Bible, NT-17, Acts-1, Ch-1 & Communion
LESSON 17
COMMUNION OVERVIEW
ACTS 1
PART 1
By Rev. G. E. Newmyer
INTRODUCTION TO LESSON 17 – THE BOOK OF ACTS
book has little to do with the “ways” of the Apostles, it does cover their Acts. Why? The major change between the days before Pentecost, to the days after show us the importance of being Born Again. The Day of Pentecost opened the ability for man to become the Image of God, the ability to have a nature like Jesus, the Christ Character based in Christ. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, it came in with a Rushing Mighty Wind, it will go out in the twinkling of a eye.
This book also clears up misconceptions, were these men so holy they not only walked on water, but created it as well? No, it’s a point we will see in the Book of Acts, they were just like us, they made mistakes; however, their papers were not taken, they were not stoned by the elders, neither did Jesus cast them away. This Lesson will also dispel any misconceptions we may have regarding water baptism, as it firms up our knowledge on the Doctrine Of Baptisms.
The Church was established on the Rock; the Rock was not on the Church, thus this Book will look at the establishment. It will show how the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, and how the disciples fought against those gates invading the Body.
Today the word Church has come to mean a building, or a group of people who hold like doctrines, but the definition goes much further. The Church is the Bride preparing Herself, as She is being prepared. The Body will be broken, the Church will not. Our goal is to be partakers in the First Resurrection, our Faith is reaching the goal.
The Book of Acts was written by the Gentile Luke to Theophilus, thus it relates to Luke’s account as a teaching guide. Luke’s account begins with “All Jesus began both to do and teach” (Acts 1:1-3), thus this document shows what the disciples were able to learn by the Holy Ghost after Pentecost. Luke does not record how the Gospel spread to the east and south of Palestine, or why there were already Believers in Damascus before Paul arrived, thus he is not attempting to cover every aspect of early church history. Mainly he shows how the Church began with converting the Jew first, then the Gentile.
This lesson will also be the place of division in reference to the Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit, which will be completed in the Lesson on the Holy Spirit. The title Holy Ghost only appears in the New Testament some 89 times, with 41 of those in Acts, thus Acts is a Holy Ghost book : let us begin.
LESSON 17 – PRELUDE
We begin this lesson by looking at Communion, the disciples were trained for this period of time, although they had problems, they did have a solid foundation. The Night in which Jesus was betrayed became a point for all of them, a division of Seasons was before them. They knew the Passover meal, with what it entailed; therefore, we want to view Communion and Passover so we can have the same foundation.
A COMMUNION – PASSOVER STUDY
Communion and Passover have some profound connections, yet we know there are differences as well. Jesus told us to take Communion as a “remembrance”, thus it’s more of a time of reflection on what Jesus has done, compared to what we have done, as we allow the Spirit to examine us. Communion is more of a Belief builder, than a faith builder, since it’s based on Remembering. Before Jesus said, “This is My Blood of the New Covenant”, He handed us the Bread saying, “This is My Body”. Paul says we are the Bread, thus unlike Passover the first order of business for Communion is to determine our position and duties in the Body. We can’t forget the Body of Jesus was on the Cross for us, when we imputed the flesh dead, we received the Body of Jesus. The foundation of the Body is Mercy, it’s the only place where the good and bad fish share the same net, or where the Tares and Wheat are found. This is evident through the Letters Paul sent to the Romans and Corinthians, both groups were of the Body, but needed to be firmly corrected. However, there are no bad fish or Tares in the Church (Kingdom of God).
The Body does have several very important elements, Mercy of course being chief. Before the Cross the disciples operated in Mercy, not Grace. When we partake of the Bread we have to question ourselves: Have we been functioning in Mercy? Or have we harmed others in the Body? Paul called it Discerning the Body.
Although we consider Communion an Ordinance rather than a Commandment, we do find Jesus saying, “Take”, which would indicate a Commandment. However, over the years it has been determined to be an Ordinance since Paul said there were times or conditions where one shouldn’t take Communion (unworthy state).
The order of presentation of the Bread and Cup is not by chance, the Body came first, thus the Rock was being established before the Church came into being. Jesus said upon this Rock (present tense) I will build (future tense) My Church. Paul said we are the Rock, as well as the Bread thus the Body is the building place Jesus uses for the construction of the Church. There are churches many in the Body, but there is only one Church on the Body.
Jesus didn’t dip the Bread in the Wine, yet they are connected in the Service, but separated by purpose. Since we are the Bread it stands we are to consider our ways, something the workers of iniquity fail to do. It has nothing to do with whether it’s right or wrong to dip the bread into the wine, only a reflection on how Jesus did it.
Next is the Cup, but is the Cup the importance? Or what it contains? What it contains, it was just a cup, like all of us, what it contained made it special. Jesus said the New Covenant was in His Blood, so what is the Body? The preparation place, the wilderness, the place between places, where the Bride makes Herself ready. There is no “Body of Christ” in heaven, the Transformation being complete means the Church changes to the Bride of Christ, as New Jerusalem.
We found in both Matthew and Mark how the “sons of men” have their sins forgiven, but it’s the sons of God who have the ability to call out ABBA Father. The Unity of the Body is paramount, these disciples knew Jesus was fully able to keep the Kingdom of God pure and perfect. If they had problems between members, they sought the solution, even if they had to part company for a period of time.
There is prayer in Communion, but it doesn’t mean Communion is all prayer is, rather we have added “elements”. We know the elements are for Remembrance, we also know when Jesus handed the disciples the bread, He didn’t rip off His arm, and say, “Here this is My Body”, nor did He cut Himself, or drip His Blood in the Cup. If it was remotely the case, we would have see it in the Gospel. The Spiritual Blood of Jesus is a result of His Father, it can’t be seen since it’s spiritual in nature, thus God is Spirit. The Blood He lost at the Cross was real, but no one was there gathering it in some cup. The Blood and Water at the Cross was based on His position as the Son of man, the Resurrection Declared Him the Son of God (Rom 1:3-4), thus the Blood of Jesus has two places of importance, earth and heaven, connecting Mercy (Water) and Grace (Blood). John tells us Jesus came by both Water and Blood, not Water alone, or Blood alone, it takes Both.
The Supernatural is still natural, but Super. The disciples before the Cross engaged in the supernatural, but they were not privy to the Spiritual until Pentecost. Some of us look for the supernatural to happen, but in truth the signs follow those who Believe. We have to stop walking backward, rather we should know if we are a Believer the Signs will follow.
The First Passover was taken in Egypt, it protected the children from death, it was perhaps the greatest of the signs. The one sign displaying the Power of God should have been enough to grant them belief in the wilderness. In our case the Bread is a place for us to reflect on the death of Jesus, as it relates to us personally.
The Cup is truly individual in nature, we reflect on the Blood, the New Covenant, the seal of the Holy Spirit, the Resurrection, as well as asking ourselves if we have grieved the Holy Spirit. In the case of Moses it was Death Passing Over while they were in Egypt, the Death of Jesus on the Cross is our place of death as well, but it’s also the place where the devil becomes ineffective (Heb 2:14).
Passover was a sign of God’s protection and separation; not only did God keep death from striking the Hebrews, but He also caused death to make a distinction between the first and second born of Egypt. The complexity alone shows the Power of God in deliverance. The first born son could be the son of the first born, who was the son of the second born, who was the son of the first born, who was the son of the third born, all alive and walking around at the same time. The “angel of death” didn’t go about saying, “Okay first off are you a Hebrew? No, okay are you the first born? No, can you prove it?”, nor did he go to the Hebrews and say, “You an Egyptian? No, you look like one”. This was a night of division and separation beyond the intellect of man, a time when there would be a release from Egypt for the people of God. Therefore, there was a death before the release, just as the Death of Jesus became the place of our release.
The first Passover was a faith issue, since it involved something about to happen, but each one after the first was not of faith, since it involved something of the past. The first Communion was a faith issue since it pointed to what was to happen. Our Communion is not of faith, since it’s based in a Remembrance of something of the past. Jesus told us in Mark, again in John the importance of Belief, coupled with our Baptism (being in the Body); therefore, Communion is an extension of our baptism based on building our belief. It’s the time to remember all Jesus did to secure us in our kingdom of heaven (Bread) position as an assurance of our continual belief in the Blood (Kingdom of God).
The children in Egypt were only to believe for the hour, we believe to be free of the hour. For the Jew Passover is a day, for us Jesus is our Passover. Communion is personal in nature, it not only covers the promises Jesus made to the Body, but it’s time to reflect on all those words the Lord has given us personally, it’s to renew our belief in Him, to set ourselves in order so we can be used of the Lord.
Communion is not a time to read the Bible, it’s a time to reflect on the Word of God in us. However, just as the water of our baptism didn’t save us, Communion isn’t going to save us. It’s powerful, it’s a place to reflect, but taking Communion will not take the place of the Holy Spirit. On the other side of the coin the “Unworthy” condition Paul refers to is when we don’t think Communion means a thing, we treat it as some rite, or a place to hold a backbiting contest. Communion can become a religious tradition, thus traditions are things we do, Doctrines are things we teach. We can have a sound Doctrine, or a weak Doctrine, or even a false Doctrine, just as we can have Traditions of men, or Traditions of God. Jesus never condemned the Traditions of God, only those of men. Is there a tradition of God? Yes, Communion is one, the shadow of Communion is Passover, which was also a tradition, but like any tradition it had two sides. The Jews were told to take Passover once a year, we are told we can take Communion at anytime. We are priests unto the Lord, part of our priestly duty is partaking of Communion to remember the Sacrifice; as priests we engage in giving service to the Sacrifice, as priests we can give and take Communion.
Both Communion and Passover had interwoven links, there are things done; such as taking the Bread and Wine. However, Passover never examined the person’s soul or heart, the person could retain hate, bitterness or strife, yet partake of Passover and enjoy it. Communion is a different story, like a sacrifice cut open, we lay ourselves before the Lord allowing the examination by the Spirit to take place.
Passover had its prayers, the Jew has all the prayers written down for them. Jesus prayed for us as well. In John we saw His prayer, but He didn’t tell us to “pray in this manner”, rather we are told what He prayed. The prayer of Jesus was connected, yet separated from the meal, His prayer confirmed the change from Passover to Communion. Therefore, we find prayer and meal interrelate, but are separate as well. The Communion service is not for us to examine God, but for us to be examined by the Spirit of Christ in us. Prayer is a form of request, Communion a form of examination.
The word Doctrine links the Teacher to the teaching, thus the teacher’s integrity is identified by their Doctrine. A Teacher builds, yet reproofs, but reproof doesn’t mean condemn, rather reproof must have a Godly intent, seek a Godly goal, use a Godly means to reach the result, while entailing some Manifestation of the Spirit, making the person a better Christian. Reproofing is a from of Correction, yet correction is unto perfection, or to stand us Up Right Again. Instruction is guidance, all of these factors come by Hearing, thus faith comes by hearing, the element the children in the wilderness lacked. Of course one can reject the reproof, by entering self-justification, or attack the reproof.
The Passover date is an important day for us, it was the very day Jesus went to the Cross, saying, “Father forgive them”. Not one Passover lamb ever said, “ba, ba, you are forgiven”. The Cross became the difference between death and life, but it came as death to bring life. All the elements of Passover were completed in Jesus, thus He becomes our Passover.
The Passover really begins on the Tenth day of the month, not the 14th (Ex 12:3-13). Our prior studies have given us the Scriptural evidence showing Jesus was three days and nights in the earth, then raised on the third day. The 10th of Abib was the time when the Lamb had to be seen by the people and accepted. When Jesus was anointed in Bethany, it was a Friday, He rode into Jerusalem on a Saturday, a weekly sabbath according to the commandment. He taught on Sunday in the temple after He cleaned it out the second time, thus dividing Seasons. He was accepted by the people on Monday, examined by the religious rulers, betrayed on Tuesday, went to the Cross on Wednesday, in the midst of the week as Daniel points out on the Passover. Jesus also said He would be raised on the third day, how does it fit with the three days and nights? Perfect, He went into the grave at night, making it the first night as the Feast of Unleavened Bread being the High Sabbath as the first day, that night the second night, Friday the weekly preparation day the second day, that night the third night. The weekly sabbath according to the Fifth Commandment the third day, thus He went into the grave at the beginning of sabbath, was raised on a sabbath, making Him our Sabbath. The Passover is the Preparation day for the feast day, thus the Passover is followed by the High Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which was always on the 15th day of the month of Abib. Mark shows the women at the Cross on the Passover, but Luke says they fixed spices, which involves cooking, a labor, which could not be done on the Feast of Unleavened Bread or the weekly sabbath. Luke then shows the women made the spices on the Preparation day for the weekly sabbath, which is always a Friday, then rested on the sabbath “according to the Commandment” which is always Saturday. Accordingly if the day before the Preparation Day was a Thursday, yet a High Sabbath, as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, making the prior day the Passover.
