But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you; delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Parallel Translations
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But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you;
delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,
to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
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But ryse and stond vp on thy fete. For I have apered vnto the for this purpose to make the a minister and a witnes both of tho thinges which thou hast sene and of tho thinges in the which I will appere vnto the
delyverynge the from the people and from the gentyls vnto which nowe I sende the
to open their eyes that they myght turne from darcknes vnto lyght and from the power of Satan vnto God that they maye receave forgevenes of synnes and inheritaunce amonge the which are sanctified by fayth in me.
Show all 3 translations
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But rise and stand vp on thy feete: for I haue appeared vnto thee for this purpose, to appoint thee a minister and a witnesse, both of the things which thou hast seene, and of the things in the which I will appeare vnto thee,
Deliuering thee from this people, and from the Gentiles, vnto whom now I send thee,
To open their eyes, that they may turne from darknes to light, and from the power of Satan vnto God, that they may receiue forgiuenes of sinnes, and inheritance among them, which are sanctified by fayth in me.
Cross-references (152)
- 1 Peter 2:9 (v18) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of…
- Ephesians 1:18 (v18) having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his…
- Acts 20:32 (v18) Now, brothers, I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up, and to give you the inheritance among all…
- Ephesians 5:8 (v18) For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Isaiah 42:7 (v18) to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
Show all 100 cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 4:6 (v18) seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory…
- Colossians 1:12-14 (v18) giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who delivered us out of the power…
- John 8:12 (v18) Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have…
- Luke 1:79 (v18) to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
- Ephesians 4:18 (v18) being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of…
- Isaiah 35:5 (v18) Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 (v18) in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the…
- 2 Corinthians 6:14 (v18) Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have? Or what fellowship does light have with…
- 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 (v18) But you, brothers, aren’t in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. You are all children of light and children of the…
- 1 John 3:8 (v18) He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might…
- Acts 2:38 (v18) Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will…
- Acts 20:21 (v18) testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus.
- 1 Corinthians 6:10-11 (v18) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom. Some of you were such, but you…
- Luke 24:47 (v18) and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
- 1 John 1:9 (v18) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- 1 John 5:19 (v18) We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
- Acts 5:31 (v18) God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
- Acts 13:47 (v18) For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost…
- Hebrews 11:6 (v18) Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder…
- 1 John 2:8-9 (v18) Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away and the true light already…
- Revelation 21:27 (v18) There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the…
- Isaiah 29:18 (v18) In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
- John 1:4-9 (v18) In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it. There came a…
- John 3:19 (v18) This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
- John 9:5 (v18) While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
- Acts 15:9 (v18) He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
- Hebrews 2:14-15 (v18) Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might…
- 1 Peter 2:25 (v18) For you were going astray like sheep; but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
- Isaiah 60:1-3 (v18) “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness…
- Luke 1:77 (v18) to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
- John 17:17 (v18) Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.
- Acts 22:14-15 (v16) He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. For…
- Hebrews 10:14 (v18) For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
- 1 Peter 1:4 (v18) to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you,
- 1 John 2:12 (v18) I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
- Revelation 20:2-3 (v18) He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand…
- Psalms 119:18 (v18) Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.
- Isaiah 9:2 (v18) The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death.
- Isaiah 43:8 (v18) Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.
- Luke 24:45 (v18) Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures.
- Acts 9:15 (v17) But the Lord said to him, “Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel.
- Galatians 3:14 (v18) that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
- James 2:5 (v18) Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he…
- Jude 1:1 (v18) Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
- Psalms 32:1-2 (v18) Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn’t impute iniquity, in whose…
- Psalms 146:8 (v18) Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind. Yahweh raises up those who are bowed down. Yahweh loves the righteous.
- Isaiah 42:16 (v18) I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before…
- Isaiah 49:6 (v18) Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of…
- Ezekiel 2:1 (v16) He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.”
- Daniel 10:11 (v16) He said to me, “Daniel, you greatly beloved man, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright; for I have been sent to you,…
- Malachi 4:2 (v18) But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the…
- Matthew 4:16 (v18) the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.”
- Matthew 6:22-23 (v18) “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your…
- Luke 2:32 (v18) a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
- Luke 4:18 (v18) “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to…
- John 12:35-36 (v18) Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you.…
- Romans 5:1-2 (v18) Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we also have our access by faith…
- 1 Corinthians 1:30 (v18) Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
- Ephesians 1:11 (v18) We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel…
- Ephesians 2:8 (v18) for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- 1 Timothy 2:7 (v17) to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
- 2 Timothy 2:26 (v18) and they may recover themselves out of the devil’s snare, having been taken captive by him to his will.
- Romans 15:16 (vv16–17) that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the Good News of God, that the offering up of the…
- Isaiah 49:24-25 (v18) Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered? But Yahweh says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be…
- Isaiah 53:8-12 (v18) He was taken away by oppression and judgment. As for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and…
- Jeremiah 1:19 (v17) They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you”, says Yahweh, “to rescue you.”
- John 4:10 (v18) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would…
- John 4:14 (v18) but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well…
- John 7:38-39 (v18) He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.” But he said this about the Spirit,…
- John 9:39 (v18) Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”
- Acts 3:19 (v18) “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the…
- Acts 9:17-18 (v18) Ananias departed and entered into the house. Laying his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by…
- Acts 10:43 (v18) All the prophets testify about him, that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins.”
- Acts 13:38-39 (v18) Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins, and by him everyone who believes is…
- Acts 26:23 (v18) how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the…
- Romans 8:17 (v18) and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.
- Romans 11:13 (v17) For I speak to you who are Gentiles. Since then as I am an apostle to Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;
- 1 Corinthians 1:2 (v18) to the assembly of God which is at Corinth—those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who call on the name of our…
- Galatians 1:12 (v16) For I didn’t receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Galatians 2:20 (v18) I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live…
- Galatians 3:2 (v18) I just want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith?
- Ephesians 1:7 (v18) in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
- Ephesians 1:14 (v18) who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
- Ephesians 5:14 (v18) Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- 1 Timothy 1:12 (v16) I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service;
- Titus 3:5-6 (v18) not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and…
- Hebrews 9:15 (v18) For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under…
- Hebrews 10:10 (v18) by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
- Ephesians 3:7-8 (vv16–17) of which I was made a servant according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. To me,…
- Isaiah 32:3 (v18) The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- Jeremiah 1:8 (v17) Don’t be afraid because of them, for I am with you to rescue you,” says Yahweh.
- Luke 11:21-22 (v18) “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe. But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he…
- Acts 23:11 (v16) The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify…
- Acts 28:28 (v17) “Be it known therefore to you, that the salvation of God is sent to the nations, and they will listen.”
- Romans 1:5 (v16) through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations for his name’s sake;
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (152 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (22 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv16–18 16. But rise. Christ did throw down Paul that…
16. But rise. Christ did throw down Paul that he might humble him; now he lifteth him up, and biddeth him be of good courage. And even we are daily thrown down by his voice to this end, that we may be taught to be modest; but look whom he throweth down, he doth raise the same again gently. And this is no small consolation, when Christ saith that he appeared to him not as a revenger to plague him for his madness, for those stripes which he had unjustly and cruelly given, for his bloody sentences, or for that trouble wherewith he had troubled the saints, for his wicked resisting of the gospel, but as a merciful Lord, intending to use his industry, and to call him to an honorable ministry. For he made him a witness of those things which he saw, and which he should afterward see. This vision was worthy to be recorded, by which he learned that Christ reigneth in heaven, that he might no longer proudly contemn him, but acknowledge that he is the Son of God, and the promised Redeemer; he had other revelations afterward, as he saith in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, and 12th chapter (2 Corinthians 12:1).
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v18 The end of the Gospel is to save them…
The end of the Gospel is to save them which are brought to the knowledge of Christ, and are justified and sanctified in him being laid hold on by faith.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv16–18 16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for…
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Ver. 16. But rise and stand upon thy feet] Thus,
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" Deiecit ut relevet; premit ut solatia praestet;
Enecat, ut possit vivificare, Deus."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Stand upon thy feet; as Daniel was bidden by…
Stand upon thy feet; as Daniel was bidden by the angel, Dan 10:11, to mitigate his consternation and fear.
