Class 4 from this series was used in GCT Episode 381.
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Dear brethren and sisters, we
shall have only one more class
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Dear brethren and sisters, we
shall have only one more class
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together on this subject, and it
may therefore be opportune that
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we try and gather up a little
something of the thread of Acts
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in order that we may see these
speeches in their historical
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framework, and that perhaps
understand why Luke has included
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them.
He tells us of the beginnings of
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Christianity on the day of
Pentecost, after the Lord that
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commissioned them to go into all
the world, that they must begin
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at Jerusalem, and pass outward
to Samaria and to Galilee, and
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so to all parts of the earth.
We have seen the message that
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was preached through Peter on
the day of Pentecost.
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We have seen also in a second
address and enlargement of that
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message, and in the conclusion
of that chapter we find them
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before the Jewish authorities,
and find that the opposition of
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the Jewish authorities was met
by the assertion that this was a
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development of the Divine plan,
and that in Christianity they
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had the flowering, as it were,
of that which was part of their
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Jewish faith.
Great fear came upon the Church
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in its extension, and as many as
heard these things believed.
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And so Luke passes on in his
narrative to tell us of Jewish
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toleration being established as
the result of the Apostles
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testimony before the authorities
and the council of Gamaliel.
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He tells us of the organization
of the Church and of their
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internal difficulties in the
matter of ananiasance of Father,
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but shows that the Spirit was at
work in those days, guiding and
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directing the infant church in
all that was done.
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When we come to Stephen, we find
the beginning of divergent with
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Judaism.
A divergent because of the
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innate traditionalism of the
Jewish people, particularly as
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headed up in their rulers, and
the insistence by the believers
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in Christ that God required
worship in spirit and in truth.
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And the formalism, the ritual
connected with the law were part
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of a typical system, a
schoolmaster system, a tutor
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slave, that would lead them on
to the fullness of the divine
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revelation.
And that had been manifested in
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one who was the Son of God.
And God was really wanting, not
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a building made of materials,
but that the divine purpose was
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to dwell in men and women.
And that was the goal of the
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divine purpose in calling out
men and women in order that he
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might dwell with them and to
dwell in them.
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Stephen’s activity led to the
spreading abroad of the
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disciples and the carrying of
the message.
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And in this section we are told
how Stephen’s testimony bore
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fruit for the man who became the
disciple, the man who became the
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persecutor of the Christians, in
the bitterness and in the zeal
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of his heart found it difficult
to kick against the gourds.
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And part of the zeal of Paul in
putting the Christians to death
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probably originated in the fact
that he wasn’t able to confute
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the argument that had been
advanced by Stephen in his
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address.
And so the man, in the
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bitterness of his thoughts and
the argumentation of his own
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mind, was being shaped and
prepared for the revelation of
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Jesus Christ on the way to
Damascus.
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And Paul was apprehended in
order that he might become the
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Lord’s ambassador to the
Gentiles.
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And so it was indicated by Luke
in this way, that it was the
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risen Lord who chose his
ambassador, and he was directing
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and guiding the progress of
affairs.
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And the man has now been chosen
after the preaching to Judaism,
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and this to the Jews and the
establishment of the Church.
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The time has now come for the
man to be chosen for the
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extension of the work.
We have an illustration of
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divine ways which we all might
take account of, and the fact
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that although Saul was now
chosen, he had to go through a
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long period of quiet training
before the hour struck for him
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to begin his real work.
If he was converted, say, about
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the year 33 or so, it was a
dozen or so years before at last
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Barnabas went to seek Saul.
We can quite understand.
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So such a zealous man, not
without some impetuosity that
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mark Paul, but at once he
thought it was his job to begin
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and preach Christ.
He even thought that because
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he’d been a persecutor and then
had changed, there was in that
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very fact something that might
appeal in his testimony to the
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Jews, and that they might
receive him.
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But the Lord told him his work
lay among the Gentiles.
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But he was quite a number of
years away in Syria and in
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Silesia, and he was there
preaching.
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All that they heard in Judea was
that he who was a persecutor now
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preached the faith that he had
destroyed.
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But it was all like the trying
of his wings.
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He went away into Arabia first
of all to whatever part we do
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not know.
But we can understand that the
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man must have done some
rethinking of his faith.
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He pleased got to reveal his son
in in him, and that revelation
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of his son in fall could not
have been done without some
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entire reorientation of the
thought of the apostle.
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The old habits of his thought
had to be broken down and new
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habits of thought established.
It is true there was revelation,
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but that revelation through Paul
and the visions that he saw,
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which he tells us about in his
letter to the Corinthians, had
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all to be rethought into the
very fabric of his own mind so
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that the message given through
Paul became Paul’s own faith and
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Paul’s own guiding light.
And so it was that that large
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hearted man Barnabas, who is
seen in these very generous
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attitudes in the Acts of the
Apostles, recognize that Saul
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was the man for the developing
situation.
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When, as the result of the
gospel having been spread abroad
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through the Patodoma Stephen,
there had been established in
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Antioch, in Syria, Antioch on
the Arantes, A thriving
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Christian Church made-up for the
most part of Gentile believers.
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Before that, indeed, as Luke
tells us, there had been an
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official reception of a Gentile
through the ministry of
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Cornelius.
I think as we compare the
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Galatian letter with Acts, we
must conclude that Paul had been
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preaching to Gentiles before.
But it wasn’t until there had
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been an official recognition of
the acceptance of the Gentiles
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through the work of Cornelius,
through the work of Peter with
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Cornelius, that the time was
ripe for Paul to enter upon the
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official ministry of the Lord’s
ambassador to the Gentiles.
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Events were in a formative
state, gradually developing,
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guided along the developments by
the risen Lord.
