Acts 15: 22-34 - Corps Notes - October 12, 1976
Publication Date: 10-12-1976
On Ephesians 4:25 where I want to begin tonight, or where we will begin tonight , the first part of what the Research Team gave me is the work that Walter Cummins published in our wonderful Way Magazine on "The Spoken Word." Also, as we cover Ephesians 4:28 tonight, I had all the information in front of me from another article that Walter Cummins has in the... has had in the Magazine. The first article on Ephesians 4:25 is entitled "The Spoken Word." The one on Ephesians 4:28 is "Workers for God." Both of these pieces of work by Walter are absolutely superb. And I believe that they should appear and will appear in our research journal GMIR whenever we begin publishing that. {GMIR Aramaic word meaning ' to perfect, accomplish , mature, complete, arithmetically to be divisible without any remainder.}
And I noticed again that some of the things that were stated are just so beautifully and logically presented, I'm truly thankful for, not only Walter, but the whole Research Department. I think our Biblical Research Department is just second to none. And it' s even going to be better by God' s mercy and grace next year and in years to come than it is at this time. And right now I do not believe that our Biblical Research Department needs to take a back seat for any academic institution or work in the world.
And I thought today, I have never... I've never thought of Walter Cummins in any other capacity than to be my assistant. I know Vince Finnegan, you know, on the books is my assistant. And that' s great. But I've never thought of Walter Cummins in any other capacity for so many years as always being my assistant. And I think he' s just the most wonderful person that any president could have as his assistant. And also to be chairmen of the Department of Greek, and then the coordinator of the Biblical research of The Way International. For any one man to have that position and that responsibility is an awesome reality and I'm real proud of Walter and real thankful for him. But I am also thankful for the rest of our wonderful men and women in the Research Department.
I would like for the Corps all over the country to go to the Magazine and find "The Spoken_Word," that's the title of it, dealing with Ephesians 4:25 and other scriptures, and before the next Corps meeting next week, you endeavor to master that great piece of work by Walter Cummins. It's just, you know, the spoken Word. Over fifty Greek words are used in the New Testament in connection with the faculties of utterance. Over fifty. And then he takes the most important ones and he lists them and it' s just. .. it' s just a piece of research work that you should really as a Corps master in your heart and in your life.
Ephesians 4:25 in the King James reads, Wherefore put away lyin g, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.
The ' putting away' was interesting to me again because of the Greek word aniko, a-n-i-k-o.
And this word is ' the putting away,' this word ' put away,' aniko, is the same root word as in 4:22, where we use the word ' rest,' meaning ' to rest.' Is that right? Yep, that is right. I taught you that,
didn't I? Did I or didn't I? Doesn't look right to me. It is the same root. What chapter am I missing? Am I missing anything? I don't know. Right now I'm screwed up, ha ha. First time today. You check the word again and I'll do that, too and see what I'm missing here.
But a-n-i-k-o is the word for ' putting away from you. ' To put away. And it' s the same root as the word ' rest.' I don't know where the word appears, but it's got to be in there.
Now, that word ' speak,' every man speak. That word ' speak ' is from the Greek word
laleo, l-a-l-e-long-o. And that' s where Walter' s article on "The Spoken Word"_c omes in because that is.. .he uses that word laleo in here, which I teach in Corinthians when I teach the Foundational Class. And he says the word is employed 24 times in I Corinthians chapter 14. I had forgotten that.
This word is truly significant. I couldn' t quite understand it Research Department, what you said on page 26B 16, where you defined it ' to make vocal utterance,' ' to babble,' 'to talk,' 'to exercise the faculty of speech without reference to the words spoken.' I just wondered if there might not be another word that could be substituted or utilized at this point. I know that Zachariah 8:16 is the quotation that is used here, or spoken of. And that Zachariah 8:16 adds force to what is said by using a quote, a quotation. That' s why my question to the Research Department is, How can it be without reference to what is spoken if it is truth plus the quotation of the Word of God that's given. It doesn't quite fit for me.
