Chapter 4
Verses 1-22, the Church tested. Out of this will come great blessing. The doctrinal principle is that the greatest blessings that come to the believer come to him in times of suffering. In verses 1-3, Peter and John continuing in the temple. The message has just been completed and they are explaining to various people who are interested with regard to the message which was given in chapter three.
Verse 1 – “As they spake [kept on speaking].” They are now answering questions about the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the meantime the leaders have been alerted, and all the time that Peter was preaching they were getting organised. The Sadducees were the aristocrats of the land, they were politically very conservative, but theologically they were rationalists and far from conservative. They objected to the type of thing being taught because they felt it infringed upon their rights as leaders in the land. They enjoyed a rulership which even the Roman empire did not hinder and therefore they were ready to remove anyone who spoke about the Lord Jesus Christ. Allied with them were the priests, and in addition to that they had been able to gather up the captain of the temple. There were actually about 30 captains in the temple and each one rotated in patrolling the temple. The captain was under the command of the Sadducees as they approached this large crowd. So we find them coming suddenly upon Peter and John as they are teaching.
Verse 2 – the reason for their action. “Being grieved” in the Greek means they were indignant, upset about Peter’s sermon; “that they had taught the people” – notice that all good preaching is teaching: and preached through Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” This was the one thing that the Sadducees could not stand because they did not believe in any after life and they did not believe in resurrection.
Verse 3 – “And they laid hands on them.” They seized them violently; “and put them in the hold [prison] until the next day: for it was now eventide.” They could not hold trials at night, it was illegal. The Jewish day ran from five o’clock in the evening until five o’clock the next evening, and any time after five o’clock it was illegal to hold a trial.
Verse 4 – the results of Peter’s sermon. “Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed.” This means that not all who heard believed, which indicates a very large crowd; “and the number of the men was about five thousand.” The word “men” indicates that only the men were known, but there were actually women and children so that it is possible that there were as many as seven or eight or nine thousand people believed. The key word here is “believed,” and whenever Luke is describing historically salvation he goes for the word “believe” instead of describing it from the standpoint of the people who accepted Christ, “they changed their minds about Christ first.” When the church began the men outnumbered the women.
Verse 5 – as the result of this arrest it is necessary for a very interesting combine to meet. We have a syndicate in the ancient world which is comparable to the mafia. It existed in southern Palestine and it made vast amounts of money through every form of graft and theft. Gangs of bandits lived in the mountainous areas and elsewhere which raided the caravans going to Gaza and Egypt. Then between Arabia and Syria there were bandit gangs raiding trading caravans. The head of these gangs was a man by the name of Annas who was the high priest. Annas stayed in Jerusalem and this was the headquarters for the syndicate. All of these bandits sent a percentage in to Annas because he arranged for all the soldiers to look the other way. All the bribing of the Roman centurions, and so on, was carried out in Jerusalem. Then the greatest racket of all was the religion in the temple. The money changers were making a fantastic amount of money, they were selling animal sacrifices at exorbitant rates. Annas was one of the greatest con artists of all time when it came to operation religion. Many of the members of the Sanhedrin were under the pay of this gangster syndicate.
“rulers, and elders, and scribes” – these are some of the local bosses, members of the Sanhedrin. Not all of the Sanhedrin are under the pay but the entire Sanhedrin is pulled together and certain people in it are bribed and will help to control the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin is made up of three parts. There were twenty-four rulers or chief priests—religious rulers. There were also twenty-four elders who were strictly political rulers. Then there were twenty-two scribes—the theologians. This made up the Sanhedrin, the highest court in the land, whose number was seventy.
Verse 6 – the meeting of the people who actually run a gangster syndicate that operates throughout the strip of land that runs from Antioch in the north to Alexandria in Egypt. “And Annas the high priest” – actually, Annas has been the high priest but he could only hold it for a year. So it has been held in his family for quite a while. He has two sons who have been the high priest and also a son-in-law who is the present one—Caiaphas.
