Doug Sutherland's introductory comments for Friday's Bible Study. For the complete study click here.
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by Jim Wise In Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the prophet spoke of God's servant who would be despised, rejected, esteemed not, wounded for our transgressions, oppressed and afflicted. Through Isaiah, God spoke of his servant as the righteous one who shall bear their iniquities and who bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. In the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy, Isaiah wrote in 52:13 that the servant shall act wisely and shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted. The Jewish people had been looking for hundreds of years for this “Servant” mentioned by Isaiah to free them from foreign oppression. Peter was using this familiar passage to show them that they had actually put Him to death. The nation of Israel had been looking for the lion that would free them from the crushing boot of the Romans and missed the Lamb. While Isaiah wrote of Jesus coming as the sacrificial lamb in his first coming, he also wrote about the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy in the second coming of Jesus. Isaiah 53:12 says of Jesus, "I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong." Jesus the Lord of Lords and King of Kings will be exalted and return like a conquering general and in that second coming He will share with believers in His name the benefits of that exaltation. Peter is telling the crowd that the Jesus they killed, the Author of Life is the key to being freed from captivity. He uses the limiting physical captivity of the lame man and the miracle derived from faith in Jesus' name as the prepared ground for presenting the gospel message and the freedom from the captivity of sin it offers. We should look for prepared ground today and do likewise. by Jim Wise Seeing the amazed crowd, the formerly fearful Peter who had denied Jesus, spoke again with the conviction and force he exhibited at Pentecost. Not fully committed to Jesus prior to his death because his human expectation of Jesus restoring the Kingdom of Israel was unfulfilled, Peter now sees things in a different light. The difference was the resurrection and glorification of Jesus which Peter said was by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That same God in Exodus 3:6 said to Moses, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Just as God was saying to Moses that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were alive, so now Peter tells the crowd that God's servant Jesus is alive. Peter directs the crowd's attention to Jesus, the Author of Life, and says that it is the faith that is through Jesus that restored the man to health. Just as Moses led the Israelites from bondage to freedom, so now Jesus provides a way to freedom from the bondage of sin and to eternal life with God. Probably reflecting on how he failed to understand the ultimate purpose of Jesus' miracles, Peter now uses miracles to point the crowd to the salvation that comes through the risen Jesus Christ. His sole focus now is on promoting God's kingdom on this earth and the eternal life that comes through faith in Jesus. Jason Mills and Doug Sutherland review Friday's Bible Study by Jim Wise The lame beggar was looking for money to get through life for another day, while Peter and John were looking for an opportunity to give someone life for eternity. The Holy Spirit was at work and Peter and John were His instruments. As Peter directed his gaze at the man, the man fixed his attention on Peter and John. Luke's use of the eyes reflects the idea that "the eyes are the window to the soul" and the thought in Ephesians 1:18 which says, "…so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you...." We like the apostles should be looking for someone with whom we can share the gift of eternal life through the gospel message. We are not responsible for bringing anyone to faith in Jesus, but we do have the job of sharing the good news of the gospel. While this world is not our home, it is our mission field preparing us for home. The words of the hymm "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" reflect the thought:
O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free! Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. by Jim Wise In today's verses, we see the "body of Christ" in its formative stage as it is starting to grow. It was designed by God to be more like an organism than an organization. (See also 1 Cor12:27 & Eph 5:30) Scripture refers to believers as members of the body of Christ. As such, it is like a living organism with each believer being an important part. "For the body does not consist of one member but of many. (1 Cor 12:14 ESV) Paul says in 1 Cor 12:27, "Now, you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." The church early on was Spirit-driven as the Holy Spirit worked in the lives of the believers. The four marks of the church in the 1st century church were that they "devoted themselves" (1) to the apostles' teaching and to (2) the fellowship and (3) the breaking of bread and (4) prayers. These devoted believers were growing in their faith, helping fellow believers who needed help, praying and breaking bread (communion as we call it today) in remembrance of what Jesus had done on the cross. The early church