Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12 — New American Standard Bible)
This passage continues the story of the beggar who was healed at the Beautiful gate. This wonderful miracle, that gave a hopeless man back his life, attracted a crowd that listened to Peter and John’s message about Jesus. This infuriated the hypocritical religious leaders, who had them arrested, thrown in jail, and brought before the Sanhedrin the next morning… for healing a man! (The Sanhedrin was the highest Jewish court of the time and consisted of seventy men plus the high priest. It was made up of the richest, most educated, and most powerful men in Israel — the same people that not long before had convicted Jesus and convinced Pilate to crucify Him.)
It’s important to note that before Peter opens his mouth to speak he is “filled with the Holy Spirit”. He had already been baptized in the Spirit; this filling was something else. He was in a very dangerous, hostile situation and needed to say the right thing. These men were some of the most educated, intelligent people of Jerusalem, and Peter and John were simple fishermen from the countryside — under normal circumstances a Galilean fisherman would be totally out matched by Jerusalem scholars. And so here the Holy Spirit fills Peter and John with the power to say all the right things, and with the boldness to stand up for the Lord Jesus in dangerous and hostile circumstances.
What is a cornerstone? It is the first stone to be set in place in the construction of a building, important because all other stones are set in place with reference to this one stone. It determines the position of the entire structure. — There in that courtroom, surrounded by enemies, Peter declared that Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone of all of our lives, and that anyone who rejects Him will lose their salvation, and create havoc in their lives.
You should actively seek this “filling” of the Spirit, especially in hard times. You should also make sure your life and faith are based on the Lord Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone — the stone most people in this world reject.
While he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people, greatly amazed, ran toward them in what is called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you. You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you. (Acts 3:11-16 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Peter’s two questions to the people running over to stare at them and the healed ex-beggar were so appropriate. But the same questions apply today. Why are we amazed at miracles? Why are we tempted to worship men or women of faith that cause miracles to happen, as though they were the miracle-workers? If we truly believe in God, miracles should be a normal part of our lives, and though they’re wonderful, they should not be shocking, they should be expected.
C.S. Lewis, in his book “Miracles”, has a great quote: “Miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature.” They are a normal part of the world that God created. All through the Bible God intervened to bless, protect, heal, and rescue His people, it’s a part of His nature. If we removed all the miracles from the Bible we would have a very incomplete picture of who He is. In fact, we could say that calling miracles supernatural is incorrect. Nothing could be more natural for true children of God than to experience their Father’s intervention and care.
Though most of us are familiar with the facts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we don’t always comprehend their far-reaching effects on people’s lives. Here Peter explains that this man’s healing was made possible because of what Jesus had done. His death on the cross makes it possible for anyone of us to press the reset button on our lives — we are healed, forgiven, freed from the past, freed from curses, given a new sense of worth, given a future and salvation. Though this crowd could easily have grabbed Peter and John and had them arrested and killed like Jesus, Peter had the boldness to speak the undiluted truth, and accused this crowd of killing the Anointed One of God who had come to save them. Though risky, he knew this was his chance to save people that were lost.
Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple complex at the hour of prayer at three in the afternoon. And a man who was lame from birth was carried there and placed every day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so he could beg from those entering the temple complex. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple complex, he asked for help. Peter, along with John, looked at him intently and said, “Look at us.” So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them. But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. So he jumped up, stood, and started to walk, and he entered the temple complex with them — walking, leaping, and praising God. (Acts 3:1-8 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
The disciples still continued to follow Jewish traditions in the early days after Jesus was taken up into the clouds, and so this afternoon Peter and John must have been attending the afternoon prayer in the temple — two sacrifices were made each day, morning and afternoon, and a prayer was made after each one. This lame man was placed at one of the main gates to the temple, clearly a good place to beg for handouts. He was at the door to God’s temple, a God of miracles and power, and God’s people were going in and out, passing by this suffering man, and it seems that it did not occur to anyone that the God they were worshipping wanted to heal him. Then Peter and John came along, newly filled with the Holy Spirit, with the vision to give this man what he really needed rather than a temporary fix. They had no silver and gold to give him, but they healed him from a sickness he had had from birth.
Before we shake our heads at the spiritual dullness of this man and the other Jews, let’s take a look at ourselves. Don’t we do this? If we’re not careful, we can walk around speaking about the greatness of God and how miracles happen today, and then not have faith for them in our lives, or in the lives of the suffering people around us. How many of us believe in a big God, yet live small lives that lack His power and greatness?
An amazing aspect of this story is the way that Peter and John immediately made it very clear to the gathering crowd that this miracles was not their doing, but that Jesus of Nazareth was responsible (verse 12 and following). When they commanded the sick man to get up and walk “in the name of Jesus the Nazarene”, this phrase was not a magical formula, rather they used Jesus’ name because a name represents a person’s power and authority. By using Jesus’ name they were making a statement that they had the total confidence that He could and would do this miracle.
Luke, a doctor by profession, then gives details of how this miracle happened… his feet and ankles became strong, he stood, walked, and even leaped. A true healing verified by many first hand witnesses.
There are times that you need to reassess your situation, refuse to go with conventional wisdom, look at your problem with the intensity of raw faith, and then speak the miracle into existence. At these moments you cannot look to those around you for support, because you’re likely to get none. You have to force your way through your problem because you know that God is alive, and that it would be wrong to put up with what everyone else considers normal. — Look for opportunities to respond like Peter and John from now on.