“John and Alexander” – two of the leaders among the Sadducees and a part of the gangster syndicate. They control the Sanhedrin; “and as many as were the kindred of the high priest” – all involved in this gangster syndicate. This is one of the wealthiest and most successful syndicates of all time; “were gathered together at Jerusalem” – they are holding a meeting because for the first time there is some real danger to their syndicate, and the danger has come from the preaching of the gospel. We can assume from this that because of the two messages that Peter has preached some of the gangsters involved in this syndicate have actually been converted. Notice: Neither Jesus Christ Himself, nor Peter, nor James, nor John, nor any of the people who preached in Jerusalem, ever preached against the syndicate. They did not preach against slavery, or against the syndicate, or the social problems of their day. They preached the gospel, for the only way to permanently solve any problem in life must come through the gospel. There is no social gospel in the Bible gospel.
Verse 7 – they attempt now to get rid of Peter and John. There are two groups meeting: v. 5, the Sanhedrin; v. 6, the gangster syndicate. In this verse we go back to the meeting of the Sanhedrin. “And when they had set them in the midst,” i.e. Peter and John. The syndicate controls the Sanhedrin through certain people who were their men. Any gangster syndicate always tries to control as much of the local law as possible in order to fulfil their functions in a legal manner. A smart syndicate will always have the law on tap to be used when needed.
“they asked” – kept on asking, imperfect linear aktionsart; “by what authority, or in what name, have you done this?” There is a reason for that. Remember that this trial is being controlled by the gangster syndicate, and the gangster syndicate will not let anyone operate in the temple unless they are connected with them. This means that most of the priests were under the control of the syndicate. Therefore they are trying to find out who gave Peter and John the authority to stand up and speak, because they weren’t in the syndicate. That’s why this wording is so unusual. In other words, “Do you have a permit to preach?” They aren’t in the syndicate and, as a matter of fact, they are stirring up trouble for the syndicate by preaching the gospel. What have they done? Only one thing: preached in the temple.
Verses 8-12, Peter’s defence.
Verse 8 – “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit.” Notice that in making his defence he is defending himself as God would have him do it. He is not preaching this time, he is defending himself but doing so in the manner in which the Lord would have him do it. He is in fellowship, in other words, and he is doing thee will of God.
“Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel” – he is addressing himself now to the members of the Sanhedrin.
Verse 9 – he starts out by embarrassing the court. He reminds them that he is being tried for doing a good deed. He puts the emphasis on his healing case rather than on his message. This is because the Sanhedrin understands that this is the type of sign that accompanies the coming of Messiah and the presentation of Messiah’s case in Israel. “If” – first class condition (and it is true) – “we [Peter and John] this day be examined.” He assumes that he is being tried now for doing a good deed. This immediately puts the court in a very embarrassing situation. Obviously, the highest court in the land, the Sanhedrin, is supposed to protect the innocent. But in this particular case the highest court in the land is definitely under the influence of the gangster syndicate headed by Caiaphas, and because they are immediately they are placed in an embarrassing situation. In fact, it is so embarrassing that Peter and John get off. There isn’t any way that they can indict them and try them.
“the good deed” – he goes back to what he assumes is the reason for their arrest: healing in the temple. The word “examine” means to be cross-examined. The word “done” is not found in the original, and it should be translated, “If we this day be examined fore the good deed to the impotent man.” This is the man lame from birth; “by what means he is made whole” – he is saying there was no violation of the law in the manner in which they healed him. Peter apparently knows what is going on, i.e. that the syndicate had him arrested. He also makes it very clear that he didn’t charge for healing this man. He wasn’t encroaching on the syndicate’s territory.
Notice: a) Peter is being very clever; b) the source of his cleverness is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is saying in effect, We will not get you by cutting off your income, we will get you by teaching the gospel. It is the gospel that makes the changes. You never, never stop any kind of a social evil by cutting off the social evil. There is only one way to meet social problems and that is through the gospel. There is no other way to do it. People are changed by regeneration but they are not changed by reformation. Reformation has no permanence or stability.
Verse 10 – “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, [that I didn’t charge for this!] that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom ye have crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man [pointing to exhibit A] stand before you whole [healed].” This is the way he is making an issue out of Christ.
