What is the theme of this chapter?
Paul's conversion.
What is the key verse(s) of this chapter? Verses 15-16
"But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."
What can I apply to my life from this chapter (things to do/avoid)?
I need to avoid making too big a distinction between Paul and Peter's ministries; there is a connection between the two. (Their ministries are interlinked in this way: Peter is the central figure in Acts 1:1-8:40; Paul interrupts the narrative in Acts 9:1-31; Peter interrupts in Acts 9:32-11:18; and then Paul becomes the central figure in Acts 11:19-28:31.)
As Stam well said:
"To begin with, Paul represented the same God as the twelve, against whom Israel was now rebelling. He represented the same Christ, whom Israel was now rejecting. And 'the salvation of God,' which Israel had refused, was now to be 'sent unto the Gentiles' (Acts 28:28; cf. 13:46; 18:6). Furthermore the apostles at Jerusalem soon recognized that because Israel was now refusing the risen, glorified Christ, God had chosen Paul to preach salvation to the Gentiles in spite of Israel, and in a solemn agreement their leaders gave to Paul and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, agreeing to continue their labors with Israel while Paul went to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:2,7,9). Thus Paul's ministry was not merely another program which he had decided to start separately from the church at Jerusalem. It was the next step in the program of God, and unless we see the progress, the development, in the whole program we miss a great deal. This is why—as we shall see especially in the case of Cornelius—the two ministries are thus interlinked ...
"The new program would only gradually displace the old. This is one reason why God now introduces Peter again, in the healing of Aeneas, the raising of Dorcas and the conversion of Cornelius."
At the same time, I have to keep in mind that two programs are running parallel to each other throughout much of Acts, and that I need to distinguish the one from the other or I will get terribly confused.
Additional observations/questions:
None this week.
Paul's conversion.
What is the key verse(s) of this chapter? Verses 15-16
"But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."
What can I apply to my life from this chapter (things to do/avoid)?
I need to avoid making too big a distinction between Paul and Peter's ministries; there is a connection between the two. (Their ministries are interlinked in this way: Peter is the central figure in Acts 1:1-8:40; Paul interrupts the narrative in Acts 9:1-31; Peter interrupts in Acts 9:32-11:18; and then Paul becomes the central figure in Acts 11:19-28:31.)
As Stam well said:
"To begin with, Paul represented the same God as the twelve, against whom Israel was now rebelling. He represented the same Christ, whom Israel was now rejecting. And 'the salvation of God,' which Israel had refused, was now to be 'sent unto the Gentiles' (Acts 28:28; cf. 13:46; 18:6). Furthermore the apostles at Jerusalem soon recognized that because Israel was now refusing the risen, glorified Christ, God had chosen Paul to preach salvation to the Gentiles in spite of Israel, and in a solemn agreement their leaders gave to Paul and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, agreeing to continue their labors with Israel while Paul went to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:2,7,9). Thus Paul's ministry was not merely another program which he had decided to start separately from the church at Jerusalem. It was the next step in the program of God, and unless we see the progress, the development, in the whole program we miss a great deal. This is why—as we shall see especially in the case of Cornelius—the two ministries are thus interlinked ...
"The new program would only gradually displace the old. This is one reason why God now introduces Peter again, in the healing of Aeneas, the raising of Dorcas and the conversion of Cornelius."
At the same time, I have to keep in mind that two programs are running parallel to each other throughout much of Acts, and that I need to distinguish the one from the other or I will get terribly confused.
Additional observations/questions:
None this week.
No comments:
Post a Comment