Dr. John Hartmann

In this study we continue to lay a foundation for an understanding of early Christian mission, particularly the mission to the Gentiles that emerged through the apostle Paul, with its base in the church of Antioch-Syria. Today’s study again looks at some of the characteristics of the early church in Jerusalem. Our teacher lays particular emphasis on the “Jewishness” of the early church in Jerusalem, made up of native Jews as well as Jews and proselytes, “devout men” who had come from every nation under heaven (the Diaspora). They practiced the Law of Moses as any other devout Jew of that time would have done. What made them distinct was their acceptance of the apostle’s testimony concerning Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, which, again, was being confirmed with signs and wonders following, which created a sense of awe among all who witnessed this. They were a people of eschatological faith, whose reward was in the age to come. They were transformed by the Word to walk in love, cleansed from covetousness and idolatry. They thus put their possessions at the Lord’s disposal to meet the needs of those who were destitute in the redeemed community.

In the backdrop of all this were two primary devotional practices: 1) devotion to the teaching of the apostles, and 2) devotion to the prayers. Our teaching mentions some of the “prayers” that were prayed continually by the apostle Paul (Eph 1, 3; Phil 1; Col 1) and also breaks down the 5 key components of the Lord’s prayer listed in Matt 6:9-13.

Today there is a need to “re-lay” the apostolic foundation upon which the true church is built (Eph 2:20) so that it might grow into the fullness to which it has been called (1:22-23; 2:20-22; 3:19; 4:10, 13). The Lord has given to the church “equipping ministries” so that this might come to fruition (4:11-16). This is why we must be devoted to the apostle’s teaching: so that we might be cleansed, matured, and equipped to reach God’s goals concerning what we are to be and do. This requires focus, and discipline borne of vision. The goal, that is, our ultimate eschatological hope and destiny, is clearly stated in passages like Romans 8:17b-30 and Ephesians 1:3-6. From this we look at 7 things such hope gives to us in Christ:

1. Strength to endure through trial and suffering
2. Motivation to grow in holiness
3. Motivation to be good stewards of our gifts
4. Encouragement to know that the Lord will take care of us in every circumstance
5. Motivation to discipline ourselves unto godliness
6. Growth in our knowledge of God’s love
7. Knowledge that our lives are really about two ultimate issues, namely, growth in the character and image of God, and the use of our gifts for the edification of others and His glory.

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In this study we continue to lay a foundation for understanding Paul’s mission to the Gentiles by looking at the beginnings of the Jerusalem church in Acts 1-2.

The time line begins in the spring of 30 AD, when Jesus was crucified, raised from the dead, and exalted to the right hand of God after 40 days. 10 days after His ascension the Spirit was poured out on those gathered in the upper room. They, as promised, were baptized with the Spirit, and spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. This was a miracle of speech, as those who gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost heard the disciples speak of God’s mighty deeds in their own languages. Peter’s witness to the large crowd gathered to witness this phenomenon resulted in the conversion of 3000 souls, made up of devout Jews and proselytes.

This new community of disciples continued to be devoted to the apostle’s teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. The whole redeemed community continued to feel a sense of awe, as God granted signs and wonders to be wrought at the hands of the apostles, whom the Lord had appointed as the lead witnesses of His resurrection. Our teacher discusses the chief purpose of signs and wonders, which were granted to confirm the apostolic testimony concerning Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

Tangible acts of love were a clear mark that the disciples were walking the truth of Jesus. The disciples met the needs of those who had lack, a theme which appears in Acts 2:44-45, and is repeated with more detail in 4:32-37. They met together at the Temple and from house to house, breaking bread and sharing meals with gladness and sincerity of heart. They enjoyed favor with the people of the wider Jewish community, though, as will be seen, they were relentlessly opposed by the Sadducean priestly nobility. The Lord, however, continued to work through their testimony to bring many more to faith in Jesus the Messiah, adding to the church daily such as should be saved.

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Acts 11:19-26 The church of Antioch-Syria was founded by Jewish-Christian missionaries scattered abroad because of the persecution that arose in connection with the death of Stephen. God used persecution to bring about the expansion of the gospel, with the chief antagonist being Saul of Tarsus, who in the meantime was converted to faith in Christ and commissioned to be Jesus’ chief witness to the Gentiles (32 AD). These scattered Jewish-Christian missionaries made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch-Syria, speaking the word at this point to Jews only. This work probably went on for several years (32-41 AD), until a transition took place, probably around 41-42 AD, when Peter was providentially sent to the house of a Gentile centurion named Cornelius, in the city of Ceasarea on the Mediterranean coast. The outpouring of the Spirit upon the believing Gentiles gathered at Cornelius’ house marked a transition in the gospel mission, as the message of salvation would from this point onward go out to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1-11:18).