Of those things in the which I will appear unto thee: St. Paul accordingly had many visions and revelations, Act 28:9; 23:11; 2Co 12:2; as he was more abundant in his sufferings for Christ, so in consolations from Christ, 2Co 1:5.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v16 St. Paul had given king Agrippa an account of…
St. Paul had given king Agrippa an account of his miraculous conversion in the former verses; in these he declares to him his extraordinary commission to preach the gospel; that Christ, who appeared to him from heaven, chose him to be a preacher as well as a professor of the gospel, assuring him that he would stand by him, and deliver him from the persecutions both of Jews and Gentiles, to whom he should send him, and would bless his endeavours to the opening of the eyes of their understanding, and to the turning of them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they might receive, by faith in Christ, remission of sins, and a portion of the heavenly inheritance among such as are regenerated by his Spirit.
Here note, 1. The honour which God is pleased to put upon the ministry of the word, his own ordinance: the apostle, who was only the instrument, is said to open the eyes of the blind, and turn sinners from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God: all which is properly and principally the work of the Spirit of Christ; yet he is pleased to put this honour upon his instruments, the ministers, by whom he worketh all this, and for which reason they are called co-workers, or workers together with Christ.
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Note, 2. The apostle’s mission, I send thee. Great is the dignity of gospel-ministers, they are God’s messengers; their commission is sealed by the whole Trinity, and intimates both their dignity and duty. To intimate their holiness, they are called men of God; for their vigilancy, watchmen; for their courage, they are called soldiers; for their painfulness, harvest labourers; for their care of the flock, shepherds: for their wisdom, overseers; for their industry, husbandmen; for their patience, fisherman; for their tenderness, nurses; for their affectionateness, fathers and mothers; for their faithfulness, stewards. A very high and honourable calling; the Son of God despised it not.
Note, 3. St. Paul’s commission in the several branches of it.
1. To open their eyes; that is, to enlighten their understandings, that they may know God and their duty to him: in order to which there is required, 1. Ability in the preachers; how can they open the eyes of others who are blind and ignorant themselves? Ought not they that undertake to be guides and leaders, very well to know the way themselves?
2. Perspicuity in the sermon: What hope can there be of opening men’s understandings, when the matter delivered is closed up from them? It was St. Paul’s aim to speak words easy to be understood, and it should be ours; it is the same thing to preach in an unknown tongue as in an unknown style, above the reach of our hearers.
Painted glass is more costly, but the plainer glass is the clearer and more useful. But we must take care, that though we come in plainness, yet not in rudeness of speech.
The second part of St. Paul’s commission was to turn men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God: in order to which he was turned from these himself. He has little reason to expect that God will honour his ministry for the conversion of others from sin and Satan, who is under the dominion of both himself. The minister’s life is the people’s looking-glass, by which they usually dress themselves.
Note, 4. The happy fruit of St. Paul’s mission and commission both. That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified. Wheresoever true repentance is wrought by the ministry of the word, there is forgiveness attained, and a title to the inheritance of heaven attained with it.
Note, lastly, A threefold metaphorical description of the sinful state of nature before conversion, and the like of a state of grace after conversion.
The state of nature is a state of blindness, To open their eyes.
A state of darkness, To turn them from darkness to light.
A state of slavery, And from the power of Satan unto God.
The state of grace after conversion is set forth by sight, light, and liberty. All this is Christ’s work originally, but his minister’s work instrumentally: I have sent thee to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv16–18 But rise and stand upon thy feet,.... This, and…
But rise and stand upon thy feet,.... This, and what follows in this and the two next verses, are not in any of the former accounts; and these words are used not only because Saul was fallen to the earth, and are an encouragement to rise up, and stand corporeally, but to take heart, and be of good cheer; for though he had acted so vile and cruel a part by Christ, and his people, yet he had designs of grace, and good will to him; and this appearance was not for his destruction, but for his honour, comfort, and usefulness:
for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose; not to take vengeance for past offences, but for the ends hereafter mentioned: and this appearance of Christ was real, corporeal, and personal, and not imaginary, or merely visionary and intellectual; and it was to this sight of Christ he more than once refers, partly in proof of Christ's resurrection from the dead, and partly to demonstrate the truth of his apostleship, Co1 9:1.
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to make thee a minister and a witness, both of those things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; so that he was an apostle, not of men, nor by man, but by Jesus Christ, as he himself says, Gal 1:1. He was a minister, not of man's making, but of Christ's; and they are the only true ministers of the Gospel, who are made by Christ, who have their mission and commission, their qualifications, gifts, and abilities, their doctrine, work, and wages from him: and the apostle's work, as a minister, was to be a witness; it was to testify what he had seen of Christ corporeally; and what knowledge of his person, office, and grace was now communicated to him by the spirit of wisdom and revelation; and what should hereafter be made known to him, either mediately by Ananias, or immediately by Christ and his Spirit; for the apostle had after appearances, visions, and revelations; see Act 22:17.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv17–18 Delivering thee from the people - The Jews and…
Delivering thee from the people - The Jews and the Gentiles, to whom, both Jews and Gentiles, I now send thee - Paul gives them to know, that the liberty he enjoys even in bonds, was promised to him, as well as his preaching to the Gentiles. I, denotes the authority of the sender. Now, the time whence his mission was dated. For his apostleship, as well as his conversion, commenced at this moment.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Verse 16. But rise, c.] The particulars mentioned here,…
Verse 16. But rise, c.] The particulars mentioned here, and in the two following verses, are not given in Ac 9:1-9, nor in Ac 22:6-11, where he gives an account of his conversion. He has detailed the different circumstances of that important event, as he saw it necessary and perhaps there were several others which then took place, that he had no opportunity of mentioning, because there was nothing in succeeding occurrences which rendered it necessary to produce them.
To make thee a minister] υπηρετην, An under-rower; that is, one who is under the guidance and authority of another; an assistant, or servant. So Paul was to act solely under the authority of Jesus Christ; and tug hard at the oar, in order to bring the vessel, through the tempestuous ocean, to the safe harbour. See the concluding observations on John 6, See Clarke on Joh 6:71.
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And a witness] μαρτυρα, A martyr. Though this word literally means a witness, yet we apply it only to such persons as have borne testimony to the truth of God at the hazard and expense of their lives. In this sense, also, ancient history states St. Paul to have been a witness; for it is said he was beheaded at Rome, by the command of Nero.