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It was God’s work proceeding
among men.
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Saw Luke again and again
indicates.
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But Luke has shown what Peter
taught in his preaching, and he
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tells us in a rather more
summary way in the 10th and 11th
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chapters of Acts.
The things that he preached unto
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Cornelius is one of the
addresses at which we’ve had no
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time to look.
But you can, if you will, apply
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yourself to a similar
examination of the address of
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Peter to Cornelius when he went
to see him that we’ve endeavour
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to follow in looking at these
other speeches that are
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recorded.
But now that the work, the time
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has come for the work to be
extended to the Gentiles when
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Paul and Barnabas are on their
first missionary journey, sent
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out by the Mother Gentile church
at Antioch on the Orantes.
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It is therefore fitting that
Luke should give us an
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illustration of the message that
Paul gave.
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He’s given us the illustration
of Peter’s preaching.
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He must now give us an
illustration of Paul’s
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preaching.
And in this chapter he gives us
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the address of Presidium
Antioch, where there was a
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Jewish synagogue, but where
there were so many Gentiles
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interested that the synagogue
was crowded by men who were
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either worshippers at the gate
or interested Gentiles who
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themselves were so moved by the
address that they asked Paul to
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continue his work.
And it is evident that Luke
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regards this episode in
Presidian Antioch as something
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in the way of a watershed.
It was something like a turning
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point, the reception by the
Gentiles of the message and the
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opposition of the Jews.
Let Paul to say that God had
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granted unto the Gentiles this
grace and this pardon unto life,
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and that they would turn onto
the Gentiles.
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But it was a message given to a
mixed community.
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Now we have other addresses of
Paul which we shall not have
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time to look, but Luke finds it
necessary, as part of his story,
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to give us an illustration of
Paul’s address to a company of
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elders.
This is part of his teaching,
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the intimate teaching of a
leader of the Christian
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community to his fellow
disciples.
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And then we are told of Paul’s
contact with philosophic
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thought, of his day in the city
of Athens and what happened
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there.
We’ll try next week to gather up
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the threads of these points to
show how they culminate in the
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events connected with the trial
of Paul and the addresses that
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he gave incidental thereto.
But look at this book of Acts.
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Just note the major divisions as
indicated in the analysis that
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you were given at the beginning,
and take each section.
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Make a note of the events
narrated in each section and
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you’ll see the masterly grasp
with which Luke finds his way
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through the events of those
developing days of Christian
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life, in order that he might
show how Christianity came into
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being, what it was, its relation
to Judaism.
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And it will bring us to what is
the climax of the book, the
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presentation of the Christian
case before the bar of the
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highest authority, in order that
it might be determined then the
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standing of Christian people in
the eyes of Roman law.
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So the events move forward to
the trial of Paul.
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And in this letter, in this
book, as we will try and show
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next week, we shall see that
there is an emphasis upon events
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here, there, and again, all
pointing to the circumstances in
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the life of Paul and of those
who preceded him in relation to
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the temporal authorities.
In other words, the larger
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purpose of the acts in the
divine purpose being just for a
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moment put aside and viewing it
from the more immediate purpose,
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it has to do with the standing
of Christianity before the
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temporal authorities.
But of that, more next week.
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Now there is one interesting
thing in connection with this
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address of Pisidian Antioch.
We showed you on the first in
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the first address that the
Galatian cities that Paul
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visited were those of Pisidian,
Antioch, Iconium, Derby and
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Lystra.
That is, this address in the
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13th chapter of Acts was given
to the same company of people to
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whom Paul wrote his letter.
There is those who received the
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letter to the Galatians with the
people to whom Paul had preached
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on this occasion there had been
defection, a very rapid
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defection, A defection which
moved Paul to the very quick
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defection which so stirred him
that he wrote the letter which
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we call the letter to the
Galatians, which perhaps shows
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Paul at his most intense in his
feeling.
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It burns and it vibrates, and we
don’t understand it unless we
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catch the very feeling that Paul
puts into it because of the
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defection of these people
endeared to his heart, of the
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first fruits of his first
mission among the Gentiles.
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But if Paul is going to reclaim
them to the things that he
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preached, we must expect then
that there would be a
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correspondence in many respects
between the things that he
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emphasizes in the letter and the
things that he preached to them.
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And it is in a contemplation and
a comparison of the letter to
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the Galatians and what is spoken
in this speech, that we find one
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of those among very, very many,
that there are internal
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evidences to the truth of the
Scriptures.
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For there is an obvious
independence between the record
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in the Acts and the Epistles to
the Galatians.
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Luke doesn’t mention many of
these things, although he knew
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them so well.
He’s content to write his
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narrative with the particular
purpose that he has in view.
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And therefore any correspondence
that is seen to exist between
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the Acts of the Apostles and the
Epistles is all the more
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important as showing on the one
end the truthfulness of Acts and
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the truth of the Epistles.
Now, although we have several
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points marked of correspondence
between this address and the
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Galatian letter, we shan’t have
time to go into all of them, but
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we shall just touch on one and
going to another with a little
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more fullness.
It has been suggested that the
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readings for the day, according
to a table of readings that the
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Jews followed in the synagogue,
gave Paul the starting point of
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his address.
The lessons for the 44th Sabbath
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in the year were Deuteronomy
chapter 2 and Isaiah 1, and
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references in Deuteronomy 2 and
Isaiah 1 do appear to give Paul
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the starting point of his
address.
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Now there is no evidence, so far
as we know, that these Jewish
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lessons did exist and were
followed in Paul’s day.
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But so many of the Jewish
practices have their roots in a
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very remote antiquity that it is
not impossible that they had
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this system of readings.