The timeline begins in the spring of 30 AD, when Jesus is crucified, raised, and exalted to heaven. Jesus spends 40 days on earth after His resurrection, during which time He appears to, teaches and commissions the chosen witnesses. His ascension to the right hand of God is understood in relation to Psalm 110, which speaks of the Messiah as Lord of all (verse 1) and the King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek (verse 4). Both of these verses are cited throughout the NT with reference to Jesus. The significance of Jesus’ high-priestly intercession on our behalf is particularly prominent in Hebrews 7 and Romans 8:31-34. Our teacher unpacks Jesus’ role of delivering us from the charges brought against us by the demons in the heavenly law-court.

Our study ends with discussion of God’s salvation-historical time-clock, which unfolds in ages and epochs. We presently live in “the period between the times” in which the evil age of darkness continues on (Gal 1:4), but the in which the powers of the age to come are manifest in and through the redeemed community (Heb 6:5).

This message again issues a challenge for God’s believing remnant to embrace the mission to which the church has been called in the Gospel for all nations.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Psalm 1 and 2 provide an introduction to the whole Psalter.

Psalm 1 focuses on the individual who walks in God’s ways and is thus blessed of God, Psalm 2 on God’s relationship with the nations and His purposes to give those nations as an inheritance to His Son, the One He has anointed to be the king of the whole earth.

The righteous who are blessed of God are characterized by the following things:

1) they reject the way of the world (1:1)

2) they continually and constantly delight and meditate in the Word of God (1:2)

3) they become fruitful because of the favor of God (1:3)

The wicked by way of contrast:

1) love the world’s counsel, follow the way of sin, and scoff at God’s ways (1:1)

2) are temporal, like chaff which the wind drives away

3) will not stand in the Day of Judgment

4) are excluded from the congregation of the righteous

5) will perish

Psalm 2 pictures the coming kingdom of Messiah. The psalm divides naturally into four parts:

1) the nations in rebellion against God (vv 1-3)

2) the Lord’s response: He laughs and scoffs at them, and announces His determination to install His Anointed King as ruler of the world (vv 4-6)

3) The decree of the Lord: the nations will be given as an inheritance to the Lord’s Anointed King, pictured here as His adopted Son, risen from the dead (vv 7-9; cf. Acts 13:33). This passage envisions the Messiah ruling the nations with a rod of iron (v 9). This is cited throughout the book of Revelation with reference to Jesus (Revelation 19:15) and the overcomers (2:26-28) who will rule with Him in His millennial kingdom (20:4-6)

4) The kings of the earth are given counsel to submit to the Lord’s plan with respect to giving the rule of the earth to His Anointed King (vv 10-12).

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In Matthew 16:27 Jesus announces to His disciples that the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then states (16:28) that some of those standing there among His disciples would not taste death until they had seen the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. This reference to Jesus’ second coming is based primarily on the vision of Daniel 7.

The vision of Daniel 7 occurred in the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon (553 BC), about 14 years before the kingdom of Babylon fell to Cyrus the Persian in 539 BC. Daniel describes what he saw as “a dream”, but then refers to it as “visions in his mind” and “a vision by night” (7:1-3), ultimately calling it simply “the revelation” (of a mystery; cf 2:27-28) in 7:28.

God often communicates a knowledge and understanding of His will to men through dreams. Job 33 reveals that God speaks to men through dreams in the night, essentially because they do not listen to Him during their waking hours. He does this because He loves men, and wants to turn them from folly and save their lives from the pit of destruction. Job 33 also reveals that God will also use affliction, if necessary, to bring about such turning from folly and redemption to people’s souls.

God wishes to communicate His will to men so that they may return and submit to Him and be saved. His first choice would always be to speak to us by His Word, by instruction, correction, reproof, and, if necessary, by way of rebuke. If this is not heeded He may speak through dreams, or deal with us by way of affliction. Note: Lamentations 3 makes clear that affliction is not really God’s first choice (as a means of getting through to us), but that He will allow us to be afflicted if necessary to teach us wisdom. Again, God does this to turn us from folly. As is re-iterated several times in Psalm 119: before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Thy Word. None whom He loves will escape His hand  of discipline if they need it. Scripture makes clear that the Lord will chastise those whom He loves (Revelation 3:19; Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-13; Psalm 94). A series of passages in the book of Proverbs help us to understand God’s way in all of this:

Stern discipline is for the one who forsakes the way; he who hates reproof will die  (Proverbs 15:10). This may be contrasted with Psalm 141:5: “Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; it is oil upon my head, do not let me refuse it”. Here is the proper attitude toward reproof …. I desire it, it is grace upon my head, don’t let me refuse it. On the other hand, a man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy (Proverbs 29:1). This warning should bring soberness to all who hear! Submit to God’s reproof and chastisement. It will be life to one’s soul.