In the which I will appear] Here Christ gives him to understand that he should have farther communications from himself; and this may refer either to those interpositions of Divine Providence by which he was so often rescued from destruction, or to those encouragements which he received in dreams, visions, trances, &c., or to that general inspiration under which he was enabled to apprehend and reveal the secret things of God, for the edification of the Church. To all of which may be added that astonishing power by which he was so often enabled to work miracles for the confirmation of the truth.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v16 Act 26:16-18. But rise and stand upon thy feet…
Act 26:16-18. But rise and stand upon thy feet — Though thou hast persecuted me and my followers in this outrageous manner, and hast been engaged in a desperate attempt to destroy them from the face of the earth, and, by so doing, hast forfeited thy life. I am determined graciously to spare it, and to use thee hereafter as the instrument of my grace. For I have appeared unto thee — In this extraordinary manner; for this purpose, to make thee a minister — Of my gospel; and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen — Now, at this time; and of those in which I will appear unto thee — Namely, hereafter; Delivering thee from the people — The Jews; and the Gentiles, to whom — Both Jews and Gentiles; I now send thee — Paul gives them to know that the liberty he enjoyed, even in bonds, was promised to him, as well as his preaching to the Gentiles. I, denotes the authority of the sender; now, the time whence his mission was dated. For his apostleship, as well as his conversion, commenced at this moment. To open their eyes — The eyes of them who are now in a miserable state of blindness, whether Jews or Gentiles. He opens them who sends Paul, and he does it by Paul who is sent. And to turn them from darkness — From that state of ignorance and folly in which they are involved; that is, with respect to the Gentiles, to turn them from following false and blind guides, their oracles, divinations, and superstitious usages, received by tradition from their fathers, and the corrupt notions they had of their gods. And with respect to the Jews, to rescue them from their ignorance of the spirituality, extent, and obligation of the moral law, and of the shadowy, typical, and temporary nature of the Mosaic institution in general, as also from their ignorance of the spiritual and heavenly nature of the Messiah’s kingdom, and the qualifications necessary for becoming subjects of it, and of the true sense of the prophetic writings with relation to these things; to light — The light of divine knowledge and wisdom; and from the power of Satan — Who now holds them in a state of sin and guilt, weakness and wretchedness; unto God — To his love and service: for it was not sufficient for them to have their eyes opened, it was also necessary to have their hearts renewed; not enough to be turned from darkness to light, but they must be turned from sin to holiness; which, indeed, follows of course; for Satan rules by the power of darkness, and God by the convincing evidence of light. Idolaters were and are, in a special manner, under the power of Satan, paying their homage to creatures of their own fancy; to images, or imaginary beings; or to God’s creatures, not formed and given to man for any such purpose; that is, in effect, doing service to devils: but all sinners, also, are under the power of Satan, influenced by his temptations, yielding themselves captives to his will and pleasure. But converting grace rescues them from his tyranny, and brings them into subjection to God; translates them out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Observe, reader, when gracious dispositions are as strong in the soul as corrupt and sinful dispositions had been, it is then turned from the power of Satan unto God. That they may receive forgiveness of sins — That they may be pardoned, and restored to God’s favour, which by sin they had forfeited. They are delivered from the dominion of sin, that they may be delivered from that death which is the wages of sin; not that they may merit that forgiveness, as a debt or reward, but that they may receive it as a free gift, together with the comfort arising from it; they are persuaded to lay down their arms, and return to their allegiance, that they may have the benefit of the act of indemnity passed by God in behalf of those who do so. An inheritance, or lot, among them which are sanctified — That Isaiah , 1 st, That they may be sanctified as well as justified; may be redeemed from all iniquity, Tit 2:14; cleansed from all unrighteousness, 1Jn 1:9; from all unholy tempers, words, and works, purified from all pollution of the flesh and of the spirit, 2Co 7:1; and made glorious souls, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but constituted holy and without blemish, Eph 5:26-27; in other words, so renewed by the power of the Holy Ghost as to bear the image of the heavenly, as they had borne that of the earthly, and be made partakers of the divine nature, Tit 3:5; 2Pe 1:4. 2d, That they may receive an inheritance among such as are thus sanctified, even the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. For this inheritance, the forgiveness of our sins and the sanctification of our nature prepare us; removing that guilt and depravity which were the chief hinderances in the way of our receiving it. As all those that shall be saved hereafter must be sanctified as well as justified here, all that receive the heavenly inheritance must be thus entitled to it and made meet for it: and none can be saints in heaven that are not first saints on earth; so we need no more to ensure our happiness in a future world, than to possess these blessings in this world. And, as is here stated, these, together with the heavenly inheritance, for which they prepare us, are received by faith in Jesus: for faith in him, and in the promises of God, made to the penitent and believing through him; the faith whereby we not only receive divine revelation in general, but the record which God hath given of his Son in particular; by which we apply to, and rely on, Christ as the Lord our righteousness and sanctification, and resign ourselves to him as the Lord our proprietor and ruler; this is that faith whereby we receive forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life, the salvation of grace here, and the salvation of glory hereafter.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv16–18 But rise ... - The particulars mentioned in this…
But rise ... - The particulars mentioned in this verse and the two following are not recorded in the account of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9; but it is not improbable that many circumstances may have occurred which are not recorded. Paul dwells on them here at length in order particularly to show his authority for doing what he had done in preaching to the Gentiles.
To make thee a minister - A minister of the gospel; a preacher of the truth.
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And a witness - See the notes on Act 22:15.
Which thou hast seen - On the road to Damascus; that is, of the Lord Jesus, and of the fact that he was risen from the dead.
And of those things ... - Of those further manifestations of my person, purposes, and will, which I will yet make to you. It is evident from this that the Lord Jesus promised to manifest himself to Paul in his ministry, and to make to him still further displays of his will and glory. Compare Act 22:17-18. This was done by his rescuing him from destruction and danger; by inspiration; by the growing and expanding view which Paul was permitted to take of the character and perfections of the Lord Jesus. In this we see that it is the duty of ministers to bear witness not only to the truth of religion in general, or of that which they can demonstrate by argument, but more especially of that which they experience in their own hearts, and which they understand by having themselves been the subjects of it. No man is qualified to enter the ministry who has not a personal saving view of the glory and perfections of the Lord Jesus, and who does not go to his work as a witness of those things which he has felt; and no man enters the ministry with these feelings who has not, as Paul had, a promise that he shall see still brighter displays of the perfections of the Saviour, and be permitted to advance in the knowledge of him and of his work. The highest personal consolation in this work is the promise of being admitted to ever-growing and expanding views of the glory of the Lord Jesus, and of experiencing his presence, guidance, and protection.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Wherein I will appear to thee. From whence interpreters…
Wherein I will appear to thee. From whence interpreters take notice, that Christ divers times appeared to St. Paul to reveal things to him. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv16–18 But rise, &c.--Here the apostle appears to condense into…
But rise, &c.--Here the apostle appears to condense into one statement various sayings of his Lord to him in visions at different times, in order to present at one view the grandeur of the commission with which his Master had clothed him [ALFORD].
a minister . . . both of these things which thou hast seen--putting him on a footing with those "eye-witnesses and ministers of the word" mentioned in Luk 1:2.
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and of those in which I will appear to thee--referring to visions he was thereafter to be favored with; such as Act 18:9-10; Act 22:17-21; Act 23:11; Co2 12:1-10, &c. (Gal 1:12).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv16–18 16-18. Paul gives in rich clauses the great commission…
16-18. Paul gives in rich clauses the great commission he received. Lechler, sustained by Alford, strangely maintains that Paul attributes to Jesus here words not spoken by him, but by Ananias. The words of Ananias, in Act_22:14-15, bear but slender resemblance to these of Jesus. They justify no supposition either that Jesus spoke not these words complete, or that Ananias spoke not just the words recorded as his. The supposition that both were uttered implies no tame repetition. The obvious truth appears to be that Ananias was inspired to utter a brief confirmatory witness of the reality of the full commission given by Jesus to Paul.
16. Stand upon thy feet—The proper position for receiving the highest commission ever bestowed on man.
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A witness—(See note on Luk_1:2.)
Hast seen—Namely, this wonderful manifestation of Christ, as proof of the divinity of his Gospel.
I will appear—This was the first of many personal appearances of Jesus to him, as if his guardian angel were the Angel of the covenant. The other apostles had been under the tutelage of the terrene Jesus; this apostle of the risen Jesus.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–18 16. to make [R. V. appoint] thee a minister]…
16. to make [R. V. appoint] thee a minister] The verb is that which in Act_22:14 is rendered “have chosen” (R. V. appointed), and implies a deliberate selection and appointment. Saul was “a chosen vessel” (Act_9:15).
and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen] Rev. Ver. “a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me,” with a certain amount of MS. authority, though A.V. is well supported. St Paul dwells not unfrequently in his Epistles on his having seen Jesus. Cp. 1Co_9:1; 1Co_15:8, &c., and he makes this the ground of his independence in the Apostolic work, so that he can say he is not a whit behind any of the other Apostles.
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and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee] St Paul was more favoured than the rest of the Apostles, as far as we gather from the N. T. records, with visions from God to guide and comfort him at critical points in his work. Cp. Act_18:9; Act_23:11; and 2Co_2:2. It was specially important that Paul should have seen Jesus, so that he might bear independent witness to the truth of his resurrection.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–18 (16) But rise, and stand upon thy feet.—The report…
(16) But rise, and stand upon thy feet.—The report of the words heard by the Apostle is much fuller than in either Act_9:11 or Act_22:10, and may fairly be thought of as embodying what followed on the actual words so recorded, the substance of “the visions and revelations of the Lord” (2Co_12:1), by which, in those days of blindness and ecstasy, the future of his life was marked out for him, and the gospel which he was to preach revealed in its fulness. In such states of consciousness, the man who is in contact with the supernatural life does not take note of the sequence of thoughts with the precision of a short-hand reporter.
A minister and a witness.—The first word is the same as that which the Apostle uses of himself in 1Co_4:1.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Arise for rise, A.V.; to this end have I,…
Arise for rise, A.V.; to this end have I, etc., for I have, etc., for this purpose, A.V.; appoint for make, A.V.; the things wherein thou hast seen me for these things which thou hast seen, A.V. and T.R.; the things wherein for those things in the which, A.V. For to this end have I appeared, etc. On comparing this statement with those in Act_9:6 and Act_22:10, Act_22:14, Act_22:15, it appears that in this condensed account given before King Agrippa, St. Paul blends into one message the words spoken to him when the Lord first appeared to him, and the instruction subsequently given to him through Ananias, and the words spoken to him in the trance. (Act_22:17-21) This may especially be inferred from Act_9:6, and again from comparing Act_22:15 with this verse.