thought of themselves as a family. The Spirit of God was alive in them and the responded as a living organism dedicated to preserving the integrity of the whole body. As believers today, we need to follow the example of the early believers and devote ourselves to prayer, growing in our faith, fellowshipping regularly with other believers and not letting our remembrance in communion (and other areas) degenerate into a non-remembering organizational ritual. Functioning in His body today as Jesus desires will leave us in awe of what God can continue to do individually and collectively in our lives and in our country. by Jim Wise Vs. 37 says, "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." This group of new believers in the Lord Jesus Christ didn't have a name for themselves but spoke of Christ being in them. They later came to be called “the way” and “christians”. This diverse group of humans became one in Christ. The emphasis of the verses is on being devoted to listening to accurate preaching of God's word, fellowship of believers, eating together and prayer. A strong vital church puts emphasis on gathering together to hear solid teaching from the scriptures and straying from that leaves only an empty shell of a church. Through fellowship, the various parts of the body of Christ come together to create an energized body that can be a light and influence in the world for Christ. Being "devoted" meant that they were "all in" and fully committed to living and spreading the gospel message. By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each of them, these early Christians (as are we today) are drawn together in fellowship despite their human differences. The early church's strengths were the growing numbers of believers and their coming together to hear the word, fellowship and pray together. They became one in Christ and began to reflect Him in their thoughts and actions to those around them. It should be the same today and that is the purpose of CrossTalk. by Jim Wise Emboldened by the Holy Spirit and the resurrection of Jesus, Peter boldly speaks to the gathered crowd. In verse 39, he tells them that there has been a paradigm shift and the gospel message is not only for the Jews but also "for all who are far off" (i.e. the gentiles). Isaiah 57:19 prophesied that gentiles would be included in God's plan to bring light to the world and Peter confirms that the time is now. The second paradigm shift is that there is a move from the law and works to salvation by faith in Jesus and what He did. Although the Holy Spirit is speaking through Peter, he still fails to understand at this point that both faithful ethnic Jews and gentiles are included in God's plan as both recipients and messengers of the gospel. This is evident in Acts 10 and in Galatians in Peter's dealing with Cornelius. God draws believers to Him by His grace and then sends them out to spread the good news of salvation by grace through faith. As in the Old Testament, God wants his children to be both separate from the world and a light to the world. Doug pointed out that as seen in the Old Testament book of Esther, non-believing ethnic Jews became believers in Yahweh because of His work in saving the Jews and they in turn were a light force in causing the conversion of gentiles. The message God had in Peter's time and for today's generation is that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins through His death on the cross and gave us the hope (i.e. a confidence that something will come to pass because God has promised it will come to pass) of eternal life through His resurrection. We are to share that message in truth and in love. by Jim Wise In Acts 2:36, Peter set the stage for this week's study as he stated that "God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." The nation of Israel had waited for over 1,000 years for their Messiah and Peter tells them that not recognizing Him, they crucified and killed the object of their desire. In verse 37, those hearing Peter were cut to the heart as the Holy Spirit convicted them of their sin. Without the Holy Spirit, they would not have understood the scriptures spoken by Peter. The Holy Spirit convicted them of their sins for which Jesus was crucified and died. They were not convicted because they had crucified Christ, but rather because Christ had to be crucified (per the scriptures) for their sins. As a result, they were "cut" or "pierced" to the heart. Thousands were brought to the obedience of faith. However, neither Peter's words, nor the miracle they witnessed, could have produced such effects, had not the Holy Spirit been given. Sinners, when their eyes are opened, cannot but be pricked to the heart for sin, cannot but feel an inward uneasiness. Peter exhorted them to repent of their sins, and openly to avow their belief in Jesus as the Messiah, by being baptized in his name. Thus professing their faith in Him, they would receive remission of their sins, and partake of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. These listeners were not initially indwelt by the Holy Spirit but they were convicted. In John 16:7-11, Jesus said that his leaving would cause the Holy Spirit to come and he would convict people of their sin and cause them to repent and see Jesus for who he is. Until we look inside ourselves and see our sin, the gospel message is meaningless and the Holy Spirit cannot work