'With his neighbor' has to be a believing neighbor. This 'speak truth with his neighbor' is a figure of speech gnome, g-n-o-m-e, which simply is a citation. And that' s a citation from Zachariah 8:16.
There are a series of figures of speech, Corps, in chapter four which just put the 00mph, the highlight, to the particular things that are set whereby you put off the old man. This phrase here 'speak every man truth with his neighbor' is one of them. The other one appears in verse 26, 'be angry and sin not.' ' Steal no more' is another one. 'Corrupt communication' is the fourth one. 'Grieve not the holy spirit' is the fifth one. ' All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking' is the sixth. And then ' be kind' and so forth, is the seventh.
You see, the last phrase in that verse, in King James, For we' re members one of what? [Another] And it' s relative to the neighbor. Now you just look at that. Wherefore put away lying, speak every man truth with his what? [Neighbor] For we are members one of another. That doesn't mean just a neighbor who lives next door, but it has to be a believing neighbor because we are members one of what? [Another]. You could not be a member ' one of another' ifhe was an unbeliever. That's how I know this is going to work. This tells me that the neighbor is a believer. And this ' we' re members one of another' continues the imagery of the Body of Christ.
The literal according to usage of this verse is as follows: Wherefore put away the lie... and I believe in my heart, before I go on with the literal that until man is born again, it's all a lie anyways. And that' s why I believe that this translation will fit in the light of that knowledge. Because when a man is not born again, his whole life is just a lie. Now you're born again, and that ' s why I think the text states it ' wherefore put away the lie,' the life you' ve been living , the screwed up life you have lived outside of God. It' s been just a life of a lie. It' s not truth. It' s just the opposite of truth and that's my reason for translating it this way... Wherefore put away the lie.
You've got to go with that translation. You have no other text to go by both from Aramaic and Greek it's 'lie.' Not 'lying.' If the Research Department has anything to share in the light of that, I'd be blessed to hear, but you' ve heard my reasons for translating it, Research Department, this way.
Now since they're born again, their whole life is changed, so the life of lying, and living a lie, and being a lie, and being false, is to be put away.
And every man... this is the translation ... and everyone, everyone. The word ' man' you could use because it's an inclusive noun, but I prefer to use the word ' one.'
Wherefore put away the lie and everyone speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. That is literal according to usage.
Now for the expanded according to understanding. It's not bad. Because of this... What we coughing for? Everybody sick?...Because of this... and the reason I went in the expanded along this line is because verse 24 last week told us that we are created by God in righteousness and in true purity, through holiness. Twenty four.
That's why 25, Wherefore ... 'wherefore' can be translated 'because of this.' Because of this what? Being created in righteousness and truly pure. See it's an inside job.
Because of this being created in righteousness and truly pure by the grace and the love of
God.. .Because of this being created in righteousness and truly pure, you put away, completely lay to rest the lie that you have been and were living and each one of you speak the truth using a quotation from the Word with his believing neighbor for we are members one of another in the Body of the Church.
Robinson {Edward} said, he translated, 'speak every man truth with his neighbor' and he said it's from Zachariah 8:16 which adds force to what is said by using a quote. That's why I translated that. I think that' s great. It adds force to what is said. If you're speaking to someone, it adds force to what you say by using a quote, a quotation from God's Word. In other words, ' you share the Word with them.' That' s why I went with that translation. I want to give it to you again in this sense.
Speak the truth using a quotation from the Word, which means 'share the Word.' Quote the Word to them. Tell them what the Word says, with his believing neighbor. Why? For we are members one of another in the Body of the Church. This verse is just mind blowing.
Here, you have a born-again believer neighbor who needs to grow up a little more. So what do you do? Each one speak the truth to that neighbor, that believer, using the Word, quoting the Word because we' re members one of another in the Body of the Church. It's a real positive thing to do.