Vers. 16-18. Minister and messenger.
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The charge given by the manifested Savior to the stricken and awakened Saul is one which, in a true sense, though in smaller measure, we can apply to ourselves. We look at
I THE TWOFOLD RELATION IN WHICH HE WAS TO STAND. "To make thee a minister and a witness." Paul was to be
(1) related to Christ as his servant, and to be
(2) related to his fellow-men as their teacher. We are to engage in every Christian work as those who carry with them everywhere a sense of obedience to a Divine Master. We are to do and say nothing which we feel that he does not desire us to do or to say. We are also to feel flint, in regard to our fellows, we are as those who have a Divine message to deliver. If we are content to expound our own views, to establish our own position, or to secure a large following for ourselves, we fall miserably short of our true vocation; we are called to convey Christ"s message to mankind.
II THE TWOFOLD SOURCE WHENCE HE WAS TO DRAW HIS MESSAGE. He was to bear witness "both of these things which he had seen, and of those things in the which Christ would appear unto him" (ver. 16). Not only was he to narrate what he already knew, but he was to convey and enforce the truths which were soon to be revealed to him. We are to draw continually on this double source. We are
(1) to repeat the facts and truths with which past experience and study have made us familiar; and also
(2) to unfold those later and maturer views which our Lord will be revealing to our open and inquiring minds.
III THE TWOFOLD PROTECTION OF WHICH HE WAS ASSURED. "Delivering thee from the (Jewish) people, and from the Gentiles" (ver. 17). He was to encounter serious perils and difficulties, but he would escape the one and surmount the other. He would find himself opposed and thwarted by the Jews and the Gentiles, by those who were "nigh" and by those who were "afar off," by the children of privilege from whom he might have hoped to receive help, and by the sons of ignorance from whom he might have expected to endure hostility. By whomsoever assailed, the Divine Savior would be his defense. We, too, may expect to be opposed by two parties by those within and by "them that are without," by the heirs of privilege and by the aliens and strangers. If we are faithful and trustful, we may safely cast ourselves on the care of our Divine Friend, who, if he does not save us from, will assuredly save us in, the disappointments and the sufferings which will threaten us as champions of his cause.
IV THE TWOFOLD ISSUE OF HIS WORK.
1. Spiritual illumination. Those to whom he was to go would turn "from darkness to light," their "eyes having been opened." Having been blind to the existence, or to the nature and character, or to the claims of God; or blind to the worth of the human soul, or to the true end and aim of human life, or to the solemnity of death and judgment; or blind to the excellency of holy service, to the beauty of holiness, to the blessedness of consecration and self-denial; they were to perceive, to understand, to rejoice in the truth, to walk in the light. Their experience in the spiritual realm would answer to his in the material world who should awake from blackest night to brightest day.
2. Deliverance. "From the power of Satan irate God" (ver. 18). In ignorance and sin men are the bondmen of the evil one, held in his cords, subject to his sway. Delivered from the power of sin, they become the freedmen of Christ; they walk in "the glorious liberty of the children of God." From a degrading bondage they are rescued, that they may rejoice in a holy, elevating freedom.
V THE TWOFOLD BLESSING HE WAS TO PROMISE.
1. Forgiveness of sins.
2. Sanctification they may receive," etc. (ver. 18). Immediately on the exercise of faith they were to receive the abounding mercy of God, that forgiveness" which means not only the not holding them under condemnation, but also the positive reception of them into Divine favor, the admission of them to the Father"s table, the reinstatement of them into all the privileges of sonship. And gradually they were to rise into a state of sanctification, leaving old and evil things behind, and reaching forth to that which is before; attaining to the stature of Christian manhood, becoming holy even as God is holy. (1Pe_1:16)
VI THE ONE CONDITION ON WHICH HE MUST INSIST. "By faith that is in me." Every blessing promised was and is to be attained by faith in Jesus Christ himself. Not the acceptance of a creed, nor admission to a Church, nor submission to a ceremony, but a living faith in a living Savior; the cordial acceptance of Jesus Christ himself as the Divine Savior, the rightful Lord, the all-sufficient Friend of the human heart. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv16, 18 But rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I…
Act_26:16-18
But rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee to make thee a minister and a witness.
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Christianity self-attested
If you had given you what was asserted to be a speech made long ago by your father, the first reading of it would settle the matter. Knowing your father, his sentiments, his mode of expression, you would be able to say instantly whether the speech was authentic or fabricated. We ought by this time to know enough of Christs manner to be able to say whether any speech purporting to be His was actually ever spoken by His lips. Is this? Let us see. Christ is reported as saying--
1. I have appeared unto thee for this purpose. Here I recall the words which made the first ministers, Follow Me. He is as personal as ever.
2. I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make-- Here I remember the word, I will make you fishers of men. Jesus Christ is still Creator. The speaker does not propose to modify, add to, rearrange.
3. To make thee a minister--that is a new word--and a witness--that is an old word. Ye are, said Jesus Christ, witnesses of these things.
4. Proceed still further: a witness both of these things which thou hast seen. Why, that is the old method: Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. We speak as eyewitnesses; we are not quoters from authors of an ancient date.
5. Proceed further: and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee. Jesus said, I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. There is no end to the meaning of revelation. There is no end to the literature of the alphabet. The letters are but six-and-twenty in number, and no man attempts to add another! It is the same with the New Testament. Observe, nothing is added to the revelation. However large the book, it is all in the alphabet; however magnificent the unfoldment of the truth by human eloquence, the truth itself is the distinct and direct gift of God alone.
6. Proceed now to verse 17: Delivering them from the people and from the Gentiles. Here is the Lords own speech: Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, etc. It is a marvellous thing if this was invented. It is impossible, considering Sauls antecedents, that he could have invented a speech so perfect, not only in the letter, but in the spirit.
7. The eighteenth verse is a summary of all that Jesus began both to do and to say. The miracles and the gospels are all there. For example, To open their eyes. That is what Jesus Christ was always doing. He could never be at rest in the presence of the blind. Again and again He said, According to your faith, be it unto you. Christ will not have any blind followers.
8. To turn them from darkness to light. When did He ever turn men from light to darkness? Whenever He visited a town, the inhabitants were startled by an excess of intellectual lustre; old thoughts stood up in new meanings when He breathed them; the law itself became a kind of gospel when He repronounced its awful words.
9. And from the power of Satan unto God. When did He ever reverse that process? His first battle was with the devil in the wilderness, and His last battle was with the devil on the Cross.
10. Go further: that they may receive forgiveness of sins. That is His very word: Son, daughter, thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee. That is not the kind of word which a bad man would be likely to invent.
11. But how was this forgiveness to be accomplished? and how was it be followed? By inheritance among them which are sanctified. The whole process is set down to the action of faith. Have we ever heard that word before? Why, the word is the keyword of Christs ministry. Conclusion: So far the speech is self-proving. I find in it no syllable or tone that is not in vital accord with everything we have read in the Gospels ever spoken or done by the Son of God. This is a field of evidence to which I would invite every student of the Scriptures. Read the Book carefully through with a view to see how far its parts are confirmed by one another, and how far even apparent discrepancies admit of a kind of reconciliation which adds infinite force to the substantial argument for the unity of the Scriptures. Perhaps a more vivid instance of confirmation could hardly be produced than the one which is now before us. Paul is supposed to be in a fanatical state of mind; he is struck down to the ground, blinded, disabled; he is supposedly the victim of an hallucination of the most complete kind; yet when he himself reports what happened to him, no slip or flaw can be found in his evidence which throws the slightest doubt upon the identity of the doctrine of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the accepted Gospels. More than Chat, everything is here which is needed. Take this as a programme for the revolution, regeneration, and perfecting of the world, and add to it one line that is not involved in its unfathomable wisdom. It cannot be done. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Why am I saved
1. Notice the swiftness of the revelation of Gods purpose as to the apostle of the Gentiles. An ordinary call to the ministry usually involves long processes of self-examination and observation of Gods guiding providences.
