The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1896-12-30

AoAs VI snS s<~s~os hcsS - 80 'se ~
ory Verses. 7-e--Goldsn Text. Luke xiv.
81 Commentary by the Rev. ID. M.
stearns.
/. The former treatise have made, o
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to
do and teach" This associates the writer
with the author of the third gospel duke
4, Ia. In that treatise he speaks Of the
doings and teachings of Jesus as things
most surely believed of which people
knew the certainty. This Is record Of
the continuation of the doings and teach
ings of Jesus through His followers. DIR.
Erdman calls IL a mirror of the experience
of all true and faithful witnesses till He
come, its two themes being the Great
Redemption and the Coming King
DOM" Observe that the order Is first doing
and then teaching and compare Mark vi,
30 En- vii, 10.
2. Until the day in which He was tax
en- up" The gospel by Luke reaches to
the ascension, with which also he begins
this treatise Ga word used only In verse 1,
but the Greek word logos is used over
800 times, generally translated WORD"
and In John |, l; Johni, 1, and Rev. xix,
13, applied to Christ Himself As by the
Holy Spirit He was born, baptized, led
cast out demons, offered Himself a sacrifice
rose from the dead, by the same spirit He
gave His parting commands TO His apos-
ties
8. "To whom also He showed Himself
alive after His passion Tor sufferings)
His ten or more different appearances TO
the disciples during the 40 days between His
fItptn
to prove TO them that the risen Christ was
the very same Jesus whom they had known
and loved and had seen die on Calvary
They saw the marks of the nails in His
hands and of the spear in His side, and
yet there was change. for His body was
no longer flesh and blood, but flesh and
bones, f" in which He could eat and walk
and talk and have fellowship 1t was an
immortal body, incorruptible, and ours
shall be the same (Phil. iii, 2D.
4. Commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for
the promise of the Father" Compare
Luke xiv, 40, with John xiv, rs, %; XIV,
20; xvi, Z, ID Although they had the very
best of teachers and Ct teaching for two or
three consecutive years, yet they were not
qualified for service until they had received
in a special sense the gift of the Spirit. 1t
is not the mere knowledge of the truth
that will suffice, but the truth set on fire
by the Holy Spirit. The word is likened
To water, but water must boil to make
steam. May the fire cause the water to
boil To make His name known lisa Xiv, p.
5. "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy
Ghost, not many days hence" John had
said of Him, He shall haptize you with
the Holy Ghost and with fire. duke ill.,
16). In our next lesson we shall see some
what of the fire, but | expect that we will
see more of the fire in connection with the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Israel
at His second coming. See Xech. xii, 10;
xiii, O. Since He who loved us enough To
die for us is He who baptizeth with the
Holy Ghost what hindCrs us To be baptized?
Ask Him.
g. Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore
again the kingdom To Israeli" In all His
teaching the prominent topic was The
Kingdom" IA ii was also during the 40
days before His ascension Verse 81 The
only kingdom mentioned in the Old Testa-
ment as kingdom to be joyfully expected
was the kingdom promised to David, with
King upon His throne. The angel Ga
briel, John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus,
the twelve and the seventy, all preached il;
but by the Jews treatment of Christ il
was postponed till He shall come again
! Iuke xix. II, 12). The disciples had not
understood il so, and hence their question
because Of their unbeief
T. 1T is not for you To know the times
or the seasons which the Father hath put
! in His own power" He did not say that
their thoughts of the kingdom were wrong
or carnal, or that it was to DC spiritual
| kingdom in the heart and not a kingdom
| for Israel, as many say today, for He
| knew, and we ought TO know. that the one
thing in all Scripture which He had said
that He would do with His whole heart
was to place Israel in their own land to do
them good (Jer. xxi, 4D. He did say
that IL was not for them to know the time.
8. But ye shall receive the power OF
| the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and We
shall be witnesses unto Me" (see margin }.
According to Luke xiv, 40, He had previ-
ously said, "Tarry We in the city of Jeru-
salem until We be endued with power from
on high. " The great truth to which they
were TO bear witness was that He had risen
from the dead. See verse 22 with chap
tiers ii, 3D. iii, 10; iv, 38, etc. BY the res
direction from the dead He was with pow.
er declared to be the Son of God.
9. HE was taken up, and a cloud re.
ceived Him out of their sight - Doubt
less He had many times assembled to His
Father during those 40 days since His first
ascension ON the resurrection morning
when on His way to the Father He met
Mary Magdalene John Xxx, ID, but now
He was not to appear again till He shall
! come for His church. He must take His
seat at the Fathers right hand that the
Holy Spirit may come to bear witness in
the redeemed that Christ Is alive forever
more, having all power in heaven and
earth
10. behold two men stood by them In
white apparel ," In Luke TX, 80, two
men, which were Moses and Elijah, were
seen on the mount of TRANSPORTATION with
Him For aught l know these may have
been the same two, and they may also be
the two witnesses, yet to come, of Rev. xi,
3-12 But the chief thing concerning
them, whoever they were, Is that they were
His witnesses, and they spake of Him.
IL. This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come In
like manner as We have seen Him go into
heaven. This was their testimony, and
it stands recorded by the Spirit of God and
Is sure of fulfillment This explains how
the disciples could return to Jerusalem