Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1916-02-16
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY 20
CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.

LESSON TEXT-Acts 4:32-5;16
GOLDEN TEXT-Love one another from
the heart fervently.-I Pet 1:22 R. v.
The Sanhedrin had tried threaten
ing upon the disciples and this is gen.
orally pretty weak business But
their threat meant danger and the dis
clples were not unduly puffed up over
their deliverance. With all their be-
1ieving friends they prayed and in re-
sponse the Holy Spirit came upon
them in still further measure
(4:23-3D.
!. The Spirit-FiIIed Believers, 4:32-
81. The two sections of this lesson
are really one and are designed to
bring out sharply the contrast be-
tween the Holy Spirit-flled church
and an evil spirit-filled man. The
communism OF the early church was
ta) Christian communion (see 2:44);
and it was (b) for a special occasion;
(c) it was benevolent-each had ac-
cording to his needs (4:34, $50; (d)
it was voluntary (5:4), and (e) it rec
ognized the right to private property
tsee 5:4. 81. He, the Holy Spirit, does
b~'ng that unity, that altruiSm, those
active social relations and services of
which Pentecostal communism is the
type. Unity and love are seen in gen.
ulne Christianity in all ages, but the
forms of their expression may differ
The power of the Holy Spirit was
manifested, not merely in love and
unity which it produced, in the broth
erhood thus evidenced, but also in the
testimony given for the Lord Jesus
Christ, with great power gave the
apostles witness to the resurrection
OF the Lord Jesus" There is much
witness to the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus Christ in our day, but not
always with great power" When we
are filled with the Holy Spirit it is of
Jesus, and especially of his resur-
rection, that we VIII bear witness.
Another result of being filled with the
Holy Spirit was that grace was upon
all. Grace means favor. We are
not told whether it was Gods favor
or mans favor that was upon them.
It seems to imply both (see Luke
2:52). No man looked upon his own
interests, but "every man on the
things of Others" Distribution was
made according as each had need, not
according to his ability, not according
to his notable service. The pre-emi-
nent illustration of Christian love In
the brotherhood at Jerusalem was
Rarnabas. If we had more of such
today we would have less Of union
labor troubles and missionary deficits.
We do we'll to consider carefully the
six distinguishing features of this
early church; Q) A praying church
(4:24-3O, (2) Spirit-filled church
-(3D, (3) a united church 1922, az a
witnessing church (33), (5) a minis
itering church ga, 35), CO. a multiply
ing church (26, 80.
II. The DeviI-Possessed UnbeIIever,
I5, 1-16. Barnabas had received great
praise for what he had done at the i'm
pulse of the Holy Spirit in his life. It
is an exceedingly fair picture, but the
scene OF the early church had been
from foes without, now it faces the
greater peril of foes within. And when
this great question, regarding the de-
ity and personality of the Holy Spirit,
is first brought to light, God, through
his church, dealt with it in a stern
manner. The devil is always present
ing his limitations of everything good
and holy, Ananias and Sapphira we're
not willing to make like sacrifice.
They, too, sold possession" but
they secreted a part of the price and
brought the rest with the intent to de-
ceive the church. The Holy Spirit
quickly Informed the church of this
hypocrisy and, Spirit-guided, they
were not deceived For Ananias to
lie in the atmosphere Of love and con-
eecration engendered by the Holy
Spirit made his crime the more unpar-
donabIe. The same words are used In
describing his actions as those used
In describing the actions of Barnabas
up to certain point. But what diff
ference we see subsequently. In the
case of Barnabas his act was a deed
of self-forgetting love; in the case of
Ananias it was one of calculating by
pocrisy. We thus see that the early
church was not as perfect as some
would have us imagine it to be.
The second section of this para
graph wv. 12-16) is a record of what
the results of this vindication of the
Holy Spirit were. First the Spirit
came upon the apostles and literally
overfiowed upon all those about them
In the second place those who were
thinking of joining the church for mer
cenary motives were held back from
so doing ". 1S).
II the Holy Spirit were present in
such power today there would be fewer
hypocrites who would dare to join
themselves to it.
The deception of Ananias was delib
crate ". A.; he had talked it over
with his wife (vv. 2, 81, and he was
a grave danger to this early church
1t threatened to choke the very
fountain of love and unity which had
sprung up in the midst of the selfish
world.
The stern judgment that came upoz
Ananiag and Sapphira was richly mer
ated and indeed was gracious, for Il
Gtftsd and saved the church.