Just as it was probable that the
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reading in Isaiah was the
reading for the day when the
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Lord, by a divinely guided
coincidence, stood up for to
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read in the synagogue of
Nazareth.
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And there was given him the role
of the prophet Isaiah, and he
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unrolled it to the place where
it was written, and in words and
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in cadence as such as they must
never have heard from many other
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lips, read with a meaningfulness
the word of Isaiah up to the
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point at which he closed the
roll and sat down in order that
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he might expound it.
And so we’ll await to presidian
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Antioch for a few minutes, and
try and catch the words of Paul,
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as starting from these two
chapters, he traverses the
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history of his people.
Now you will observe that
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Stephen traversed the history of
his people.
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He made the selections of his
events which had particular
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bearing upon the case that he
was presenting.
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But in all these epistles we
find that they were all turning.
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In all these addresses we find
that they turned back to the Old
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Testament Scriptures.
May we remind you again that the
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Lord gave them the pattern upon
which they must work, when,
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after His resurrection, He
expounded unto them in all the
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Scriptures the things concerning
Himself.
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And they caught the example of
the Lord, and followed it.
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And their testimony was a
reasoning out of the Scriptures
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concerning what God had revealed
He would accomplish, and a
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matching with the prophecies,
the facts of the history of
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Jesus, thus establishing that
God had sent Jesus.
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The work that Jesus had
accomplished had been foretold.
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And then in the light of the
accomplished fact, they had to
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show the results, the objects,
the divine aims that were
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involved in the work that Jesus
had done, which had in fact
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culminated in His death and His
resurrection.
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And so the central point of
their testimony was the work of
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Jesus Christ with the light shed
upon it from Old Testament
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Scripture, a light that was
intensified as they brought to
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bear upon it the light of the
facts connected with Jesus
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Christ in the accomplished
history.
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Now we’re not going to go
through this in detail.
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It may be that these detailed
studies are a little heavy to
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follow, but having followed
those three that we have looked
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at before, you see what can be
done.
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And now they can be opened up.
And now indeed they must be
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opened up if we would adequately
understand the message that was
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given.
And so we’ll touch a little more
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lightly on some of the higher
points in this address.
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Let us sketch it’s theme.
God chose these people and
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exalted them or nourished them.
The word chose and nourished
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come from the book of
Deuteronomy under Isaiah, and
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Paul says there was a divine
work in our history and God
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brought them up and nourished
them.
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There was a progress in our
history as God unfolded His
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purpose in connection with the
history of our people.
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And so they were brought out of
Egypt and delivered as God
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promised.
He nourished them for 40 years
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in the wilderness.
He destroyed seven nations and
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brought them into the land where
they were for 400 years.
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Now, although God had thus
nourished and brought up this
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people, passing from the
childhood of their race onward
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through youth and on to manhood,
an argument develops.
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With regard to the divine
purpose in history, in the
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Galatian letter he points out
that God gave them Saul the son
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of Kish of the tribe of
Benjamin.
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Little personal touch, for Saul
himself was a Benjamin knight
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and is touching back on their
race.
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And perhaps there was added a
little more pathos in that
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illusion, since he was of that
of that tribe, because he
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mentions it to point out that
although God had chosen the race
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to be His people, the problem of
Israel’s calamities were to be
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explained by the fact that it
wasn’t upon a flesh basis that
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men even of Israel’s race were
approved.
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For here was a man ideal from
every human point of view,
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massive in structure, not
without a certain physical
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courage, attractive and goodly
to look upon, such as men desire
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to see in a leader.
But he lacked moral courage, and
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he was sadly lacking in faith.
And while they desired a king,
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and God gave them, gave unto
them Saul, he removed him when
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he had removed him.
In other words, God in His
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guidance of the nation has
regard to their responses to
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Him.
And as God had removed soul, so
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He could for the time being and
all the privileges of the nation
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and bring them into bondage to
their Gentiles.
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But if that was So, what were
the principles that were
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governing God in the selection
of men who would and through
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whom his purpose could be worked
out?
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And so he reminds them that
David succeeded Saul.
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And he emphasizes, as you will
have noticed, that he was a man
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after God’s own heart.
And the purpose of God is being
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worked out, says Paul, through
men of the qualities that God
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desires, men in whom God can be
well pleased, men who have those
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characteristics in which God
delights a man after mine own
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heart.
With what a personal touch does
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God reveal himself.
There’s something human about
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this, and it comes again and
again in the revelation
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concerning God.
And we’re quite sure Paul wasn’t
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unmindful of these little human
feelings.
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Just think of his reference
concerning Abram in the letter
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to the Hebrews.
Wherefore God is not ashamed to
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be called their God.
Who would think of attributing
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to God something being after his
own heart, or that God wasn’t
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ashamed?
It’s the figure meiosis, a
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figure which it is said
characterizes the English people
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where they understate a thing.
And when God says he’s not
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ashamed to be called their God,
or when Paul says it of God, it
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really means God was happy and
glad to be the God of Abraham,
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Isaac, and Jacob because they
were men of such faith.
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And so it is we have this
feeling of God’s response to men
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in whom he delights.
I have found David the son of
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Jesse, a man after mine own
heart.
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And so Paul is dwelling upon the
qualities that are required in
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men who will have a place in the
abiding purpose of God.
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For he traces from David the
fact that the Messiah was of his
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line.
And if it should be that God
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could reject Saul and choose
David, so God could reject all
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their earthly rulers in order
that he might choose another man
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in whom, in the superlative
sense, it could be said he was
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one after God’s own heart.
That’s the theme there that Paul
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is bringing out.
And so this man’s seedeth God
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according to his promise
function of Saviour.