Verse 11 – “This [Jesus Christ] is the stone” – present linear aktionsart of the verb of absolute status quo, e)imi, i.e. “This keeps on being the stone.” Now he quotes from Psalm 118:22 which is the prophecy about Messiah, that the stone which is rejected by the builders—the rulers of Israel—the same will be the cornerstone. There are two walls from the corner stone: Israel, now under the fifth cycle of discipline, and the Church. The cornerstone unites both walls, and Christ is the head of Israel and the head of the Church, and this is what is meant by the cornerstone. The builders are these Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin; they have rejected Him. But the stone rejected by the builders becomes the chief of the corner. This means in the future. Christ has two spiritual kingdoms: Jews in the Old Testament who believed in Christ and people in the Church Age, whether Jew or Gentile, who believe in Christ. Jesus Christ was rejected by the political leadership of Israel, yet He will be the ruler forever of these two kingdoms.[1]
“set at nought” – this means to be disregarded, to be rejected, to be considered nothing; “by you, the builders” – the Sanhedrin, the leaders of Israel; “is become” is an aorist tense, which means that when He was accepted at the right hand of the Father He became the head of the corner. Jesus quoted this verse in the same temple in Matthew 21:42-44.
Verse 12 – Peter makes it very clear that there is only one way of salvation, and they have rejected that one way; and he takes the issue out of the hands of the gangster syndicate by making the issue clear. “Neither is there salvation in any other.” The word “salvation” refers to literally “the salvation.” This should be translated, “And there is not the salvation by anyone else.”
“for there is none other name” – the word “name” refers to the person. There is only one person who can save, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. “Name” refers to His uniqueness; He is the God-Man.
“we must be saved” is really “it is necessary to be saved.” This is an aorist passive infinitive. The aorist tense is a point of time when anyone believes in Christ. The passive voice means that mankind receives salvation, he doesn’t earn it or deserve it. The infinitive means it is God’s purpose for all members of the human race to be saved.
Verse 13 – the reaction of the court. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John.” What makes them bold? They are filled with the Spirit; Bible doctrine in the soul.
“and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men” – even though they had no formal academic training they were speaking, as it were, down to the Sanhedrin. What makes the difference? Bible doctrine. Bible doctrine is worth all of the academic training that has ever existed in the history of the human race.
“they marvelled” – they kept on marvelling; “and they took knowledge from them.” The scribes, the great theologians of the day, learned something from Peter and John. This is the purpose in witnessing: to communicate knowledge, to communicate information. They received knowledge from them. It is our responsibility to communicate information, not to persuade people, not to use gimmicks of any kind. We communicate information and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.
“that they had been with Jesus” – obviously they had been occupied with Christ, and the reason is so clear: Bible doctrine in the soul plus the filling of the Spirit leads to the principle of occupation with the person of Jesus Christ.
In contrast to the day of the crucifixion Peter and John and the other apostles now demonstrate tremendous courage. They have learned a little doctrine and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit they have recalled many of the things that were taught them in the three previous years. At the time Jesus was on the earth, although He was the greatest teacher who has ever lived, the Lord Jesus Christ was not able to communicate doctrine to the twelve apostles. For the three years the disciples were with Him they failed to understand or to learn any doctrine. But this seems to be generally true of the ministry of our Lord. Very little was learned by the people of that time. The point of all this is that Jesus Christ who was the greatest communicator of doctrine who has ever lived was unable to reach the people of His own day. However, He said that after He had departed He would send the comforter, and among other things the comforter would guide them into all truth. He would teach the things and bring to mind the things which Jesus had taught them. So that now after three years of failing to learn anything there is a major breakthrough, and we read of two of the apostles in this verse, Peter and John who were undoubtedly the closest to the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. The word “boldness” indicates a mental attitude, a mental attitude of genuine courage which was entirely different from anything which had existed before. These two men had no official recognition in the land, yet here they are declaring doctrinal information. They were identified with no official organization and yet the clarity and the perspicacity of these two men was obvious to all members of the Sanhedrin. They were very impressed with this thing and amazed at the clarity with which they taught doctrine.
