those who heard, demanded, “What must we do?” But, as soon as this effect of the Spirit in their hearts was found, it was easy to give the answer; the work of salvation was accomplished; Christ had been given for their sins; cleansing was already made; they had only to repent, and to recognize the Saviour, in order to have remission of their sins; and, baptized in His name (so that He might be acknowledged in His death) they should receive the Holy Ghost; because the promise was for them and for their children, and for as many as the Lord God should call.
All those, then, that received the word willingly were baptized, and three thousand persons were added. Here we must distinguish between the, operation of grace and of the Holy ‘Ghost in the heart in making it receive Christ, and the gift of the Spirit when we have acknowledged Him as Saviour, and as the means of the remission of our sins. The Spirit works in us, makes us feel our sins, the need of a Saviour and of the blood of Christ; and after we have believed in His work on the cross, we are sealed of God by the gift of the Holy Ghost, who comes to dwell in us.
We have the same thing in the, prodigal son in Lake sty. The work of God was done in the far country, and he set out towards his father, uncertain how he would be received. The work of God was formed in him―he repents, confessed his sins, and spoke of being a hired servant in his father’s house. He was not yet clothed with the best garment, had not the ring on his finger, no the shoes on his feet. He meets his father in his rags; but, from the me moment the father has fallen on his neck and kissed him, he dares not speak of being a hired servant. Though he confessed his sins, yet it was no longer time for that. He was not yet fit to enter into the house; rags do not suit well the house of God. But then he is clothed with the best robe of Chris Himself (a robe which was never a part of what had been given to him by his father, which did not belong to Adar innocent); and he Is fit to enter into the house with all the honor which the father can put on him. And he is conscious of being recognized as a son, an of having the favor of his father.
It is the same thing with the soul. The Holy Ghost operates in us, produces the need, and we are born of God; and then, convinced of sin, we find Christ the Saviour, and by Him remission of our sins forever; and finally we are sealed with the Holy Ghost “Because ye are sons,” says the Apostle, “God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father (Gal. 4:66And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)). There true liberty is found and the love of God is poured into on hearts. Our bodies have become temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 6:1919What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)).
It is very important, then, to distinguish between the operation of the, Holy Ghost which produces faith, giving, power to the Word in the conscience, and the habitation of the Holy Ghost in us consequent on, and sealing, the faith which we have.
It is one thing to build a house, and another thing to live in it when it is built. But how we ought to be living in the holiness of this consecration―for we are born of God, and in our bodies dwells the Holy Ghost as in a temple! The fruits of His presence are beautifully manifested. Here, it is not the power that carries the Word of God into the consciences of the whole world, announcing Christ, grace, and salvation; it is the power over self, dismissing self-love; active in love, thinking of others rather than of one’s self.
Beautiful is the picture that the Spirit gives of the moral effects of this dwelling of the Holy Ghost in the heart. These effects were of two kinds―piety, or tin love of religion; and then practical love among the disciples. First, persevering in the truth, and in the communion of the apostles, they remained attached to those who had been the channels of the testimony of God to their hearts, who had been the true ambassadors of God; it was true unity, working by the power of the Holy Ghost, of which the apostle were the vessels; and then, in the continual commemoration of the death of Christ, there was a yet more ample expression of unity―that of all the body of Christ. They broke bread together and also persevered in prayer. Beautiful realization and expression of the unity of the Spirit, abolishing all differences because, by the power of the Spirit, al hearts were lifted up above all circumstances, above the things of this weal world. Hearts were not here below, but with Christ, at the right hand of God in heaven.
Those who believed by the word of the apostles were one with the Father in the Son, according to John 17:2121That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:21). Also, the effect of this power which governed all human sentiments, produced itself in the world around them―a holy fear filled all hearts. The world ha; acknowledged the unfolding of a power not of this world, lifting hearts above the motives that governed it. The presence of God among the disciples we: felt by all; and that was also manifested by the miracles and wonderful signs worked by the bands of the apostles God was there in the person of the Holy Ghost, according to the promise of Jesus.
In the second place, practical love was fully realized. They were all tether as brethren, the family of God; all the members of the family participating in common the blessings of the Father, none saying, This is mine. If one had more than another, he possessed love’s privilege to give to him who had need of it. But this was not enforced; it was the right of him who was in need; otherwise it would not have been the fruit of love. “Whilst it remained,” says Peter, “was it not thine own? and when thou hadst sold it, was it not in thy power?” No; it was full love that felt the duty, as a so of God, not to leave a brother in want. It was the free activity of love, produced by the powerful working of the Spirit of God. As soon as it becomes obligatory, it loses all its value, all its own nature. To take away from another, is not to give. The one is self-love; the other is divine love for others. The thought of rendering it obligatory shows that no love is there.
But to return to our subject. What a magnificent picture of the first meeting of Christians, of the assembly of God, as He established it in the beginning! To think of others, and not of one’s self-divine love accomplished in human hearts. It is quite possible that this cannot be realized literally now; Christians are scattered everywhere the apostles, at whose feet to cast the gifts and the possessions, are no more; but the true Christian can still perfectly well work according to the principles that filled the hearts of these blessed member of Christ. The Word of God supposes the existence of both rich and poor (1 Tim. 6:17-1917Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:17‑19)). But this does not hinder me from using in love, as a steward of God, all I possess for the good of the members of Christ. The duty of the man to sustain his own family always remains valid; but what in love he can, the faithful Christian is obliged to do; and what he possesses of this world’s goods, entrusted to him by God, he must give for the good of all, and especially for the family of God.
But fraternal love was not all. Their hearts were bound together in the worship and adoration of God. At this time the Gentiles had not yet been introduced into the assembly; and the disciples as Jews still followed their old habits. The patience of God still endured the Jewish system, while gathering out from among the people those who were to be saved. God was ready to take Judaism off the earth, and transfer the remnant of the Jews, whom grace had brought into faith, to the Christian assembly. They united still the Jewish and the Christian worship; went up daily in common accord to the temple to adore Jehovah; then in their own houses they broke bread, taking the Lord’s Supper daily in full confidence of the love of God. They ate their meat with joy and simplicity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people.
The fruits of the Holy Ghost and the manifestation of His power often attract the hearts of the people; and thus God opens a door to the Word, and the hearts of many are truly converted. However, though the testimony be accepted, yet it does not follow that souls are converted. The crowd which followed Jesus afterwards cried, “Crucify Him.” But this general favor for the moment stopped opposition, and those that had ears to hear grew in the knowledge of the truth. The truth can only be truly received by grace; but the fruits of the Spirit work powerfully on the natural heart. Everyone can understand the love and the abnegation of self, and God makes use of this to spread the testimony of the gospel.
What we are studying here is beautifully presented in type in the bells and pomegranates that adorned the garment of Aaron when he entered into the holy place. “And beneath upon the hem of it, thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold, between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about” (Ex. 28:33-3533And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. 35And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not. (Exodus 28:33‑35)). But now he has lost the right of so entering there for his children; but I speak of what was at first, before they sinned.