The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-01-28
SUNDAY MEDITATION
A Study Of the International Sunday
School Lesson Appointed for Feb
7. 1897. DIS

SCHOOL Lesson APp0luteu Ioi Ien
Z, 1897. a9s
Subject: Comrnonnesse Of Possessions, and the
Story OF Ananias. Acts. 4: 3.-37; 5;l-11.
zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures ~
Indicated abOve.i
INTRODUCTION.
There is great profit in the study Of biog.
raphy and history. We have both Of these in
the Book OF the Acts. What were tho secrets
of success in the early church, How did the
first followers Of Christ deal with persecution
How with heresy2 How with hypocrisy ?
What part did women have in Church work
and worship? Of what service were the Coun-
ellis at Jerusalem? How was any widespread
dissent in doctrine adjusted? How did the
work Of uniting Gentiles on equal terms with
Jews develop and RESULT How was the prob
lem of property metz TO what extent aud
under what circumstances should Christians
pool their possessions9 What was the play of
the Holy Spirit in the speech and acts of early
followers Of Christ? What Of Church govern
ment, orders of the ministry. Church disci-
pline2 What about ministerial support. style
and snbject-matter of preaching, domestic life
of the clergy? What authority had tho Old
Testament in the Christian church, What
about the inspiration OF the Bible? How Of
the Sunday question? These are all important
matters, and the Book Of the Acts throws con-
siderable light on every subject to which ref
erence is made in the above questions. 1t is
Book fundamentally essential for every
Christian to study.
Gotthard v. Lechler. DID,, Leipsic, Germany,
says Of the Book of Acts:
1t is sacred Book and worthy of the Bible,
solely for the reason that it not only describes
the deeds aud ex periences of men, or furnishes
a human history, but also presents a divine and
divine-human narrative, since it sets forth the
controlling influence and authority OF Christ,
and the witness of His Spirit in the deeds. the
discourses and the experience of his Apostles
and his Church. Since it describes tho origin,
the establishment. the development and the
early progress and guidance Of the Church of
Christ it necessarily sets forth. at the same
time, tho eternal. fundamental principles of
the Church in every respect 'delineatng,
alike, the individual. tho congregational and
the ecclesiastical life ofthe Christian
APOSTOLIC UNITY.
Data.
Acts, :32-37. These few verses have been
the occasion Of much study, resulting in di-
verse conclusions. Ono should read in con-
nectan with the paragraph we now study, g:
41-47. AT that time there we're 5000 disciples
t2:4ll, but now there are 5000. A. Tho
larger the number the greater possibility ordi-
narily of differences originating endaugering
the unity.
Time
We may shy late Summer of A. d. 30. It Is
difficult to be exact. 4acu
p,6rc
The 120 abode in an upper room somewhere
in Jerusalem. 2:13. IA, Is. Was that where
st. Peter spoke Il -22), and where Matthias
was elected? 1895 We cannot suppose
that place was the scene'of the descent of the
Holy Spirit. 2:1. The occasion resulted in
the addition of 5000 disciples. 2:4l. The
place must have been spacious. The scene Of
the cure of the Lame Man,was Solomon's Porch
3:1l. The place of TRIAL of the two Apostles
was the Judgment Halt Mt Jerusalem. 4:G
Leaving there, they - went to their own com.
pauy." 4:23. Wa" mot. that place the room
referred to in 1:13? That was the place
that was shaken. a ~.
BarnqJds.
The name Of this man was Joses Joseph)
meaning GRATED. The Apostles called him
Barnabas signifyinRi son of consolation Tor
comfort). The name ia also written Jose. He
was q native of Cyprus. He belonged to the
tribe Of Levi He became an Apostle. He it
was who Endorsed st. Paul to the Church at
Jerusalem. He believed st. Paul gifted for the
special work of preaching the Gospel 10 the
Gentiles. and went to Tarsus for the purpose Of
urging him to take up this work. He accom-.
panied ST. Paul on that Apostles first mission
airy tour. After time Barnabas returned to
his native land. and ceased to have aeplace in
history. There is an apocryphal epistle at
tributed to Barnabas, though it is evident it
was written in the second century. Tho reason
Barnabas did not accompany st. Paul on his
second tour was that he wanted Mark to go
also, but ST. Paul would not consent. Is: So
40. From Col, 4: 10, we see that Barnabas and
st. Mark were related. AS n Levite. Barnabas
could not have had property in the tribal re-
gion. but he possessed it in Cyprus. Then,
possibly, his property was gotten by marriage.
Moreover, IL is thought that in later times the
Levitical law was not much needed. Some
render Barnabas son Of celebration. the declarcr
Of comfort and IL: % represents him exhort-
ing. He is called. 1871. prophet He was
evidently well-to-do. 4:36. 81. We are not
told that he sold all his property.
Cyprus.
Island in Mediterranean Sea; 140 miles long
and much of its width so miles birthplace of
Barnabas; st. Paul visited it; 3.67S square
miles in area; 100000 Inhabitants; has Mt.
Olympus, $685. feet high; now under English
Government.
Words aud Phrases.
!. or one heart and of one sOnl. 3d. This
is Hebrew way Of expressing most complete
accord. Heart and mind were in harmony
the affections and the intellect acted in unity
Sympathy and syllogism (reason) operated to-
getlier. There was unity without questioning
the impulse to it. The oneness was complete.
Compare came with q perfect heart" Chr,
1898.
g. Aught. 30. Anything.
3. Neither said any Of them that aught of
the things which he possessed was his own"
81. No one possessed any thing simply for him
self. Selfshness was eliminated and love was
substituted. st. John. l3: 35 We do not hear
that remark: What have is mine, aud can
do as please with it, It is not necessary to
hold that the Disci pies gave up total possession
Of all property. They held rs stewards Of God,
and dispensed as was most conducive to the gen.
erai good Men who get, are as rule best in
vest0rs Of what they acquire. aud are able to
make it 20 fnrthest. 1t is not generally the
best policy on the long run to use the princi.
pal. One can do most good by continually
doing good, and not byone explosion of benef.
cence. Some Discipleseip Christ's day prob
ably made the same niisiake others of his fol-
lowers have at times msda since they thought
Christ was coming at once. and the only use
that could be mad Of possessions was to dis
pense them all aud 1T once. Title was of no
USE deeds of properly valueless, for all were
to DO burned up in a fsw months. Men act diff