It is interesting that time after time during the ministry of our Lord He offered the Holy Spirit to the eleven disciples. He told them that all they had to do was to ask for the Holy Spirit and they would receive Him. This went on for three years, and for three years they did not learn. From the day of Pentecost, the day of the first advent of the Holy Spirit, they began to recall. There is a principle here that deals with the boldness of Peter and John, i.e. they did not have the human talent or the human ability to understand doctrine. It takes more than that, and today in this Church Age every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And when that believer is filled by the Spirit he is able to learn doctrine, and it has nothing to do with his educational background, his normal IQ, or any other system of perspicacity that exists. It depends entirely upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit and desire and exposure to Bible teaching. Here in this verse is a fantastic change which can be ascribed to two factors: the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life and, as a result of that, the understanding of doctrine. Now, because Peter and John have doctrine they are different people; because they are controlled by the Holy Spirit they are different people. Now there is an entirely new viewpoint in life. They have courage, boldness, confidence; whereas before they were weak, they fell apart, they all ran away, were frightened, insecure, and not oriented to the plan of God. Boldness is a mental attitude, confidence in the Lord that no matter what happens everything is in His hands.
The phrase “that they had been with Jesus” is imperfect linear aktionsart; they had habitually been in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that even though Jesus did not reach His disciples with doctrine during the three years that He was on earth, after His death, burial, resurrection and ascension, and now sends the Holy Spirit, they are able to recall what they did not previously learn.
Verse 14 – exhibit A is standing there. “And beholding the man which was healed.” He was called into court as well, arrested along with Peter and John. All during the time they were talking to Peter and John they kept looking at this man because they had passed him many times. Every member of the Sanhedrin has walked by this man, and now they can’t keep their eyes off him. He is standing there is perfect health and on his own two legs. The word “behold” is present linear aktionsart, they keep looking at him and they just can’t get over it. “Which was healed” is a perfect tense which means he was healed in the past with results that he is going to have perfect health form here on out. This is astounding to them and one reason they are willing to listen to the message of Peter and John is because of the miracle. The miracle is designed to give a hearing to the gospel, to make those who have negative volition and those who will not listen, turn around and listen. It is for one reason: they can’t get over this miracle. They find him standing, and this is a perfect active participle: he is standing with the result that he doesn’t want to sit down. The word “healing” is in the passive voice, he received this healing.
“they could say nothing against them” – how can they? Here is the man in perfect health, and there isn’t any way that they can condemn these men. The Greek actually says, “they kept on having nothing to say against them.”
1. The presence of the lame man who has been healed makes it impossible to condemn Peter and John.
2. These men have previously rejected Christ as saviour. This is the Sanhedrin, and two months before this they put Christ on the cross. They now refuse to accept the meaning of this healing case. It is a perfect sign. They understand that when Messiah would come He would present His credit card which would be the healing of those who were lame. They now refuse to accept Him again.
3. The healing of the lame men indicated that Peter and John spoke with divine authority, whereas the Sanhedrin had neither divine authorisation nor recognition.
4. Hence, the authorisation of the Sanhedrin was obviously lacking, and now they make sure that it is lacking by rejecting the message of Peter and John.
5. The Sanhedrin will release Peter and John because they can find no excuse for detaining them. But they will continue to reject Jesus Christ as saviour.
6. There is no dynamic in healing.
7. The dynamics of reaching the unsaved world are found in the gospel. Acts 4:4 –“Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed.” There is no power in a miracle. The purpose of a miracle is to focus attention on the Lord Jesus Christ—on the gospel, for it is “the power of God unto salvation,” Romans 1:16.
Verses 15-17, the deliberation of the court. The court decides to let Peter and John go, but the court should have received Christ as saviour.
Verse 15 – “But when they had commanded them to go aside.” First they had to get them out of there—Peter, John and the healed man; “out of the council” –
the word “council” here id Sanhedrin; “they conferred among themselves” – the imperfect tense means they kicked it around, they tried to find some way to get Peter and John but they couldn’t.
Verse 16 – “Saying” is present linear aktionsart, they said this over many times: “What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable [great] miracle has been done by them” – they recognise the miracle has been performed, there’s no way around it.
