3. To Peter (Luke 24:34).

4. To the two walking to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-33).

5. To the ten in the upper chamber (Luke 24:36-48).

6. To the eleven in the upper chamber (John 20:26-29).

7. To James (1 Cor. 15:7).

8. To the seven, at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25).

9. To the five hundred brethren in a mountain in Galilee (1 Cor.

15:6).

10. To the Apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 1).

To these may be added his appearances to Paul, to Stephen, and to John on the Isle of Patmos.

#156. The Ascension.#--At last we come to the final scene. We are on the Mount of Olives. He is there, and with him the eleven. As he blesses them, lo, he begins to ascend. In rapt amazement they gaze on his disappearing figure. Then a cloud intervenes, and he is lost to their sight. Still they gaze, hoping once more to see him, when they are aware that two strangers are with them. These men say to them that this same Jesus will return again in like manner as they have just seen him go. Satisfied with this message, they return to Jerusalem, there to tarry until they be endued with that power of which the Master had just spoken to them. How this power came and the results of its coming we shall see in the lesson on the Acts of the Apostles.

Test Questions

What explanation of the resurrection of the Lord do some critics give?

In reply to this false contention, give the first truth.

Give the second truth.

Give the third truth.

Give the fourth truth.

Give the fifth truth.

Give the sixth truth.

Mention in their order the various appearances of our Lord to his disciples.

What other appearances may we add to these?

Describe the final ascent on the Mount of Olives.

After his ascension, where did the Apostles go?

For what did they then wait in the city of Jerusalem?

Lesson 8

The Early Church

New Testament Division--Third and Fourth Periods

#The Pivotal Events of the Book of Acts.#--Pentecost--the bestowal of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-47). The healing power given, as well as spiritual power (Acts 3:1-11; Acts 5:12-16). Persecution came to the disciples (Acts 4:1-22; Acts 5:18). The great persecution (Acts 6:1 to 7:60). The conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-22; Acts 22:1-21; Acts 26:1-20). The gospel given to the Gentiles (Acts 10:3 to 11:48). Missionary work organized (Acts 13:1-3). The Council at Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-31). The gospel crossed from Asia to Europe (Acts 16:9). The first preaching at Philippi (Acts 16:14, 15.) Lydia the first convert. (The life of Paul is treated more fully in the next lesson.)

#TIME.#--A. D. 30 to A. D. 51.

#PLACES.#--Jerusalem, Damascus, Caesarea, Tarsus and Cilicia, Troas, Philippi.

#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--Here the gospel ceases to be local in character and becomes universal--held no longer by national or geographical boundaries.

Development of the Early Church

#157. Importance of the Book.#--The Acts of the Apostles is the most important book in the New Testament, for if we were to lose one of the Gospels, we should still have three left, and if we lost one epistle, the others would still be ours. But if we had no "Acts," we should be left with no story of the ascension, (except Luke 24:51) and the next record would be Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. The whole story of Pentecost, and the spread of the Gospel, would be lacking, and, indeed, we should know nothing of the writer of the above-named epistle, nor how he came to write to the church in Thessalonica. We should have absolutely nothing to bridge over the gap between the ascension and this letter.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

#158.# In the Acts there are six pivotal events, on which all the rest of the story turns. Master these, and the whole story is clear. These events we give as follows:

(1) _Pentecost._ This means power. It is suggestive that the Greek word translated power (Acts 1:8) is the one from which our word dynamite comes. Bear in mind the situation at the ascension. Here were fishermen and common individuals, to whom was committed the carrying of the gospel to all the world, yet they had neither education, nor wealth, nor social position, nor political influence. What an impossible task! What they needed, therefore, more than anything else, was power from above. It was this that Pentecost gave them, and that, too, in such measure that Peter won, in one day, more disciples for his Master than the Master himself had won in three and a half years.

Thus the church was founded, and before long numbered in Jerusalem over ten thousand persons.

(2) _Persecution._ At first persecution might seem to be a disaster to the church. As a matter of fact, it was a great blessing. There was danger that the believers in Jerusalem would forget that they were told to "begin" at Jerusalem, but were to go to Judea and Samaria, and as far as the ends of the earth. Up to the time of the persecution that arose about Stephen there is no sign that the church did anything outside of the City of David. So, in the providence of G.o.d, the cloud of persecution broke on them and they were scattered abroad. Most fortunate it is that then they did their duty, for we read that the disciples (except the Apostles who stayed in Jerusalem), went everywhere "preaching the Word" (Acts 8:1-4). This event marked the beginning of that spread of the gospel that has never ceased from that day to this, and never will cease, until the final victory is won.