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And so Saviour is a larger term.
And in order that he might be
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the Saviour, it was necessary
that they should be the life of
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the Saviour upon earth,
fulfilled in the conditions and
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circumstances of the life of
Jesus.
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But while he was born a man,
Paul would have them remember
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that of the while of this man’s
seed, the Saviour was the Son of
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God.
And so there was a forerunner
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before him.
As John fulfilled his course,
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preaching the baptism of
repentance to all the people, he
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testified that one should come
after him who was so much
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greater than himself that he
wasn’t even worthy to do the
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servant’s part of unloosing the
latchels of his, the latchets of
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his sandals.
And so Paul says, while he was
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of the seed of David, he was
manifestation of God, our God,
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the Holy One of Israel, in the
midst of his people.
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Consider His royal majesty.
Kings had runners before them,
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and God was careful to observe
that honour was given to those
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who represented him when Ahab
had been proved so faulty, so
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faithless, so dishonorable, and
so disgraced in the contest with
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Elijah at Carmel.
Yet God import the prophet,
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could be, in the means of his
disgrace, to run before him as
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the runner before the king, in
order that the majesty of the
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position of the Lord’s anointed
might not itself be dishonoured.
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He must have been one of the
most unusual sights that ever
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happened in Israel’s history to
see the prophet who had
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challenged the Baal prophets and
disgraced the King, speeding
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away across Israel on on foot,
powered by the Spirit of God
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before the infamous King, who
yet was the Lord’s anointed.
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How much more than when the Son
of God is in the midst of
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Israel?
It was fitting that there should
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be a forerunner, and John is
pictured in the prophetic word
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as the one who ran before the
king.
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Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a
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highway for our God.
For God was going to be revealed
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in a theophany such as they’d
never known in all their
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history, in that a child, virgin
born, was to be revealed in
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their midst.
Who could bear the name
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Emmanuel?
God with us.
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And so John came before the
royal Majesty to be the royal
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majesty, to be revealed in their
midst, who was raised up to be
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their Saviour.
And so he says, this word of
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salvation is sent unto you.
But he has to show them how this
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John came before the Royal
Majesty to be the Royal majesty,
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to be revealed in their midst,
who was raised up to be their
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Saviour.
And so he says, this word of
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salvation is sent unto you.
But he has to show them how this
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word was historically exhibited,
how this salvation had been
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wrote out in history.
And so he passes in review what
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had happened in connection with
Jesus.
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They call it Jerusalem and their
rulers, because they knew Him
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not, not yet the voices of the
prophets, which are read every
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Sabbath day, have fulfilled
them.
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And so He would reveal the
testimony of the prophets
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concerning the rejection of the
Messiah, and sure that many
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things had to be fulfilled
concerning Him.
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So they found no cause of death
in Him, desire they pilot that
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He should be slain.
And when they had fulfilled.
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And so emphatic is He about
this, that we find in that we
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find it twice in three verses.
But they have fulfilled all that
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was written of him.
They took him down from the
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tree, and laid him in a
sepulchre.
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And now we want to turn aside in
a moment to what he has to say
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in the Galatian letter.
But look at this which Paul
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brings into prominence.
They took him down from the
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tree.
Peter referred to the tree, and
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we read the tree and think
nothing at all about it.
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But suppose we substitute the
galas, the gallows, or the
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execution as block, or anything
that indicates the utter shame
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and indignity of a death that
men impose.
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But here was one that was a
public exhibition.
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It could be nothing more public
than a man nailed to a state,
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not a decorated cross such as
Christian art as represented for
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us.
There’s no time to trouble with
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that.
A tree trunk was sufficient A
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stake.
And nailed to that, with the
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shame of nakedness was hung one
whom Paul recognised now to be
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the Lord of glory, the Son of
God.
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And this bit hard into Paul’s
thought, just as the shame of
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the proclamation that he was the
Messiah bit into Israel’s
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thought.
And they spoke of Jesus as the
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hanged one, as an expression of
their utter execration of the
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man.
For a man who came to the
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gallows was surely shown to be
an impostor.
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How could Israel’s king come to
such an end?
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How could it be that one who was
approved of God come to such a
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shameful end?
It seemed to them utterly
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impossible, and Pilate knew how
it hurt them when he wrote over
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the cross.
This is Jesus of Nazareth, the
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King of the Jews.
It was part of Pilate’s
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meanness, for he knew he was
getting a little of his own back
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because they’d forced his hands.
But in his meanness he
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proceeded, how much it would
sting, and so much did it hurt
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00:30:44,000 –> 00:30:46,720
them that they went to Pilate
and said, don’t say that, but
436
00:30:46,720 –> 00:30:50,480
say He said, if you want to
write it, let atenerate the
437
00:30:50,480 –> 00:30:54,040
shame of it rebound on him.
He said that he was the king of
438
00:30:54,040 –> 00:30:57,800
the Jews, and look at him now.
But Pilate wouldn’t have that.
439
00:30:58,720 –> 00:31:02,560
What I have written, I have
written, and there it stands.
440
00:31:02,720 –> 00:31:07,920
But if we can enter into the
feelings of the Jews concerning
441
00:31:08,320 –> 00:31:12,720
what crucifixion meant, and how
they felt that the fact that
442
00:31:12,720 –> 00:31:17,840
Jesus had been crucified was an
utter disproof of his claim, we
443
00:31:17,840 –> 00:31:23,360
can see then how this
crucifixion of Jesus must needs
444
00:31:23,360 –> 00:31:27,240
play a part in the thought of
those who believed in Jesus.
