The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 124

givon us tl!nt which is bette_r, with which we m_ay well be content, :me! for the perf:c- tion of which we should strive and pray. lie gives us, as the consequence of our faith and as the response to olll believing prayer, quickening influences in the soul; a Divine action upon ond within the spirit, of the actual working of which we are not usually conscious at the moment of opemtion, but the effects of which are obvious to ourselves and to others. '!'hoy a.re these: (1) an assurance of sonship (Rom. viii. 16); (2) a. desire to bear witness unto Christ, so that without any gift of tongues we shall over- come nil obstacles, and speak of him and for him; (3) e. holy heart and a. beautiful life (Gal. v. 22; Eph. v. 9).-C. Vere. S-17.-The spiritual, the supe?'natural, and the natural. The faithful labours of Paul in the synagogue of the Jews and the room of Tyrannu~, the unusually extensive employment of the miraculous, and the discomfiture of the exorcists suggest tous- 1. THAT TUE SUPERNATURAL 18 TO BE SUBORDINATED TO THE SPIRITUAL. (Vers. S-12.) We remember how our Lord refused to gratify the ~nworthy craving for signs and wonders in his day: "There shall no sign be given to this generation" (Mark viii. 12); repeatedly he discouraged the demand for the miraculous, because it interfered with the teaching of truth, and so with the furtherance of his spiritual work. ·we find Paul ma.king comparatively little of these great" gifts;" his chronicler does not enlarge on them, but disposes of them in very few words, no doubt reproducing and reflecting thus the mind of the apostle ; he himself does not make a single allusion to them in his address to the elders a.t Miletus ( eh. xx.) ; he disparages rather than magnifies their impor- tance in his Epistles (2 Cor. xiii., xiv.). We are led to feel that the "special miracles wrought by the hands of Paul" are of very secondary value, as compared (ver. 11) with bis diligence in" persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God" (ver. 8), and with his enterprise and zeal in so acting that" all they which dwelt in .Asia. heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews a.nd Greeks" (ver. 10). We need not sigh for departed times when the gospel had some sanctions and supports which it has not now. All that is of first importance, all that is truly redemptive and Divine, abides with the Church of Christ, and will remain for ever. 1. The knowledge of the living and saving truth. 2. The love of it, a.nd joy in it. 3. The privilege of making it known. 4. Tho accessibility of those heavenly influences which make it powerful and efficacious to our own hearts and to the souls of those whom we address. II. THAT THE NATURAL CANNOT DO THE SPE0UL WORK OF THE SPIRITUAL. These exorcists (ver. 13) had probably been so far successful that they had induced their fellow-citizens t-0 believe that in them resided a strange power over the insane or the possessed. But when they used the name of Jesus in order to effect their object, they failed signally and disgracefully. In this respect they are types of those who attempt to do God's work without Divine weapons. Only the spiritual can do spiritual work. It is true that unspiritual men may (1) understand much of the Divine thought; (2) speak what they know with skill and force; (3) assume a sacred tone and spirit, and may affect men by that assumption; (4) maintain for years a reputation for devotion and usefulness. But it is also true that (1) if any spiritual result should follow, it will be through the overruling power of God,-it will not be their work, in any true sense; (2) no considerable or permanent results will follow,-such unreal conditions will not stand the test of time; (3) there will come exposure and humiliation, either here or hereafter. Wherefore let us honour the spiritual as that which is the one true, abiding Divine power. Let us: (1) Welcome to our heart the firat teachings and lead- ings of the Divine Spirit. (2) Establish our whole life on the basis of the spiritual; live and walk "in tho Spirit," as those who realize that outward shows a.re as nothing to the great spiritual realities. (3) Do the work of God with spiritual weapons; not attempting to build up the kingdom of God by bodily benefits, political economies, or human philosophi~s. 'l'hese have their place and their work, as handmaids and auxili- aries, and are by I o means to be despised. But the Christian minister must make men "hear the wordo of the Lord J, JSUs," must speak of those things which distinctively "~n.cern the kingdom of Goel;" h!l µi~i utter s~eciall1 Chiutie.n \104;\rine1 and look {cir po"1t1vel7 Dtvit1ll iufluenci;,.