Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest
Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest
THREE THOUSAND CONVERTED. 42. To what were they converted? They were all converted to the Christhood of Jesus. Doubtless very many of them knew the God of Abraham in a happy personal experience of His saving power. They are called “devout men” (verse 5). The word translated devout is never applied to a sinner. It is applied to Ananias, the good preacher sent to minister to the penitent Saul. It is translated holiness (Acts 3:12). Now you must remember that Pentecost was a great annual Jewish camp-meeting, to which the synagogues in “every nation under heaven” sent in their delegates. These pious Jews from all the Gentile world had not heard the reports about Jesus. They were staunch worshipers of Abraham’s God and trusting the Christ of prophecy for salvation. Now they are suddenly and unexpectedly inundated with the wonderful news that the Christ of prophecy, anticipated four thousand years, typified by millions of bleeding beasts and birds on Jewish altars slain, has already made His advent into the world, suffered and died to redeem lost humanity, ascended into heaven, received and crowned by the Father on David’s throne King of the Jews, and has received the promise of the Holy Ghost from the Father, whom He has poured out on them in His wonderful fiery baptism and sanctifying power. Hence these mighty hosts of pious Jews, who had nothing to do with the crucifixion of Christ, but had come hither from afar to worship the God of their fathers, had nothing to do but hail the glorious tidings of the long-expected Redeemer’s advent, and be converted to the Christhood of Jesus, no longer simply worshipping the Christ of prophecy, but hailing with joy unutterable the Christ of prophecy and proclaiming Him to the world. As we have many zealous professors of religion now who are not real possessors, so doubtless many of the Pentecostian converts actually got religion that day for the first time, having never hitherto personally known the Lord. Meanwhile, doubtless a goodly number of them were Jerusalemites and actually guilty of the blood of the Lord. Of course they must have a bottom-rock regeneration to save them from hell. The Greek says nothing about conversion, but simply says, “Therefore so many as received His Word were baptized, and they were added unto them that day about three thousand souls.” The three thousand were added to the hundred and twenty disciples, who constituted the remnant of old faithful Judaism, the orthodox holding-over members, who, surviving the apostatizing wreck, became the nucleus of the New Testament church, still abiding in the “good olive tree,” while the unbelieving Jews were broken off (Romans 11). Therefore to these faithful one hundred and twenty now representing the kingdom of God, perpetuated out of Judaism into Christianity, the three thousand were added. Doubtless a large element of the three thousand who had not been contaminated with the rejection of Jesus, as they came from afar and had not heard of Him, and as bona fide members of the Abrahamic covenant, were experimentally acquainted with the God of their fathers, and consequently not sinners, but true Israelites, actually received the Holy Ghost in His sanctifying power on that occasion and were sanctified instead of converted. Meanwhile, doubtless many of the three thousand had never before known the Lord in personal salvation, and not a few of them were those wicked Jerusalemites who had imbued their hands in the innocent blood of Jesus. Of course, all such needed and received a glorious conversion to God in the true gospel sense. In times of corrupt ecclesiasticism religion is always purer as it radiates far away from the corrupt center. Hence, doubtless, the teeming thousands of pious delegates from the myriads of synagogues not only in the remoter parts of Palestine, but throughout the Gentile world, as we see in Asia, Africa and Europe, were well represented there, not by Gentiles but by Jews. Of course, a purer type of piety prevailed in synagogues of these distant regions uncorrupted by the intriguing priesthood so influential at
Jerusalem. Hence, while some of the three thousand were converted to God, and others were gloriously sanctified, they were all converted to the Christhood of Jesus. 42. “And they were persevering in the teaching of the apostles, and in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and prayers.” The three thousand were suddenly and unexpectedly caught in the whorls of this Pentecostal cyclone, warped in oblivion as to their distant homes and plans of speedy return, thrilled and enraptured with the new teaching of the apostles, revelatory of all the wonderful and paradoxical events connected with the history of Jesus, the Christ of prophecy, who had already in fulfillment of the prophecies come into the world, suffered and died, ascended into heaven, been crowned and sceptered King of the Jews and poured out the Holy Ghost on them, the Omnipotent Successor and Revelator of the ascended Christ, thus inaugurating the glorious gospel dispensation, predicted by inspired seers four thousand years. The three thousand all have the same wonderful experiences of personal salvation. Hence unutterably sweet their fellowship, as they are filled and thrilled with the edifying word; they are constant in prayers and daily partake of the holy eucharist instituted by our Lord to commemorate His vicarious sufferings till He shall ride down on the throne of His millennial glory. MANY MIRACLES. 