445
00:31:27,640 –> 00:31:33,400
And they rejoined by saying,
This very death, which to you is
446
00:31:33,400 –> 00:31:40,360
such a stumbling block, is
itself the divine way for men’s
447
00:31:40,360 –> 00:31:43,680
salvation.
We determine, says Paul, to know
448
00:31:43,680 –> 00:31:50,040
nothing among you, the Messiah,
Jesus, and him a crucified. 1
449
00:31:50,840 –> 00:31:55,160
And the Christians took the very
sting out of it by showing that
450
00:31:55,160 –> 00:32:00,040
it was the very instrument for
the final rendering of honour
451
00:32:00,040 –> 00:32:03,760
and glory to God.
For this was a public
452
00:32:04,040 –> 00:32:07,440
exhibition.
God has set forth, Jesus, Paul
453
00:32:07,440 –> 00:32:11,920
could say, writing to the Romans
to declare his righteousness.
454
00:32:12,240 –> 00:32:17,680
And Jesus had said before at his
at his baptism, when John had
455
00:32:17,680 –> 00:32:21,280
been clip proclaiming that all
flesh is grass and the glory of
456
00:32:21,280 –> 00:32:25,480
man is the flower of grass.
And when men had gone down into
457
00:32:25,480 –> 00:32:30,560
the water confessing their sins,
and in turn Jesus stepped down
458
00:32:31,280 –> 00:32:35,120
with no sins to confess.
And we wonder John said, I have
459
00:32:35,120 –> 00:32:39,640
need to be baptized of thee.
But sinless though he were as a
460
00:32:39,640 –> 00:32:44,240
man mortal as John had been
proclaiming a mortal under a
461
00:32:44,240 –> 00:32:48,920
dispensation which had its
source in the divine decree that
462
00:32:48,920 –> 00:32:53,600
man must die because of sin.
The race must die, for it’s all
463
00:32:53,600 –> 00:32:56,160
bound up in the bundle of life
together.
464
00:32:56,720 –> 00:33:00,520
There’s a solidarity of the race
which the Bible recognises.
465
00:33:01,040 –> 00:33:05,200
Therefore Jesus must show God’s
righteousness and fulfill all
466
00:33:05,200 –> 00:33:07,160
righteousness in the symbolic
death.
467
00:33:07,360 –> 00:33:11,800
But symbolism isn’t enough.
It had to be wrote out indeed,
468
00:33:11,880 –> 00:33:14,720
and in blood, which brought him
to the cross.
469
00:33:14,960 –> 00:33:16,720
It hadn’t to be done in a
corner.
470
00:33:16,920 –> 00:33:20,600
It had to be done in a way that
it was placarded before the eyes
471
00:33:20,600 –> 00:33:24,280
of all.
And now, if we want to see how
472
00:33:24,280 –> 00:33:28,040
Paul presented the cross and
what it meant to him, we must
473
00:33:28,240 –> 00:33:33,280
turn to the Galatian letter.
And so let us there for a minute
474
00:33:33,280 –> 00:33:38,480
or two, remembering he’s arguing
to reclaim these Galatians.
475
00:33:39,040 –> 00:33:42,360
And in the first verse of
chapter 3 he says, All foolish
476
00:33:42,360 –> 00:33:46,080
Galatians who have bewitched
you, that you should not obey
477
00:33:46,080 –> 00:33:51,120
the truth before whose eyes
Jesus Christ have been evidently
478
00:33:51,120 –> 00:33:53,560
set forth.
There’s a vigor about Paul’s
479
00:33:53,560 –> 00:33:58,480
language before whom Christ was
placarded, he says, just as the
480
00:33:58,480 –> 00:34:03,160
placards on the wall are there
with all the vigor of
481
00:34:03,160 –> 00:34:06,480
announcement, pressing
themselves, as it were, upon the
482
00:34:06,480 –> 00:34:11,120
attention of men before whose
eyes Jesus Christ has been
483
00:34:11,639 –> 00:34:18,400
placarded, crucified among you.
As though in bringing the
484
00:34:18,400 –> 00:34:22,440
knowledge of the crucifixion of
Jesus, he’d done it with such
485
00:34:22,440 –> 00:34:27,880
intensity and with such rigor
that they’d actually seen him as
486
00:34:27,880 –> 00:34:32,360
it were crucified among them.
It’s not without its object.
487
00:34:32,360 –> 00:34:35,960
Lesson, Brethren and sisters,
that Christ crucified must be
488
00:34:35,960 –> 00:34:41,040
seen in some vividness, not with
a morbid dwelling upon the
489
00:34:41,040 –> 00:34:47,120
details of his suffering, but to
see his sufferings, and to see
490
00:34:47,120 –> 00:34:51,920
them in the light of the Divine
reason for them to see the
491
00:34:51,920 –> 00:34:55,920
divine purpose and the divine
principles that were seen in the
492
00:34:55,920 –> 00:35:00,200
death of Jesus.
And he says that because he has
493
00:35:00,200 –> 00:35:04,440
been giving them a reminiscence
in chapter 2 of his preaching
494
00:35:04,440 –> 00:35:07,400
among them.
In chapter 2 he tells us that
495
00:35:07,480 –> 00:35:11,040
even Peter defected.
When Peter was at Antioch, he
496
00:35:11,040 –> 00:35:14,280
dissembled when some of the
Judaizers complained about a
497
00:35:14,280 –> 00:35:18,280
meeting with Gentiles.
And Paul saw that unless Peter
498
00:35:18,360 –> 00:35:22,760
was brought to line, the whole
position of his work was at
499
00:35:22,760 –> 00:35:26,080
stake.
And so he begins to reason with
500
00:35:26,080 –> 00:35:27,280
Peter.
Verse 11.