2. The distinctness with which Paul comprehended his mission is notable. He continually declares his one, only aim in life to apprehend (or lay hold of) Him, he says, who has laid hold of me.
3. This obedient spirit deserves distinct mention. I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. He never was. At the end of his life he wrote, I have kept the faith. But turning away from these and other lines of discussion, let us accentuate the proposition that God has a purpose in our salvation. We ought to know what that purpose is. Am I saved merely to have my name entered on a Church roll? to keep up a form of godliness?
No; I am saved for a two-fold purpose--viz., to glorify Gods grace in my personal salvation and sanctification, and also to advance the kingdom of God in the world.
1. We infer, first of all, the need of the illuminating light from heaven to make us realise our high calling of God.
2. Again, we see our obligation to fulfil Christs purpose in our salvation as Paul saw the purpose of his salvation and accomplished it. (G. E. Reed.)
The objects of the Christian ministry
I. The object of the Christian ministry is the exhibition of the character of God. That there is a God, all Nature cries aloud through all her works (Psa_19:1-4; Rom_1:20). But Nature is a speechless beauty, waiting in silence till man shall find leisure and inclination to he instructed by dumb signs. She discloses some traces of his wisdom, goodness, and power; but a sinner, under a sense of his guilt, might remain in her presence for ages, without discovering what is essential to his relief. It was reserved to the gospel to reveal the character of Him whose perfections are unceasingly adored in the world of light, whose will is law, to whose designs all beings and all events are subservient, whose hands supply the wants of every creature, whose heart compassionates the children of sorrow, whose frown is hell, whose smile is heaven. Even the Old Testament afforded but partial discoveries of Him. A veil still remained over Him; which veil the gospel has drawn aside. His holiness, His justice, and His mercy, shine in the clearest light; there, if genuine Christians, we effectually discern the doctrines which demand our faith, the privileges which claim our gratitude, the promises which encourage our hope, the principles which compose our character.
II. The Christian ministry is designed to promote the destruction of the kingdom of satan and the establishment of that of Christ. The dominion of Satan commenced at an early period. Its foundation was laid in falsehood. The supports of his throne are delusion and depravity, wrought into a thousand fantastic and ten thousand odious forms. But the usurper was not permitted to reign without control. His final defeat was predicted in the very scene which had been disgraced by his victory. Then was the assurance given, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpents head. At length the Messiah came, for the glorious purpose of recovering this colony of rebels to the duty they had renounced, and the felicity they had forfeited. His triumphs began in the wilderness, where He foiled the tempter, and compelled him to retire; they were extended, when the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Thy name. But it was after His resurrection and ascension that this mighty Conqueror shone forth in the splendour of His sublimest achievements. The commission with which He invested the apostles was accompanied with power from on high; and He bare them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost. A thousand delusions were scattered by the beams of truth; the slumbers of insensibility were shaken off; the rock of impenitence was melted; faith opened to the moral wanderer a heavenly prospect; peace cheered the bosom that had throbbed with anguish; and the sceptre of righteousness was swayed over the faculties, passions, and appetites, that had been perverted and enslaved by the tyranny of hell.
III. The Christian ministry is established for the purpose of leading those among whom it is exercised to the practise of pure and undefiled religion, and thus effecting the most important change that can be introduced into the condition of mankind (verse 18). Accordingly, we find the same apostle afterwards stating (Tit_2:11-12). Such is the influence of the gospel on the character of everyone by whom it is cordially received. It not only reveals a Saviour, but is the instrument of conveying salvation. Through the medium of the gospel the Holy Spirit enlightens the understanding, subdues vicious propensities, restores the Divine image, and prepares the frail tenant of earth for the inheritance reserved in heaven.
IV. The Christian ministry will result in the brightest manifestation of the Saviours glory. To Him it owes its origin, its support, its conductors, and its efficacy. He is the Subject of it. Apart from His dignity and condescension; His virtues and sufferings; His doctrines, commandments, and promises; the miracles which He wrought, the atonement which He made, His triumph over His death, His constant intercession, and the grace which flows from His inexhaustible fulness--the Christian ministry were a mere name, and those who engage in it only beat the air. But when a man, saved from eternal ruin ascends before a congregation inspired with grateful astonishment, and anxious to see every hearer a participant of his own felicity, how can he forget his Divine benefactor, or allude to Him in obscure language, and with faint regard! Behold Him, and all who, being honoured with the same office, press forward in the same spirit, continually insisting on the all-important theme. They are the servants of Jesus Christ, and they urge His authority; they live upon His smile, and they want words to express the magnitude of the privilege; they are the almoners of His bounty, and they beseech, as on the bended knee, their fellow mortals to receive it. Great is the reward which awaits them all. (O. A. Jeary.)
Gods work upon minister and convert
I. A work wrought by God upon the minister.
1. Subjugation. While a man is a rebel, the Lord does not appoint him an ambassador; while he is dead in sin, a preacher of the way of life. Paul was struck down; for if he had not fallen, he would not have known how to lift others up. He remained blind for three days; otherwise he would not have been qualified to deal with others in darkness. See what God does in His ministers to fit them for your conversion. In order to slay your sins the shaft has been polished. Each of the best locks made by our eminent locksmiths is unique, and each needs its own special key: so God fits certain men for reaching certain men.
2. Encouragement. Rise, and stand upon thy feet. Men can hardly be very useful till they cease to be despondent, and become energetic and hopeful. I have noticed that those who do not believe that they will be successful seldom are so; but those who rise and stand upon their feet, and manfully expect that God will bless them, are not disappointed.
3. Ordination. And to this end he must see the Lord for himself. Our Lords appearing--
(1) Makes him willing to be a servant, for that is the meaning of the word minister. When the renewed mind beholds the Lord, it cries out, What wilt Thou have me to do?
(2) Qualifies him to act as a witness. We cannot bear witness to that which we have never seen. Hearsay is of small value. Heads are won by reasoning, but hearts are won by witness bearing.
4. Continuous instruction. He is to be a witness not only of those things which he has seen, but also of those things in the which the Lord will yet appear unto him.
5. Constant preservation. Delivering thee from the people, etc. Pauls life was always in danger, and yet never in real peril, for the Lord was his keeper. So shall every true servant of Christ be kept as with a garrison from all evil.
II. The work wrought in the hearer.
1. Illumination: the Lord sends His servant to open their eyes. Men are born blind, and continue blind till, by the power of Jesus, sight is given to them. Your education and surroundings have perhaps placed a film of prejudice over your eyes; if a candid, childlike spirit were given you, you would see. Or possibly some favourite sin is like a cataract upon the eye of your conscience, and you cannot see the evil of sin or the beauty of holiness. Or it may be that unbelief darkens your soul.
2. Conversion: to turn them from darkness to light. What a blessed turning is that which makes us face truth, and goodness, and God, and heaven; and leave ignorance, sin, and hell behind.
3. Translation. As the soul is brought into a new element, so is it also brought under a new government. From the power of Satan unto God. Somebody says, I do not understand how this can be performed in a minute. Well, two men are fighting, and we beg them to leave off. Do you recommend them to leave off gradually? If anybody held a pistol at my head, I should not say, Take it away by degrees. Changes of mind such as are necessary to conversion had need be quick when sin is to be forsaken, for every moment deepens the guilt. It may seem a very gradual process by which a man who was dead comes to life; but for certain there is a point at which he left the dead and became alive, and that point God sees very clearly, even though we do not.
4. Complete forgiveness. The same moment that we receive Christ, we receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified. What a blessing to become an heir of God! To what choice company is a sinner introduced when he believes in Jesus! He is a freeholder among the burgesses of the New Jerusalem.
5. And all this has for its certificate and mark of genuineness these words--By faith that is in Me. The whole process of salvation is by faith.
III. A work which must be done by the hearer himself. This text speaks of Paul being an instrument in the hands of God of opening mens eyes, etc., and they seem to be passive; but now they are called upon to be active. We are created thinking, intelligent beings, and we are saved as such. Never let us forget either the free agency of man or the purposes of God. Grace reigns not over slaves, but over obedient children.
1. You must repent. It is not the work of God the Holy Ghost to repent for you, but to lead you to repent.
2. You must turn to God. Your prayer may be, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; but the command is, Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die? God will turn you, but you have willingly to yield, and thus turn yourself.