We find the High Sabbaths were on a date, regardless of the day, but the sabbath according to the Commandment is always on Saturday, regardless of the date. Jesus said He would be three days and nights in the earth, yet raised on the Third Day, thus His words were prophetic in nature, it had to be three Days, not one day over, or short, or in part. If Friday was the day of the Cross, that night would be the first night, Saturday the first day, yet we know He was discovered raised on a Sunday, which means if we hold to the Friday thought we must be saying Jesus was in error for predicting the time, which makes Jesus a false prophet, something not followed. The time keeping element is important, the Jews, unlike other nations have Sabbath days, thus for them there is no “part of a day, makes a whole day”. If it were the case then one could begin their sabbath in the morning, cease at noon claiming they kept the sabbath. The Jew keeps a total day, four watches in the day, four in the night, their day is from sunset to sunset. The traditions of men can be dangerous positions to take, although one could suggest Friday was a day, Saturday another and Sunday the third, we find Jesus was not in the tomb on Sunday morning before the sun came up. Therefore, we can’t count Sunday as one of the days, but we do count it as the Day of Discovery. In order for Jesus to be raised on the third day, yet not be in the grave on Sunday means He was raised on Saturday. In Mark 15:42 the phrase “day before the sabbath” could refer to the weekly sabbath or High Sabbath, since the High Sabbaths had preparation days as well. The clue to Mark 15:42 is found in the wording “it was”, pointing to the Passover, meaning the Passover is the Preparation day mentioned, making the High Sabbath as the sabbath of topic. All this is clearer when we read in Mark 15:40-41 how the women were standing near, not in their homes making spices. Yet, in Luke they are found on the Preparation day making spices (Luke 23:56), thus separating Preparation days. Jesus was placed in the grave as the sun was setting, making it the beginning of the High Sabbath, the women saw the place, then returned home. They prepared the spices on the Preparation day, then rested on the sabbath according to the Commandment. They would not have the time to prepare anything on the Passover, since the High Sabbath begins at sunset. It only leaves Friday to prepare the spices, then resting on Saturday, with the discovery of the empty tomb on Sunday morning, the First day of the week.
The Passover in the time of Jesus had four cups, but when Moses took Passover we don’t see any mention of “cups”, just the lamb, the blood on the door, and the herbs. The blood was a Token or Sign on the Door, as death passed based on the Blood, not the lamb or the herbs. Yet, Jesus is our Passover Lamb, the very Lamb of God sacrificed from the foundation of the world. However, where did the Blood come from? The lamb, thus the death of the lamb produced the Blood. Therefore, we take Bread, the “staff of life”, then the Wine representing the Blood, yet both the Bread and Wine are Tokens, they are not the actual flesh and blood of Jesus. We take them internally, why not just rub them on? Because they are not flesh based, they have to enter past the flesh in order to reach the source. Passover was an external awareness, our Communion is internal, the place where the Word in us is dividing and separating. We have passed from death to life, thus we are a type of Passover through Jesus our Great and Eternal Passover (I Cor 5:7). Our Passover purges out the old leaven, bringing the Blood of Christ into our hearts (I Cor 5:8-9 & Jn 6:43-51).
The verb “pass over” is not a common Hebrew verb, it’s not the common Hebrew verbs A-Bhar or Ga-Bhar, the word in the Hebrew is Pasah, from which the noun Pesah comes; these words have no connection in any other Hebrew words, but they do resemble the Egyptian word Pesh, which means To Spread Wings Over. Passover and Communion are two completely different words, the word Communion was not used by Jesus, rather Paul was the first to use it in First Corinthians 10:16, then later in Second Corinthians 6:14 and 13:14. The Greek word is translated as Fellowship in Acts 2:42, First Corinthians 1:9, Second Corinthians 8:4, Galatians 2:9, Ephesians 3:9, Philippians 1:5, 2:1, and 3:10, First John 1:3, 1:6 and 1:7. It’s translated as Contribution in Romans 15:26, as Distribution in Second Corinthians 9:13, as Communication in Philemon 6, as Communicate in Hebrews 13:16. The Greek word is Koinonia meaning To participate, or communicate in a face to face manner with nothing hidden; it demonstrates a very close relationship with many like interests and concerns between parties. The Old Law was a barrier, the New removes barriers. Hebrews 4:12-13 tells us the Word in us will Merismos to make us open and naked before God, no masks, religious facades, hidden agendas. There are those who want God to do something for them, so they put on their masks of Holiness and Righteousness to play the part thinking God will perform for them. Communion is the mask removal place, the place where we open before God.
After the Passover in Egypt, the children began their march to freedom, a Process. When the people faced the Red Sea Moses said, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Ex 14:13). The Red Sea was the point of separation between Egypt and the Wilderness. Pharaoh and his band couldn’t cross the Sea, a sign of the wilderness being a place only for the children of God. The children were not “baptized” as we know it, but they did grant us a shadow, as Paul says they were baptized unto Moses, meaning they identified with God through Moses (I Cor 10:2). However, in our case we have the Law of God directly implanted in us by the New Birth.
To the Jew the head must be covered as part of the Minhag Israel, Torah Hi, or “the customs of Israel are law”; which produced the saying, Minhag Oker Din, or A custom can abolish a law. This misconception of altering God’s commandments can enter our thinking. If we allow the Traditions of man to replace the Commandments of Christ we will enter areas where we make the Word to no effect in our lives. An example is the concept of the bread and wine becoming the actual body and blood of Jesus in the person. The elements are Tokens, just as the first Passover shows, they were not the actual Flesh and Blood of the Angel of death. The misconception would make one think the elements produce the New Man, rather than the Seed of God granted by the Holy Ghost being the New Man.
The Jew knows the most important element to their diet is Bread, the most important Bread is unleavened. After washing their hands they touch the Bread and say, Baruch Ata Adonai, Elohenu Melech ha-olam, asher kid’shaun b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu al netialt yadaim or “Blessed are Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us in His commandments and commanded us to lift up our hands”. This saying is another example of the Trinity being displayed in the Shadow, as the Lord (Jehovah), God (Elohiym) and King of the Universe (The Son). However, in the phrase we also see how they confused the “lifting of hands” with the “washing of hands”. To them it’s when they lift their hands to dry them, to us it’s the lifting our hands in praise. Paul said, “I will therefore for men to pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, for women to adorn themselves in modest apparel…” (I Tim 2:8-9). What does modest apparel have to do with lifting holy hands? We assume this means a manner of dress, but were the men naked? Of course not, it refers to appearance, yet appearance connects to covering, the covering to the Unction over the Body. Anyone can be dressed in modest apparel, yet be nasty, unforgiving, doubting, or unbelieving. The modest apparel doesn’t make them holy, the Spirit of Christ in them does.
If we can discern how important the Passover is to the Jew, we can understand how important Communion is to the Christian. There are Three primary Festivals for the Jew, yet Passover is most important, it’s more important than Yom Kippur, which celebrates God’s future Pardoning of sins, more important than Rosh Hashanah, which commemorates the creation of the world as the Jewish New Year when the devil will be bound to during their Time of Comfort. The Jew knows without partaking of Passover, they cannot enter the Feast Of Unleavened Bread. All this shows our Communion is to remember we are the Bread from heaven; we have the Pardon of sins now; we are being prepared by the Blood of Jesus to gain entry through the Door at the sound of the last trump.
The term “The Faith” refers to the Faith of Jesus, a proven, secure, Faith granting us a Path so we can Follow Him. The prerequisite is to deny the self, and pick up our cross, acts of death, so we can gain the New. The New Man being spiritual in nature is bringing to pass the promise of “that Born of the Spirit is Spirit”. The falling away from The Faith is not a falling from faith, but removing the Faith of Jesus from the equation. Man will focus on his measure of faith being sufficient, bringing about the Lucifer complex. Man will assume he can make it to heaven on his own, he will be the witness without the Witness. Communion is the place to Remember it was Jesus, not our greatness making it possible.
We can view the Passover as it was conducted in the time of the earthly ministry of Jesus, not as it’s conducted today. The people singled out a lamb for each House, yet they could have many families in the House. The Lamb of God was first given to the House of Judah, which we are, then when the House of David is opened they will have their Season (Acts 1:6-8, Rev 3:7, Zech 13:6-9, Isa 11:11-16 & Isa 2:1). From the anointing in Bethany to the ride into Jerusalem, the many teachings in the Temple, plus the cleaning of the Temple all became presentation for the people to accept the Lamb of God, as the religious leaders examined the Lamb. The religious rulers found the Lamb of God worthy to be killed, then made sure it was. The requirement was complete, our Passover passed the test.
The Passover lamb must win the affection of the entire household, especially the children; it is the Father’s will for us to accept Jesus (Jn 6:36-40). Jesus brought us into the House of the Father, we were cleaned by inward residence of the Holy Spirit (Mark 11:17 & Jn 2:16). Jesus loved the Little Children, but He didn’t fleece them (Matt 18:2-6). It’s not the will of the Father for one Little One to be destroyed or hindered (Matt 18:14). John the Baptist saw Jesus as the Lamb of God to save the world; the New Testament refers to Jesus as the Lamb more than thirty times. Since John saw Jesus as the Savior, it became the purpose of the Cross and Resurrection.
The Meal Jesus kept held Five elements, all pointing to the Newness for the Body in Mercy and Grace. The first element is the dish of Bitter Herbs; to the Jew this shows the hardships of Egypt, but to us it’s a warning referring to, “Looking Diligently lest any man fail of (fall from) the Grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Heb 12:15). This not only means we can become defiled, but shows our defiled condition and bitterness defiles others as well, thus we continue to believe, indicating why we don’t have the bitter herbs in our service.
We know the wording Jesus used is found in Matthew, Mark, Luke and First Corinthians, but in First Corinthians Paul adds to the wording. Paul tells us Jesus said, “take eat, this is My Body broken for you” (I Cor 11:24). Matthew, Mark or Luke don’t show the phrase, so is Paul wrong? No, he tells us this is something he received from the Lord (I Cor 11:23), as it related to the division he found among the Corinthians (I Cor 11:18). Accordingly we must ask, When was His Body broken? The Bible says not one bone of the Passover Lamb was broken, yet we know His flesh was ripped, but was it Broken? The Greek word for Broken means “to remove the sprout”, or “remove the failing leaf”, or “to break off”, as one would break off a branch. Jesus said the Father will purge the unfruitful branch, to bring more fruit, but the word Paul used means to break off, not purge. Paul’s warning to the Corinthians regarding Communion pointed to the night Jesus was betrayed. Why use the betrayal? Why not use the victory? The Body is broken there will be two pieces, one is taken, the other is not; many are called, but few are chosen, because the few deeply desire to join the Body to the Blood. Paul is making a request to the carnal thinking, divided people in Corinth to come to the Table of the Lord to be made whole. They were “worthy” since they were in need, being “unworthy” is thinking they were not in need.
This first dish of the Passover is a symbol of the Body of Christ, as the place where we examine ourselves by submitting to the examination of the Word in us. The Word in us examines us like a doctor looking for the hindering element; in our case the Word is searching out “leaven” to bring it to our attention. Unleavened Bread is called Matzo, it’s baked quickly at a high temperature to keep leaven from forming. Prior to cooking they would poke holes through the flat bread, then make stripes across it several times to quicken the baking. The Bread itself is representative of the Body of Christ before and after the Cross. The Body is always representative of the Mercy, connecting it to “Father forgive them”, a call each believer must hold toward others. We know Jesus did break the Bread, but Paul is the only one to tell us why. The Passover table during the earthly ministry had three pieces of Matzo, they were contained in a three part Matzo Napkin. The first piece is called Abraham, it was taken out, blessed and put back in the Napkin. Then the second piece is called Isaac, it was taken out, blessed and put back in the Napkin. Then the third piece is called Jacob, it was taken out, blessed and put back. Then it’s taken out again, only this time it’s called Israel, blessed and put back. Then the second piece is taken out again, it’s the one broken. We can see the promised son, but even the Jew has no idea why they break the Isaac bread. Paul told us we Remember, but he also showed us why. Our continual belief calls for an action, a nature and way of life to Believe Jesus is raised from the dead. Paul’s teaching to the Corinthians was more of a warning as he said, “I praise you not” (I Cor 11:17).