501
00:35:27,280 –> 00:35:30,480
And when Peter was come to
Antioch, I withstood him to the
502
00:35:30,480 –> 00:35:33,160
face, because he was to be
blamed.
503
00:35:33,960 –> 00:35:38,720
And the whole reason for for
recounting this is because what
504
00:35:38,720 –> 00:35:44,480
he said to Peter, which won
Peter back, was the very message
505
00:35:44,480 –> 00:35:50,360
that he himself had proclaimed
when he was in in among the
506
00:35:50,360 –> 00:35:54,960
Galatian cities.
It is because of the parallel
507
00:35:54,960 –> 00:36:00,800
between what he said to Peter
and what he taught them that
508
00:36:00,800 –> 00:36:04,920
this account of the meeting with
Peter has its relevance.
509
00:36:05,200 –> 00:36:10,400
And therefore it is that as he
proceeds in his argument, in his
510
00:36:10,400 –> 00:36:14,120
recounting of what he said to
Peter, Paul forgets his
511
00:36:14,120 –> 00:36:17,640
recounting Peter.
He’s back again in presidian
512
00:36:17,840 –> 00:36:20,560
presidian Antioch, talking to
them.
513
00:36:21,040 –> 00:36:25,640
Read what commentary you will.
You’ll find that all writers
514
00:36:25,640 –> 00:36:30,800
with feeling discern that
somewhere in this address to
515
00:36:30,800 –> 00:36:35,880
Peter in the 2nd chapter, Paul
leaves Peter and he’s back in
516
00:36:35,880 –> 00:36:38,960
presidian presidian Antioch.
But it’s the same message.
517
00:36:39,240 –> 00:36:41,920
They differ at which verse the
break comes.
518
00:36:42,520 –> 00:36:45,080
In fact, it’s gradual and merges
into it.
519
00:36:45,680 –> 00:36:49,440
But in it he says, verse 16,
knowing that a man is not
520
00:36:49,440 –> 00:36:53,720
justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith of Jesus
521
00:36:53,720 –> 00:36:58,840
Christ.
Even we, you Peter, and you
522
00:36:58,840 –> 00:37:04,360
Galatians, even we have believed
in Jesus Christ, that we might
523
00:37:04,360 –> 00:37:08,040
be justified by the faith of
Christ, and not by the works of
524
00:37:08,040 –> 00:37:10,600
the law.
For by the works of the law
525
00:37:10,960 –> 00:37:16,320
shall no flesh be justified.
And if it means that we, finding
526
00:37:16,320 –> 00:37:20,400
justification in Christ, must
have necessity recognised to be
527
00:37:20,400 –> 00:37:23,080
ourselves, to be sinners, so be
it.
528
00:37:23,400 –> 00:37:27,120
And if Paul builds again the
things which he destroyed, he
529
00:37:27,120 –> 00:37:29,080
would make himself a
transgressor.
530
00:37:29,640 –> 00:37:33,920
For I says Paul through the law,
through his experience of law
531
00:37:34,400 –> 00:37:38,680
with its inevitable bringing to
light the sinfulness of men.
532
00:37:39,000 –> 00:37:42,280
When the law came, he says, when
my father said Paul, this is
533
00:37:42,280 –> 00:37:46,880
God’s law and we mustn’t do
that, you mustn’t do this and
534
00:37:46,880 –> 00:37:50,960
you mustn’t do that.
And Paul became aware of the
535
00:37:50,960 –> 00:37:55,200
impulses in him that were
contrary to it.
536
00:37:55,200 –> 00:37:59,080
And he says sin sprang to life
and he felt that the penalty of
537
00:37:59,080 –> 00:38:02,680
the law broken must be, is.
And I died.
538
00:38:02,960 –> 00:38:06,440
Have you ever watched a child
told by its parents you mustn’t
539
00:38:06,440 –> 00:38:10,160
do that?
And you see the very impulses of
540
00:38:10,160 –> 00:38:13,880
human nature welling up and the
battle going on.
541
00:38:14,280 –> 00:38:18,800
I, I, I warned, but I’d better.
Well, it’s in us just the same.
542
00:38:19,160 –> 00:38:21,960
We camouflage it and hide it
sometimes.
543
00:38:22,280 –> 00:38:25,760
But if we’ll analyse ourselves,
there’s nothing more searching
544
00:38:25,760 –> 00:38:28,120
than the 7th chapter, the letter
to the Romans.
545
00:38:28,480 –> 00:38:31,080
And Paul says, I through the
law, I’m dead to the law.
546
00:38:31,520 –> 00:38:34,480
But it was only that he might
then come into another
547
00:38:34,480 –> 00:38:37,440
relationship, whereby I might
live unto God.
548
00:38:38,240 –> 00:38:43,120
And now verse 20, I am crucified
with Christ.
549
00:38:43,400 –> 00:38:48,280
Nevertheless, I live yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me and the
550
00:38:48,280 –> 00:38:50,240
life which I now live in the
flesh.
551
00:38:50,240 –> 00:38:54,560
I live by the faith of the Son
of God who loved me and gave
552
00:38:54,560 –> 00:38:58,200
himself for me.
I am crucified with Christ.
553
00:38:58,440 –> 00:39:02,200
And your thought goes, as Paul
must have vividly portrayed it,
554
00:39:02,400 –> 00:39:06,720
to what happened just outside
the gates of Jerusalem when
555
00:39:06,720 –> 00:39:10,280
Jesus was laid out to be
crucified with two others with
556
00:39:10,280 –> 00:39:14,760
him.
And they were crucified with
557
00:39:14,760 –> 00:39:17,160
Christ.
And that’s what being crucified
558
00:39:17,160 –> 00:39:21,480
with Christ means.
