Before the Lord could build His assembly, the work of redemption must be accomplished. “The Son of Man must be lifted up.” In John 12:23, 24, Jesus said, “The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Also He said, John 16:7: “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” After He rose from the dead His disciples saw Him, and received instructions from Him, by the Holy Spirit, for forty days. They were to wait at Jerusalem for the promise of the Father (John 14:16), as it reads, “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” He would not say whether the kingdom would be restored to Israel at that time. God’s long suffering extends to the utmost limit before He gives men up. The prayer of Jesus on the cross was to be answered by giving them another offer, if they would repent (Acts 3:17-21), but they would be His witnesses when they had received power, after the Holy Ghost was come upon them. (John 15:26, 27).
In his Gospel, Luke has told us that He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. While He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried, up into heaven. And in Acts 1 a cloud received Him out of their sight. While they were still gazing steadfastly toward heaven, as He went up, two men in white apparel stood by them, and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
This is true for the future godly remnant of the Jews who, on the Mount of Olives, will wait for Him, and see Him coming, with all His heavenly army of saints, for their deliverance from their enemies. (Zech. 14). When He comes for His heavenly saints, they shall be caught up to be with Him; they shall meet Him in the air. (1 Thess. 4:15-18). The dead raised incorruptible, the living changed to immortality, and ruptured into His presence. What a moment of bliss for all His redeemed up to that time!
The disciples returned to Jerusalem, and for ten days more waited on the Lord in prayer. They appointed one to fill their number—twelve. They did it intelligently, as their Scriptures led them, and the Lord gave understanding. (Luke 24:45.) When the fiftieth day was fully come (that is what Pentecost means), they were all assembled together with one accord in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Cloven or divided tongues, as of fire, sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in other languages than their own, so that the foreigners from all the different countries could hear in their own tongues the wonderful works of God. The Holy Ghost had come, and two wonderful facts were accomplished at the same moment.
The body of Christ was formed, that is, all who were sealed with the Spirit were believers (John 7:39), and were united to Christ in glory, their risen Head, and to each other as members of the same body. (1 Cor. 12:12, 13). The second thing was: They were builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Eph. 2:22).
These facts were true of them, but were not yet unfolded to their faith. But they knew the Holy Ghost was come, and they knew the Lord had sent Him from the Father (Ver. 33), so they had the guidance of the Spirit in what they did. Peter’s address convicted many of their guilt of murdering their Messiah, whom God had raised from the dead, so that about three thousand souls separated themselves from the perverse generation, and were baptized into the new, redeemed company. These were the godly remnant of the Jews, often spoken of as Old Testament saints, now brought into the Christian assembly. God was now gathering His children into one. (John 11:52).
As yet they were all Jews, and on Jewish ground, waiting to see if the Lord, at that time, would restore the kingdom of Israel. Peter gave them another offer in chapter 3:17-21, but they still opposed, and put some of the apostles in prison, and lastly stoned Stephen, fulfilling Luke 19:14. His spirit is received up, and Jesus sits down (Stephen saw Him standing), till His enemies be made His footstool. We are now introduced to Saul who was consenting unto Stephen’s death. He takes up the service of persecuting, even unto death, those who believed on Jesus, and he thought he was serving God.
God, by means of persecution, scattered abroad in different directions the assembly at Jerusalem, except the apostles. And those that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word. Philip went down to Samaria, and preached Christ unto them, and there was great joy in that city. It is to be noticed here that though the Samaritans had believed the gospel Philip preached, and they were all baptized, yet none of them had received the Holy Ghost. They were born again, and brought into the profession of Christ (Gal. 3:27), yet they were not sealed. At Jerusalem the apostles heard of Samaria having received the Word of God, and they sent Peter and John who, when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost, then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. The breach is gone; the saints at Jerusalem, and at Samaria, are one in redemption. In this case we also see the difference between the work of the Spirit in conversion, and in His dwelling in them.
Another noticeable fact is, that Simon, the sorcerer, himself believed, and was baptized. He seemed to be a true believer, but the apostles discerned that he was not converted at all. (See John 2:23-25 and 6:66-69). In this we see the beginning of failure, in what was committed to the servants. (1 Cor. 3:12).
In the eunuch we see a godly Jewish proselyte, who has been to the empty temple at Jerusalem to worship, returning as empty, and as ignorant, as when he went up, but the Lord sent Philip to meet him. The story of Jesus in Isaiah 53 lays hold of him, and Philip, at his request brings him in also. Philip is caught away, and the eunuch goes on his way rejoicing to carry the story into dark Ethiopia.
Chapter 9 tells of Saul of Tarsus, the instrument that the Lord knew (yes, like Jeremiah, before his birth Jer. 1:5 and Gal. 1:15, 16) and had formed and fitted for the work of an Apostle. A man trained in Jewish self-righteousness, breathing out threatenings and slaughter, seeking authority from the high priest to destroy Christianity, and wipe out the name of Jesus from the earth. He lived in all good conscience before God (Acts 23:1), and wrote of himself, “Touching the righteousness of the law, blameless.” (Phil. 3:6). He thought he was serving God in his blind, mad career. (Acts 26:9-11).
In chapter 9 we see him arrested by the Lord Himself, convicted and converted, humbled and broken, asking, “Who art Thou, Lord?” “What wouldst Thou have me to do?” The Lord sends Ananias to show him the way, and to bring him in, also, to the assembly, the house of God.
Straightway he preached that Jesus is the Son of God, and went into retirement for a time to learn more perfectly the ways of God. (Gal. 1;16, 17). He conferred not with flesh and blood. With his message given from the Head in glory, he goes forth. “Paul an apostle (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised Him from the dead.” Acts 26:16-18). He knew that suffering and rejection from man was to be his lot for Christ’s sake. (Acts 20:23).
From the glory and the gladness,
From His secret place:
From the rapture of His presence,
From His radiant face—
Christ, the Son of God, had sent him
Through the midnight lands;
His the mighty ordination
Of the pierced hands.
And what were his thoughts of himself then? “The chief of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15); “less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8); “the least of the apostles:” “not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am.” 1 Corinthians 15:9, 10.
This is the instrument God had taken up to carry out His message. The Lord said unto Ananias, “Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
We shall endeavor to look at his teachings in connection with the assembly in another paper.
“What is, the joy of the Redeemer, but the joy and communion, the happiness of His redeemed.”