The Jews were never allowed to eat blood, cooked or not, they were not allowed to cook the meat of the kid in the milk of the mother, since the milk contained some of the elements of the blood. From the premise came their tradition wherein they wouldn’t eat or drink milk products with meat, thinking perhaps the milk product, such as cheese, may have been made from the milk of the mother. This type of tradition comes about from a fear of violating the Law, the same mindset overcame the Pharisees; rather than look for things they could do on the sabbath to help others, they went about telling everyone what they couldn’t do on the sabbath. Jesus was just the opposite, He went about doing Good, knowing a Law from God was to do Good.
The dietary requirements in the Law had nothing to do with the food product, rather God told Jeremiah the purpose of the Law was to bring the people to a point of obedience. The Law of Moses held two incentives, do not, be cursed, or do and be blessed, neither pertained to being a blessing. The natural mind operates from the self-nature, the Law of Moses was designed for those still bound to the fallen nature. It became a method where one could use mind power to control the flesh, but it was not designed to rid one of the corrupt flesh. Laws are designed for a purpose, but limited in scope. We wouldn’t think of charging someone who committed murder with the law on shoplifting. The proper law must be applied, in our case we must apply the Law of the Spirit, since we are Born Again to be Spiritual. The Law of the Spirit is based on advancement from natural to spiritual, from Life to Life More Abundantly. Is it limited? Yes, we bless and curse not, we forgive, rather than seek Justice or Validation.
God instilled in the Jew the importance of Blood, but He had to do it based on their fearful mindset; meaning it was “forbidden”, thus the respect was fear based. We can think of the disciples sitting there at the table then Jesus hands them the Cup saying, “This is My Blood”. The disciples knew the wine was a symbol of the blood of the lamb placed on the door, but Jesus is telling them it’s a symbol of His Blood. How could they partake? The “mere appearance” would be a violation under the Law of Moses. Had Jesus gone mad? No, He was merely showing them how all of man’s history pointed to the Cross, the time of the great separation unto a New Beginning to be a New Creation.
Adam didn’t eat meat, Noah was told by God he could, the Egyptians didn’t eat red meat, yet the children were raised under the Egyptian authority. When they entered the Wilderness they were told they could eat some red meat, an advancement from where they were. Today we think they were restricted, but not so. The Passover for Moses was an opening into a new adventure, one where changes would take place. No Hebrew prior to the time had a Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the Manna, or many other things. God does His best work in the wilderness, yet we know the children who failed to believe were destroyed in the wilderness (Jude 5). We face our wilderness experiences, but we do so by belief, knowing God is doing a good work in us.
The Passover for Moses was reflective as well, what were they leaving behind? The bondage and forced labor were easy to leave behind, but what about the other matters? Were they willing to leave all behind? We must ask ourselves the same question. We wanted to leave many things behind, but there were some things of the world we liked, are we willing to leave them as well? Or will we make up some excuse to retain them? Maybe paint them a nice color, then call them holy? Our decision to submit to the method God has prepared for us entails leaving many things behind, even things we liked.
Although Moses didn’t hold the “cup”, the blood was evident on the Door. Over the years other cups were added, until they reached the number four. The Jew still can’t figure out why they have four cups, especially when the blood was only placed on three areas of the door. The Door is representative of the Door we enter by the Spirit (Rev 4:1-2), it’s also representative of “the time of doors” (plural – Matt 24:33). They took Hyssop as a brush, and first touched the lintel (top horizontal aspect of the doorframe), then each side post, but they never placed the blood on the door itself, or the bottom of the entrance. It was one doorway, one blood, yet in three places, all of which show Baruch Ata Adonai, Elohenu Melech ha-olam, boreh pri ha-gafen, or “Blessed are Thou, O Lord (top piece) our God (side post), King of the universe (other side post), who creates the fruit of the vine (the blood)”. The Trinity was represented in the first Passover, although Moses didn’t know it. The Cross was also represented as Jesus metaphorically was the Door, the two side posts show the arms of Jesus to the side.
The first cup represented the separation, or deliverance from Egypt, the cup was first represented by the blood on the lintel and side posts. The second cup would represent the wilderness, as God was fully able to separate and deliver His people. The third cup is the Elijah Cup, the cup of total deliverance, the same Cup Jesus took claiming it as His. The Fourth Cup contains the Wrath of God, the Cup Jesus took in the garden. The Fourth Cup is the one we are spared, it’s seen in the Book of Revelation as the Great Winepress (Rev 14:20 et al).
The Cross with a cross piece is represented in the Moses Passover, as seen in the figure of the blood on the upper and side posts. From the Cross to the grave, to the Resurrection, three areas depicting the Trinity, as the Cross and Grave within the meaning of “unleavened bread”, we as the Body are the unleavened Bread of Christ. If anyone brings the leaven into this Bread, they have violated the terms of the Covenant.
From the Body to the Blood, since the New Covenant is in the Blood, it also stands Grace produces the Spirit, producing the Spiritual Nature meaning Grace is Blood related. When we partake of the Blood, we are telling Jesus we submit to the New Covenant, we will allow the New Man to divide, expose, separate and guide us into the perfection of Christ. Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 says, “When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it, for He has no pleasure in fools; pay what you have vowed, better is it for you should not vow, then you should vow and not pay”. Some of us are more concerned about our vows to man, than our Vows to God. When we accept the New Covenant, we also accept the terms of the Covenant. The one who presents the Covenant has the right to change it, the one who accepts it doesn’t. We cannot change the Covenant, neither can we presume things have changed. The call is still to preach the truth in Love, but it was never to “ignore the obvious”.
Communion is the time for us to reflect on our deliverance, as well as why we were delivered. The Blood grants us a position with the New Man to proclaim, I am crucified with (means or method) with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the Faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me (Gal 2:20). It’s only through the Cup we can understand, Greater is He in me, than he in the world (I Jn 4:1-6). To become a member of the Dead in Christ, we must be Crucified with Christ. We are told to pick up our cross, which means we accept the responsibility of death by imputing the old nature dead.
Luke tells us we were given another Cup first, could Jesus have given us two cups? (Luke 22:17-20). This other Cup is the Cup of Separation, the children gave us a shadow of this cup when they crossed the Sea. In Luke the disciples took the cup of separation as a symbol of crossing over the water to enter the kingdom of heaven. When do we take it? When we are water baptized, thus it’s not at issue in the Communion service for us, it’s a matter settled as our Token when we become members of the Body.
To the Jew the Passover is also a symbol of Redemption, not the redemption itself, yet there are callings to enter therein:
1) All the congregation must keep the Passover to be a member of the congregation (Ex 12:47); for us as members of the Body we take Communion to recall how we became members of the Body (I Cor 10:17 & 11:28-30).
2) No stranger can eat of the Passover: in our case it’s the stranger who attempts to gain entry some other way; thus the stranger is outside of the Covenant (Ex 12:43-45 & Jn 10:5); yet Jesus tells the Remnant, “when I was a stranger..” (Matt 25:35-44); thereby showing they kept Him out until they look upon Him they have pierced; therefore, if the Remnant are blinded to the Gospel, it’s God who has blinded them for a purpose (Rom 11:7 & 11:25).
3) They must eat the Passover in one house (Ex 12:46): we can’t eat the Passover in the House of David, nor can we eat part in the House of God then part in the house of Baal (I Cor 10:14-22).
4) They must consume the Entire Passover, not just a piece here or there, or simply the pieces fitting their theology (Ex 34:25); we must receive it all, rather than making the Word bow to us, we bow to the Word (II Tim 3:15-17).
5) They must put away all leaven from their tables: in our case it’s put away the leaven of the flesh by bringing it to the Table of the Lord as we confess it (Ex 13:6-7, I Cor 10:20-22 & I Cor 5:6-8); knowledge without the Spirit turns to leaven as it puffs up the heart of man, it doesn’t exalt the Lord (I Cor 4:6, 4:18-19 & 8:1).
6) They must offer the Blood of the sacrifice without leaven (Ex 34:25); we can’t partake of the Cup of the Lord until we judge ourselves to the Body of the Lord, then we present ourselves a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2, I Cor 11:27, 10:17 & 30-32).
7) They must not break any bones of the Passover Lamb (Ex 12:46); the Bone contains the Marrow, the place where the Blood is produced: the Bones keep the unity of the Body, thus no Bone was broken at the Cross (Heb 4:12 & Jn 19:33-34) – After Jesus gave His life, the Spear pierced His Side, the Spear is a foreign object in the hands of a heathen, yet all things are created by Jesus, thus the Spear opened the Heart of Jesus and both Water and Blood came forth (I Jn 5:7-8). The Water is the Mercy of the Father, the Blood the Grace of the Son, one must receive and act upon Both or they have not received the Father and Son (I Jn 2:22).
8) They must sacrifice the Passover only at the place appointed by God (Deut 16:5-6); in our case the place is in our hearts and souls, where the tabernacle of God resides; it’s a matter of submission and obedience, the removal of hindrances and the cleaning away of the pride of life (self-confidence – I Pet 1:9, James 1:21, Eph 4:23-24, 4:27-32, 5:9-10 & 5:17-26).
9) All males of the congregation must appear before the Lord at Passover time (Ex 23:17 & 34:23) – this is not against females, rather it displays positions, the Bread points to us as sons of men, the Blood as sons of God; we come boldly (by the faith of Jesus – Eph 3:12) to the throne of Grace (position) to obtain Mercy (condition based on the will of the Father) to find Grace (ability to apply Mercy – Heb 4:16).
These nine areas are all representative of the nine areas of the Manifestation of the Spirit (I Cor 12:7-11), as well as the nine areas of the Fruit (not fruits) of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23); therefore, they must relate to us in some manner. If our souls are formed of the Spirit to be Spiritual, then we are being prepared to fit the Resurrected Body Jesus has for us. Can someone have the Spirit, yet not be spiritual? Yes, the Corinthians proved it. Communion is the place where we put away the natural, to engage in the spiritual.
1) the Love of God provided the Passover and we keep Him in our heart, producing Greater is He in me:
2) the Joy of the Lord is found in the Strength of the Lord and no stranger can invade our Joy:
3) our Peace is found in the Tabernacle of God within our hearts:
4) our longsuffering makes it through the Day:
5) our Gentleness is found in the removal of the leaven at the table of the Lord:
6) our Goodness is found in the Blood of Jesus:
7) our Faith is hidden in the Marrow of the Lamb’s Bones, the hiding place of Grace:
8) our Meekness allows us to face Jesus:
9) our Temperance of the brethren displays our love for the Lord and His people.
There is also the Ma’ot Chittim which is a collection of money taken to buy matzos, wine, or food for the poor, the practice was around during the earthly ministry of Jesus, explaining why the disciples thought Judas went out to buy something for the poor (Jn 13:26-29).
The dishes used cannot be the same as those used during the rest of the year, many Jews use Crystal, without knowing it they still hold a special place at the Passover table for the Bride of Christ, metaphorically seen as Crystal (Rev 21:9-11).
We viewed the Napkin prior with its three compartments, and how the pieces of bread are removed, blessed and replaced. Adding, all three are blessed with the promise to Abraham, or Chag ha-matzot ha-zeh, zman cherutenu, giving thanks to God for choosing His people Israel. The third piece changing from Jacob to Israel also points to the Remnant, the time when the Night comes as God puts His hand a second time to recover the Remnant (Isa 11:11-14). It’s when Isaac is broken the mystery is seen by us. We know Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel, but Isaac never had his name changed, really there was no reason to take the piece named Isaac a second time. Unless, it wasn’t Isaac, but Jesus. Ahh, the mystery, the shadow shows the Body of Jesus will be broken as one breaks one part from another, but at a time yet future, thus showing where Paul gained the information from the Lord.
The Matzo Bread itself comes in various types, the one used on Passover must be Kosher. Regular Matzo is called Sh’mura Mishaat K’tsira; however the Jews have a Special Matzo called Matza Sh’mura Mishaat T’china or The Guarded Matzo, it’s so special it’s guarded against any and all defilement from the time the seed is planted until the bread itself is baked. This is reflective of Jesus, He was watched over as the Word, thus in the Beginning was the Word, then the Word took on flesh for us. Jesus as the Bishop (helps) and Shepherd (governments) of our soul watching over us by the Spirit.
In order to insure the protection against leaven, the bread is pierced and stripped, it can take no longer than seven minutes from the time the first trace of water touches the flour until it’s completely cooked; or the dough must be tossed out. The Jew assumes the holes and stripes promote the cooking; however, we know by the stripes of Jesus we were healed (I Pet 2:20-25 & Jn 10:1). On the first night of Passover the bread is broken into pieces about the size of an olive, the Jew doesn’t know why, but we see the Mount Of Olives where Jesus taught us the Least Commandments of Mercy; Least doesn’t mean inferior, rather they are the least we can do. The Special Matzo is a shadow of our justification, as we are protected from the time the Seed of God is planted in us until the time we are Glorified.