“is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it” – there’s no way to get around it. But they wanted to cut this thing off because they had rejected Christ as saviour, and also for a reason that may not be obvious. These men were religionists, legalists, and everything that they stood for was based on the Mosaic law, and it was quite clear to them that Jesus Christ had set aside the Mosaic law. Yet we find Christians today who are living under the Mosaic law! These men were the apogee of religion, they represented a system of works as you have never seen before. They were working for salvation and they knew that Jesus Christ stood for everything that was opposed to their system. And because they understood that they wanted to stop it right now.
Verse 17 – “But that it spread no further.” This was AD 30 and here were some people who wanted to stop the gospel being spread. But it spread to every continent; “let us straitly threaten them” – in other words, here is a law force which is supposed to protect the innocent and actually enforce laws to protect these people, and it is being used for intimidation; “that they speak henceforth to no man in his name.” This was the only thing that they could do.
Verse 18 –21, the decision of the court.
Verse 18 – “And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” Notice that they mention two factors here, and they recognise what is going on. First to speak, but the content of the speaking is teaching—information. They recognised something that a lot of believers do not recognise today: that in order to fulfil the responsibility of witnessing you actually teach the gospel. You communicate; you teach; and speaking is the vehicle for so doing.
Verse 19 – “But Peter and John answered and said unto them.” Here is an issue. They have been ordered by the supreme court of the land to not mention the name of Jesus. The supreme court represents the law of the land and we now have a conflict between the law of a divine institution [#4] as versus the law of God. Peter and John now have to make a decision. If there is a conflict between the law of the land and Bible doctrine, which way should they go? In view of the fact that it is God who causes nations to rise and nations to fall, and it is God who preserves nations or destroys nation, the most patriotic thing they can do is to follow Bible doctrine because it is Bible doctrine that will keep the nation going. When this nation is destroyed it will be destroyed because it rejected Bible doctrine, and that will happen in 70 AD, the fifth cycle of discipline.
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye [you should discern, judge].”
Verse 20 – they told them exactly what their policy would be. They were fair all the way, they stood before the supreme court of the land and declared their policy. In doing so they were putting their lives in the hands of the Lord—the battle is the Lord’s, the Lord will have to take care of this, it is going to a higher court. “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” This led to further threats and intimidation.
Verse 21 – “So when they had further threatened them, they let them go.” They kept on trying to intimidate them and finally released them.
“finding nothing whereby they might punish them, because of the people: for all glorified God for that which was done” – here is the supreme court of the land, the Sanhedrin which desires to eliminate Peter and John. But they refrain because of the people. The people have an influence on the institutions of government in a land. These people did, and people always have. And when the people say something is from God there is no way they can get around it. Peter and John are not depending upon the people even though the people are the source of pressure on the Sanhedrin, they are depending on doctrine which comes from God. People change.
Verse 22 – “For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was demonstrated.” Exhibit A is the beginning of an all-out effort to evangelise Jerusalem and Judea. But in this evangelisation there will be no dependence upon the people, but dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit and the doctrines of the Word of God. If Peter had depended upon the people then Christianity would have been cut off in its infancy. Through doctrine and the power of the Holy Spirit Christianity will continue to flourish until the Rapture of the Church.
Verse 23-27, Power in the Church. First, prayer, vv. 23-30.
Verse 23 – the prayer meeting was caused by the report which came from the apostles. “And being let go” is literally, “having been released.”
“they went to their own company” – the concept of Christian fellowship. These people were not only believers but there was a wonderful relationship between these believers at this time. Later on the Jerusalem church will completely fail, but at this particular time they have this wonderful attitude one toward another. “Their own company means that they were relaxed one toward another; “and reported all that the chief priests [Sanhedrin] had said unto them.