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. (Psalm 63:1-5 — New American Standard Bible)
A note in the title of this psalm explains that it was written during a time that David was in the Judean desert, possibly one of the times that King Saul was chasing and trying to kill him. David acted like so many of us in times of trouble — he turned to God and reminded Him that He was his God, that He was responsible for his welfare. In this short, five-verse passage we get a glimpse of why David was such a great and successful man, a man after God’s own heart — his soul thirsted, and his flesh yearned for God. Because he was on the run and far from God’s place of worship, David felt that he was in a spiritually dry and weary land and craved for the water of God’s presence. Can anyone imagine God not coming to the rescue of a person expressing these types of attitudes? I can’t.
King David says that God’s “lovingkindness is better than life”. Lovingkindness could be translated as loyal love… a love that never gives up, that can be counted on, that will never fail. Isn’t this what most people in this world are in desperate need of? There are so few guarantees when people don’t know God. Couples that love each other end up getting a divorce after a few years of marriage. People are fired from jobs that they gave their all to. People work their whole lives to build up some savings and then lose it in a bad business deal. This is why David says that God’s lovingkindness is better than life — His loyal love ensures that no matter what tomorrow brings, He will be there to help us make it through and overcome any obstacle, even life after death.
David was the most successful king of Israel, so much that his name is even used to refer to the Lord Jesus: the root of Jesse, the Son of David. If he could have this attitude and say these things, I think it’s clear that you should follow his lead. — No excuses. Follow his lead. — Decide that God is going to richly satisfy your soul, and that your mouth will soon praise Him with joyful lips because of all He will have done for you.
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:6,7 — New King James Version)
The phrase “Abba, Father” stands out in this passage. It’s not a common term in the Bible, it only appears three times. Some have suggested that it should be understood as the “daddy” of a infant child, but it is more accurately the “dad” of an adult child and heir. Jesus used it in the garden when He cried out to His Father while He was in agony, and Paul uses it in Romans to explain how we as adopted sons and heirs call out to our Father. And here in Galatians, Paul explains that it is the expression not of a slave, but of a son and heir, and that it is the Holy Spirit that gives us the understanding to cry out to God in this personal, privileged way.
There is a huge difference between a slave and a son. A slave has no rights, but a son or daughter has rights and is an heir of all that the father possesses. Just as a father wants his children to succeed and accomplish great things — God wants the same for you! Refuse to think of yourself as insignificant and worthless. The Lord Jesus has adopted you into His own family with all the benefits, privileges, and riches that that entails. So take your stand, call out “Abba, Father!”, and take a hold of your inheritance as a child of God.
The 4th of July is “Independence Day” in the U.S. At one time the original 13 colonies were controlled by England, but then a war for independence broke out and the United States fought and became its own nation — independent from England. This is an important part of U.S. history and is celebrated today. But the passage above talks about a much more important freedom — and independence from slavery to the devil and sin. In the Lord Jesus we are sons and daughters of God with all the rights and privileges of a child — we are even called God’s heirs! This is something we should celebrate and live out every day for the rest of our lives.
Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self–abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. (Colossians 2:16-19 — New American Standard Bible)
False teachers in the church in Colosse were pressuring people to obey certain religious traditions of the Jewish law, teaching people to scrape and bow, to worship angels, and to base their faith on visions they had seen — things that are sadly still going on in churches today. Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, doesn’t hold back when correcting these mistakes, accusing these leaders of being judgmental, chasing shadows, having an inflated sense of themselves, being fleshly, being frauds, and not holding fast to the Head (Jesus). Many things can have a look of being spiritual and godly, when they are in fact demonic. The devil is not as obvious as we would many times like to think.
Remember that religion is, and has always been, one of the most effective tools of Satan! So don't pay attention to ritual, to religious traditions, to dreams and visions, and don’t get carried away with things that are not clearly taught in the Word of God. Our faith needs to be kept simple and focused on God, His Word, and seeing His fruit, not on prophecies and dreams. Some of the rituals and commands of the Old Testament were useful at the time they were given, but were a “mere shadow” of what was to come in Jesus, and so it didn’t make sense then, and it doesn’t make sense now, to believe in the shadow when we have the real thing.
Everything begins with the Head — Jesus. The church and our lives are held together and grow only when we concentrate on Him. No body can function without a head. It can live without an arm or leg, but not without a head. The head brings guidance and order to the body, and to our lives and the church. When we lose sight of the Lord Jesus Christ and become infatuated with ourselves, with how great we are, how smart, how experienced, or with our reputation, or the revelations we’ve been given, Jesus is pushed into the background and we become frauds. — Make Jesus the center of your life so that your body — tendons, ligaments, and joints — will be nourished and held together, and the end result of your life be growth… a lot of growth.
But our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself. (Philippians 3:20,21 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Our citizenship defines who we are in this world — which countries we can enter, what government will come to our rescue in times of disaster or danger, where we can work, and whether or not we lives in a free, open society, or a closed, oppressive one. American, German, Mexican, Japanese, Iranian… Our citizenship has such a great affect on our lives that many people risk everything and spend large amounts of money to get into a more prosperous, free country.
But when we give our lives to the Lord Jesus we become citizens of heaven. We no longer belong to this world or to a country. We belong to God. We are aliens and foreigners for this world, and refuse to treasure the things this world treasures. When we speak, we speak by faith and are not always understood by the people around us — our words and attitudes confuse people because they flow from a heart and mind where God comes first.
Are you eagerly waiting for a Savior? Do you yearn for your humble body to be transformed into a glorious one? Do you consider yourself a citizen of heaven? Does it not bother you that people of the world treat you like an alien? Is your salvation more important than money, family and possessions? Hopefully you answered yes to each of these questions. If not, you need help right away.
“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever”, l John 2:l7.