in our heart to have us accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Through the Holy Spirit and the piercing, we (1)recognize our sin (2)see Jesus died for me personally (3)accept God's gift of grace (4)repent and turn away from our sin and (5)and baptism of the Spirit happens as our salvation experience. From that point on, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The emphasis is not on the technique of baptism. It is on repenting and turning away and then water baptism demonstrates that we are to be identified as a follower of Christ. To be identified means we are no longer a follower of the world's ways but are a follower of Christ seeking to become like Him. In 2 Peter 3:8, Peter says that God's desire is for all to come to repentance and be saved. Then as Peter did, we are to share God's good news in truth and love. by Jim Wise Doug started this morning's study with a statement that the Bible is a meta narrative. A meta narrative is the big story or a comprehensive explanation of many little stories. The meta narrative of the Bible is the story of the self-revelation of God to the world. The Christian gospel tells how for the world's redemption, God entered into history, the eternal came into time, the kingdom of heaven invaded the realm of earth in the great events of the incarnation, crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into glory to sit at the right hand of the Father. Jesus himself believed in a biblical meta narrative. In Mark 1:15 he announces, “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” In saying this, he indicates that God had a plan throughout history. The Kingdom of God has finally arrived and Jesus sees himself as the fulfillment of this plan. As believers who can see the meta narrative, we can see that God has a purpose and role for each of us in this life. Doug mentioned that the best selling book after the Bible is Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life. By seeing the big picture in the Bible, we will see our role and purpose in the furtherance of God's kingdom. The resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into glory at the Father's right hand is the linchpin in the story of redemption. There are three proofs of the resurrection: (1) Prophecy- Peter uses verses from Psalm 16 to establish that the death and resurrection was clearly prophesied in scripture (2) Eye Witnesses- There were over 500 eye witnesses who saw the resurrected Christ (3) Gift of the Holy Spirit- John 7:39 indicates that the glorification of Jesus in his resurrected body sitting at the right hand of the Father was the pre-requisite to the Father giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Psalm16 states that Jesus body would not see corruption and Psalm 110 shows Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father until his return to this earth. Application for Us: God's kingdom is here today and we each have a purpose and a role to play in it. That is what gives us a purpose in life. Today God's Holy Spirit speaks through us in our daily life in our words and our actions. by Jim Wise
Doug started this morning's study with a statement that the Bible is a meta narrative. A meta narrative is the big story or a comprehensive explanation of many little stories. The meta narrative of the Bible is the story of the self-revelation of God to the world. The Christian gospel tells how for the world's redemption, God entered into history, the eternal came into time, the kingdom of heaven invaded the realm of earth in the great events of the incarnation, crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into glory to sit at the right hand of the Father. Jesus himself believed in a biblical meta narrative. In Mark 1:15 he announces, “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” In saying this, he indicates that God had a plan throughout history. The Kingdom of God has finally arrived and Jesus sees himself as the fulfillment of this plan. As believers who can see the meta narrative, we can see that God has a purpose and role for each of us in this life. Doug mentioned that the best selling book after the Bible is Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life. By seeing the big picture in the Bible, we will see our role and purpose in the furtherance of God's kingdom. The resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into glory at the Father's right hand is the linchpin in the story of redemption. There are three proofs of the resurrection: (1) Prophecy- Peter uses verses from Psalm 16 to establish that the death and resurrection was clearly prophesied in scripture (2) Eye Witnesses- There were over 500 eye witnesses who saw the resurrected Christ (3) Gift of the Holy Spirit- John 7:39 indicates that the glorification of Jesus in his resurrected body sitting at the right hand of the Father was the pre-requisite to the Father giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Psalm16 states that Jesus body would not see corruption and Psalm 110 shows Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father until his return to this earth. Application for Us: God's kingdom is here today and we each have a purpose and a role to play in it. That is what gives us a purpose in life. Today God's Holy Spirit speaks through us in our daily life in our words and our actions. |
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