Verse 24 – the response is prayer. “they lifted up their voices to God.” This is to God the Father. All prayer is processed by the Father. Even God the Son and God the Holy Spirit prayed to the Father; “with one accord” – the entire group were in fellowship, and this is obviously the dynamics of group prayer.[2]
“and said, Lord” – the word “Lord” is not the usual word attached to Jesus Christ, which is kurioj and simply means deity. The word here is despothj and is used primarily for God the Father; “thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.” Whenever you find the making of heaven and earth this is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ—Colossians 1:16: John 1:3; Hebrews 1:10. Here is something different where God the Father is also declared to have made them. The other passages say that Christ created these things. The word “make” here has the idea of design. So God the Father is the designer but Jesus Christ was the creator.
Verse 25 – “Who by the mouth of thy servant David. This is a quotation from Psalm two. This is the second time there has been a quotation from the Old Testament which gives an application rather than an interpretation. The first one was in Acts chapter two, Peter’s message where he was explaining that the apostles and the other believers were not drunk but were fulfilling a principle similar to Joel 2:28, 29. By interpretation the Joel passage is Millennial, but by application you have the same type of phenomena there that you had with these believers on the day of Pentecost. Now we have the same thing again, this time Psalm two. Psalm two is by interpretation belonging to the Tribulation, and here in Acts chapter four we have the application. Remember that whenever you have an Old Testament scripture quoted in the New Testament, usually in a message, there is always a reason for it. It is not always interpretation; sometimes it is application, an analogy is developed. This is an application of Psalm two and the analogy is obvious.
Verse 26 – rulers gathered together against the Lord. The Sanhedrin, the rulers in the land, have gathered together against the Lord Jesus Christ. This has already been demonstrated. Herod was a ruler in the land, Pontius Pilate was a ruler in the land, the Sanhedrin were rulers in the land, and they had all gathered together against the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 27 – “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus.” He is actually called “holy Son Jesus.” The word “holy” means that He was separated for a special job; the word “Son” refers to the fact that He was deity, earmarked for a special responsibility which made Him true humanity; the word “Jesus” refers to His humanity, and so the whole phrase together refers to the hypostatic union, the God-Man, the unique person of the universe; “whom thou hast anointed [appointed for a special job].”
Verse 28 – “For to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel before to be done.” In other words, this was all a part of the plan of God, it was no accident. The fact that it was permitted was to fulfil the plan of God. This is in the back of their minds as they pray this now because remember Jesus died and they do not know what is before them. Maybe the Sanhedrin will kill them tomorrow or the next day, but they do want the will of God and that is why they are quoting this passage. Many of them will be martyrs; many of them will survive for many years to serve the Lord, but whatever is God’s plan for them, they want it, and that is the gist of their prayer.
Verse 29 – “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings.” They are under pressure at this time.
“and grant unto thy servants” – The word “grant” always means to give” “that” introduces a purpose clause, “with all boldness they may speak thy word.” They want t be able to witness with confidence. The answer to that prayer is given immediately because of Acts 1:8. Apparently there is much of this prayer omitted, and that is the implication of the Greek here. In verse 31 we will see that between verses 29 and 30 apparently there was something left out.
Verse 30 – they develop some of the concepts by which they want to be effective in witnessing. These were the witnesses used in thew apostolic age. “By stretching forth of thy hand to heal.” In other words, God must do the healing. Healing was always the way of getting attention for the gospel. Recall that in the ministry of our Lord, every time there was an act of healing He gave a message, declared the gospel. So healing was just a way of gathering people to hear the gospel.
“and that signs and wonders may be done” – signs are to remind the Jews of the coming of the fifth cycle of discipline; wonders are miracles which will focus attention on those who witness that they have a credit card from God—“by the name of thy holy Son Jesus.”
Verses 31-32, the dynamics of witnessing.
Verse 31 – the witness of the lips. “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together” – it was shaken to remind them of the power of witnessing. They had prayed and ask to be effective in witnessing, verse 29. The shaking was to remind them that the power for witnessing is the power of the Holy Spirit—“and they were all filled with the Spirit,” the basis of witnessing, “and they spake the word of God with confidence.” Here is the answer to prayer. Boldness in witnessing does not come through prayer, it comes through the filling of the Spirit, and they are reminded of that. Rebound is the basis of the filling of the Spirit; the filling of the Spirit is the basis of witnessing. Another factor is an understanding of the gospel by the one who witnesses. You cannot communicate what you do not understand. “They were all filled” is an aorist passive indicative. The aorist tense means from that point of time. Later on the Jerusalem church is going to fail. The passive voice: they received by grace the Holy Spirit, they do not earn it or deserve it, and it did not come as a result of their prayer. Effective witnessing comes as a result of the filling of the Spirit.