43. The occasion is rife with the miraculous manifestations of the Divine presence. The supernatural audience of every man in his own language and equally supernatural utterance of the one hundred and twenty in all the diversified languages spoken by the nations of the globe as the Jews in their dispersions then and now speak the language of the nation whither they sojourn, “and there was a great consternation on all,” regardless of age, sex, rank or nationality, a mighty consternation from God out of heaven overawed the multitudes, all electrified through and through with the realization that God Almighty has Jerusalem in His hand. COMMUNITY OF GOODS. 44, 45. A number of concurrent events superinduced this community of goods: (a) The suddenness of the Pentecostal revival catching thousands of those delegates from Jewish synagogues in “every nation under heaven,” who had only brought supplies for their expeditious peregrinations, and were consequently dependent on the Jerusalem saints for support; (b) amid the rage of men and devils, the magnates of church and state arrayed against the despised Nazarenes and determined to crush them in blood, obliterating the very memory of Jesus from the earth, there is every probability of forfeiting their estates by confiscation; (c) all the primitive Christians were on the constant outlook for their Lord to return from heaven and take them away, as He had said with His valedictory lips, “Behold! I come quickly.” In that case, of course they would have no use for their estates. Amid these environments and inspirations we do not wonder at the forty-fifth verse, i.e., “They continued to sell their real estates and private properties and distribute the same to all as any one
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THREE THOUSAND CONVERTED.<br />
42. To what were they converted? They were all converted to the Christhood of Jesus. Doubtless<br />
very many of them knew the God of Abraham in a happy personal experience of <strong>His</strong> saving power.<br />
They are called “devout men” (verse 5). The word translated devout is never applied to a sinner. It<br />
is applied to Ananias, the good preacher sent to minister to the penitent Saul. It is translated holiness<br />
(<strong>Acts</strong> 3:12). Now you must remember that Pentecost was a great annual Jewish camp-meeting, to<br />
which the synagogues in “every nation under heaven” sent in their delegates. These pious Jews from<br />
all the Gentile world had not heard the reports about Jesus. They were staunch worshipers of<br />
Abraham’s God and trusting the Christ of prophecy for salvation. Now they are suddenly and<br />
unexpectedly inundated with the wonderful news that the Christ of prophecy, anticipated four<br />
thousand years, typified by millions of bleeding beasts and birds on Jewish altars slain, has already<br />
made <strong>His</strong> advent into the world, suffered and died to redeem lost humanity, ascended into heaven,<br />
received and crowned by the Father on David’s throne King of the Jews, and has received the<br />
promise of the Holy Ghost from the Father, whom He has poured out on them in <strong>His</strong> wonderful fiery<br />
baptism and sanctifying power. Hence these mighty hosts of pious Jews, who had nothing to do with<br />
the crucifixion of Christ, but had come hither from afar to worship the God of their fathers, had<br />
nothing to do but hail the glorious tidings of the long-expected Redeemer’s advent, and be converted<br />
to the Christhood of Jesus, no longer simply worshipping the Christ of prophecy, but hailing with<br />
joy unutterable the Christ of prophecy and proclaiming Him to the world. As we have many zealous<br />
professors of religion now who are not real possessors, so doubtless many of the Pentecostian<br />
converts actually got religion that day for the first time, having never hitherto personally known the<br />
Lord. Meanwhile, doubtless a goodly number of them were Jerusalemites and actually guilty of the<br />
blood of the Lord. Of course they must have a bottom-rock regeneration to save them from hell. The<br />
Greek says nothing about conversion, but simply says, “Therefore so many as received <strong>His</strong> Word<br />
were baptized, and they were added unto them that day about three thousand souls.” The three<br />
thousand were added to the hundred and twenty disciples, who constituted the remnant of old faithful<br />
Judaism, the orthodox holding-over members, who, surviving the apostatizing wreck, became the<br />
nucleus of the New Testament church, still abiding in the “good olive tree,” while the unbelieving<br />
Jews were broken off (<strong>Romans</strong> 11). Therefore to these faithful one hundred and twenty now<br />
representing the kingdom of God, perpetuated out of Judaism into Christianity, the three thousand<br />
were added. Doubtless a large element of the three thousand who had not been contaminated with<br />
the rejection of Jesus, as they came from afar and had not heard of Him, and as bona fide members<br />
of the Abrahamic covenant, were experimentally acquainted with the God of their fathers, and<br />
consequently not sinners, but true Israelites, actually received the Holy Ghost in <strong>His</strong> sanctifying<br />
power on that occasion and were sanctified instead of converted. Meanwhile, doubtless many of the<br />
three thousand had never before known the Lord in personal salvation, and not a few of them were<br />
those wicked Jerusalemites who had imbued their hands in the innocent blood of Jesus. Of course,<br />
all such needed and received a glorious conversion to God in the true gospel sense. In times of<br />
corrupt ecclesiasticism religion is always purer as it radiates far away from the corrupt center. Hence,<br />
doubtless, the teeming thousands of pious delegates from the myriads of synagogues not only in the<br />
remoter parts of Palestine, but throughout the Gentile world, as we see in Asia, Africa and Europe,<br />
were well represented there, not by Gentiles but by Jews. Of course, a purer type of piety prevailed<br />
in synagogues of these distant regions uncorrupted by the intriguing priesthood so influential at