Church History: His account of the miraculous effusion of the Spirit, is designed to awaken them all to embrace the faith of Christ, and to join themselves to his church. Two things he resolves: It was the fulfilling of the scripture, and the fruit of Christ's resurrection and ascension, and consequently the proof of both.
1. It was the accomplishment of the prophecies of the Old Testament which related to the kingdom of the Messiah, and therefore an evidence that this kingdom is come, and the other predictions of it are fulfilled. He specifies one, that of the prophet Joel, (Acts 2:28).
2. It was the gift of Christ, and the product and proof of his resurrection and ascension. From this gift of the Holy Ghost, he takes occasion to preach unto the Jesus; and this part of his sermon he introduces with another solemn preface (Acts 2:22): "You men of Israel, hear these words. It is a mercy that you are within hearing of them, and it is your duty to give heed to them." Words concerning Christ should be acceptable words to the men of Israel.
The application of this discourse concerning the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ explains the meaning of the present wonderful effusion of the Spirit in those extraordinary gifts. Some of the people had asked (Acts 2:12), What does this mean? I will tell you the meaning of it, says Peter. This Jesus being exalted to the right hand of God, so some read it, to sit there; exalted by the right hand of God, so we read it, by his power and authority, it comes all to one; and having received of the Father, to whom he has ascended, the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has given what he received (Psalms 68:18), and has shed forth these things which you now see and hear; for the Holy Spirit was to be given when Jesus was glorified, and not before, (John 7:39).
This proves what you are all bound to believe, that Christ Jesus is the true Messiah and Savior of the world; this he closes his sermon with, as the conclusion of the whole matter, (Acts 2:36): Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that this truth has now received its full confirmation, and we our full commission to publish it, That God has made that same Jesus whom you have crucified both Lord and Christ. They were charged to tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ till after his resurrection (Matthew 16:20; 17:9); but now it must be proclaimed on the housetops, to all the house of Israel; he that has ears to hear, let him hear it. It is not proposed as probable, but deposed as certain: Let them know it assuredly, and know that it is their duty to receive it as a faithful saying, First, That God has glorified him whom they have crucified. This aggravates their wickedness, that they crucified one whom God designed to glorify, and put him to death as a deceiver who had given such pregnant proofs of his divine mission; and it magnifies the wisdom and power of God that though they crucified him, and thought thereby to have put him under an indelible mark of infamy, yet God had glorified him, and the indignities they had done him served as a foil to his luster. Secondly, That he has glorified him to such a degree as to make him both Lord and Christ: these signify the same; he is Lord of all, and he is not a usurper, but is Christ, anointed to be so. He is one Lord to the Gentiles, who had had lords many; and to the Jews he is Messiah, which includes all his offices. He is the king Messiah, as the Chaldee paraphrast calls him; or, as the angel to Daniel, Messiah the prince, Daniel 9:25. This is the great truth of the gospel which we are to believe, that that same Jesus, the very same that was crucified at Jerusalem, is he to whom we owe allegiance, and from whom we are to expect protection, as Lord and Christ.7
No comments:
Post a Comment