Through persecution it was that G.o.d stirred up the disciples, and forced them to do work that they seem, in their great joy over the truth, to have neglected.

(3) _The conversion of Saul._ By far the most dangerous enemy of the infant church was Saul of Tarsus. How he worked, and how the church feared him, we shall see more in detail in our next lesson. Suffice it to say here that had he continued in his first course, the whole history of the spread of the Gospel would have been very different from what it was. From the standpoint of the truth of G.o.d, next to Moses, Paul was the greatest man who has ever lived. To have him on the side of the truth, instead of against it, was a great thing for the church of that day and for the church since that day. That which is of the utmost importance in the conversion of Saul is the fact that Jesus himself appeared to him, and in this way gave him, as it were, the Master's own sanction to act as one of the Apostles. As a matter of fact, the two most important miracles of the New Testament are the resurrection of the Lord and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.

(4) _The tearing down of the middle wall of part.i.tion._ This took place in Caesarea, and to Peter was given the great privilege of tearing this wall down. What was this wall? (Eph. 2:14.) It was one divinely built centuries before. Up to the experience at Caesarea (Acts 10) no Gentile might come into the church of G.o.d, excepting by way of the Gate of the Proselyte. He must submit to Jewish ordinances and customs before he could be one of the Covenant People. The Apostles themselves had no thought that the Gentiles ever could come into the church excepting in the usual way. Without circ.u.mcision, they believed no man could be acceptable to G.o.d. Now the time had come when this "middle wall" must come down, and to Peter was given the high privilege of accomplishing this task. But to convince Peter that the command was of Divine origin, it was needful for G.o.d to perform a double miracle, the like of which had never been seen. Therefore to Peter on the housetop at Joppa, and to Cornelius the centurion, in Caesarea, G.o.d gave a vision, and when the two visions were brought together, they were found to match exactly. Then when the Holy Spirit came to the men at Cornelius' house, Peter was convinced that the middle wall was down, and that to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews the door was open on condition of faith in the Messiah. In this event and that of the church on the day of Pentecost, when Peter opened the door of the church to 3000 Jews, we see, in part at least (and in large part), the fulfilment of "the power of the keys" (Matt. 16:19).

To exaggerate the importance of this breaking down of the middle wall is not possible, for had not that been done, we in this day would still have to become Jews before we could be members of G.o.d's church on earth. This action by Peter was afterward endorsed by the Council at Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-31), at which the apostle rehea.r.s.ed his experiences in Caesarea.

(5) _The organizing of missionary work by the church._ This was done in Antioch, as seen in Acts 13:1-3. In this action, guided by the Holy Spirit, the church at Antioch became the pioneer church in missionary labor. It is worth noting that the Holy Spirit chose for this missionary work, not the inferior members of the church, but their very best men. What an example to the church of later days! To this day we need not the lesser lights for missionary work, but the great lights of the church. Let the lesser lights burn at home, but the great lights be sent into the outer darkness to illuminate that. This is the Divine plan.

(6) _The crossing of the gospel from Asia to Europe._ This took place from Troas to Philippi. It was in accord with the Divine plan (Acts 16:9). This army of invasion consisted of only four men, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke. A feeble force, as viewed from the merely human standpoint; but a potent force viewed from the Divine position. The story is one of the most fascinating in all history. Noteworthy it is that in Europe the first two converts were women--Lydia was the first, and the poor woman possessed of a spirit of divination the second (Acts 16). This woman was under the control of a syndicate of men, who made gain from her misfortune. In these two cases we see a kind of prophecy of the work that the gospel does for womankind. All other religions degrade woman. Only the Christian religion puts her where G.o.d originally placed her, by man's side, as his helpmate.

Alas! soon half of this army of invasion finds itself in prison on account of its beneficent work. Yet even here they make a conquest, and before morning the jailor, who put them in the inner prison, is himself a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. An army with such a spirit as Paul and Silas had is practically invincible. Thus, the gospel started on its westward way, destined in due time to reach these western sh.o.r.es, then as yet unknown to the eastern world.

Test Questions

Why is the Acts of the Apostles the most important book in the New Testament?

Name the first of the six pivotal events recorded in the Acts.