The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-02-19
INTERNATIONAL
LESSON
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY 20
CHRISTIAN BROTHERHOOD.
By e. q. SELLERS. Acting Director OF
Sunday School Course. Moody Bible
1nstitute.l
tcopyright, 1918. Western Newspaper Unlon.b


their threat medLI uduBSi anu tho AS
ciples we're not unduly pulled up over
their deliverance. With all their be-
lieving friends they prayed and in re-
| Spouse the Holy Spirit came upon
them in still further measure
(4:23-31).
/. The Spirlt-FlIled Believers, 1882
81. The two sections of this lesson
are really n and are designed to
bring out sharply the contrast be-
tween the Holy Spirit-flled church
and an evil spirit-tilled man. The
communism of the early church was
(a) Christian communion (see PAD;
and it was (b) for a special OCCASION;
tc) it was benevolent-each had &C
cording to his needs" (4:34, $50; (d)
it was voluntary .(5:4), and (e) it rec
ognized the right to private property
tsee ga, 81. He, the Holy Spirit, does
bring that unity, that altruism, those
active social relations and services of
which Pentecostal communism is the
type. Unity and love are seen in gem
uine Christianity in all ages, but the
forms of their expression may differ.
II DOMGI vi lu0 IlOly Oplllb wac
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
| I Or1 1oot1o Tbricf IN mn dou huf 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 will 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.
1t seems to imply both (see Luke
2:52). No man looked upon his own
interests. but every man or 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
III bAONlN AllOOu at OOA uOoAChl vas
Barnabas. If we had more of such
today we would have less of union
labor troubles and missionary deficits.
We do well to consider carefully the
six distinguishing features of this
early church: ~ A praying church
(4:2430), (2) a Spirit-flled church
(31), go a united church 1927, (4) a
witnessing church (33), (5) ID minis
tering church ga, 35), (6) a multiply
ing church (36, 80.
u. The Devil-Possessed Unbeliever,
5, 1-16. Barnabas had received great
praise for what he had done at the i'm
pulse of the Holy Spirit in his life. 1t
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-
fly 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 Sapphire were
not willing to make a like sacrifice.
They, too, sold a 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-
secration ~engendered by the Holy
Spirit made his crime the more unpar-
donable. The same words are used in
describing his actions as those used
In describing the actions of Barnabas
up to a certain point. But what a diff
ference we see subsequently. In the
case Of Barnabas his act was a deed
Of s~elf-forgetting love; in the case of
Ananias 1t vas one of calculating n.y.
pocrisy. We thus see that the early
church was not as perfect as some
would have us imagine it to be. To
pretend to a full conservation which
he did not possess is thus revealed,
and for us to pretend to a ~consecra-
ton we do not possess is to lie to the
Holy Ghost. In the case of Ananias
and Sapphira it brought swift and aw-
full judgment. Peters question seems
to imply that the plan had originated
with Satan, but Ananias wal none the
less responsible. for he had given
place to-Satan and permitted him to
"hll his heart" The fact is his sin
originated with Satan, but that did not
lessen-but rather aggravated-his
guilt. for he had entered into partner,
ship with the devil. and this is what
every liar is doing (John 9:44, / John
2:22). The heart that is open to the
Holy Spirit he will fill; the heart that
is open to Satan he will fill. The one
who pretends to an entire consecra.
ton, which does not exist, is tempt.
ing the spirit of the Lord" "; 81, and
1t is a dangerous thing to do. 1t may
not bring physical death. for God gives
us other examples OF his dealings
towards sin. but there will be the ulti.
mate judgment that comes upon all
liars and deceivers.
The second section OF this nara.
graph wv. 1910 is a record of what
the results of this yindication of the
Holy Spirit were. First the Spirit
came upon the apostles and literally
overfowed upon all those about them.
In the second place those who were