Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 6.djvu/50

44 find the Lord God help them by his Spirit, they know they shall not be confounded, Isa. 50. 7.

32. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35. And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 36. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37. Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

We have a general idea given us in these verses, and it is a very beautiful one, of the spirit and state of this truly primitive church; it is conspectus sæculi—a view of that age of infancy and innocence.

I. The disciples loved one another dearly. Behold, how good and how pleasant it was to see how the multitude of them that believed, were of one heart, and of one soul, (v. 32.) and there was no such thing as discord or division among them. Observe here,

1. There were multitudes that believed; even in Jerusalem, where the malignant influence of the chief priests was most strong, there were three thousand converted on one day, and five thousand on another, and, beside those, there were added to the church daily; and, no doubt, they were all baptized, and made profession of the faith; for the same Spirit that endued the apostles with courage to preach the faith of Christ, endued them with courage to confess it. Note, The increase of the church is the glory of it, and the multitude of them that believe, more than their quality. Now the church shines, and her light is come, when souls thus fly like a cloud into her bosom, and like doves to their windows, Isa. 60. 1, 8.

2. They were all of one heart, and of one soul. Though there were many, very many, of different ages, tempers, and conditions, in the world, who, perhaps, before they believed, were perfect strangers to one another, yet, when they met in Christ, they were as intimately acquainted as if they had known one another many years. Perhaps, they had been of different sects among the Jews, before their conversion, or had had discords upon civil accounts; but now those were all forgotten, and laid aside, and they were unanimous in the faith of Christ, and, being all joined to the Lord, they were joined to one another in holy love. This was the blessed fruit of Christ's dying precept to his disciples, to love one another, and his dying prayer for them, that they all might be one. We have reason to think they divided themselves into several congregations, or worshipping assemblies, according as their dwellings were, under their respective ministers; and yet that occasioned no jealousy or uneasiness; for they were all of one heart, and one soul, notwithstanding; and loved those of other congregations, as truly as those of their own. Thus it was then, and we may not despair of seeing it so again, when the Spirit shall be poured out upon us from on high.

II. The ministers went on in their work with great vigour and success; (v. 33.) With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The doctrine they preached, was, the resurrection of Christ: a matter of fact, which served not only for the confirmation of the truth of Christ's holy religion, but, being duly explained and illustrated, with the proper inferences from it, served for a summary of all the duties, privileges, and comforts, of christians. The resurrection of Christ, rightly understood and improved, will let us into the great mysteries of religion.

By the great power, wherewith the apostles attested the resurrection, may be meant,

1. The great vigour, spirit, and courage, with which they published and avowed this doctrine; they do it not softly and diffidently, but with liveliness and resolution, as those that were themselves abundantly satisfied of the truth of it, and earnestly desired that others should be so too. Or,

2. The miracles which they wrought to confirm their doctrine; With works of great power, they gave witness to the resurrection of Christ, God himself, in them, bearing witness too.

III. The beauty of the Lord our God shone upon them, and all their performances; Great grace was upon them all, not only all the apostles, but all the believers, χάρις μεγάλη; grace that had something great in it, (magnificent and very extraordinary,) was upon them all.

1. Christ poured out abundance of grace upon them, such as qualified them for great services, by enduing them with great power; it came upon them from on high, from above.

2. There were evident fruits of this grace in all they said and did, such as put an honour upon them, and recommended them to the favour of God, as being in his sight of great price.

3. Some think it includes the favour they were in with the people. Every one saw a beauty and excellency in them, and respected them.

IV. They were very liberal to the poor, and dead to this world. This was as great an evidence of the grace of God in them as any other, and recommended them as much to the esteem of the people.

1. They insisted not upon property, which even children seem to have a sense of, and a jealousy for, and which worldly people triumph in, as Laban, (Gen. 31. 43.) All that thou seest is mine; and Nabal, (1 Sam. 25. 11.) My bread and my water. These believers were so taken up with the hopes of an inheritance in the other world, that this was as nothing to them. No man said that aught of the things which he possessed, was his own, v. 32. They did not take away property, but they were indifferent to it. They did not call what they had, their own, in a way of pride and vain-glory, boasting of it, or trusting in it. They did not call it their own, because they had, in affection, forsaken all for Christ, and were continually expecting to be stripped of all for their adherence to him. They did not say, that aught was their own; for we can call nothing our own but sin; what we have in the world, is more God's than our own; we have it from him, must use it for him, and are accountable for it to him. No man said what he had was his own, ιδιονἴδιον [sic]—his peculiar; for he was ready to distribute, willing to communicate, and desired not to eat his morsel alone, but what he had to spare from himself and family, his poor neighbours were welcome to. They that had estates, were not solicitous to lay up, but very willing to lay out, and would straiten themselves to help their brethren. No marvel that they were of one heart and soul, when they