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GOD DISPLAYS HIS PEOPLE

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GOD DISPLAYS HIS PEOPLE

11 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

“And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel “Acts 6:15

I

God chose His people in Christ out of eternal sovereign love” and mercy to His glory and their salvation.

The Son of God was perfectly agreed with the will of the Father, and with full submission He assumed the work of the Father. He left heaven, came down to this earth, and assumed our human nature in order that in both body and soul He could suffer and die for those chosen ones. That Surety satisfied God’s justice in their room, fulfilled the law, conquered Satan, and bought His church with His precious blood. And now the great obje glorification of God and of His virtue should show forth the praises of Him out of darkness into His marvelous lig

The Holy Spirit, the third person in the time of God’s good pleasure to which He was also authorized with the Father and the Son, true boundless in power.

The Son glorifies the Father, and Son, and the Holy Spirit glorifies those who are ordained unto etern

And now all those who have Divine nature have received a des soul to give God alone all the gl God is their life, their joy and sal the discovery of the Spirit, they how deeply dependent they are. with David in Psalm 1:8, Psalter 14 O Lord, now open The

Long closed by sin
My mouth shall show
The glory of Thy

Here below it is all only in part polluted with sin, but still, all beginning of that God glorifying h renewal of the Holy Spirit, God’s life in principle. Because of that p all the honor of God. God’s ch the praise of their God and King is exalted, and that is all their desire.

What a great privilege it is when the cup runs over. Then they love to boast of God. Then they declare His greatness and His majesty. Then they cannot find sufficient words to exalt His praise.

But now on the other hand, how much God loves His people! God shows the devil and makes also friend and foe in the world observe how much He loves His people, and what a great place they occupy with Him.

Under the Old Testament there were also some of those beloved people of whom on special occasions God boasted. In the New Testament we also have clear examples. One of those examples was Stephen of whom our text speaks.

Concerning the previous history of Stephen we know nothing. It is sufficient to know that he was chosen by God from eternity and in the way of God’s adorable providence had received a special place in God’s church. He was a man Spirit and with full in this chapter we read that the seed of the Word through the power of the Holy Spirit, bore rich fruits. The Word of God manifested its power, and many people were converted to God.

Then it was a time of special blessings. Also some of the priests which before were such bitter enemies had to, and were favored, to lay down their weapons. The bulls of Bashan, Psalm 22:12, became lambs of Jesus’ flock. O,how powerful is the grace of God when Christ marches on in His conquering power.

The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. Yea, when God comes, we break with our old friends and follow Christ. The Holy Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father and from the Son, works powerfully and irresistably. One may offer resistance, but that Divine Spirit breaks down all opposition, vanquishes the elect sinner, and takes away all his armor. Through Divine Omnipotence they were humbled, indeed, in the sight of the Lord God. They came as poor sinners to the feet of the Lord Jesus. They had to break with all their religion: had to leave the temple in which they had always served, and join themselves to that multitude which because of its religion, was despised. God’s Word is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

Stephen, who was inspired, adorned, led and baptized with the Holy Spirit, testified not only by word, but also by deed.

It is clear that he was endowed with special gifts which he was also enabled to develop. Stephen was a champion of the truth. We can imagine that the damage done to the Jewish church raised much enmity. And what would be the end? The preaching of that crucified Jesus of Nazareth stirred up hell and also the religious leaders.

Those of Step an explanation of the same truth, but it is the fruit of Divine instruction through the Holy Spirit within their soul, and then even a child may understand that the difference is as great as between life and death.

“The words he utters with his mouth
Are wickedness and lies:
He keeps himself from doing good.
And ceases to be wise.”

There is a truth behind a truth, and those who are favored to be in the school of the Lord Jesus and may sit at His feet receive instructions compared to which all intellectual contemplations and speculations fall entirely away. Educated men have become speechless at times with amazement when they heard the poor people of God speak about the mysteries which had been revealed to them from heaven. The Lord Himself says in Isaiah 54:13, “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.”