And Paul, though not present
559
00:39:21,720 –> 00:39:27,880
probably at the scene of the
crucifixion yet, had as probably
560
00:39:27,880 –> 00:39:32,280
a member of the Sanhedrin, or at
any rate closely connected with
561
00:39:32,280 –> 00:39:35,400
it, approve the action of his
nation.
562
00:39:35,560 –> 00:39:39,720
And although he knew they jeered
at the man on the cross, he’d
563
00:39:39,720 –> 00:39:43,960
approve their jeering.
Although they’d mocked him, he’d
564
00:39:43,960 –> 00:39:47,480
approve their mocking.
And yet now he’d come to realise
565
00:39:47,880 –> 00:39:51,800
that there was the dynamic
energy of God for men’s
566
00:39:51,800 –> 00:39:57,560
salvation in these facts of the
crucifixion, and that instead of
567
00:39:57,560 –> 00:40:02,440
being in the ring gathered round
the cross, he’d got to leave the
568
00:40:02,440 –> 00:40:07,360
ring and crossover and to see
that what was being done in that
569
00:40:07,360 –> 00:40:13,840
man there crucified was such
that he must identify himself
570
00:40:13,840 –> 00:40:16,160
with it.
And you have here the most vivid
571
00:40:16,160 –> 00:40:18,760
picture of the idea of
representation.
572
00:40:19,080 –> 00:40:23,720
For what was Jesus doing there?
He’d gone there voluntarily,
573
00:40:24,640 –> 00:40:28,440
although they’d arrested him.
It sought not to escape.
574
00:40:29,120 –> 00:40:32,760
He knew that it was the end that
the Father appointed him.
575
00:40:33,080 –> 00:40:36,040
We go up to Jerusalem, he says,
and the Son of Man will be
576
00:40:36,040 –> 00:40:41,520
rejected and be crucified.
He hadn’t any illusions about
577
00:40:41,520 –> 00:40:46,360
what the end would be, and so
clearly did he see it that it
578
00:40:46,360 –> 00:40:51,560
would appear that he minted the
figure out of the foreseeing of
579
00:40:51,560 –> 00:40:56,040
his own death, that if any man
would follow him, he must take
580
00:40:56,040 –> 00:41:01,600
up his cross and follow me.
It was out of the consciousness
581
00:41:01,840 –> 00:41:06,560
that the cross was required of
him that he could coin this
582
00:41:06,560 –> 00:41:10,920
figure of cross bearing.
And what is the bearing of the
583
00:41:10,920 –> 00:41:13,800
cross?
It’s carrying on your back the
584
00:41:13,800 –> 00:41:18,960
stake to the place of
crucifixion, that there, there
585
00:41:19,720 –> 00:41:25,400
you might die, there you might
repudiate self, and there your
586
00:41:25,400 –> 00:41:29,720
old self might be surrendered.
And to do it voluntarily, to
587
00:41:29,720 –> 00:41:34,880
take up the cross, is to deny
self and say self.
588
00:41:35,280 –> 00:41:40,200
Human nature, human nature with
all its propensities toward
589
00:41:40,200 –> 00:41:44,680
evil, must be reprobated.
It must die.
590
00:41:45,000 –> 00:41:49,800
And God was right in saying that
this nature is unfitted for
591
00:41:49,800 –> 00:41:54,800
perpetuation and must die.
And God’s honour and God’s
592
00:41:54,800 –> 00:42:01,240
majesty, God’s supremacy, could
only be upheld by a man
593
00:42:01,720 –> 00:42:04,800
voluntarily going to the
position where there was a
594
00:42:04,800 –> 00:42:08,920
public exhibition of a man
voluntarily laying down his life
595
00:42:09,280 –> 00:42:11,400
to declare the righteousness of
God.
596
00:42:11,680 –> 00:42:16,000
And Paul saw that God’s honour
was upheld, and he saw that God
597
00:42:16,000 –> 00:42:20,680
had set forth Jesus to do this
which we couldn’t do ourselves
598
00:42:20,680 –> 00:42:25,440
to be acceptable to God, in
order that this man, having thus
599
00:42:25,440 –> 00:42:29,200
upheld God’s honour.
And then God having raised him
600
00:42:29,200 –> 00:42:34,280
from the dead because having
been obedient, he’d broken the
601
00:42:34,280 –> 00:42:38,840
power that death had through sin
and therefore could be raised to
602
00:42:38,840 –> 00:42:43,560
everlasting life.
And God says you can’t do it,
603
00:42:44,200 –> 00:42:48,400
but it has been done by my
working in him.
604
00:42:48,400 –> 00:42:52,320
For God was in Christ in this
work of reconciliation.
605
00:42:52,920 –> 00:42:56,840
And if you’ll recognise the
principles that have been upheld
606
00:42:56,840 –> 00:43:02,080
in him, if you’ll identify
yourself with him by joining him
607
00:43:02,080 –> 00:43:05,840
in crucifixion, in bearing the
cross and recognising what it
608
00:43:05,840 –> 00:43:11,480
signifies, then God says I’ll
accept your identification with
609
00:43:11,480 –> 00:43:13,480
him and for his sake forgive
you.
610
00:43:13,960 –> 00:43:20,520
And thus it is with that circle
of thought that Paul can say I
611
00:43:20,520 –> 00:43:24,480
was among those around the cross
in thought.
612
00:43:25,400 –> 00:43:28,320
I thought right was done and
that he was an impostor.
613
00:43:28,800 –> 00:43:35,120
I jeered and I mocked, but I saw
that I was wrong, that Christ
614
00:43:35,120 –> 00:43:40,120
was right, that I was opposing
God, whereas Christ was obeying
615
00:43:40,120 –> 00:43:43,200
God.