Ultimately, let us be diligent hearers and doers of the Word, for “He who pays attention to the Word will find good, and happy is he who trusts in the Lord” (Proverbs 16:30).  This is the blessed way (cf. James 1:22-25; Luke 8:18-20). Psalm 81:13-14 states is succinctly: “O that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways. I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries”.

So, God will speak to men personally through dreams. But there are also dreams in which God reveals mysteries about His will and purpose on a broader scale, as here in Daniel 7. Daniel was diligent to write down and convey the summary of what he saw in the dream. We should do likewise, if ever God should give to any of us a dream of this sort. In this kind of dream, one is “in the Spirit”, taken to another dimension to see a vision in the night. It is not unusual for one to be extremely alarmed upon awaking from such a dream, which, as I said, is really a vision in the night, asleep in the natural, but wide awake in that other dimension which is sometimes called being “in the Spirit” (cf. Revelation 1:10).

In his dream, Daniel sees Four Great Beasts coming up out of “the sea” (7:4-8), the sea being symbolic of the nations. It should be noted that the four beasts of Daniel 7 corresponds to the various parts of the great image in Daniel 2 (a dream given to Nebuchadnezzar which Daniel then described and interpreted by the spirit of revelation). The four beasts of Daniel 7 are interpreted as follows:

The Lion = Babylon, the great kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors (605-539BC), corresponding to the head of gold in Daniel 2.

The Bear = the Medes (Isaiah 13:17-22) and the Persians, with the latter predominant (539-332 BC), corresponding to the arms and breast of silver in Daniel 2.

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The text of Matthew 16:13-17-8 marks a major transition point in the narrative of Jesus’ life and ministry, for we here may begin to trace the progressive stages of revelation that Jesus’ disciples must receive in the last few months of His earthly ministry, leading up to the climactic events in Jerusalem in which He, through death and resurrection, will fulfill the first major stage of what the Scriptures foretold concerning the Messiah’s sufferings and the glories that would follow.

It begins with Simon Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament Scriptures, the Son of the Living God, a truth he has come to know by revelation from the Father. The revelation of the mystery concerning Who Jesus is and the whole Divine program of redemption centered in Him becomes the foundation upon which Jesus builds the Church that the gates of Hades cannot overpower.

Matthew 16:21 is critical, for Jesus Christ from that time on begins to show His disciples that His date with destiny in Jerusalem was other than what they had thought. In Jewish thinking of that time Messiah was coming as a triumphant King who would free Israel from the yoke of Rome and establish a kingdom that touches all nations. This indeed was predicted in the Scriptures of the prophets. What the disciples and their Jewish brethren had missed was that Scripture also predicted that the Messiah first must suffer, and then enter His glory (cf. Luke 24; 1 Peter 1:10-12). Jesus thus begins to show the disciples that Israel’s restoration and indeed the restoration of the whole cosmos depended upon the Messiah being rejected, crucified, and raised the third day.

Peter rebukes Jesus for thinking along these lines. He knows that Jesus is the Messiah, but thinks that Jesus must go to Jerusalem to be hailed as Israel’s Messianic King and accepted as such by the Jewish leadership, after which He would free Israel from the yoke of Rome. Jesus in turn rebukes Peter, who, in his counsel, is unknowingly acting as an agent of Satan, setting himself in opposition to the Divine plan, which requires that Jesus must suffer rejection and crucifixion, by which He will fully accomplish what was necessary for our redemption. Peter’s problem, as it turns out, is much the same as ours in modern church culture today: he was setting his mind and affections on the interests of man, not on the interests of God. Jesus, thankfully, would not be dissuaded by Peter’s reasonings, for He had set His heart on doing the will of the Father Who had sent Him, which meant obedience even unto death on a Cross.

This paradigm of obedience even unto death becomes the model upon which Jesus calls us to be His disciples. If any man would come after Jesus, to be His disciple, he too must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus in the path of obedience and suffering in which one, out of love and gratitude for the grace of redemption, loses one’s life for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel, with the promise being that in so doing one actually gains one’s life, preserves one’s soul.

Our study ends with consideration of Paul’s teaching in Philippians 2, that we are to follow Jesus’ example of humility and obedience to the Father’s will, knowing that God works in us (energizing our spirit by His glorious power) to will and to do for His good pleasure.

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