The meal Jesus held is like the one today, it had five items, which are termed the: Betsa, Zero’a, Maror, Charoset, and Karpas.
1) The Betsa is an egg which is hard-boiled, then roasted in an oven to commemorate the offering of the pilgrims who went to the temple in Jerusalem for the holiday, in our case it’s reflective of being Born Again, with the promise of everything produces after it’s own kind. It’s clear this was not a part of the Moses Passover, since there was no temple then.
2) The Zero’a is a roasted bone with “a little meat” on it, to symbolize the Passover Lamb, it becomes the remembrance of those things done for Israel, just as the Bread and Cup for us is in Remembrance of what Jesus did for us, rather than reenacting the event.
3) The Maror is the bitter vegetable dish. Among the Ashkenazim Jewish people it’s usually a fresh sliced horseradish, but any bitter radish is acceptable: for us it’s reflecting the bitterness of falling from Grace, for the Jew it’s the bitterness of Egypt. This would be the herb dish Moses had.
4) The Charoset is a thick paste made of grated apples, ground-up almonds, walnuts or other nuts, honey for sweetening with a little wine, for the Jew it represents the mortar in Egypt, but for us it’s the Seed of God, the Honey of Prophecy, the almond pointing to the Resurrection, the paste representing how Jesus clings to us by the Spirit.
5) The Karpas is any green vegetable which is blessed with Boreh Pri Ha-adama (Mishna, Pesachiim 10:3), this dish is designed to “excite the children” just as knowing our New Man is the Seal securing us in Grace (Eph 4:24).
The hard-boiled egg among the Ashkenazim is placed in salt water, to represent the people passing the Red Sea; however, the children passed on dry land. The thinking of the Ashkenazim for adding the salt water was to represent the endurance of the Jewish people. The hard-boiled egg is the only item which gets tougher the longer it’s in hot water, but in our case it shows the softer we get by the washing of the Water by the Word.
The publican and the Pharisee were both at the altar in the temple, the publican judged himself to himself by seeking Mercy, the Pharisee judged himself to another then exalted himself. We compare ourselves to Christ as we pray for God to keep us on the Path of the Faith of Jesus. We also pray for any self-deception to be exposed in us along with any self nature, pride, ego or hindering attitude. We are ready to join with the New Man as we allow the Washing of the Water by the Word to clean us. This is working out our own salvation by fear and trembling.
The Wine used in not a pure wine, rather it’s mixed with water, thus without knowing the Jew holds up Jesus, who came not by Water alone but both by Water and Blood. This helps explain Paul’s teaching to Timothy, “drink no longer water (mercy alone), but use a little wine (mixed with water, only place the Greek word appears) for you stomach’s (gullet, or place where words are formed, only place where the Greek word is used) sake and your often infirmities (weaknesses of the flesh – I Tim 5:23); with this verse we find, “lay hands suddenly on no man” making sense (I Tim 5:22 & 5:24). Mercy alone isn’t enough, we need both Mercy and Grace to know the heart of God. Merely having the knowledge of God isn’t enough, we need the Wisdom of God to deal with events and people. We obtain knowledge in our Study Hall experiences, Wisdom in the wilderness of God, discernment in the Cave.
John doesn’t record the Communion, he does however record the teachings in reference to the Communion (Jn 13:31-17:26). We know they sang, but what songs did they sing and why? There were Five songs for Passover, each representative of Grace and our walk with the Lord.
1) As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after Thee, O God (Ps 42:1) – This is denying the self as we secure ourselves in the Mercy of God.
2) How amiable are Your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yea, even faints for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry for the living God (Ps 84:1-2); there was only one Tabernacle, thus this points to us as the Tabernacles of God.
3) I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within Your gates O Jerusalem (Ps 122:1-2) – no one goes down to Jerusalem, regardless of where they are, they always “go up” to Jerusalem, thus pointing to New Jerusalem, the place where we will be lifted in a twinkling of an eye.
4) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (Ps 133:1) – this is the unity of the Faith and Spirit; we join to the Faith of Jesus by the Spirit, thus unity is found in Christ, not in natural religious facades, or winds of doctrine.
5) Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. The Lord who made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion (Ps 134:1-3); we worship by Spirit and Truth in the Spirit of Truth, no one calls Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost (I Cor 12:3), in order to be a true Servant one must be Born Again.
The Jews say thanks for their meal after they eat, which is, Birkat ha-Mazon, or “when you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord for the good land which He has given you”. This is an after the fact thanks, we thank the Lord before, during and after. There is much for us at the Lord’s table, it’s the place of Remembering all the Lord has done for us. It’s far better to discern, and learn, then stumble and fall.
BOOK OF ACTS
At the Cross and prior to the Resurrection the disciples thought Jesus was dead, it was over, the work, the promises, all gone, as Jesus hung on the Cross. Then came the Resurrection; Jesus was with them again, but then they would hear of the Ascension, again they felt Jesus would leave them, only this time Jesus would make sure they had Another Comforter. Another Comforter is the New Man, the Greater He, we of the New Testament are the only ones who have the opportunity to enter the completed prophecy of “let us make man in Our image”. The title Holy Ghost was not seen in the Old Testament, yet He was there behind the scenes. The Spirit of the Lord would fall on people so they could do extraordinary exploits, but none of them were Born Again, or of the Body, none of them had the Authority of Jesus. Noah didn’t have Grace, but God saw Grace in the saving of Noah, yet we know the word “Grace” as it’s used in the Old Testament is far different from it’s use in New. However, so is the word Circumcision, Tithes and Law, they are separated from the New Testament concepts by definition. The New Testament is not a copy of the Old, nor is it an extension of the Old, it’s New, as in never before.
If we need a reason to be thankful we can begin with knowing the Spirit of Truth granted us in the New Birth, something not granted to David, Moses, or Abraham. The New Covenant is based in the Blood of Jesus, meaning it was not granted to Jacob, neither was Elijah Born Again, Elisha didn’t have the Spirit of Truth, even someone like John the Baptist who was called “great” by Jesus wasn’t Born Again. It was John who asked to be Baptized in the Holy Ghost; but it was not time, yet we are Born Again. The Book of Acts begins by showing us the differences between having the Spirit of Truth, and not. Decisions made by people with the Spirit of Truth, and decisions made without the Spirit are far different, yet both groups can pray or have Scripture to support them. Discernment is void without the Spirit, yet very evident with the Spirit.
The Book of Acts was written by Luke (the physician and scribe), to Theophilus (a teacher), as a supplement to Luke’s Account of the Gospel (Acts 1:1 & Luke 1:1-3). Luke expanded to the Teacher all Jesus “began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). A clue to Theophilus being a teacher is how Luke points to the Teaching of Jesus, adding there are no records showing Theophilus was a governor, or government official, yet Luke has an obvious respect for the man, as a scribe would a teacher.
The Book of the Acts of the Apostles begins with the Ascension of Jesus, ends with the prophecy of Paul changing the course of the Gospel. The Church began on Pentecost, but the Rock began earlier. The Rock is the Place of Mercy, the Church the Place of Grace, yet in order to find Grace, one must Obtain Mercy (Heb 4:16). A balanced, or equal Christian is one who has obtained Mercy, in order to find Grace.
The Book of Acts pertains to the Acts, not the Ways of the Apostles, if one wants to know the Ways, they have to read the letters. This Book shows how the disciples didn’t change their mode of thinking, rather their source of thinking was changed by the New Birth. It will also show how the Gospel focused on the Jew first, just as Jesus commanded, showing there were Two Gospels, one to the Jew, and one to the Gentile; however, there came a time for change, one where the focus moved to the Gentile, thus a prophecy went forth changing the casting of the Net to the Sea as the primary concern. This in no way means the Jew was left out, only how the primary focus changed, what was first became last, but what was last became first.
The Book of Acts gives us a progression, it also shows these men and women of God were nonetheless men and women whom God touched. They made mistakes from time to time, just like the rest of us, but their Love for God endured. The Book of Acts shows how Jesus builds the Church from the Rock, with the tool of construction being the Holy Spirit.
If one was to look at the history of the Body, even some of the weird things going on today, they might conclude the gates of hell have prevailed, they have, but not against the Church. We can’t forget Jesus never said the gates would not invade the Rock, rather He warned us of the false christs and wolves who come in sheep’s clothing. The Church is still intact, still pure, still going on as intended, but the Rock (Body) is also going on as intended as well, it will be broken, but the Church will not. Over the years the misnomer of the “Church” became inclusive joining the Body and Church as one entity, but Jesus said He would build the Church on the Rock. He also divided His Body from the Blood, Jesus never dipped the Bread into the Blood, or mixed the Blood into the Bread, they were separated, yet one cannot touch the Blood without first becoming the Bread, neither can they be established in the Church unless they are first of the Body, we will see a situation facing Peter which seems so completely out order, but he will react based on something he knows Jesus is doing.
Some contend the Church began on Pentecost, thus the Gospel accounts are really Old Testament. It’s true the Church began on Pentecost, but the earthly ministry began the Rock upon which the Church was built. John the Baptist was not Old Testament, neither was he New. He was not enjoined to the Ministry of Jesus, but Jesus said the Law and Prophets were until John, thus when John appeared a time of separation also began. The Body or Rock is the place between places, the Street leaving one area behind as it reaches to another. The New Testament is in the Blood of Jesus, but the Bread is the Rock, thus the Rock began the second Jesus began His ministry. Therefore, the Gospel times are not Old Testament, but neither are they New, it’s the Preparation of Mercy as a foundation to have the Fullness of Grace.
Anyone who has entered the Bread (Body or Rock) are covered by the Anointing on the Body of Christ, or the Unction over the Body. However, it’s not the only anointing; there are other areas of the Anointing, the Doma (gift) for the office is one, it’s purposed for the edifying of the saints and the work of the ministry, this anointing is not designed to save us, it’s designed to assist leadership. There is an anointing of Mercy, which heals the sick, casts out devils, bringing us Forgiveness as a way of life. There is an anointing in Grace which is purposed for the saving of our souls found in the New Man. There is the anointing of the Holy Ghost in order for us to deal with the masses, which will be evident in Acts. We need them all, one is no greater than the other, they are purposed to reach the intended result. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has Anointed Me” (Luke 4:18). The same premise we find for those in the Body; when we came to the Cross we were Anointed by the Father, which enabled Him to forgive us for Christ’s (The Anointed One) sake. If we have the Spirit then there are facts and truths associated with the premise. The Spirit is upon us because we are Anointed, if we are Anointed the Yoke is broken. However, as a person believes, so they are. Belief grants us knowledge from which our belief and faith operate, our struggles are often not issues of faith, since faith is future tense, rather our battles are in the area of Belief. Do we believe what Jesus said? Do we really? Most of us are working to firm up our faith, but faith without the knowledge based on our belief soon fades in the face of adversity. There will come a time where we are going to have to believe what we say we believe.
The earthly ministry was based on Mercy, Belief and Faith, the people believed Jesus was able, which gave them the faith to reach to the result. Often Jesus asked, “do you believe I can do this?”, being foundational to whether their faith could reach to the result. The entire account of John points to Belief, yet we are saved by Grace through Faith, not of our own. Faith, Hope and Love are pillars, but their foundation is Belief. Remove Belief and Faith begins to tilt, Hope slips from it’s mooring and Love fades into panic. Belief is a present tense confidence, but faith reaches to a hope, whether the hope is years away, or seconds. Therefore, we find Belief is based in information or events in the past accepted as truth, while faith reaches forward to a hope. The premise of Now is where belief and faith meet, we will find times when the Spirit filled disciples questioned things; on at least one occasion entered panic. The evidence shows just how longsuffering the Lord is with us, we are not cast away because we made a mistake, the Book of Acts will make it abundantly clear. Mistakes happen, but if we fail to learn from them we have allowed opportunity to pass. God presents us with opportunities, yet we must cease the moment.
The Book of Acts is also a Book of Revival, it’s both a guide to purposed revival, as well as actual revival. It shows revival of the masses, and revival for individuals. It’s important to keep in mind how Jesus didn’t do any Acts after the Resurrection, His time for Acts finished, thus the time for the Greater Acts to be performed by the Body began. We all want to experience the Acts and the Ways of the Lord, but we tend to use formulas, or attempt to follow the experiences of others. The Book of Acts shows us the advantage of having personal experiences by the Spirit of Christ.