And I saw that my only way of
616
00:43:43,200 –> 00:43:47,680
coming into a living
relationship to God was by
617
00:43:48,440 –> 00:43:52,160
walking across the patch that
separated me to him.
618
00:43:53,040 –> 00:43:56,000
Though the swing around might
say, what’s he doing?
619
00:43:56,280 –> 00:43:59,840
What’s happening to him that is
leaving us who are jeering to go
620
00:43:59,840 –> 00:44:02,960
himself and join him in his
shame and disgrace?
621
00:44:03,560 –> 00:44:08,360
But I am crucified with Christ
as Paul because it is only in
622
00:44:08,360 –> 00:44:12,640
Christ crucified that there has
been brought life for men.
623
00:44:12,640 –> 00:44:17,480
And therefore, although
crucified with Christ, I live.
624
00:44:17,880 –> 00:44:21,760
What sort of a life is it?
It’s alive, motivated and
625
00:44:21,760 –> 00:44:26,200
energized and directed by the
Spirit of him who died.
626
00:44:26,360 –> 00:44:29,480
Yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me.
627
00:44:29,800 –> 00:44:31,880
And the life which I now live in
the flesh.
628
00:44:31,880 –> 00:44:36,440
I live by the faith of the Son
of God and Paul, who’s all
629
00:44:36,440 –> 00:44:40,680
experienced of the law.
Perhaps there’s no other man in
630
00:44:40,680 –> 00:44:45,240
Israel’s history had ever
experienced it before in his
631
00:44:45,480 –> 00:44:48,800
conscious effort after
righteousness by the works of
632
00:44:48,800 –> 00:44:53,920
the law, came to see that it had
no power for righteousness in
633
00:44:53,920 –> 00:44:56,280
his life.
And it was only by the
634
00:44:56,280 –> 00:45:01,800
constraining power of the love
that Christ had revealed in
635
00:45:01,800 –> 00:45:04,920
bearing these sufferings and
coming to the cross to fulfil
636
00:45:04,920 –> 00:45:07,520
the well of God.
And it was because Paul knew the
637
00:45:07,520 –> 00:45:10,800
intensity of the shame of it
that it came home to him with
638
00:45:10,800 –> 00:45:14,280
such fullness.
It was only by that by that,
639
00:45:14,960 –> 00:45:18,320
that men could be moved to
righteousness, and that’s what
640
00:45:18,320 –> 00:45:22,000
he told the Galatians.
Hence the correspondence between
641
00:45:22,000 –> 00:45:24,440
the two.
God raised him from the dead and
642
00:45:24,440 –> 00:45:26,800
the promise which God had made
to the fathers had been
643
00:45:26,800 –> 00:45:30,520
fulfilled.
You’ll observe in verse 33 the
644
00:45:30,520 –> 00:45:33,280
word again, God has fulfilled
the same unto us, their
645
00:45:33,280 –> 00:45:36,360
children, in that he has raised
up Jesus again, the Revised
646
00:45:36,360 –> 00:45:40,040
Version amidst again they again.
It’s a reference to his birth
647
00:45:40,040 –> 00:45:43,360
which was fulfilled in the Psalm
Thou art my son.
648
00:45:44,080 –> 00:45:46,800
And the 34th verses is
concerning that he raised him up
649
00:45:46,800 –> 00:45:48,560
from the dead.
They get the compass.
650
00:45:48,560 –> 00:45:53,040
You see, there’s the one raising
up in birth verse 33, the
651
00:45:53,040 –> 00:45:57,200
raising up from death in verse
34, in fulfilling the promises
652
00:45:57,200 –> 00:46:00,560
made unto David.
And you’ll observe the strict
653
00:46:00,560 –> 00:46:05,200
parallel between Paul and Peter,
that they both argue that David
654
00:46:05,200 –> 00:46:07,480
is dead, and the promise
couldn’t refer therefore to
655
00:46:07,480 –> 00:46:10,920
David, and must refer to the day
to David’s Messiah.
656
00:46:11,280 –> 00:46:15,360
And now in the 38th and the 39th
verses we have the
657
00:46:15,520 –> 00:46:19,960
characteristic doctrine of Paul
concerning justification by
658
00:46:19,960 –> 00:46:22,520
faith.
Be it known unto you, therefore,
659
00:46:22,520 –> 00:46:25,440
men and brethren, that through
this man is preached unto you
660
00:46:26,040 –> 00:46:31,680
the forgiveness of sick sins.
For by him all that believe are
661
00:46:31,680 –> 00:46:36,320
justified from all things from
which he could not be justified
662
00:46:36,760 –> 00:46:40,480
by the law of Moses.
And the word justified and the
663
00:46:40,480 –> 00:46:44,480
word believe are based upon that
statement of her backup, which
664
00:46:44,480 –> 00:46:48,360
Paul uses so much in his letter
to the Romans and the letter to
665
00:46:48,360 –> 00:46:51,840
the Galatians.
The just shall live by faith.
666
00:46:52,240 –> 00:46:55,720
The just shall live by faith.
And in the very context of that
667
00:46:55,720 –> 00:47:01,280
statement in her backup, which
forms so basic a case for Paul,
668
00:47:02,040 –> 00:47:04,440
that occurs, the words, Behold,
he despises.
669
00:47:04,440 –> 00:47:08,040
And wonder of the 41st verse,
which shows that the apostle
670
00:47:08,040 –> 00:47:12,480
took up that second chapter of
her backup and expounded it in
671
00:47:12,480 –> 00:47:16,640
all its bearings.
And so the word of salvation
672
00:47:16,800 –> 00:47:19,920
came to the Gentiles.
My time is entirely up.
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