Acts 2:39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. Every dispensation has its present duties and privileges: it has also its peculiar promise; and according as men have apprehended the promise and the privileges, has been the ardour of their devotion. 1. In the patriarchal dispensation men had the privilege of presenting to God an accepted service, and living under His guidance and protection. But their promise was that the seed of Jacob should inherit the land of Canaan. 2. After the chosen people had been brought into their possession they were blessed with the privileges of the Mosaic code, and God gave them the promise of the Messiah. It was the privilege of the Israelite to take part in the worship of God with the feeling of holy anticipation that He would come whom their rites symbolised. 3. When Christ came He said that the privileges of His disciples were greater than those of the greatest man of the former dispensation, and gave them the promise of the Holy Ghost. This is the last promise characteristic of the last times; beyond this dispensation there will be no other, and its promise will be succeeded by no other. Notice — I. ITS NATURE. It implies that the Holy Ghost should be given. 1. For the official qualification of the preacher. The words suggest the exclusive power and right of Divine selection. "I will pour out... of My Spirit." The selection includes teachers of different grades in society and of both sexes. And for their qualification the Spirit is absolutely necessary. It is universally recognised that whatever else a man may possess, talent, power, wealth, or learning, he must possess the Spirit. This was taught by Christ when He said, "Tarry ye at Jerusalem," etc. (1) The Spirit was to give them correct views of truth, "He will guide you into all truth." These right views are necessary to preserve men from heresy. All revivals in the history of the Church have been connected with the revival of spiritual truth. Witness Pentecost, Luther, the Puritans, Wesley, etc. The Word of God comes out with clearness and power, and error recedes before it. (2) Something more, however, is needed than to be saved from heresy. The teacher must have spiritual views in relation to the Word of God such as those suggested by the expressions, "lively word," "the lively oracles," "the unction of the Holy One." A man must not speak merely in a way free from inaccuracy; but his words must be clothed with energy breathed by the Holy Ghost, so that wherever they come they may communicate that power. (3) The affections must be touched. There must be a yearning for souls which will not let the preacher rest unless they are brought to God. (4) The Holy Ghost is necessary for the resistance of unworthy motives such as would lead men to court popularity and indulge spiritual pride. (5) He only again is an effectual preservative against bigotry. 2. To dispose the heart of the hearer to derive full advantage from spiritual teaching. He (1) convinces of sin. (2) Inspires living faith. (3) Regenerates. (4) Bears witness to the believer's adoption into God's family. (5) Preserves from sinning. (6) Sanctifies. (7) Consoles. (8) Guides. II. ITS EXTENT. 1. "To you." All piety is out of place if it be not first of all practised at home. Your own salvation is of more importance to you than that of any one else. To save others and after all be lost yourself would greatly aggravate your misery. 2. "To your children." These, next to yourself, should claim your most earnest attention. The man who devotes himself to others and n neglects his own family inverts the order of things. It is a monstrous evil to be engaged from early Sunday morning to late at night in a constant succession of services, and to have not a single half-hour to spare for one's own children. 3. "To them that are afar off." (1) Morally. (2) Geographically. (3) Chronologically. (S. D. Waddy, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. |
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