CHAPTER IX

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST AS

PREACHED BY HIS APOSTLES

Gospel preached to Jews on day of Pentecost by Peter-The "Gates of Hell"- Gospel preached to Gentiles - Paul's Gospel-In what the mystery of the Gospel consists - Obedience of faith, baptism - Mode of baptism Things concerning the kingdom of God-Things concerning the name of Jesus Christ-Fellowship of the mystery.

After Jesus had been offered as a sacrifice for sins and had so accomplished the great work of human redemption, he spake to his apostles whom he had chosen, after he had arisen from the dead and before he ascended on high, saying, "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things, and behold I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them, and it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy."

When the apostles were thus instructed of the Lord Jesus, they tarried in Jerusalem, and ten days after his ascension, the gifts of the Spirit were sent down upon them as he had promised. This fully qualified them for the great work which was before them, to preach the gospel to every nation, beginning at Jerusalem. But after his resurrection and before his ascension, when the disciples were come together, they asked of him saying, “Lord wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power, but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses of me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in all Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."

Thus Jesus instructed his apostles that they were to direct their attention chiefly to the work that was then before them, and in which they had been instructed from the days of John the Baptist until Jesus was taken up; and Jesus informed them that they should receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon them and should be witnesses unto him, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

But what was to be the burden of their story? and what was the chief thing of which they were to bear witness? That appears clearly when Peter stood up among the disciples (who numbered about a hundred and twenty) while

they waited in Jerusalem for the promise of the Spirit, and said, "Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake by the mouth of David before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus, for he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry." And then after recounting what befell Judas, he said, “It is written in the book of the Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Barsabas . . . and Matthias, and they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whither of these two thou hast chosen. . . . And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." This filled up the number of twelve witnesses of Christ's resurrection; and it may be well here to state, that there is no great event in human history recorded in the annals of the past that is as well authenticated as the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL BY PETER

When Jesus in the days of his ministry said to his apostles, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" And after they stated the discordant and erroneous views that were abroad in the community, he brought the matter closer home to themselves, and said, "But whom say ye that I am?" Then Simon Peter answered boldly, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said, unto him, "Blessed art thou, Simon BarJona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." This pointed out Peter as the one who should be employed in opening the door of salvation, first to the Jew, and afterwards to the Gentile.

THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO JEWS

Accordingly, we read that when the day of Pentecost had come, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and sat visibly upon the disciples, in the form of cloven tongues of fire, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance, in the ears of devout men who were assembled there at this great feast, from every nation under heaven. When this was noised abroad, and the multitude came together, they were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language, and "they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak, Galileans? and how hear we every one in his own tongue wherein we were born? . . . And they were all amazed and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others, mocking, said, These men are full of new wine.

"Then Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, Be it known unto you, and hearken unto my words, for these men are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons, and your daughters, shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on my servants, and on my handmaidens, I will pour out in these days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy; and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass,

that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved.

"Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face; for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

"Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath unto him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" These memorable words spoken by Peter on that notable day do not by any means constitute all that was then said, for Luke, who recorded these things, says that when the multitudes from among all nations and the people of Israel saw and heard these things they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" This shows that these things were discussed not only by Peter, but by all the other apostles who aided in the work; and Luke further testifies saying, “And with many other words did he testify and exhort saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation."

That was indeed an untoward generation; the chief men in Israel, rulers and Pharisees, had before charged that Jesus cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils; and now when the Spirit was poured out and sat upon men in the form of cloven tongues of fire, and when these Galileans, who were afterwards, when they were summoned into the presence of the rulers of Israel, spoken of by them as unlearned and ignorant men,- when they were now heard speaking in the language of all the people who were assembled there out of all nations, a thing which they themselves could not do, they then sought to disparage these things by saying that these men were filled with new wine and drunk. But Peter quickly refuted these slanders and showed that this was a fulfillment of the words spoken by the Prophet Joel, who testified how God would pour out his Spirit in the last days upon all flesh, both upon Jews and Gentiles who should believe and obey the gospel and as a result of this wonderful manifestation, they should dream dreams, and see visions, and prophesy.

But the prophet testifies that before this wondrous manifestation should take place, and this great and notable day should come, the Lord would show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire, and vapor of smoke, saying, "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon turned to blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come." The prophet here manifestly refers to two periods of Jewish history when the Spirit would be poured out upon his people; first, in the last days of the kingdom of Judah and before the sceptre should depart from Judah, and again, in the latter days of the whole house of Israel; and therefore what was not fulfilled in these days, would be fulfilled in after times. There truly were wonders shown in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, before that great and notable day came when the Spirit was poured out from on high, and when a rushing mighty wind filled the house where they were, and sat upon all of them, when they were filled with the Spirit and spake with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Some of the notable signs and wonders that were seen before this are testified of as follows: Luke, speaking of the crucifixion of Christ says, "It was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour, and the sun was darkened, and all the people which came together to that sight, smote their breasts and returned." Matthew adds, "Now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour; and about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the spirit, and "behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks were rent; and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept, arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake, and those things which were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God." There was a great earthquake when Christ died, and another great earthquake when he rose from the dead; for it is said, "Behold there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled

back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow; and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men." These were some of the signs and wonders which preceded the baptism by the Holy Spirit, on that memorable day of Pentecost, and afterwards.

Jesus frequently before the close of his ministry spake of this great manifestation of the Spirit, saying, "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." Again, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Again after his resurrection, and before his ascension into heaven, Luke says (Acts), "And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me: for John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence." Again Jesus said before he suffered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do he shall do likewise, and greater works shall he do, because I go unto my Father."

Therefore, although Jesus did many mighty works in the days of his ministry yet the works that his disciples would do after he ascended to his Father and sent down upon them the gifts of the Holy Spirit would exceed those that he himself had done. It was not said of Jesus that he ever spake in any language but his own in preaching the gospel, for he himself said that he was not sent, save to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. His apostles, on the other hand, were sent to preach the gospel for a witness to all nations, and one of the most remarkable things ever witnessed in our world was the fact that twelve unlearned Galileans upon whom the Holy Spirit appeared visibly, and upon whom it sat in cloven tongues of fire, spoke in the languages of every nation under heaven, declaring the wonderful works of God, as the Psalmist had before said of them, foretelling of these days, saying, "There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard: their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Ps. 19: 3-4). For the strangers that were assembled at Jerusalem out of every nation under heaven were amazed and marvelled, saying, "Are not these Galileans? And how hear we every man in the language, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were amazed, and were in doubt saying one to another, What meaneth this?" But Peter, after showing them what it meant and how it was a fulfillment of what the prophets had said should come to pass in the last days of the kingdom of Judah, spake to the people as follows: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the