Formulas can be taken from Godly principles, but they add many things to the principle making it so restrictive it becomes a carnal endeavor to reach a spiritual goal, making the endeavor a form of self-righteousness. Formulas tend to give us the result before we begin, thus our eyes and minds are set on obtaining a set result with all the steps accounted for before we begin. Leaving no room for faith, nor does it allow God to operate. We have principles, God has the means, trust in Him, not the formula. There is a vast difference between putting our trust in God, and expecting God to perform to our expectations. These people didn’t have a formula, rather we will find many things were New. It makes sense, since they had the New Man to guide them. It’s also important to keep in mind how they didn’t change their mode of thinking, rather they had a change in their source of thinking. They had the Mind of Christ, something not privy to man before the Spirit was given. They no longer thought as mere men, but they had a source of thinking bringing them a knowledge far above mortal man. There will be an evidence of a massive change in behavior and thinking regarding the disciples within the first chapters of Acts. Their experience grants us food for our belief, there will be a change in us as well.
Before we can project the realness of Jesus, He must be real in us. It was once said, Jesus never jumped up and down, ran around or shouted, but those who touched Him did. The Book of Acts is a jumping up and down, running around Holy Ghost experience by showing us God is the source of the Power from on High.
The Book of Acts displays a change taking place, a change moving these people of God from a carnal minded, to spiritual minded, the same change is in hand for today. It didn’t pass away, it was purposed to get better. “Well, I tell you what, it don’t look better”. What it looks like really doesn’t matter, what we hold by belief and faith does. The event never tells us a thing, the purpose of the event does.
ACTS – CHAPTER 1:
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (Acts 1:1-3).
The writer of Acts is Luke, thus Acts connects to Luke’s account. Luke is the only Gentile writer in the Bible; however, it doesn’t mean Luke is the only one who wrote all Jesus did, rather the Book of Acts tells us the result of the discipleship training coupled with the Power from on High. Luke also has another distinction, he was an associate with Paul, but we never see where he was ordained as a deacon, bishop, or elder, nor into any government position. So what? It shows we don’t need a title to be an effective member of the Body. God picked this man to tell us many things, one is how the offices of helps differ from the offices of government. Without mentioning Philip we would never know what an Evangelist does, true Timothy was told to do the work of one, but Philip was the only person called one. Luke also shows how Elders assist in decisions, they don’t make them (Acts 15), as well as how important it is for Helps and the Offices to be in unity. All these matters are found in Acts, a very important document.
The wording Infallible Proofs means Defining a fact, thus it doesn’t mean Jesus did healings after the Resurrection, rather it means He taught. The disciples didn’t see Jesus during the three days and nights, neither did they see Him during the seven days He was before the Father; adding the three, seven, with the forty we come up with fifty days. It’s fifty days from Passover to Pentecost, or forty-nine days from the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Day to Pentecost. The time from the Feast Day to Pentecost gives us seven-sevens, completing Daniel’s seven, except for the Hour, even the Hour is accounted for; half in the Day, half in the Night. Since all the days from the Cross to the Ascension are accounted for, we can put away any thought of Jesus going to some other land to ordain another set of apostles. To begin with, it would mean He didn’t build the Church on the Rock. When Jesus said, “upon this Rock” it was present tense phrase pointing to the people there as disciples. Then He said “I will build” which is a future tense phrase: therefore, if Jesus went to some other land, or appointed other apostles, why did He begin the Church in Jerusalem with the same disciples He said were the Rock? The Church began in an upper room with people no different than us. The real difference between what these people were, and what they became on Pentecost will be the Spirit, thus the permission to receive the Spirit was granted with Jesus was Glorified by the Resurrection (Jn 7:39). The first chapter in Acts will show us how leaders operate without the Holy Ghost, and how they operate with the Holy Ghost.
The wording Taken Up is the compound Greek Word AnaLampano meaning Received Up; therefore, after Jesus gave the Sacrifice in heaven He returned to teach about the Kingdom of God preparing the disciples to receive the Gift. We also find the Holy Ghost gave Commandments to the disciples, but the Holy Ghost was not given until after Jesus Ascended. How can this be? The definitive language shows Jesus was teaching, not giving Commandments, the Commandments would come after the disciples were Born Again, meaning they could understand the Commandments. One of the functions of an Apostle is to give us Commandment, Paul did, John did, as did Peter. However, from Mark 9:32 we know the disciples lacked understanding of the Cross and Resurrection, thus they lacked a foundation to speak regarding spiritual matters. After Pentecost it changed, Peter spoke regarding spiritual matters within minutes of receiving the Spirit.
The word Passion in verse 3 means To suffer for someone, thus showing the Sacrifice on earth and in heaven was for us. The premise draws us to the addition of the Former Treatise; Luke’s Account gave us the goal, all Jesus did leading up to the Goal, now Luke writes about the result of the Goal. This is an addition to the Gospel, but rather than be the Gospel, it shows how the Gospel became a living element in the lives of the men, women and children who received Jesus. The Gospel must be connected to the Holy Ghost to be effective, thus during the forty days Jesus taught, neither He or the disciples do any healings, preaching to the masses, or miracles.
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:4-6).
Here we find the Commandments concerning the Kingdom of God to be given by the Holy Ghost, yet the Holy Ghost did not come until “after” Jesus was “taken up”. These verses also separate the baptism of John from the water baptism we do in the Name of Jesus. John’s was in water, saying the people should believe, our water baptism is based on the people believing. John’s was in his name, the one we do in the Name of Jesus. However, Jesus is still the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost and fire. The Cross, Resurrection and Ascension all opened the Day for us, bringing the Greater Light with the Power to carry out the authority.
This is still before Pentecost, the question of Restoration refers to the Time of Comfort. This also shows the Command to Tarry is just as important as the Command to Go. They were told to Wait (Tarry), the word shows waiting for a Specific thing, not waiting in general. Which makes us wonder about verse 15, wherein Peter made a decision regarding business matters. Still a learning for us, still something to open the difference between the giving of the Ingress Aires until one has the Spirit. It’s clear in verse 4 they were to Wait for the Promise, not do anything else. They were to be of One Mind centered on One Goal, to obtain One thing. The premise was to engage in the Ingress Aries to remit all sins done unto them so they could “receive ye the Holy Ghost”, yet natural thinking will determine the evidence needed to show they had forgiven, when it wasn’t necessary.
We know after the Resurrection, Jesus commanded them to go to Galilee, yet they remained in Jerusalem. The reasoning of the natural mind is either to reach beyond the command, or attempt to avoid it. The evidence will show us, no one can be a Servant of the Lord, or call Him Master without the Spirit in them; Paul said no one can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost. They will do all sorts of things, but without the Spirit they will not Serve as a faithful servant.
The time to Tarry came after “Go ye”, thus we find the Authority came placing them in the Name of Jesus, but Authority without Power is absent ability. They had the Authority, but were told to wait for the Power before they did anything. Jesus never said, “Tarry, and fill the position of Judas”, thus Jesus didn’t honor their prayers regarding filling the position. We will be given a lesson how carnal thinking attempts to reach a result, but lacks God.
This connects Acts to John, the Comforter would come bringing Another Comforter, Jesus didn’t deceive them. He was serious, He expected them to be just as serious about receiving. When the Lord tells us to “tarry”, He has a purpose. Waiting isn’t easy, the flesh hates to wait, Patience is dirty word for the flesh, but a blessing for the soul. There are times to Wait, Wait, Wait on the Lord, He will tell us what to do and where to go in His timing.
The time element is important as well, although we will see the time was not Many Days, but within hours, they were nonetheless to act as if it would be Many Days. This is a time when their belief would connect with their faith. Their belief would be centered in the promise of Another Comforter, their faith would reach to receiving the Spirit.
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:7-8).
Here is something not to do, and something to do. This doesn’t say we shouldn’t have knowledge of the Restoration of Israel, rather we’re not to run around the world attempting to make it come to pass, nor are we to seek signs of the Restoration, or procreate prophecy concerning the Restoration. Believing in the Prophecy, and attempting to make it come to pass are different. Believing God is able to bring the prophecy to pass is faith, attempting to make it come to pass is unbelief in God’s ability. The word Time means A time of opportunity, the word Again means again, thus the Restoration was promised, these disciples knew Jesus wasn’t done with the Restoration. The signs Jesus talked about were yet to happen, but where was the Peace? Where was the Mountain of the Lord? Why wasn’t it sitting on the mountains of the World? Their knowledge of the Old Testament knew the Restoration of Israel was written about, but at this time they were still carnal, unable to understand spiritual matters. One thing is important in their thinking, they knew the Restoration of Israel was Mercy based, not Grace based. They felt it was Now, they were willing for it to take place. They also knew the term “few” means few, their question pertained to the Church leaving then, for the Restoration of Israel to begin. They thought they were ready to Ascend with Jesus at the moment, but there remained much more for them to do. The question shows how the natural mind of man views time, the disciples felt it was time to begin and end the Church by making the enemies of Jesus His footstool. Not so, there was the completeness of the Day, the morning was breaking, but it didn’t mean the Sun was sitting.
They were to be Witnesses, but wait, weren’t these the same people ordained to cast out devils? Heal and preach? Didn’t they sit with Jesus at the table? Did they not see the Resurrected Jesus? Sounds like they were already witnesses, not so, they lacked the true first hand knowledge of what was going on, not their opinion, or what they thought happened. What did they need? A New Heart, a new center of life, a new view of things from the viewpoint of God, something only the Spirit of Truth could grant.
Where were they to Witness? Jesus said Both in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, then the uttermost part of the earth. Both? There is more than one place here. One of the “both” was Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, all of which will be complete by the time we get to Acts chapter 9. The other “Both” was the “uttermost part of the earth”, thus one Both was Jew, the other Gentile. This shows a progression of advancement, Philip will put his hand on the door to the Gentile, Peter will begin to open it, then the Holy Ghost will bust it wide open by sending Paul through it. However, it must have a Beginning, they must advance from the Beginning, while not forgetting the beginning. Of course some of us are still in our upper room enjoying the moment, but missing the excitement (Acts 2:14).
The word World refers to a Age, the word Earth has two meanings, first is the physical land, which is the case here. In Revelation 13 we find a Beast of the Earth, one who remains earthly, as the son of perdition, but it doesn’t mean the Earth is evil, it means the son of perdition refuses to move on to become heavenly, rather they remain Earthly by seeking earthly things as they become the he in the world.
The “uttermost” to these people was something beyond their reasoning, they had Scripture showing God picked Israel out of all the families of the earth, so why change now? They also had the prior word, “Go not the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter you not” (Matt 10:5), now it’s the Proceeding Word, it was time for Progression, a time to widen the family borders. Nonetheless, the first place of concern was still the Jew, as such there had to be a witness of proof. What could it be? These Jews had to be Christian, yet still able to converse with Jews. They would keep the Law for the Jews sake, not for their sake, or to gain favor from God, or the Law. Paul said he was a Jew to the Jews, and a Gentile to the Gentiles, but he was both Jew and Gentile, he never said he would be a sinner to the sinners.
It becomes clear there is a division, the Restoration of Israel is the Night, the time when the Father makes the enemies of Jesus His footstool. However, before the time, there is the Day, the time of Salvation when we are made Witnesses for Jesus. Before we can be a Witness we must have the Gift by the Holy Ghost, we must be able to project the same character and nature of the one we are Witnessing for. Prior to Pentecost Peter will make a decision, but it’s not based on being a Witness; however, later he will proclaim to be a Witness (v. 2:32 & 3:15).
The prophet Isaiah laid out the plan to recover the Remnant, the method is far different from the method God has given us to enter the Kingdom (Isa 54:4-17 & Isa 55:1-4). The Lord will call Israel through Jerusalem as a “woman forsaken”. For a small moment He has forsaken her, but then He will have Mercy as in the days of Noah (Isa 54:6-9). However, there will also be those who gather, but not by God, yet in the end they shall fall (Isa 54:15). On the other hand, we are to seek the Living Water, and “hearken diligently” unto God. Faith calls for us to “diligently seek Him”; rather than diligently seek the Law of Moses, or seek our own self desires (Isa 55:1-3 & Heb 11:6).