-O, 126 'l'HE ACTS 01<' THE APOSTLES. [cu. 11.X, 1-41. ----, -------- Vers. 18-20.-The sign of sincerity, We are reminded by the text- I. THAT 'WHEN WE ACCEPT JESUS CIIRIST WE YIELD OURSELVES TO HIM, Tt. exercise n living faith in him is to take everything from him aud to give everything to him; therefore to give ourselves to him and to his service. It is to recognize and respond to his supreme claims on heart and life. 11. THAT TO GIVE OURSELVES TO CHRIST MEANS TO ABANDON ALL THAT IS HATE• FUL TO HIM. How can we love him and not hate and shun the things which are pain- ful and offcnsi ve in his sight? IIL THAT TO ABANDON WHAT IS HATEFUL 'l'O CHRIST IS TO PUT AWAY ALL THAT IS FALSE AND IMPURE. To live a life of imposture ; to be sys~ematically enriching ourselves_ at the expense of the credulity of others (as these Ephesians had been doing); to be actmg falsehoods daily, or even frequently; to be introducing a large measure of vanity or folly into that which should be good and pure ;-this is hateful to him who is the holy and the true One; this is unendurable by him in one who bears his name and professes to be like him and to follow him. IV. THAT TO PUT ASIDE THAT WHICH IS PROFITABLE OB PLEASANT FOB CHRIST'S BAKE IS A SURE SIGN OF SINCERITY. The burning of these profitable "books" was the very best guarantee that could be given of the sincerity of the Ephesian converts. If we want to know how deep and true is a. man's conviction, we do not ask what strong things he can say in its favour, or how eloquently he can descant upon it, or what fervour he shows on one or two occasions respecting it, but how much he is prepared to part with on its account. We ask what deep-rooted habits he will cut a.way, what cherished treasures he will put aside, wba.t keen enjoyments he will forego, what money he will sacrifice, what prized but hurtful friendships he will surrender. This is the test of sincerity. A man that will do one or more of these things," we know the proof of him." V. THAT DELmERATE SELF-SACRIFICE IS THE UOST APPRECIATED wrrNESS WE CAN BEAR FOR CHBIST. "So mightily grew the word of God," etc. (ver, 20). There is no way by which we can so powerfully affect the judgment and win the sympathy of men as by sacrificing for Christ's sake that which all men prize and strive for. When the world sees all who "profess and call themselves Christians" not only engaging in devotion, and endeavouring to make converts, but also denying themselves pleasures they would otherwise enjoy, spending on others the money they would else have spent on themselves, foregoing worldly advantages which they cannot conscientiously appro- priate, then it will be convinced by arguments which now a.re without any cogency, &nd will be won by persuasions which now are urged in vain.-O. Vers. 21---41.-The supreme conflict. Of all the struggles which have occurred or are now ta.king place in the human world, there is not one which deserves to be named in comparison with that supreme conflict which is proceeding between Divine truth and human error, between holinel:iS and sin, between Christ and" the world." We are reminded here of- L ONE STRONG ADVERSARY WHICH HAB TO BE OVERCOME. The world will never be renovated until many strong " interests" have been bravely encountered and utterly overthrown. The gospel of Christ cannot be proclaimed in its fulness without giving occasion for many to say, here and there, now and again, "This our craft is in danger" (ver. 27). It is the inevitable tendency of all purifying truth, not only to eradicate evil from the hearts of men, but to bring to nought the hurtful institutions of the world. But by these men live; with these their material interests a.re closely bound up. Whether it be ",lrunkenness, slavery, or war," which have been declared to be " the three great evils which have cursed mankind," or whether it be any other harm- fol thing which Christ purposes to overthrow, his truth must occasionally and inciden- tally assail the temporal interests and prospects of men. And such is our human nature that, when it does this, it will call forth the most bitter, vehement, crafty, <let.ermined opposition. It is in this incidental way that Christ comes, "not to send peace on earth, but a sword" (Matt. x. 34). And we may learn (1) that it is doubtful whether we are declaring the whole counsel of God, if we are provoking no hostility by our utterance; (2) that we need not wonder that the c.oming of the kingdoJ:Q of God is delaJed when we take this e11ve11omed hostility into account. 'HI, :ux, 1-41.] 'fHf!J AOTS OF THE APOSTLES. 127