3. You must do works meet for repentance; for wherever there is true faith there will be corresponding works, such as these: restitution if you have wronged anyone, reconciliation if you are at enmity with anyone, acknowledgment if you have spoken falsely, giving up of evil habits, and an earnest endeavour to be pure and holy. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Apostolic ministry
I. Its theme. What had he to testify?
1. All that he had seen of Christ. He had seen and heard great things amidst the bright light which struck him to the ground.
2. All that he should see of Christ. He would receive many more communications. A true minister will be always receiving fresh communications of truth, and he must proclaim the new as well as the old.
II. Its beneficence. He had to effect--
1. The highest good.
(1) Spiritual illumination: Open their eyes. An expression this implying--
(a) The moral blindness of the sinner.
(b) The restorative character of Christianity--it does not give new eyes, but opens the old ones.
(c) The genuineness of Christ as a reformer--the design of impostors is to close eyes.
(2) Soul emancipation: From the power of Satan unto God. Satan enslaves men by lust, worldliness, prejudice, superstition, etc. The ministers work is to manumit the slave.
(3) Divine forgiveness: That they may receive forgiveness of sins. This act is represented in the Bible as cancelling, forgetting, drowning sin; separating the sinner from his sin.
(4) Eternal blessedness: Inheritance amongst them which are sanctified, etc.
(a) Legitimate possession--having a kind of right to it.
(b) Social intercourse among them, not a scene of isolation.
(c) Moral purity sanctified. The Christian circle is holy.
2. The highest good by a simple method. By no onerous labour or costly sacrifices, but by faith that is in Me; not in priests, not in human creeds, not in the opinions of men about Me. Faith in Christ is not a mere thing of the intellect; it involves the deepest sympathies of the heart. Nor is it even a thing of thought and feeling combined; it takes the form of living acts; it moulds the life.
(1) Faith is in itself one of the easiest acts a man can perform. A child can believe; the propensity to believe is one of the strongest in human nature. Credulity has ruined the world.
(2) Faith in itself is one of the most influential acts. What a man really believes sways his thoughts, controls his passions, and regulates his life.
III. Its fulfilment. I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. He discharged this commission.
1. Self-denyingly.
2. Continuously. He began when he was converted, and went on. This is the true order. Begin with those nearest at hand.
3. Reformatively. His grand aim was spiritually to reform men, which includes two things--
(1) A renewed mind. Repent--a thorough change--and turn.
(2) A renewed life. Works meet for repentance: the conduct answering the new state of the soul. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Christian ministry defined
This is the kind of ministry which Christ wishes to establish. No other statement is needed. This conception is such as never entered into the uninspired mind, and, in particular, never could have entered into a mind constituted as was Sauls.
I. Rise and stand upon thy feet. Here is the typical manliness of the Christian ministry. We do not want crawling, fawning men, but men who can stand up and show their stature and force. The minister, realising Christs conception, does not apologise for his existence: he stands upon his feet. Jesus did not speak to Saul as he lay down in the dust. He will not send frightened things about His messages and errands; He will have the whole man at his best. But what kind of manliness? Only that manliness which is made possible by Christ. To stand without permission to stand is impertinence; to stand in obedience to Divine injunction is humility. God can make men sit down, roll in the dust of the ground; and it is out of such lying that the true strength comes. If we have not first been laid down by the Divine power, we cannot stand in the Divine strength. The command is a royal command. He who has stood before Christ may well stand before kings. We get over all our nervousness when we are with the Lord. Fear God, and have no other fear.
II. For I have appeared unto thee to make thee a minister. Then ministers are not man made; they are not turned out by machinery. Only Christ can make ministers. We have forgotten this; we have taken to making a species of ecclesiastical pottery. We do not read, I have appeared unto thee to make thee an equal, a priest, but a minister--i.e., a servant, a slave. There is no mistaking the minister which Christ makes. The seal of Christ is not always the kind we like; but somewhere there is the indubitable sign--in one man in the intellect, in another in the tender heart; here in the eloquence that fills the ear with delight, and there in the pleading, holy intercession that lifts the listening soul into the quietude of heaven.
III. Christ must not only find the minister, He must find the sermon.
1. A minister and a witness of these things which thou hast seen. Not those things which thou hast imagined, invented; so that a man denying thy ministry must first deny thy character. Wondrous ministry! the soul continually upon oath, the voice forbidden to utter anything for the sake of uttering it, and charged to tell what the soul has already heard. No man could have imagined such a call, and especially no man like Paul.
2. Of those things in the which I will appear unto thee. There is a growing revelation. Christianity has a future as well as a past. Expect the vision; wait for the additional revelation. It will not be anything new in the sense of unrelated, but new in the sense of development, progress from the thing already in the soul. Sometimes we say of a sermon, How large a sermon from so small a text! No. In every acorn there is enough to clothe all the mountains of the earth with umbrageous oaks--forests out of which navies might be cut and palaces might be built. There is nothing new in the oak; everything was in the acorn. It is so when Jesus comes to us--the same Jesus, the same grace, the same Spirit, but growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
IV. Delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles. Shall I, then, be in the clutch of evil men? Yes; but thou shalt be delivered from them. Every minister has his stormy career if he be a faithful minister. Sometimes a minister will tell you--as if he were preaching his own funeral sermon--that he never had a difference with any human creature. What an awful life to have lived! Hear the light saying, I never had a battle with darkness! The true minister cannot have a peaceful and luxurious life. Who wants the minister in his proper capacity? Not the makers of ill-gotten gain, profane men, worldly men, self-idolaters, nor men whose books have never been audited by pure sunlight. Many want him as a companion, a man as well-read as themselves, exchanging the pleasant word; but who wants him as a representative of the throne of God? Let any minister try that course, and he will soon see that it is impossible to be popular. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv16–18 16. “.....For unto this I have appeared unto thee,…
16. “.....For unto this I have appeared unto thee, to make thee a minister and a martyr of the things which you see, and of which I shall appear unto thee”; i. e., Jesus continued to reveal His wonderful truth to Paul, inspiring him to write more of the same than any other man.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v18
Acts
FAITH IN CHRIST
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Act 26:18.
It is commonly said, and so far as the fact is concerned, said truly, that what are called the distinguishing doctrines of Christianity are rather found in the Epistles than in the Gospels. If we wish the clearest statements of the nature and person of Christ, we turn to Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians. If we wish the fullest dissertation upon Christ’s work as a sacrifice, we go to the Epistle to the Hebrews. If we seek to prove that men are justified by faith, and not by works, it is to the Epistles to Romans and Galatians that we betake ourselves,-to the writings of the servant rather than the words of the Master. Now this fuller development of Christian doctrine contained in the teaching of the Apostles cannot be denied, and need not be wondered at. The reasons for it I am not going to enter upon at present; they are not far to seek. Christ came not to speak the Gospel, but to be the Gospel. But then, this truth of a fuller development is often over-strained, as if Christ ‘spake nothing concerning priesthood,’ sacrifices, faith. He did so speak when on earth. It is often misused by being made the foundation of an inference unfavourable to the authority of the Apostolic teaching, when we are told, as we sometimes are, that not Paul but Jesus speaks the words which we are to receive.
Here we have Christ Himself speaking from the heavens to Paul at the very beginning of the Apostle’s course, and if any one asks us where did Paul get the doctrines which he preached, the answer is, Here, on the road to Damascus, when blind, bleeding, stunned, with all his self-confidence driven out of him-with all that he had been crushed into shivers-he saw his Lord, and heard Him speak. These words spoken then are the germ of all Paul’s Epistles, the keynote to which all his writings are but the melody that follows, the mighty voice of which all his teaching is but the prolonged echo. ‘Delivering thee,’ says Christ to him, ‘from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God; that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith that is in Me.’ Now, I ask you, what of Paul’s Gospel is not here? Man’s ruin, man’s depravity and state of darkness, the power of Satan, the sole redemptive work of Christ, justification by belief in that, sanctification coming with justification, and glory and rest and heaven at last-there they all are in the very first words that sounded upon the quickened ear of the blinded man when he turned from darkness to light.
It would be foolish, of course, to try to exhaust such a passage as this in a sermon. But notice, what a complete summary of Christian truth there lies in that one last clause of the verse, ‘Inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.’ Translate that into distinct propositions, and they are these: Faith refers to Christ; that is the first thing. Holiness depends on faith; that is the next: ‘sanctified by faith.’ Heaven depends on holiness: that is the last: ‘inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.’ So there we have the whole gospel!