The language in verse 8 is, “but you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you”. The TR reads, “but you will receive Power, coming the Holy Ghost upon you”, putting the two together we find the Power is one thing, the Holy Ghost another, thus the Holy Ghost will bring the Power, then the Holy Ghost will empower them to deal with the masses. We know the initial effort is the Baptism with the Holy Ghost to receive the Gift of Grace, which Gift is the Holy Spirit. The “Power” is the ability, the Greek word is Dunamis, thus the premise is adding to the Authority they were already granted. Jesus gave them Authority when He said, “In My Name”, but they didn’t have the Power to carry out the Authority. Attempting to carry out the Authority without the Power leaves us using natural means to obtain a spiritual result, producing failure. The proof is of course the first Board Meeting, where they had Scripture and prayed, but ended tossing dice in order to make a decision. All this shows the Power is the New Man, thus the Holy Ghost brings the Gift, often termed the “the Gift of the Holy Ghost”. What does this meeting actually tell us about Power? They had the authority, but without the Power they lacked guidance. We can have Authority, yet sit around doing what we think is the good and right thing at the moment, but we would be using natural reasoning; we must Tarry for the Power. This is vital area, we have to see the Holy Ghost is not “the Spirit in you”, rather the Holy Ghost will come upon you. Doesn’t the Holy Ghost fill us? Yes, but for specifics as we will see as we move along. The process is not the Power, then the Holy Ghost, rather the Holy Ghost will come upon them granting them Power in the New Birth, then the Holy Ghost will empower, or fill them to preach and deal with the masses. Also this verse shows the Holy Ghost was not given until Jesus was Glorified, then Ascended on High.
In verse 7 the “power” in the phrase, “which the Father has put in His own power” is the Greek Exousia meaning Authority, thus another division. In the Night they will have a “little strength”, but here we find those of the Day have Power from on High.
Some of us wait for the Holy Ghost, when He comes, we stop receiving, yet it’s the time to Receive the more, not a time to stop. Since Luke wrote this, we may be able to find another supportive link in his account of the Gospel. John the Baptist was conceived like any human, but he would be “filled with the Holy Ghost” for the specifics of his ministry, but he never raised the dead, or laid hands on the sick (Luke 1:15). In John’s case he had to be filled with the Holy Ghost in order to perform the Sacrificial washing of Jesus, and to proclaim the “Lamb of God”. However, Mary was told something different, “the Holy Ghost shall come upon you, as the Power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore also the holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). It doesn’t say Mary was Born Again, rather we find a preview, something these people in the upper room could hold to in reference to their belief. Mary was in the upper room as well, surely she was also waiting for the Holy Ghost to fall, granting her the New Birth.
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (Acts 1:9).
The wording Taken Up used here comes from a different Greek word than the wording used in verse 2. In verse 2 the Greek word is AnaLambano, here it’s Epairo, they are compound words, Epairo means a Direction or Sail Away; whereas AnaLambano means To offer up, but why two different Greek words? The first shows the Sacrifice, the second is where we find the Cloud, thus Paul says we meet the Dead in Christ in the Clouds (plural), not Cloud. This one Cloud is before the joining of any of those who died after Pentecost, thus this is the Cloud of Witnesses noted in Hebrews chapter 11. This cloud consists of those who were taken captive by Jesus, they are joined under the altar of God by those who died after Pentecost, making Clouds, thus it’s the Clouds returning with Jesus. Here the metaphor Cloud is singular, showing one group, not plural as Paul shows, thus the writer didn’t make a mistake, it’s true, there is a place for us, there is a Lifting of the Dead in Christ from the earth. Jesus hasn’t left us, nor has He forsaken us. It’s also true, we will Sail away as we go through the Door to meet the Dead in Christ under the Altar, then we will meet Jesus in the Air. It’s really simple, after Pentecost when Stephen, James and many others died either by natural causes, or at the hands of another, the other Cloud was formed, giving us Clouds. The one seen here contains the Captive taken captive, when Jesus returns it will be Clouds as New Jerusalem.
And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:10-11).
In verse 10 we have another phrase, “Went up”, which is the Greek word Poreuomai meaning To transport oneself from one place to another. This explains Shall return, Jesus wasn’t taken up by the Spirit, rather the Spirit had not been given at this time. This is another important area, an issue we can’t overlook. The Sacrifice brought the promise of the Spirit (v. 1:2), the Cloud of Witnesses promises us how we will Sail Away some day soon, here we find the Transporting, or promise of the Translation. Without the Spirit we will not be Translated, the promise of the Spirit is how we will taken to meet the dead in Christ in the Clouds before the Door is closed. This area informed the disciples of the division Jesus just commented on, they could not Ascend without being Born Again, they had to Tarry to receive the Power from on High.
We often see pictures where these two men are depicted ascending with Jesus, but the verse says Jesus went out of their sight, while the two remained with the disciples. These ministering angels in White are symbols of the promise regarding each of us being in White, they remained with those who were purposed to walk with Jesus in White. The verse doesn’t say the disciples will See Him return, only when He returns it will be in like manner. When Jesus ascended the Holy Ghost was yet given, thus when Jesus returns neither the Spirit, or the Holy Ghost will not be on the earth. However, we also see as He left, so shall He return, how did He leave? With a cloud of witnesses, how shall He return? With His Bride descending as New Jerusalem as those who were made Witnesses by being Born Again.
The two men simply ask, “Why are you standing here, why don’t you do what He said?”. Jesus didn’t tell them to gaze into heaven, He told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with Power from on High. The Power was coming to a specific place, they had to be in the place to receive. It’s important to know the Command was to Tarry, it wasn’t appoint someone to take the place of Judas. The experience of Peter and the other disciples having to cast lots is not a manner in which the Spirit operates, it’s a manner in which one operates if they don’t have the Spirit.
Just after the Resurrection Jesus told them “Go to Galilee” now it’s “Go to Jerusalem”, yet they are gazing around wondering what to do. When Jesus tells us to do something we have to be quick, yet the evidence shows obedience without the Spirit is not obedience at all. These men are told they needed the Power from on High, but didn’t they have Power? They healed the sick, cast out devils and preached. They had the Power of Mercy, they were not Born Again, they still didn’t understand spiritual matters, they also lacked the foundation to speak of the Resurrection of Jesus. Mercy takes supernatural power in the Name of Jesus, Grace spiritual power in the Name of Jesus; Mercy makes us sons of men, Grace sons of God. The supernatural Power of Mercy is great, we need it, but we also need to be Born Again to be Equal. They also needed to complete the requirement of the Ingress Aires by remitting sins done unto them.
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey (Acts 1:12).
This doesn’t mean Jesus ascended on the sabbath day according to the commandment, rather it means the High Sabbath of Pentecost was at hand, they were a Sabbath’s day (7 ½ furlongs, or 1,440 yards) walk away from Jerusalem. This also shows it was the morning of Pentecost, or it would not be a Sabbath’s day journey, meaning they didn’t wait for days, it’ was no more then a few hours. Pentecost was to remember “the day the tabernacle was reared up and the Cloud covered the tabernacle, namely the Tent Of The Testimony” (Numb 9:15). The difference between the Temple and Tabernacle will be explored in great detail in the Book of Hebrews, but for here, we recall how the Cloud covered the Tabernacle during the Day, the Fire came at night. We are of the Day, not the Night, thus the Baptism with Fire keeps us from the Night, securing us in the Day. As long as the Cloud abode with the children they rested in their tents. When the Cloud Tarried the children kept the Charge of the Lord, as they journeyed not, thus when Jesus went up in the Cloud it was sign the Tabernacles of God would soon follow the Cloud (Numb 9:18-19).
The Promise was at hand, the time for the Door and Day was now very close. Jesus repaired the Street, man could now have Peace with God. After the two men pointed them in the right direction, Great Joy came as they worshipped the Lord unto Jerusalem (Luke 24:52). This again shows they could worship without the Spirit, but it was still based in their own opinions and emotions. The true worshippers of God worship in Spirit and Truth, by the Spirit of Truth
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren (Acts 1:13-14).
The time element is not ten days from the Ascension to Pentecost, rather at the most it’s less than a day. Jesus was in the grave for three days, before the Father for seven, with the disciples forty days, it took a Sabbath’s day journey (under five hours) to get to the Upper Room. Showing we don’t have to tarry forever, we don’t have to cry, beat our chest, yell, or be full of sorrow to obtain, we need Great Joy with the expectation of receiving as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
Jesus is still the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost, we baptize others in Water, but no man can Baptize others with the Holy Ghost. We present others to Jesus by the laying on of hands, but it’s different than giving them the Spirit. There are three methods in which one obtains the Spirit, first is Asking, anyone who is honest in their approach to the Lord will receive the Spirit. Next falls within the doctrine of the laying on of hands, the premise of laying hands on another as presentation. Lastly is the manner in which Cornelius received, Peter didn’t lay hands on him, rather Cornelius heard, then he believed in what he heard.
In verse 13 we find the word Both, but does it mean only Peter and James were apostles? Hardly the word Both brings in the other people as well, we find the apostles, were among the 120 souls; including the disciples of John, thus John’s disciples did become included.
The word for Prayer means Supplication as a Request for God to Supply. The One Accord means one purpose, one goal, with one means to reach the goal. This One Accord had to be something leading up to the Holy Ghost, so what was it? Ahh, the Ingress Aires, their One Accord was making the decision to forgive all, the Romans, the religious leaders, even Judas, they were putting an action to their decision. What clues do find in these first verses to indicate that? Peter’s motivation to replace Judas (Acts 1:16-19) indicating how Peter is more concerned about how those on the outside think, yet by the act of forgiving we can see how the motivation was to let others know they had forgiven Judas. The evidence would be replacing the man; however, they made several mistakes. First they sought to replace the man, rather than find someone to fill the position. They were told to Tarry, not fill the position. Next they were motivated by what people think, rather than what God knows.
Later in Acts when Peter and John are put in prison the disciples again entered one accord in prayer. Their prayer was not laced with threatening words, they didn’t seek some punishment on the people, they didn’t seek to replace the positions of Peter or John, they sought more power to produce more signs and wonders (Acts 4:30). If we want to be in One Accord a good place to start is moving into the purpose of the Ingress Aires.
Once they began to pray, they also turned the keys. They knew Jesus said they had the keys to the kingdom, they also knew the keys related to Mercy, as Mercy related to forgiving. They didn’t have to worry if the devil would counterfeit the experience, the Lord promised them “receive ye the Holy Ghost”, they knew the Lord is faithful.
This short time is interesting, since Jesus just ascended, they were alone, but they knew the keys were in their hands. We must keep in mind the Spirit was not yet given, but Jesus had just left, thus they were not praying by the Holy Ghost, they were praying based on the breath of Jesus to receive the Holy Ghost, a specific of importance.
The Spirit came at the Request of Jesus, but by the Father, delivered by the Holy Ghost based on the Sacrifice, but granted by the Ascension, but why the Order? Mercy unto Grace, Jesus is Grace, the Father Mercy, but they couldn’t have Grace until Mercy was established. The confusion came later, did the Father send the Holy Ghost at the request of Jesus? Or did Jesus send the Holy Ghost? However, the real question is Do you have the Gift of the Holy Ghost? Nonetheless the answer is found when we know the Holy Ghost testifies of Jesus, yet He gives us the Witness, thus Jesus wouldn’t send the Spirit on His behalf, but the Father would, yet it’s Jesus Who baptizes us with the Holy Ghost giving us One God All in All, Father, Word (Son) and Holy Ghost working in Unity. Jesus testified of the Father, the Comforter brings us Another Comforter so we can be Witnesses for Jesus. The Holy Ghost is part of the Record, the New Man (Spirit) is part of the Witness (I Jn 5:7-8).
In Romans Paul says the Spirit bears witness to our Spirit saying we are children of God (Rom 8:16), but why not say the Holy Ghost? In First Corinthians Paul defines it for us, the spirit of man knows the things of man, but is completely ignorant regarding the things of the Spirit of God, it takes the Spirit of God to show us the things of God (I Cor 2:11). The Holy Ghost is part of the Record, God is Spirit, thus Paul speaks of the entire Record as the Spirit of God. The same premise is found when he speaks of us being baptized into the Body by One Spirit. This is clearer when Paul said, the spirit of the world is opposed to the “Spirit which is of God”, thus we are not of the spirit of the world, or the he of the world, but we have the Greater He which is the Spirit which is of God. In Romans and Corinthians we find the “Spirit of God” is the entire Record, showing the Father, Son and Holy Ghost bear witness to the Spirit which is of God in us saying we are children of God. The same Spirit who raised Jesus is raising us. Here in Acts we are talking about the arrival of the Holy Ghost bringing the Gift of the Spirit to grant the Witness of the Water, Blood and Spirit, thus making them Witnesses of Jesus. The disciples had mercy before Pentecost, it was the platform for the earthly ministry. No one said, “have Grace on me”, but they did say, “have mercy on me”. Grace was not available until the Gift was given by the Holy Ghost.
