Acts Chapter 4.

Acts Chapter 4.

*   The clash with Judaism.  4:1-22.  Before the Sanhedrin.  B-D.  1142.  In Acts, there is a marked opposition to the Gospel by the Sadducees. B-D. 1123.

*    Life in the early Church.  4:23-37.   The chapter could be outlined in this way:-

            The witness of the apostles.      4:1-22.

            The prayer of the Church.           4:23-31.

            The unity of the Church.             4:33-37.

           

Christology.

*   The Name.   The word 'onoma' or name, is used with reference to the Lord Jesus over 30 times in Acts.  Note, 4:10,12,17,18. and especially 5:41. N.E.B.  The use of the word 'Name' is significant in chapter 9, in the account of Paul's conversion.

           

The Name of God had a distinctive use in the Old Testament in connection with Israel.  'Name', signifies Revelation.  The Name of God was the revelation of Himself to His people.  In Acts 2, Peter quotes from Joel 2:32 and applies the Name of Jesus, as Lord of the Israel of the Spirit, Acts 2:21,39.  It presupposes His Deity.  All that 'Yahweh' was to Israel, Jesus is to His Church.

           

In chapter 4 the 'Name' is used six times of Jesus Christ.  As the children of Israel could find salvation only in the Name of the Lord, so the Name of Jesus Christ is given among men that they might be saved.  See Notes on Christology of chapter 10.  In chapter 4 the Name of Jesus Christ concerns the Revelation of Salvation.   It is:-             

Given - Graciously and freely given by Divine appointment.

Among men - Its universalism.  It is not confined to Jews.

Under Heaven - Its exclusiveness and uniqueness.

Saved - It reveals God's provision for man's predicament.

           

*  The Stone.   'Lithos, Psa.118:22.  In Matthew 21:42, Jesus applied this designation to himself as fulfilling God's purpose for, though rejected by the builders of the Jewish Nation, He should become central in a greater superstructure.  He was destined to fulfill a central role in God's purpose.

           

In Acts 4:11 Peter speaks of the stone of destiny and relates it to God's saving purpose, in which the Name of Jesus is central and exclusive for salvation.  Christ is the central stone for faith.  The coming of Christ offers salvation for men, but this event is also their crisis - their judgment.  It confronts men with a choice.

           

The Holy Spirit.

           

The Acts, in line with the New Testament generally, underlines the wide diffusion of the Holy Spirit as poured out upon "all flesh."  In the Old Testament context of Joel's prophecy, "all flesh" means all the people of Israel.   It was not confined to certain persons.  In the New Testament context, it means the whole Church, all the people of God, the Israel according to the Spirit.  It knows no distinction of rank, sex, or age.  In this sense, the baptism of the Spirit is inclusive of "all flesh."

           

The gift of the Spirit extends to every believer and His reception dates from the beginning of faith for it is associated with baptism.  This association with baptism marks the thing as true of all believers and as true of them from the time they became believers.  The exceptional cases of Acts 19, confirm this rule.

           

This understanding of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit enables us to see the unity of the church - a unity, both of heart and organization - can only be realized as it is recognized that all believers share in the Baptism of the Spirit.  The certain occasional activity of the Holy Spirit in respect of certain individuals could not create such a unity.

           

The unity of the Church is inward and organic, its source, is the never failing presence of the Holy Spirit in all the members of Christ.  This unity extends to every member and that from the beginning of their Christian life.  This participation of every member in the endowment of the Holy Spirit, is basic to the Church's unity.

           

However, this universal possession of the Holy Spirit is not inconsistent with and does not exclude those special manifestations of the Spirit, as when Peter is said to be filled (4:8), to meet a special urgency or to accomplish a particular task.

           

Both modes of the Spirit's manifestations - the permanent and the special - are found in the Book of Acts and they are not mutually exclusive.  Rather, those special manifestations of the Holy Spirit are extensions - special forms - of the abiding indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which is basic to the corporate life and unity of the Church.  In Acts 4 the Holy Spirit filled an individual, Peter, for a special task and He filled the Christian community for the special crisis that confronted it. (4:8,31).

           

Church Ministry.

           

This passage provides another picture of the infant Church.

*   The Liturgical Prayer.  4:24-30. (The public prayer of the Church).  They based their prayer on the purpose of God as revealed in the Scriptures.  This gave direction to their praying, and enabled them to pray with one accord.

           

*   The dedication of the Church.  4:29.   The quality of their dedication was such that they were resolved to suffer for their testimony.  They prayed for boldness, not for protection.  They were disciples of the Servant, concerning whose sufferings Isaiah had written.

           

*   They were filled with the Holy Spirit.  4:31.  It was as a  believing, praying and dedicated community that they experienced this filling.  It is not said here, or elsewhere in Acts, that they prayed be filled with the Holy Spirit.  It was the sovereign action of God, as the passive aorist and genitive construction here suggests.  It was God's sovereign assent to their complete response to the message and authority of Christ.

           

The obstacle that faced the Church was the demand of the Sanhedrin they speak no more in the Name of Jesus.   The Sanhedrin was recognized by the Romans as having authority over Jewry.  B-D. 1142.  The Church is endowed with a renewed sense of authority to speak with boldness.

           

The Unity of the Church.

           

*   The Holy Spirit is the Source and Power of this Unity.    At Corinth (see 1.Cor.12) a faulty doctrine of the Spirit menaced the Church, for there some insisted upon a certain pattern of experience.  Since not all share in the same pattern of religious experience disunity is the result.  The sovereign activity of the Holy Spirit is larger than a "spiritual blue-print."  But a sound doctrine of the Holy Spirit makes for unity.  The Spirit is poured upon "all flesh." (2:17), i.e. upon all the people or Israel of God.  It is not confined to certain individuals, but is a Divine saturation of the believing community.

           

*   The Unity of the Church is expressed in Mutual Love.   The unity is practical, fervent and personal.  It is the establishment of right and happy relations among the people of God.  The Church that is deficient in mutual love, knows little of the fullness of the Spirit.  We note the practical nature of this church's love and fellowship.  Their fellowship was marked by inward reality and complete selflessness.  They cared only for the common good of all.

           

*   The Unity of the Church was outwardly expressed in the vigour of its witness for Christ.   The apostolic witness was marked by great power and great grace.  

4:33.  Too often, grace and power do not go together.  Power and grace marked a united front that sprang from the inward inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

           

Evangelism and Preaching.

           

*   Compulsion.    The compulsion to preach is the first prerequisite and preparation of good preaching.  4:20.

           

Character.  "With power."    The power includes such qualities as conviction, enthusiasm, boldness, and demonstration.

           

*   Central theme.   The one central topic was the resurrection of Jesus.  There was no uncertainty in their message.  They were, before all else, witnesses to the risen Lord.  The final two verses (36-37) concern a notable man in the early Church.  He was typical of that which was great and esteemed in the community of the Spirit.  Barnabas is exemplified by the spirit and genius of the new movement.  B-D.  133.