To the one part of this comprehensive summary which is contained in my text I desire to turn now, in hope of gathering from it some truths as to that familiar word ‘faith’ which may be of use to us all. The expression is so often on our lips that it has come to be almost meaningless in many minds. These keywords of Scripture meet the same fate as do coins that have been long in circulation. They pass through so many fingers that the inscriptions get worn off them. We can all talk about faith and forgiveness and justifying and sanctifying, but how few of us have definite notions as to what these words that come so easily from our lips mean! There is a vast deal of cloudy haze in the minds of average church and chapel goers as to what this wonder-working faith may really be. Perhaps we may then be able to see large and needful truths gleaming in these weighty syllables which Christ Jesus spoke from heaven to Paul, ‘faith that is in Me.’
I. In the first place, then, the object of faith is Christ.
‘Faith that is in Me’ is that which is directed towards Christ as its object. Christianity is not merely a system of truths about God, nor a code of morality deducible from these. In its character of a revelation, it is the revelation of God in the person of His Son. Christianity in the soul is not the belief of these truths about God, still less the acceptance and practice of these pure ethics, but the affiance and the confidence of the whole spirit fixed upon the redeeming, revealing Christ,
True, the object of our faith is Christ as made known to us in the facts of His recorded life and the teaching of His Apostles. True, our only means of knowing Him as of any other person whom we have never seen, are the descriptions of Him, His character and work, which are given. True, the empty name ‘Christ’ has to be filled with the doctrinal and biographical statements of Scripture before the Person on whom faith is to fix can be apprehended or beheld. True, it is Christ as He is made known to us in the word of God, the Incarnate Son, the perfect Man, the atoning Sacrifice, the risen Lord, the ascended Intercessor in whom we have to trust. The characteristics and attributes of Christ are known to us only by biographical statements and by doctrinal propositions. These must be understood in some measure and accepted, ere there can be faith in Him. Apart from them, the image of Christ must stand a pale, colourless phantom before the mind, and the faith which is directed towards such a nebula will be an unintelligent emotion, as nebulous and impotent as the vagueness towards which it turns.
Thus far, then, the attempt which is sometimes made to establish a Christianity without doctrines on the plea that the object of faith is not a proposition, but a person, must be regarded as nugatory; for how can the ‘person’ be an object of thought at all, but through the despised ‘propositions’?
But while on the one hand it is true that Christ as revealed in these doctrinal statements of Scripture, the divine human Saviour, is the Object of faith, on the other hand it is to be remembered that it is He, and not the statements about Him, who is the Object.
Look at His own words. He does not merely say to us, ‘Believe this, that, and the other thing about Me; put your credence in this and the other doctrine; accept this and the other promise; hope for this and the other future thing.’ All these come with but are not the central act. He says, ‘Believe: believe in Me! “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life”: He that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst.’ Do we rightly appreciate that? I think that if people firmly grasped this truth- that Christ is the Gospel, and that the Object of faith is not simply the truths that are recorded here in the word, but He with regard to whom these truths are recorded-it would clear away rolling wreaths of fog and mist from their perceptions. The whole feeling and attitude of a man’s mind is different, according as he is trusting a person, or according as he is believing something about a person. And this, therefore, is the first broad truth that lies here. Faith has reference not merely to a doctrine, not to a system; but deeper than all these, to a living Lord-’faith that is in Me.’
I cannot help observing, before I go on-though it may be somewhat of a digression-what a strong inference with regard to the divinity of Christ is deducible from this first thought that He is the Object to whom faith has reference. If you look into the Old Testament, you will find constantly, ‘Trust ye in the Lord for ever’; ‘Put thy trust in Jehovah!’ There, too, though under the form of the Law, there, too, faith was the seed and germ of all religion. There, too, though under the hard husk of apparently external obedience and ceremonial sacrifices, the just lived by faith. Its object was the Jehovah of that ancient covenant. Religion has always been the same in every dispensation. At every time, that which made a man a devout man has been identically the same thing. It has always been true that it has been faith which has bound man to God, and given man hope. But when we come to the New Testament, the centre is shifted, as it would seem. What has become of the grand old words, ‘Trust ye in the Lord Jehovah’? Look! Christ stands there, and says, ‘Believe upon Me’! With calm, simple, profound dignity, He lays His hand upon all the ancient and consecrated words, upon all the ancient and hallowed emotions that used to set towards the unseen God between the cherubim, throned above judgment and resting upon mercy; and He says, ‘They are Mine-give them to Me! That ancient trust, I claim the right to have it. That old obedience, it belongs to Me. I am He to whom in all time the loving hearts of them that loved God, have set. I am the Angel of the Covenant, in whom whoever trusteth shall never be confounded.’ And I ask you just to take that one simple fact, that Christ thus steps, in the New Testament-in so far as the direction of the religious emotions of faith and love are concerned-that Christ steps into the place filled by the Jehovah of the Old; and ask yourselves honestly what theory of Christ’s nature and person and work explains that fact, and saves Him from the charge of folly and blasphemy? ‘He that believeth upon Me shall never hunger.’ Ah, my brother! He was no mere man who said that. He that spake from out of the cloud to the Apostle on the road to Damascus, and said, ‘Sanctified by faith that is in Me,’ was no mere man. Christ was our brother and a man, but He was the Son of God, the divine Redeemer. The Object of faith is Christ; and as Object of faith He must needs be divine.
II. And now, secondly, closely connected with and springing from this thought as to the true object of faith, arises the consideration as to the nature and the essence of the act of faith itself.
Whom we are to trust in we have seen: what it is to have faith may be very briefly stated. If the Object of faith were certain truths, the assent of the understanding would be enough. If the Object of faith were unseen things, the confident persuasion of them would be sufficient. If the Object of faith were promises of future good, the hope rising to certainty of the possession of these would be sufficient. But if the Object be more than truths, more than unseen realities, more than promises; if the Object be a living Person,-then there follows inevitably this, that faith is not merely the assent of the understanding, that faith is not merely the persuasion of the reality of unseen things, that faith is not merely the confident expectation of future good; but that faith is the personal relation of him who has it to the living Person its Object, -the relation which is expressed not more clearly, perhaps a little more forcibly to us, by substituting another word, and saying, Faith is trust.
And I think that there again, by laying hold of that simple principle, Because Christ is the Object of Faith, therefore Faith must be trust, we get bright and beautiful light upon the grandest truths of the Gospel of God. If we will only take that as our explanation, we have not indeed defined faith by substituting the other word for it, but we have made it a little more clear to our apprehensions, by using a non-theological word with which our daily acts teach us to connect an intelligible meaning. If we will only take that as our explanation, how simple, how grand, how familiar too it sounds,-to trust Him! It is the very same kind of feeling, though different in degree, and glorified by the majesty and glory of its Object, as that which we all know how to put forth in our relations with one another. We trust each other. That is faith. We have confidence in the love that has been around us, breathing benedictions and bringing blessings ever since we were little children. When the child looks up into the mother’s face, the symbol to it of all protection, or into the father’s eye, the symbol to it of all authority,-that emotion by which the little one hangs upon the loving hand and trusts the loving heart that towers above it in order to bend over it and scatter good, is the same as the one which, glorified and made divine, rises strong and immortal in its power, when fixed and fastened on Christ, and saves the soul. The Gospel rests upon a mystery, but the practical part of it is no mystery. When we come and preach to you, ‘Trust in Christ and thou shalt be saved,’ we are not asking you to put into exercise some mysterious power. We are only asking you to give to Him that which you give to others, to transfer the old emotions, the blessed emotions, the exercise of which makes gladness in life here below, to transfer them to Him, and to rest safe in the Lord. Faith is trust. The living Person as its Object rises before us there, in His majesty, in His power, in His gentleness, and He says, ‘I shall be contented if thou wilt give to Me these emotions which thou dost fix now, to thy death and loss, on the creatures of a day.’ Faith is mighty, divine, the gift of God; but Oh! it is the exercise of a familiar habit, only fixed upon a divine and eternal Person.