And so it was with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. When the disciples of Christ began to speak the wonderful works of God in strange languages, the multitude asked, “Are not all these which speak Galileans?” as if they would say, “How is it possible that such illiterate people can speak like that?” O, whenever God’s servants are anointed with the fresh oil of the Spirit, they bring forth such matters, reveal such depths, which have never been heard before. O, in our days there are so many who have head knowledge, but are like dumb dogs that cannot bark. And many of them have oratorial talents. They do tie knots, but are unable to untie knots as we read of Daniel. And that is what God’s people, who so often are in doubt, are waiting for. They are not satisfied with all sorts of fancy and windy words in which there is no food and instruction for the soul. They desire to hear about practical life, and that they ce they constantly stand as before a t know how to go to the city. We may ng. O no, may the Lord save us from ling else, then it is only a dead issue. wisdom with an inheritance. A real as been taught of God. this particular case, the promise rd Jesus to His disciples in Luke you a mouth and wisdom, which all ot be able to gainsay, nor resist,” phen. The wisdom through which a different word than the wisdom had learned at the Greek and learned men are always powerless because the wisdom which is from by the Holy Spirit, is of such a passes all the wisdom of natural nowledge is no match for true nt against life. with their own weapons. They the prophets. Well, then, the law ed that the Christ had to suffer all ato His glory. le were defeated, but inwardly, a, it increased. Poor man, he will ts to continue to vindicate him-grounds are undermined, and m that at death he will lose every-not submit. Man holds on convulsively, and is enraged against the doctrine of free grace. Man wants to be clothed upon while he must be unclothed. He wants to be or become something, and the entire way in which God leads His people is for them to become nothing. O, what a mercy it is when God steps in and when God removes from our heart everything that is worthless, and when we learn to write “death” upon everything, to perish, and be lost with everything in order that we may be found and hid in Christ when we upon the ground of righteousness that Christ brought in become reconciled to God, restored into His precious communion, and may obtain peace in our heart; a peace which passes all understanding, and which shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Alas, those Rabbis remained strangers to that, and then matters became worse. How deeply those Rabbis were offended and grieved, when they had to step back for Stephen, yea, for the truth. By the King’s highway of the truth they could not prevail, and now they sought the deceptive way of cunning and false charges. They had walked the same way with the Lord Jesus to gain their object.

And now they try the same thing again. They stirred up men from among the common people which said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” Those Rabbis thought, “We must get the people on our side.” Moses occupied an important place in the hearts of the Jewish people, and all those who dared to say anything against Moses, hence against God, Whose ambassador and servant Moses was, had to die.

All attempts to render the apostles harmless had always failed because the people were on their side. That, of course, was from a human viewpoint. The deepest and the primary cause was, of course, that the Lord vouched for His own work. The Great King of His Church, Christ Jesus, protected His servants, and at that time it became manifest too, that the cause of the Church was God’s cause. Still we see here, too, that ways and means converge. Before the disciples had the people in their favor.

But, behold, now the synagogue had attained that which the Sanhedrin had failed to gain thus far.

Now they are at liberty to apprehend Stephen because the people were completely turned about. However many benefits the people had received from Stephen, also in the way of nature no one took the side of God’s child and servant. What a trial that was. But yet it was not heavy to Stephen. God was on his side and that was everything to that witness of the truth.

He was full of faith, full of trust, unmovable, steadfast. He was strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power. Faith, by working through love, overcame the world, and in that active experience, through the Holy Spirit, all difficulties fall away.

There Stephen stood now before the Sanhedrin, on the same spot where at one time the Lord Jesus stood and also the apostles. The Lord Jesus was on his side and was with him, and that was the reason that Stephen stood there so calm, submissive, but also cheerful.

At this time the Council took action against him in a different form than against the apostles. According to the law, there could be no conviction without at least two witnesses.

O, well, witnesses may be found easily enough. Whenever the Sanhedrin shows some money, there are always creatures to be found who will allow themselves to be used for the basest practices. Yea, man is under the dominion of Satan, and when God leaves him to himself, he stops at nothing.

Those witnesses considered it beneath them to mention the name of Stephen, but in order to express their contempt and scorn, they speak of him as “this man.” Stephen was not less important because of that. He could say as Christ did in Psalm 22:12, Psalter 48:2:

The suffering one He has not spurned
Who unto Him for succor turned.

Yea, the enmity of the world may be very great, but no less that of the pious religious world. They hate God’s children with a deadly hatred. Those Jews realized that under the preaching of Stephen they would have to lose everything and could not remain converted; and that kindled their enmity, and they would express in words how much they despised Stephen within their hearts.

And then note the tenor of their accusations. “This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.”

O, what hypocrites! Before it was against Moses and God; and now especially “against this holy place and the law.”

That was the worst crime which a Jew could commit. That was a mortal sin. There was really nothing further to talk about. Every right-minded Jew was convinced of that.

And for further information, those false witnesses add, “For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.”

(To be continued)

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