After Pentecost the word Witness or Witnesses is used often by the disciples, but we find 12 different Greek words used for the word Witness in one form or another. The Greek Amarturos means Without a witness it’s used in Acts 14:17, but there it shows God did leave Witness of Himself in the acts of nature. The Greek Diamarturomai means To witness, or To bear witness, it’s used in Acts 20:23. The Greek Katamartureo means To witness or testify against someone, as the Law testifying against the Pharisees. The Greek Martureo means To witness in favor of someone or something, while bearing testimony in the absolute sense. The Greek Marturia means A witness with certification as in Acts 22:18. The Greek Marturion means the proof of the Witness, as in James 5:3. The Greek Marturomai means To witness for oneself as in Acts 20:26 and 26:22. The Greek Martus refers to the One who is a Witness. The Greek Summartureo means Together to witness, or two or more joining to be a Witness. The Greek Sumepimatureo means Two to bear witness, showing the Instrument or means to prove the Witness. The Greek Pseudomartus means A false witness. The Greek Psudeoartueo means One who bears false witness. The Greek Pseudomarturia means The false witness. Generally speaking a Witness is referred to as a Martyr, which means One who submits to death rather than renounce his religion, but the action only proves the heart. In the Christian sense it refers to, “loved not their souls unto the death”, which points to Deny the self. The word Martyr holds the thought of one dying, suffering or giving up everything in order to hold unto what they know to be True, while administering Mercy to their attackers, as did Stephen. It doesn’t mean we can’t be a witness unless someone cuts off our head, it means our heart is so set on holding the Faith we won’t give it up for anything else. This can only be done when the Spirit brings the confidence of God to our hearts coupled to the Faith to know in Whom we Trust is the One True Living God. Do other religions hold a like premise? Yes, some hold if they die in some holy war, they will go to heaven, but in so doing they lack Mercy for their attackers, or they become the attackers, making the act self-righteousness. What about us? We do so to please God by faith while holding Mercy, much different.
Many will die for what they think to be true, few, if any will die for a lie. We find the followers of Whackos dying for something they think to be true, yet we know their thinking is corrupt, or fable based. Does it mean they are Martyrs? No, they are dying to reach some supposed self-based goal, we die because we have reached the goal. This is very important, whackos use the time when the Christians were martyred as some basis for taking ones own life. The early Christians died at the hands of others, while holding the Faith through Mercy. They refused to denounce Jesus, they didn’t kill others in the process, or take their own lives.
Prior some of the brothers of Jesus doubted, now all of them are in the Upper Room. History, and the Book of Acts show the Upper Room was in a house belonging to Mark’s mother (v. 12:12). Also from history we find the Upper Room was just a short distance from the house of Caiphas the high priest. All Caiphas had to do was walk around one building and he too could have received the Spirit of Truth. It’s funny how some will allow one small obstacle to stand in their way of their salvation. In reference we find the Scriptures showing the women and men were together, this would be a change from the “days of the Temple”, where the women were separated. Paul used this premise to chasten the Corinthians, showing how their carnal minded thinking was producing division, rather than Unity (I Cor 11:1-7 & 14:34).
Peter being Peter waited for a short period of time, then decided Somebody must do something, and he did. Today we would see this as the Lord telling us He has a ministry for us, yet we are to wait and learn. However, we decide it’s up to us to make a “step of faith”, off we go marching to the music of presumption. When Jesus said “tarry” our step of faith then becomes to tarry, faith still comes by hearing, the hearing by the Rhema. There was a sound reason to Tarry, they needed the Power from on high to define the Authority. They had the granted Authority recorded in Mark and Matthew, they were told to teach, baptize and teach, they also knew the signs would follow those who believed. However, they needed the Spirit in order to discern and operate in a Godly manner. The Power entailed the New Man, the mind of Christ, the Spirit, the ability to do the things of Grace by Grace.
What about this appointment by Peter? Was it in order? After all we will find the Apostles appointing the Seven, so what’s the big deal about what Peter is doing? Many things, first he may have Authority, but no apostle, prophet, evangelists, teach, pastor, bishop, deacon or elder was ever granted the authority or power to appoint anyone to a five-fold Doma Office position. Leaders can appoint Bishops and Deacons in Helps, and Elders, but only Jesus gives the “gifts” (Doma) of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Teacher and Pastor. Later in Acts 13:1 we find the Holy Ghost appointing Apostles, thus man may confirm the appointment, but man doesn’t make the appointment to the Doma Office.
Later we will find the Apostles appointing deacons, then Paul will tell Titus to appoint Elders, but no where do we find any of the apostles appointing the Office positions, except for right here in Acts chapter one before the Holy Ghost came with the Gift. What about ministries ordaining people to the Doma Office positions? Ministries lay hands on people to “confirm” what the Holy Ghost has already appointed (Acts 13:1-3). It may not seem like a big difference, but it is. No ministry has the authority to appoint people to the Doma Office positions, they confirm, they do not appoint. The Authority and Power for the task is still for Jesus to do through the Holy Ghost, He still gives “gifts” (Doma). For any human to appoint a Doma Office position would be usurping the authority of the Lord. Leaders hear, then confirm, but they don’t make independent decisions regarding the Offices of the Lord. Usurping Authority is using the authority of another, when we take it upon ourselves to appoint people into the Offices, we are usurping the authority of the Lord, not real smart. We are filled with the Holy Ghost, but it doesn’t mean we are the Holy Ghost. We like the things, the nice pews, stained windows, heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, with all the trimmings; none of it means a thing without the Holy Ghost being present. Decisions made outside of the Anointing are carnal, natural and no different than the appointments by the world.
Here Peter simply wanted to bring things back the way the were, giving the people a sign forgiveness had taken place, but his methods were out of order. Peter knew the people understood who and what Judas was, the people had to be shown how Judas didn’t stop a thing, rather they continued business, but the method Peter used was out of order. This isn’t to belittle Peter, it merely shows we can have Authority, but we must have the Power from on high before we act. We can also have Power, but rather than submit to the Authority of Jesus, we can run back and use the authority of the world. Doing the right thing at the wrong time is still wrong, doing the wrong thing at the right time is also wrong. They will have all the particulars, Scripture and Prayer, but they lack two things making it Godly, Authority to do what they were doing, or the Power to do it. This area is our Lesson, not our excuse, surely not the way we are supposed to conduct “business”.
On the other hand we find the others continuing in prayer, they had the past from which to draw from. When Solomon finished the temple they brought the ark of the covenant with the holy vessels of the Lord (II Chron 5:1-5); however when the priests brought the ark of the covenant to the Most Holy Place and opened it, they found nothing save the two tablets (II Chron 5:7-10). The ark represented the covenant made with the children of Israel, the only item left was the basis for the Law, the manna was gone, the vessel holding the manna was gone, the Rod of Aaron which held the signs of life was also gone, only the two stones reflecting the heart of man were left. In our case, we are the Ark, the Law of the Spirit is written on our hearts, the Tree of Life with healing in its leaves comes in the New Birth, the Bread from heaven (Bread of Life) is our heart healing our souls, with the Mercy Seat over us to protect us along the path as Mercy and Grace watch over us. In Solomon’s day when the priests and singers were arrayed in White Linen, having all their instruments of praise, the 120 priests sounded the Trumpet, this is a type and shadow of the events in the Upper Room (II Chron 5:12 & Rev 1:6). The 120 souls in the upper room became kings and priests, the Trumpet sounded, God was among His people.
The Sound of the Trumpet in Solomon’s day proclaimed the Mercy of the Lord, like the priests in Solomon’s day the people in the Upper Room were praising and giving thanks to the Lord, believing they received. They praised the Lord saying “He is Good; for His Mercy endures forever” (II Chron 5:13). They put their minds on the Mercy of the Father, as they remitted sins down unto them. The type and shadow shows the house was filled with a Cloud, even the House of the Lord (II Chron 5:13). The Glory was so great the priests could not minister by reason of the Cloud; for the Glory of the Lord had filled the house of God (II Chron 5:14). However, before granting of the Gift we find Peter would preach his first and only carnal sermon. They were told to Wait, but Peter being Peter made a decision to hold a board meeting. They had the Ingress Aires and Authority, but their authority never granted them permission to appoint apostles. This one experience in Acts shows us having a Living Soul isn’t enough, ye must be Born Again.
We know about the three trumps, and how the first trump announced how the Lord wanted to be among His people. When the Rushing Mighty Wind comes, the Trump will be real, the Lord will be among His people. We have Jesus in us, as long as there is one person on this earth with Jesus in them, it is yet Day showing Christ on the earth in those who are Born Again. Some expect Jesus to come and make it all right, but we have Jesus in us, making us Perfect.
Demonic Control begins by controlling the pulpit; one shouldn’t allow devils to speak from the pulpit, but neither should they hinder the Truth. Peter is making a self-determination regarding what he assumes the Scriptures say, or better he is engaged in “private interpretation”. Will he learn from this experience? Yes, First Peter proves it. The experience was Precious, we can’t look at Peter’s natural mistakes, thinking, “wow what a jerk”. No, we’ve all done the same, we presume in the moment of panic, or assumed in the moment of pride what we’re doing is proper, yet we lacked the authority to do it. All of us make mistakes, the Lord uses mistakes to train us, the Pharisees use them to accuse us. Peter is not some “strange fellow”, or a whacko, he is just like anyone else who wants to do good, but lacks the Spirit. After Peter receives the Spirit and Power, he will change completely. Does it mean he won’t make mistakes? Hardly, It means he will always benefit from the mistakes made. Intent is always the determining factor, what was our intent?
And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood (Acts 1:15-19).
The Holy Ghost didn’t come the second they arrived, nor was the Spirit waiting for them, thus Peter assumed they needed to conduct business. In the midst of the praying Peter stands up, but Jesus didn’t tell them to fill the position of Judas, He told them to tarry. Peter used Scripture, he even used more than one, all of which pointed to this folly as the first carnal board meeting. This lesson is not written for their sakes, but for ours. The History of the Body shows many times when someone felt Somebody must do something, as they hold a carnal meeting with the result of placing more carnal rules and regulations on people, or making appointments based on the reasoning of man. After Pentecost the apostles will meet, but they will be seeking the Holy Ghost through the New Man to set people free, not bind them to rules and regulations (vs. 15:10 & 15:20-21).
Peter describes Judas, as well as what happened when Judas reached the end of his rope, thus among Peter’s concerns is having the full complement of twelve. He as a Jew knew the Quorum didn’t require twelve to be a Quorum, but Jesus appointed twelve, now they were eleven. Peter also felt the people needed a sign showing how they forgave Judas, after all isn’t the purpose of the Breath of Jesus to forgive? How would it look if they preached Jesus, yet didn’t have the evidence of forgiving Judas? The Judas mentioned in verse 23 is not Judas Iscariot, since he was dead by this time. Neither is he Jude the brother of James, this Judas is known as Judas Barsabas or Judas (Joseph) the Son of Sabas, there is no mention of him being with the disciples, but the effort was to replace Judas, thus we will find Barsabas was a disciple of John the Baptist ministry.
However, when the Holy Ghost delivered the Gift none of the dwellers of Jerusalem asked, “what about Judas?”, they wanted to know, “how is it, all of us hear these wonderful things of God in our own language?”. They didn’t care about Judas, they were moved by “The things of God”.
Peter quotes something said by the Holy Ghost through another person, but the key shows it wasn’t “by the mouth of Peter”, but by “the mouth of David”. Here Peter is giving his interpretation of what the Holy Ghost was saying, in a few moments he will give a Holy Ghost interpretation of what the Holy Ghost said through Joel. Two completely different things, within minutes, the difference? The Power from on High.
Peter’s comments place Judas in the same category as Korah, showing the rebellion within the ranks, but Moses didn’t attempt to fill the slot of Korah (Numb 16:31-32). Although Judas was “numbered” among them, he was the only one among them called a “devil” by Jesus. All this concern produced a reasoning, isn’t it strange how Jesus never voiced the concerns troubling Peter. Peter’s imagination is out of the gate and running strong, rather than being concerned about bringing the people to Jesus, he is concerned about what the people will think of him, or the other disciples. He is in his Somebody do something mode of thinking.
After all this reasoning they decide it’s a good idea to pray, but they should have stayed with the prayer of forgiving. Peter is still looking to walk on the water to prove his faith. When Peter walked on the water the command from Jesus was “I will meet you on the other side”, it was not, “when thou reach half way I want someone to walk on the water”. Peter was again at his half way mark, he decided someone had to repair the damage Judas caused, but the concern was in the hand of God, not the hands of Peter.
The old man will run all over the place looking for confirmation, the Spirit knows God’s voice. Peter needed some support for his argument, so he used Scripture: however, he will also leaves off the intent of the Scripture. Well, they did pray you know. Yes, and they ended casting lots. All this shows how it doesn’t take long for us to fall into a “somebody, do something” thinking, missing the joy of Tarrying. Any decision in leadership must be Holy Ghost backed, then Spirit confirmed. This experience was to replace a man, not fill an office, thus they went back to the time when John started his ministry, but John was not a part of the ministry of Jesus, he had his own ministry
For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take (Acts 1:20).