And if this be the very heart and kernel of the Christian doctrine of faith-that it is simple personal trust in Jesus Christ; it is worthy of notice, how all the subsidiary meanings and uses of the word flow out of that, whilst it cannot be explained by any of them. People are in the habit of setting up antitheses betwixt faith and reason, betwixt faith and sight, betwixt faith and possession. They say, ‘We do not know, we must believe’; they say, ‘We do not see, we must have faith’; they say, ‘We do not possess, we must trust.’ Now faith-the trust in Christ-the simple personal relation of confidence in Him-that lies beneath all these other meanings of the word. For instance, faith is, in one sense, the opposite and antithesis of sight; because Christ, unseen, having gone into the unseen world, the confidence which is directed towards Him must needs pass out beyond the region of sense, and fix upon the immortal verities that are veiled by excess of light at God’s right hand. Faith is the opposite of sight; inasmuch as Christ, having given us assurance of an unseen and everlasting world, we, trusting in Him, believe what He says to us, and are persuaded and know that there are things yonder which we have never seen with the eye nor handled with the hand. Similarly, faith is the completion of reason; because, trusting Christ, we believe what He says, and He has spoken to us truths which we in ourselves are unable to discover, but which, when revealed, we accept on the faith of His truthfulness, and because we rely upon Him. Similarly, faith is contrasted with present possession, because Christ has promised us future blessings and future glories; and having confidence in the Person, we believe what He says, and know that we shall possess them. But the root from which spring the power of faith as the opposite of sight, the power of faith as the telescope of reason, the power of faith as the ‘confidence of things not possessed,’ is the deeper thing-faith in the Person, which leads us to believe Him whether He promises, reveals, or commands, and to take His words as verity because He is ‘the Truth.’
And then, again, if this, the personal trust in Christ as our living Redeemer-if this be faith, then there come also, closely connected with it, certain other emotions or feelings in the heart. For instance, if I am trusting to Christ, there is inseparably linked with it self-distrust. There are two sides to the emotion; where there is reliance upon another, there must needs be non-reliance upon self. Take an illustration. There is the tree: the trunk goes upward from the little seed, rises into the light, gets the sunshine upon it, and has leaves and fruit. That is the upward tendency of faith- trust in Christ. There is the root, down deep, buried, dark, unseen. Both are springing, but springing in apposite directions, from the one seed. That is, as it were, the negative side, the downward tendency-self-distrust. The two things go together-the positive reliance upon another, the negative distrust of myself. There must be deep consciousness not only of my own impotence, but of my own sinfulness. The heart must be emptied that the seed of faith may grow; but the entrance in of faith is itself the means for the emptying of the heart. The two things co-exist; we can divide them in thought. We can wrangle and squabble, as divided sects hare done, about which comes first, the fact being, that though you can part them in thought, you cannot part them in experience, inasmuch as they are but the obverse and the reverse, the two sides of the same coin. Faith and repentance-faith and self-distrust-they are done in one and the same indissoluble act.
And again, faith, as thus conceived of, will obviously have for its certain and immediate consequence, love. Nay, the two emotions will be inseparable and practically co-existent. In thought we can separate them. Logically, faith comes first, and love next, but in life they will spring up together. The question of their order of existence is an often-trod battle-ground of theology, all strewed with the relics of former fights. But in the real history of the growth of religious emotions in the soul, the interval which separates them is impalpable, and in every act of trust, love is present, and fundamental to every emotion of love to Christ is trust in Christ.
But without further reference to such matters, here is the broad principle of our text. Trust in Christ, not mere assent to a principle, personal dependence upon Him revealed as the ‘Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,’ an act of the will as well as of the understanding, and essentially an act of the will and not of the understanding-that is the thing by which a soul is saved. And much of the mist and confusion about saving faith, and non-saving faith, might be lifted and dispersed if we once fully apprehended and firmly held by the divine simplicity of the truth, that faith is trust in Jesus Christ.
III. Once more: from this general definition there follows, in the third place, an explanation of the power of faith.
‘We are justified,’ says the Bible, ‘by faith.’ If a man believes, he is saved. Why so? Not, as some people sometimes seem to fancy, as if in faith itself there was any merit. There is a very strange and subtle resurrection of the whole doctrine of works in reference to this matter; and we often hear belief in the Gospel of Christ spoken about as if it, the work of the man believing, was, in a certain way and to some extent, that which God rewarded by giving him salvation. What is that but the whole doctrine of works come up again in a new form? What difference is there between what a man does with his hands and what a man feels in his heart? If the one merit salvation, or if the other merit salvation, equally we are shut up to this,-Men get heaven by what they do; and it does not matter a bit what they do it with, whether it be body or soul. When we say we are saved by faith, we mean accurately, through faith. It is God that saves. It is Christ’s life, Christ’s blood, Christ’s sacrifice, Christ’s intercession, that saves. Faith is simply the channel through which there flows over into my emptiness the divine fulness; or, to use the good old illustration, it is the hand which is held up to receive the benefit which Christ lays in it. A living trust in Jesus has power unto salvation, only because it is the means by which ‘the power of God unto salvation’ may come into my heart. On one side is the great ocean of Christ’s love, Christ’s abundance, Christ’s merits, Christ’s righteousness; or, rather, there is the great ocean of Christ Himself, which includes them all; and on the other is the empty vessel of my soul-and the little narrow pipe that has nothing to do but to bring across the refreshing water, is the act of faith in Him. There is no merit in the dead lead, no virtue in the mere emotion. It is not faith that saves us; it is Christ that saves us, and saves us through faith.
And now, lastly, these principles likewise help us to understand wherein consists the guilt and criminality of unbelief. People are sometimes disposed to fancy that God has arbitrarily selected this one thing, believing in Jesus Christ, as the means of salvation, and do not distinctly see why and how non-belief is so desperate and criminal a thing. I think that the principles that I have been trying feebly to work out now, help us to see how faith is not arbitrarily selected as the instrument and means of our salvation. There is no other way of effecting it. God could not save us in any other way than that, salvation being provided, the condition of receiving it should be trust in His Son.
And next they show where the guilt of unbelief lies. Faith is not first and principally an act of the understanding; it is not the mere assent to certain truths. I believe, for my part, that men are responsible even for their intellectual processes, and for the beliefs at which they arrive by the working of these; and I think it is a very shallow philosophy that stands up and says-{it is almost exploded now, and perhaps not needful even to mention it}-that men are ‘no more responsible for their belief than they are for the colour of their hair.’ Why, if faith were no more than an intellectual process, it would still be true that they are responsible for it; but the faith that saves a man, and unbelief that ruins a man, are not processes of the understanding alone. It is the will, the heart, the whole moral being, that is concerned. Why does any one not trust Jesus Christ? For one reason only: because he will not. Why has any one not faith in the Lamb of God? Because his whole nature is turning away from that divine and loving Face, and is setting itself in rebellion against it. Why does any one refuse to believe? Because he has confidence in himself; because he has not a sense of his sins; because he has not love in his heart to his Lord and Saviour. Men are responsible for unbelief. Unbelief is criminal, because it is a moral act-an act of the whole nature. Belief or unbelief is the test of a man’s whole spiritual condition, just because it is the whole being, affections, will, conscience and all, as well as the understanding, which are concerned in it. And therefore Christ, who says, ‘Sanctified by faith that is in Me,’ says likewise, ‘He that believeth not, shall be condemned.’
And now, brethren, take this one conviction into your hearts, that what makes a man a Christian-what saves my soul and yours-what brings the love of Christ into any life, and makes the sacrifice of Christ a power to pardon and purify,-that that is not merely believing this Book, not merely understanding the doctrines that are there, but a far more profound act than that. It is the casting of myself upon Himself, the bending of my willing heart to His loving Spirit; the close contact, heart to heart, soul to soul, will to will, of my emptiness with His fulness, of my sinfulness with His righteousness, of my death with His life: that I may live by Him, be sanctified by Him, be saved by Him, ‘with an everlasting salvation.’ Faith is trust: Christ is the Objeet of faith. Faith is the condition of salvation; and unbelief is your fault, your loss-the crime which ruins men’s souls!
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv16–18 See notes on verse 12
See notes on verse 12
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v18 Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
sins
Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v17 26:17-18 Throughout his defense in this trial for his…
26:17-18 Throughout his defense in this trial for his life, Paul also clearly set out the conditions for receiving new life in Christ (also in 26:20, 23; see Matt 10:19-20).
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