Acts

Bible Study

Lesson 8

 

Acts 2:37—42

 

¥ After Peter explains that Jesus the man was actually GodÕs son (2:34) and Messiah (2:36) the crowd is convicted of their act of killing Him and ask what they need to do.

- PeterÕs answer is consistent with what John the Baptizer was preaching.

- It is a plea to national Israel to repent of turning away from God and go back to Him.

- It is NOT a plea to believe in Jesus Christ and His work (death, burial and resurrection).

- They are told to repent and submit to a ceremonial washing to cleans them and prepare them for their role as priests to the world.

Exodus 19:5—6a 5 'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'

- This is the same ceremonial washing that the priests needed to submit to.

Exodus 29:1—4 1"Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them to minister as priests to Me: take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 2and unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. 3"You shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. 4"Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash (baptize) them with water.

 

Verse 39

¥ The promise of the Holy Spirit was for those who repented and were ceremonially purified through baptism

- This promise (through prophesy) of the Holy Spirit was given to Israel and not the Gentiles.

Joel 2:28—29 28"It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29"Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Ezekiel 36:24—26 24"For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. 25"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.26"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

- The things happening during Pentecost were a foretaste of the coming Millennial Kingdom.

¥ Those who are far off are not the gentiles but the scattered Jews.

Daniel 9:7 "Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day--to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You.

¥ This gift of the Holy Spirit was prophesized many times in the Old Testament.

¥ It was announced by John the Baptizer that Jesus would be the baptizer of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 1:8 "I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

¥ Baptism means to be fully identified with.

- Those in early Acts were baptized WITH the Holy Spirit.

-- Their Identification was so complete that they demonstrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit: miracles, signs and wonders.

-- These believers were ALL filled with the Spirit (2:4) because they were baptized in or with the Holy Spirit and were completely identified with Him.

- We, on the other hand, are baptized BY the Holy Spirit INTO Christ.

Galatians 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

-- This baptism completely identifies us with Christ, even His death, burial and resurrection.

Romans 6:3 3Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Colossians 2:12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

 

Verse 41

¥ So far only Jews are being addressed. This will continue for the next 7 years or so until Cornelius.

¥ Those added were added to an existing Hebrew church.

Matthew 16:17"If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

- Even before this, Israel was called GodÕs church

Acts 7:38"This is the one who was in the congregation (church) in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you.

 

Verse 42

¥ They were devoting themselves to the Apostles teaching.

- This is only a couple of weeks after Christ ascended.

- The only teaching they could teach is the teaching taught by Jesus while on earth.

- This teaching must have been Kingdom oriented.

¥ There is absolutely no indication that they were teaching anything about the Church, the Body of Christ and about a new Dispensation of the Grace of God.

 

ACTS 2:43—47

¥ By the power of the Holy Spirit each person sold all they had and put it into a common treasury.

¥ This would be impossible to do in our own power. (As we see in Communist countries)

¥ Those who sold their belongings were following JesusÕ teaching.

Luke 14:33 "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

Luke 12:16—31 [Each person was to store up their treasure in heaven and let the Lord supply what they needed.]

Luke 12:33 (to the little flock—the believing remnant of Israel) Sell your possessions and give to charityÉ

Matthew 19:21 (to the rich young ruler) Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

¥ They were selling their possessions with no thought of tomorrow since God would take care of them.

Matthew 6:34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

¥ All their needs will be supplied in the Millennial Kingdom.

¥ After Israel nationally rejected their Messiah and the Church, the Body of Christ was formed, the Millennial Kingdom would no longer be reality for these Kingdom saints and the promise of miraculous supply was withdrawn.

Romans 15:26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

- God was now supplying the Jerusalem saints through donations by others.

 

Originally taught at Bethesda Sunday School November 16, 2008

For previous notes and additional mid-Acts materials please visit http://www.MidActsTruths.com