We also see how the business meeting didn’t stop the Holy Ghost, but it was only when they were in the one accord did the Holy Ghost bring the gift.
This sounds good, after all Jesus confronted the devil with “It is written”; however, this is from Psalm 69, it says nothing about filling the position, rather it tells us to leave it alone, God will handle it. Their table (iniquity) is a snare before them, their eyes will be darkened, their loins will shake continually, let their habitation remain desolate, and Let None Dwell In Their Tents (Ps 69:21-25). Clearly this is a They, not a him, it also says to let the position to “remain desolate”, it doesn’t say to “fill it”. There are bad fish, but the good fish don’t swim with them, or hunt them, the good fish preach the truth in love.
The phrase, “and his bishopric let another take” was added by Peter from Psalm 109:8, but it also says let his children be few, and his wife a widow, yet Judas was not married, thus this speaks of the position of the son of perdition, not the man himself. Those who commit iniquity will have their names blotted out of the Book of the Living, but as for us, we will praise the Name Of God with a song, and magnify Him with thanksgiving. This shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock; the humble shall see this and be glad; and your heart shall live to seek God (Ps 69:27-32). Continuing in prayer was their answer, love for one another was the course, it was not finding a replacement for Judas. God will save Zion, and build Judah, those who Love the Lord will dwell therein (Ps 69:35-36).
This is “Scripture”, it’s written, yet any of us could take these same verses and say, “Well Peter the Apostle did it, so are we, it’s Scripture”, yet we would be making the same mistake Peter and the others did. The Scripture reproves such acts, it’s doesn’t condone them.
Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us; Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection (Acts 1:21-22).
Jesus just told them, “You shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses” (v. 1:8). When Peter was holding a meeting, had the Power fallen? No, did they have the Spirit? No, so they weren’t Witnesses, their mistake proves the very premise, we need the Holy Ghost and Spirit before moving off and giving birth to Ishmaels in leadership.
Jesus never said, “one from the baptism of John”, or “you must fill the position of Judas”; They were to Tarry and complete the Ingress Aires, but don’t ever confuse the remitting of someone’s sins against us, as having granted them forgiveness from heaven, neither assume our act of forgiving them is the same thing as their sins being remitted by Jesus. The Ingress Aires grants us Mercy to forgive others for the sins done unto us, thus our forgiving them doesn’t mean their sins are forgiven by the Father, it still takes each of them coming to the Father following the same procedure as we did.
Peter lays out some requirements, “beginning from the baptism of John”, who began with the baptism of John? There were only two disciples from John’s baptism who joined Jesus (Jn 1:35). One was named Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother (Jn 1:40). The other is not named, but this explains how Peter felt the position had to be filled by someone who had the same background as Judas. How close did he come? First there were only two disciples who left John’s ministry to join Jesus, so Peter picks two people. One named Judas (this is not Judas the brother of James, this Judas was surnamed Barsabas), the other was named Matthias (vs. 1:23 & 15:22).
Before we leave this area we must view some notes in the phrase “from the baptism of John” identifying where Judas Iscariot came from. The effectiveness of John’s baptism ended at the Cross (Acts 19:2-6), but the actual deed stopped when John was cast into prison. There is no evidence in the Gospel of anyone being baptized in water under the Baptism of John after John was cast into prison; however, here in Acts we will find there were many Gentiles baptized under John’s baptism, who had to be baptized again. Why? John was not a member of the Body of Christ, his baptism never granted anyone entrance into the Body. The word “From” in the phrase “from John’s” is the Greek Apo meaning Proceeding of one object from another, A separation form a thing or person, such as the phrase “out of the water”, it means the place from which one is derived, it used in Acts 2:5 in reference to the men from other countries, the word shows the replacement had to be one from the active ministry of John, which ministry ceased being active when Jesus came out of the wilderness (Mark 1:14). Nathanael (Bar-tholomew) couldn’t fit since he didn’t come out of the ministry of John, rather Philip found him under a tree, yet neither of them came from John’s ministry (Jn 1:43-45). James, John, Peter, Jude and the others were all accounted for by the seashore, they were never identified with John’s baptism; leaving Joseph Barsabas, surnamed Justus or Judas (a different person than Judas not Iscariot, or Judas Iscariot). The real Scriptural evidence shows there were only “two” disciples of John who joined Jesus (Jn 1:35), one is Andrew, the other unnamed, thus Peter picked two. The actions in this out of order meeting do give us some information regarding Judas, but it still doesn’t justify it being out of order.
And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen; That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place (Acts 1:23-25).
This goes right back to “If it be You, Lord bid me to come”, but whether it’s “bid me to come”, or “which one Lord?”, it was still tempting the Lord. Since God picked neither, one could assume the clues were there, let it alone, forget it, get back to Tarrying. The Lord couldn’t submit to their desires, they were out of order. Verse 24 gives us the content of their prayer, “Thou Lord which knows the hearts of all men, show whether of these two you have chosen”. The prayer didn’t come close to “should we be doing this Lord?”. They made their decision, the position was going to be filled, if the Lord didn’t tell them, they would find a way. Verse 25 shows how they made their decision, they had no answer to their prayer, but they didn’t care someone was going to be appointed.
The notion seemed right, fill the slot, there were twelve tribes, they should have twelve apostles, after all Jesus did appoint twelve to begin with. Jesus appointed the twelve, the twelve didn’t appoint anyone, including the 70. Jesus said He lost none except for the son of perdition, thus the slot was to remain vacant. The historical obscurity of Matthias is so vague it is only speculation, at best. There was a Matthias noted by John Chyrsostom, but it’s even more vague. The Matthias, Chyrsostom mentions never did an act as an Apostle, nor carry any attributes of an Apostle, he did preach, but so did many others. The point being, the natural mind of man will always figure someway to do something, then claim “it’s of God”, when in truth it is not of God. Did they hear from God? Not even a small still voice. They were attempting to interpret the Bible, rather than obeying the Rhema.
The Bible will define itself, as it will define many things, but can the Bible interpret itself? Can it tell us what it meant by saying this or that? No, the words are there, it takes the Holy Ghost to interpret the words. Making the Bible interpret itself produces fables, or out of order events. We also find Justus (Judas) Barsabas is later seen with Silas, both are noted as prophets, not apostles (v. 15:32).
Clearly the Spirit had not been given as yet, the Ingress Aries had, but it’s the permission to receive the Holy Ghost. We will see the Holy Ghost was not given at the time of this meeting, thus the gift of the Spirit was not given either. If we know something is not right, yet we lack the Wisdom or Power to do anything, we are observers, not doers. This is our lesson, either hear from God, or do nothing.
And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles (Acts 1:26).
They had scripture, they prayed, but they had to cast lots, they didn’t hear one word, Why? The command was to Wait, not vote, or do anything else but Wait. When we don’t hear from God, we should reach back to the last thing God told us, was it Wait? Was it Read your Bible? Was it pray? What was it? We will find God was waiting for us to do the last thing He told us; while we are running all over attempting to avoid it. “Well God knows my heart”, no kidding, but He desires to save your soul. The prayer made the same conclusion, the Lord knows the hearts, indicating they didn’t, but they placed a person in the position anyway. God allowed this act to take place to give us the stark differences between leaders without the Spirit, and leaders with the Spirit. This is the one and only time these leaders vote, from their Pentecost experience they found to “hear what the Spirit says”.
We also have to see the real lesson, which is the use of Power outside of the Authority. Did Peter and the others have Authority to appoint? No, they were told to make disciples, not Apostles. They were granted Authority by Jesus, but Power is the ability to carry out the Authority with Guidance within the framework of the Authority given. No one is given “blanket authority” by Jesus, authority has specifics for the time (Matt 10:5-15 & Eph 4:11-12). They stretched the authority granted them into assumed power, we all have to be careful not to cross the line in the matters of Power and Authority. If called to be a Prophet, be one, but don’t engage in Balaam thinking assuming one can extend to the authority of the office of Prophet into being a Teacher, unless of course one is called to be a teacher, apostle, and prophet as was Paul.
In Verse 26 we find something strange, or it might be; Matthias didn’t become number “thirteen” or “twelve”, he was numbered “with the eleven”. No where in the Book of Acts do we see this man again; however, in Acts 13:2 we do see the Holy Ghost saying, “Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. Instead of one or the other, the Holy Ghost took both. Prayer was also conducted, as well as fasting, thus we find the mistake of this meeting didn’t stop the Holy Ghost from bringing the Spirit.
Clearly Acts 13:2 shows no vote was taken, the Gift was granted by the Holy Ghost on behalf of Jesus. Okay, why numbered with the “eleven”? Jesus wouldn’t allow this innocent man to be placed in a position reserved for the “workers of iniquity”. The office of Judas never reached Pentecost, it never saw the Resurrection, it was never part of the glorious birth of the Church. Judas was a piece of the Rock, but he was independent, without the Spirit, void of the Ingress Aries. Jude tells us, “these are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit” (Jude 19). The word “sensual” only appears twice, once in Jude and once in James relating to the wisdom of the world (earthly, sensual and devilish – James 3:15). Will Jesus leave the “Judas types”? No, they “separate themselves”, much different. The word Separate is the Greek Apodiorizo, it’s a compound word meaning To disjoint, as in breaking a branch off a tree, or a piece off a body. Paul said the Body of Jesus will be broken, but he never said Jesus will break it. The sons of perdition cause the breaking, Jesus is the victim. The phrase ”having not the Spirit” in Jude 19 means unable to hold to the Spirit, showing they associate with the he in the world.
This meeting to fill the slot of Judas is out of order, but it doesn’t mean the men were working at iniquity. They were working at ignorance, they lacked guidance, they were still unable to understand spiritual matters at the time. When Peter walked on the water it seemed like the right thing to do at the time as well. When he said, “Be it far from you Lord”, it seemed like the perfect thing to say at the time. This meeting merely shows us the signs of carnal leadership when it comes to business matters. Take heed, Tarry until we hear from the Holy Ghost, or do nothing. The real evidence of their lack of Godly guidance is not found in Matthias whom they did pick, but in Joseph (Justus) Barsabas whom they didn’t pick. Later in Acts 15:22 we find the letter of Doctrine was written by the Apostles, but it was delivered by Judas Barsabas and Silas, both Prophets (Acts 15:32). Barnabas is the uncle to John Mark, not to be confused with Barsabas, they are two different people. Barsabas is the prophet, Barnabas the apostle, yet we see even in the out of order meeting God was still working, they didn’t pick Barsabas, later God would pick the man to be a prophet (Acts 15:22 & 15:32).
This first experience shows us we can have the Ingress Aires, yet not have the spiritual ability to perform leadership duties. The one mistake becomes obvious, as their attempt to replace the man, rather than fill the Office. We don’t attempt to make another Peter, or Paul, we seek to hear who the Holy Ghost wants in the Office.
There are various areas of authority, and different areas of anointing, we can’t take one and make it apply in a place it was not intended. We can have the granted authority to lay hands on the sick, to preach the Good News, but it doesn’t mean we have the authority as a leader, nor does it mean we have the Power to lead. We can give a word, but it doesn’t mean we’re a Prophet. Authority gives us the right, it doesn’t give us the ability, or guidance. We must be anointed by Holy Ghost on behalf of Jesus with the Doma (gift) of the Office, as well as be confirmed by leaders to be in an office. There is an Unction over the entire Body for the specifics of the Body, there is the anointing in the New Man for the specifics of the New Man. The New Man will not appoint to the Offices, he knows better. Peter was making a mistake many of us make, he heard, “Feed My Sheep”, then felt it was exactly what he was doing, but he forgot to, “tarry”, he also forgot what Tarry means. Peter was never told, “Make My shepherds”. Peter was a shepherd, but shepherds feed sheep, they don’t make other shepherds.
Peter still had the urge to control, it was Peter who called this meeting, not Jesus. Of course none of them had the Power from on High, they were left with a dilemma, who to pick? Oh well, let’s vote, or better, let’s toss lots for it. Peter was called, but he needed Another Comforter to guide him. Some of us hear, “You’re called”, then presume it means, “You’re chosen and anointed”. There must be a training into the position, or we will miss the joy of the position. Is all of this Peter’s fault? No, there were 120 people in the room, eleven of them were discipled leaders, yet not one said, “wait, didn’t the Lord say tarry?”. All eleven were of one mind, but it was the wrong mind. When we find ourselves in a meeting where there is no specific, affirmed answer to prayer, it’s time to call a halt to the proceedings, end the meeting, and get back to the last thing the Lord told us to do.
By Rev. G. E. Newmyer – s.b.i.les17Rev11/©2003
