Hello folks,

Here’s a suggestion. Read ahead through the first 10 or so chapters of Acts to get an overview. Try to see things from the viewpoint of the people living then. They did not know what we know now from Paul’s writings. They only had the Old Testament and what Jesus had told them. They expected all of prophecy to be fulfilled in their lifetime. What an exciting time it was!

 

These classes on Acts are being posted by a friend on his internet site: www.zile.org/bible.html

You can also find all the classes on Romans there, plus a brief explanation for why I use the King James Bible translation.

 

Thanks for your emails.  Keep them coming!

 

 

 

ACTS 107                         Chapter 2:37-47

 

     When Jews from all over the world were in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead, the Holy Ghost came, and through the apostles, charged Israel with Jesus’ murder. Peter quotes scripture to prove that Jesus is the Christ, that He has risen from the dead, and that He is coming back in wrath to fulfill prophecy.

37 Now when they (the Jews) heard this, they were pricked in their heart, (they were scared!) and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

 

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

     "Repent" means to change direction and go the other way. They needed to change their minds about who Jesus is and acknowledge Him as their Messiah. (Repent in this context has nothing to do with stopping drinking, smoking, cheating etc.)

 

     Which kind of baptism is this, and for what reason? This is water baptism, the same as John the Baptist did, (Mark 1:4) and it was for the remission of sins. Washing with water was a ritual needed for priests to survive when they went into the presence of God.(Ex 30:17-21) Israel was to be God’s nation of priests for the world, (Ex 19:5,6; I Peter 2:9; Rev 5:10) and God was coming back to earth to set up His kingdom here.(Acts 3:19-21) Any one who believed this got water baptized in order to be identified with Him and survive His coming. (Luke 7:29,30; Mat 3:10-12) * See "confession of sins" at the end.

     Water baptism has no purpose today because we have remission of sins through our faith alone. (Rom 3:28 & 4:5) So Paul was not sent to baptize.(I Cor 1:17) In our age we are automatically baptized without water by the Spirit into the body of Christ when we believe, (I Cor 12:13; Rom 6:3,4; Gal 3:27) and that is the only one baptism for our dispensation. (Eph 4:5)

 

     What was the "gift of the Holy Ghost"? We covered this with Acts 1:5 and 2:4. Review Ez 36:25-28. God, the Holy Ghost, fills people’s minds so they can think like Him, and thereby keep His commandments and receive His blessings. This is the only way that man can stop sinning, and that is what makes the new covenant work. (Jer 31:31-34)

     We have the same Spirit of God today (Eph 1:13) but He does not miraculously fill us, or in other words, take us over. Therefore we still think with our old sin nature whenever we choose. (Gal 5:16,17; Eph 4:22-24)

 

39 For the promise is unto you, (Israel) and to your children, and to all (Jews) that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

     What is "the promise"? It is the gift of the Holy Ghost and the new covenant, vs 38.

     To whom did God promise this? To Israel exclusively! (Is 59:20,21; Ps 147:19,20) Those Jews who were scattered all over the world (Dan 9:7) were also included in God’s promise. When Christ returns, He will re-gather all of Israel that are afar off back into their land. (Is 11:11,12; Ez 39:27-29; Mark 13:27)

     Who does God "call"? He calls those who believe His word. (Is 66:2; I Cor 1:21)

 

     Many teach that "all that are afar off" are the Gentiles. But that can not be true because God never made covenants or promises with the Gentiles in the Old Testament. See Rom 9:4 and Eph 2:12, and be sure to read Dan 9:7.

Jeremiah 7:29 calls the Jews in the last days "the generation of His wrath". (Mat 23:36) The only way to save themselves from physical and spiritual destruction was to do verse 38. The rest of the nation was doomed. (Mat 3:10; Luke 21:20-24; Is 1:28 &13:9) Remember that the interruption in prophecy in which we live was still a secret at that time, (Rom 16:25) and they did not know that God would delay His wrath.

These new believers were "added" to an already existing church. There were 120 disciples in Acts 1:15. This is not the start of a new church as many believe.

 

     Following is a preview of life in the kingdom, when people are filled by the Holy Ghost, constantly thinking with the Spirit of God. This life style is not possible for us in this age because we today are only as filled with God’s Spirit as we choose to be. (Eph 5:14-19)

We today continue in good doctrine and fellowship only until we choose to think in the flesh again. But these people in Acts were completely filled with the Holy Ghost, so they were stedfast in His thinking.

Wonders and signs had a purpose in Israel’s program. (Ex 34:10) They validated the apostles’ claims and proved that God was speaking through them. (Mark 16:15-20) In contrast, today we "walk by faith, not by sight". (II Cor 4:18 & 5:7)

Human ego and greed would prevent this from working today, but here in Acts, greed wasn’t present because people were filled with the Spirit.

People today who claim the signs and wonders of Acts usually do not want to claim this part about giving away their possessions. (Luke 12:33)

These people thought with one mind, the Spirit of God, so they were all of one accord, and had singleness of heart. In our dispensation, Paul pleads with us to "be like-minded... of one accord, of one mind" (Phil 2:2,3,5) because it is not automatically done for us as it was for the saints in Acts 2.

     "Church" means a called-out group of people. This church met daily in the temple. Therefore they had to all be Jews, because Gentiles were not allowed in the temple. (Acts 21:28,29) This is definitely not our church, the body of Christ, which is composed of both Gentiles and Jews. (Eph 2:13-16; I Cor 12:13; Gal 3:28)

 

     As Mark 1:4,5 shows, water baptism went with confession of sins - not just personal sins, but national sins. In Lev 26:40-42, the nation Israel must acknowledge and confess their sin before God will stop punishing them. As foretold in Lev 26:14-39, God had them conquered, enslaved and scattered because of their sin. In Matthew through Acts, Israel was enslaved by the Romans. But "If they shall confess their iniquities.... if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant..." (Lev 26:40,41)

     This helps a lot in understanding I John 1:9. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That will still be the recipe for Israel after our age is finished and God deals with that nation again.

 

     Confession of sins has no such purpose for a saint of God in our dispensation. We are already forgiven all trespasses (Col 2:13; Eph 4:32) and we are not part of Israel under the national curse of Lev 26:14-39 and Deut 28:15-68.