And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. Human governments, ordained of God, are a means to divine ends. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Verse Concepts. The view of the mystics, of course, is quite the opposite of the rationalist. 7. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. Proverbs 18:14 Verse Concepts The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, But as for a broken spirit who can bear it? In this post we will unveil the esoteric meaning. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. The cross is the power of God over Satan. Who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. According to Romans 8:7, the natural mind is not capable of being subject to the law of God: because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Christ bore witness to the inability of natural man to come to God when He said, No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him (John 6:44). Now a natural man does not accept the things of the, But a person who denies spiritual realities will not accept the things that come through the Spirit of God; they all sound like foolishness to him. While the Word of God is not necessarily related to the general works of God in restraining sin, in providence, and in acts of sovereignty, the revelation of the truth of the Gospel comes only through the Word of God. The rationalistic approach to the subject is diametrically opposed to the Scriptural revelation, and is not seriously considered by Reformed theologians. The experience of many Christians bears witness to the possibility of understanding the issues of saving faith and at the same time being rebellious against God and unwilling to accept Christ for some time before the decision for Christ is finally made. The theory that Satan is the great restrainer of lawlessness is, accordingly, untenable. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. It is important that we understand what the Spirit seeks to accomplish in the lives of unbelievers so that we can cooperate with His agenda and thus be used by Him in the lives of non-Christians. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!. Plus, you'll also get some beautiful graphic goodies to go along with the lessons, the new scripture writing plan, and the monthly scripture writing questions. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of Gods Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually. He thinks they are foolish. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. The many other ministries of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament tended to restrain sin. And again, back of human government is God Who instituted it (Gen 9:5, 6; Rom 13:1-7) and controls it (Ps 75:5-7). American King James Version ). In addition to natural inability is the work of Satan blinding the hearts of the lost to the light of the Gospel (2 Cor 4:4). Satan is nowhere given universal power over the world, though his influence is inestimable. It is essential to intelligent faith, however, that the unsaved understand that through Christ it is possible for God to deal with them as those who are righteous. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Less extreme than the deists is the Pelagian viewpoint, holding that man is inherently able to understand the truth and make his own decisions in relation to it. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation! So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. The condition of man is hopeless apart from divine intervention. So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.read more.Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go up and join this chariot. Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Do you understand what you are reading? And he said, Well, how could I, unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The real reason for mans hatred of God is his ignorance of what God is. The view partakes of all the errors of false mysticism, going far beyond the relation of false mysticism to the Christian, and attributes even to the unsaved the power to receive special revelation and understand it. Job 32:8 - But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Even his aversion to the good and inclination to the evil, while springing from his fallen nature, has its origin in his utter inability to appreciate the Person of God and the inherent loveliness of righteousness. Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. The subject of the passage is the coming day of the Lord in which the man of sin will be revealed (2 Thess 2:3). For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:The Lord said to my Lord,Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christthis Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 2 John 1:8 Verse Concepts The act of God whereby He makes us alive from spiritual death is called regeneration. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, For we also are His children. Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. Some were saying, What would this idle babbler wish to say? Others, He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. Ecclesiastes 12:7 speaks of the time of death as the time when the "spirit shall return unto God who gave it." God gave the spirit and the spirit will return to God. The presence of the individual Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, constitutes a force to hinder the world in its sin. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. been overemphasized by the church, these sacraments do reveal in symbol the Gospel message, and the Lords Supper in particular is to be observed because it shows the Lords death till he come (1 Cor 11:26). Throughout the Old Testament, then, the power of the Holy Spirit guided human events into the path of divine providence. Two unsaved men may understand the Gospel equally, and yet one never comes to the point of saving faith while the other trusts in Christ and is saved. The Holy Spirit presses upon the heart of the unsaved the fact of Gods judgment. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Inability on the part of man has its rise in ignorance of God and His grace due to corruption of mans whole being, perversion of his sensations, feelings, and tastes, and blinding of his understanding. Man's triunity . A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. The cause of spiritual blindness is made quite clear in the Scriptures: "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ). Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:He was led as a sheep to slaughter;And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,So He does not open His mouth. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit: the Unforgivable Sin. Seek Ye First. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. God has called you to peace. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius. And he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. We receive it by faith, experiencing the salvation only God can provide. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. A study of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 indicates that the one who restrains is removed from the scene before the man of sin is revealed. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. This could hardly be said of Satan. The work of the Holy Spirit in relation to the unsaved world is most important for a number of reasons. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. These three parts constitute the man. It is antecedent to the effectual call of God to the elect. Reason would point, however, to a number of contributing factors all of which are used of God to check the course of sin. Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. But test everything; hold fast what is good. While it is not in the purpose of God to deal finally with the world while the Church is in the world, the sovereignty of God overrules the wickedness of men and the power of Satan to make possible the accomplishment of His purpose to call out a people to His name. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:read more.And it shall be in the last days, God says,That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,And your young men shall see visions,And your old men shall dream dreams; Even on My bondslaves, both men and women,I will in those days pour forth of My SpiritAnd they shall prophesy. Psalm 1: The Saved and the Unsaved. While God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. L Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 11. Lutherans explain this by conditioning its power on their faith, but it is difficult to see how they can believe what they do not know and understand. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. The deists, of course, assume that God is not immanent in the world, and trace all spiritual experience to a normal process of human mind. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them. But Peter began and explained it to them in order: I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me.
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