The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1902-01-10
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON u, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. t2.
Text Of the Lesson, Acts II, 1-21.
Memory Verses. 2-4-Golden Text,
Acts IL, 30-COmmentary Prepared
by Rev. ID. M. stearns.

by Rev. ID. M. Stearns.
copyright. 1901. by American Press Association
1. "And when the day of Pentecost
was fully come they were all with one
accord in one place." This day. called
Pentecost, or "fiftieth day." is mentioned
again in chapter Xxx. ~, and / Cor. xvi,
8, as day to be remembered and observ-
ed and is foresnadowed In Lev. xiii, 10,
10, In the new meal offering Of first
fruits fifty days after the sheaf OF first
fruits, the former representing the resur-
rection of Christ on the day after the
Passover Sabbath and the latter, fifty
days later, suggesting the event OF our
lesson in connection with the beginning
Of the gathering of the body of Christ
from all nations. The leaven in the fif-
tieth day offering sets forth the sin even
In the believer, for leaven Is always
type OF evil, but II Is met by the blood of
the sacrifice LEV. xiii, 17-2l). Christ
Is the first fruits; we are kind of first
fruits Il Cor, XIV, %; Jas. |, 1S). While
the disciples OF Christ waited for the
promise OF the Father they continued in
prayer and supplication (Acts /, 4, la,
but whether the election of Matthias TO
fill the place Of Judas was Of the Lord
or OF Peter is a question. Some disciples
still find it difficult to pray and wait with
out the transaction o. some other busl-
ness. We may possibly find Paul and
not Matthias as the twelfth. See the
one accord of the Lords people In /, IL;
H. /, As; w. "a; V, II; viii, q; XIV, 20; just
seven times; the one accord of Satan's
followers in vii, 81; xii, 20; xviii, II; XIX,
90 just four times, the worldwide mum.
Der, suggesting the whole world in the
wicked one hating God (Rev. vii, l;
John V, 10, Il. "; John XIV, Is, 19). The
word is only used once elsewhere (Rom.
Nv, 60, and teaches us with one mind and
one mouth to glorify God.
"a. "They were all filed with the
Holy Ghost" When the Holy Spirit
came upon Christ at His baptism, He
came in the form Of dove, for there
was no need of purifying or consuming
fire, but saved sinners need the Spirit as
a fire. The saying in lisa. Xiv, =, THE
fire causeth the waters to boil to make
Thy name known" taken in connection
with the water as the word (Eph. V, 26),
and the Spirit as fire helps us to under
stand why some~people who know much
of the word of God seem to have no
power or go in them. The water is not
boiling; they need the fire of the Holy
Spirit The Spirit came as the Lord
Jesus said He would and took possession
OF these redeemed ones, His temples, and
at once they began TO speak or rather
the Spirit who filled them began to speak
through them. See in Acts iv, 81, how
when they were filled on another occa-
sion they spake the word Of God with
bodness. While yet with them in His
mortal body Jesus had told them, 1T is
not We that speak, but the Spirit Of your
Fa her that speaketh in you" Matt. X,
20). Neither the thoughts nor the words
were theirs; but, as in the case Of the
sweet psalmist OF Israel, the Spirit Of
the Lord spake by them and His word
was in their tongue (II Sam. xiii, 20.
5-11. Jews from all nations were gath
cred a Jerusalem, and quickly they came
together and heard these unlearned Cali
'leeans talking in the languages of all
lands concerning the wonderful works Of
God. The Holy Spirit had taken full
control Of these men and was telling
through them the things of God and OF
Christ dis Jesus said He would John xvi
1916. He who first gave different lam
guages to people Gen. XII, y can as cas-
y
when He sees fit, and, although we do
not hear of missionaries in our day ac-
curing a foreign language in that way,
yet | am acquainted with missionaries
who, in reliance upon Job xxxvi, 1, were
able to speak in a foreign tongue in a
very short time. One whom | know
passed an examination in six months
that would ordinarily require a year of
study. The Spirit does not talk of the
works of man, nor does He honor man,
but He loves to honor God. Like the
servant of Abraham when he went to
obtain a wife for Isaac, He tells OF the
only Son and how the Father had given
all things into His hand. The messenger
of the Lord is not expected to think out
his message and tell the people his
thoughts, but he is expected to receive it
from the Lord and deliver it as the
Lords message (Ex. Nv, II; Jer. /, q;
John xii, 40; Pet. iv. IL.
1915. This supernatural occurrence
was TO these devout Jews wholly incom-
prehensble, and they tried to explain it
I by saying that these men were full OF
new wine about as silly an explanation
as is given by some Of the wise and pro-
fessedly devout men Of our day of some
Of the wonderful works Of God. The
natural man, however educated or rell-
gious he may be, cannot receive the
things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness unto Him Il Cor. Ii, IA, and
these devout, religious Jews needed just
what Nicodemus needed, new birth,
the gift of God, which many Of them a
little later received. That the wisdom OF
this world cannot comprehend or explain
the things Of God is repeatedly shown In
the book of Daniel, a book which some
OF the wise men seem to wish out of the
Bible, perhaps because therein is shown
the utter inability of the wisdom Of
Egypt to explain the things Of God. The
wise Of this world are drunken. but not
with wine lisa. xxx, 81. Consider also
Eph. v, Is. and some similarity between
a man filled with wine and one filed with
the Spirit.
1921. Peter does not say that this was
the ful6llment of that part of Joels
prophecy which he quotes, but that it
was sample OF 1t or, il you prefer, a
fulfllment, for one has truly said that
prophecy may have germinant accom-
plishment while the complete fulfllment
Is yet in the future. That Joeps prophecy
has not yet had its fulfllment df you
will suffer the world or its final fulfill