Verse 32 – witness of the life. “And a multitude of them that believed were of one heart.” This indicates that people were saved as a result of witnessing, and they all had “one heart,” i.e. one thought pattern. It doesn’t mean that they had the same thought every hour on the hour. “Heart” refers to the thinking part of the mind, and it means that they were looking at life from the same viewpoint—divine viewpoint, which introduces doctrine, knowledge of doctrine as the witness of the life. Obviously the Holy Spirit is the witness of the life, 2 Corinthians 3, but we are dealing with Acts 4 where another part of the witness of the life is developed: you have to know doctrine. By knowing doctrine you are oriented to the plan of God and the grace of God, and this gives you a relaxed life.
“and one soul” – the word “soul” here has the concept of purpose. They had the same purpose in life. All believers have the same purpose: glorifying God.
“neither said any that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all in common” – we have seen before the principle that Christianity is not communism, but it must be remembered that these believers were under persecution from the Jews at this time. Already the persecutions were beginning, first from the Jews and later on from the Roman empire. At this point the Jews were dispossessing. In these early days the test of this great pressure was not communism but charity, and they helped each other in time of need. Those who had helped those who did not have.
Verse 33 – “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection.” This indicates that in those days their primary preaching was about the resurrection of Christ. In the apostolic era the resurrection played an important part for two reasons. The resurrection is a doctrine which connects the future, phase three, with phase one. They were living in phase two and the doctrine of the resurrection shows that God the Father was pleased with the work of God the Son on the cross. So when they talked about the resurrection they talked about its past implications, the resurrection was the Father’s acceptance of the work of the Son declared to the entire earth. And the resurrection has future implications, so it also delineated the concept of phase three: that in the future just as Christ has a resurrection body so all born again believers would have a resurrection body and would live with Him forever and ever; that the resurrection was a part of phase three. In the resurrection they could declare the gospel and also the hope for the believer in the future.
“and great grace was upon them” – God poured out maximum divine operating assets on these people and their power was fantastic. The manner in which millions of people within a short period of time were evangelised is a wondrous thing.
Verse 34-37, the principle of giving. There was no tithing. Tithing was a principle of taxation under the Mosaic law, and tithing was for believers and unbelievers. Tithing has never been a system of giving for the church. The born again Jews gave offerings.
Verse 34 – “Neither was there any among them that lacked,” i.e. no one went hungry even though many were dispossessed and were without funds. The reason: “for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
Verse 35 – “And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.” At this time in 30 AD this was being practised on a local basis, but eventually that entire Jerusalem church was dispossessed through tremendous persecution. In 60 AD Paul was found going all over the ancient world collecting money and the charity to the Jerusalem church became world-wide.
The last two verses belong with chapter five.
1. At this time the local church in Jerusalem has great power and the basis of this power was prayer, the filling of the Spirit, and the principle of learning Bible doctrine and using it, plus effective witnessing and giving.
2. The Jerusalem church declined. It was the centre of Christianity for about 25 years and then it phased out completely. There were five weaknesses in the Jerusalem church which eventually destroyed it: a) Legalism, whereby human power is substituted for divine dynamics; b) Ignorance of doctrine; c) The infiltration of false doctrine (because of ignorance of doctrine); d) From the standpoint of the book of Hebrews, compromise with Judaism; e) Hypocrisy, the epistle of James.
3. It disappeared as a result of the administration of the fifth cycle of discipline in 70 AD. Luke 21:20-24. But before the Jerusalem church disappeared it had 40 years of grace.
4. During the 40 years of grace the Jerusalem church performed an important pioneering function. It was the basis for missionary activity throughout the world. The missionary base kept moving. The first was Jerusalem, the second was Antioch, the third was Ephesus, the fourth was Rome, and the fifth was Alexandria.