Verse 26 in King James reads, Be angry.. .ha ha... we like that one, don't we. Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Here is a verse of Scripture that' s very, very difficult for most people. And it' s not too easy for us either. But I think we are able to share the truth of the greatness of this and it's been burning in my heart for a long time to do this with our people.
Everybody has problems with ' how can you be angry and not sin?' You know, how can raise hell with something and not be sinful in doing it? Teed off and not be sinful. And how can you go... and what does it mean 'don't let the sun go down upon your wrath?' See.
In the context, here, verses 26 and 27 deal with your believing neighbor, specifically. Then the Greek word for ' anger' which is from the root orge, o-r-g-long-e means 'anger together with the desire of revenge .' That' s bad. That' s a heavy. The Hebrew word means ' to kill, and all the tumults of passion that terminate in killing.' So it's a real heavy word when it said ' be angry.'
And the way I believe it's used in God' s Word, ' be ye angry' means ' it's a long time anger with your believing neighbor until a change has ensued.' The desire to... of revenge is a change. And I, knowing the Word in the light of the new birth, it's where a change finally comes about. Until that time, you just, long-term, you just stay put witnessing the Word, sharing the Word. You do not dislike the believing neighbor; you simply dislike that he is not fully accepting the Word and walking on it. So it' s a long-term anger until a change has ensued. You just stay faithful.
I don't know what else to do with those words. It is a righteous anger. Yet it is a righteous anger without sin.
Among the scholars, there is a disagreement on these words. Well, I don't know about my being a scholar; that I don' t anything about being about. But it's simple to me because righteous anger is commanded by God's Word when it says ' be ye angry.' Well, the scholars can fight about it. I don' t care. It' s a command. Not just permitted to get teed once in a while when somebody' s off of God' s Word, a believer is off of God's Word. You' re always teed off righteously at any believer, born-again believer, who is off of God' s Word. And for those of us in the Way Ministry, it' s been a lifetime.
Get into it with them on... Oh what subject do you want to talk about? Baptism? Food? One God? See. All that stuff.
The Aramaic is accurate in the words ' and sin not.' It literally translates ' and you will not sin.' Again, this ' be angry and sin not' is that figure gnome. Quotation. A citation from the Old Testament. It' s from Psalm 4:4. But in King James, Psalm 4:4, it's translated 'stand in awe.' The real sense of the Hebrew is ' one of admonition;' sin not. Where we' re admonished to not sin. Sin not.
' Let not the sun go down on your wrath. ' Ha ha. That again is beautiful. People went to bed when the sun went down, when it got dark. That's when they went to bed. So what that simply is saying, ha ha, ' don't go to bed teed off.' Don' t let the sun go down on your wrath. In other words, go to bed; don' t go to bed mad. ' When you go to bed' is what it means. Let not the sun go down when you go to bed. And they went to bed when the sun went down. When it got dark, they went to bed, see.
' Upon your wrath.' And the word ' wrath' here is basically ' irritation.' Ha ha. Previously when I taught Ephesians, I made mention of this fact, ' don' t let righteous anger shake you, wondering if it was right on. When you go to bed, go to sleep.'
Now, this is what we have done with it in the literal, ha ha, according to usage. I got more papers up here than Carter has liver pills, or something. Then, I can' t find my... whatever it is I take off of it.
Okay, verse 26. You be righteously angry.. .this is literal according to usage.. .and you will not be sinning. Don't go to bed even with a momentary irritation, ha ha.
I don't think you get nearly as much fun out of this as I do. It's neat. It's absolutely scrumptious, see. At the opening, is that heavy word, remember? Anger. So it's a real heavy time. So what he is saying, in the heavy time, when your standing on God' s Word and sharing that with the believing neighbor, you' re righteously angry... you're not sinning. And you don't even go to bed with a momentary irritation. In other Words, when you go to bed, thank God the day is over. Say your last prayer and start snoring.
Boy, that would save a lot of sleeping pills, wouldn' t it? Practicing that principle. Boy, oh boy, what a tremendous Word. And hardly anybody understands verse 26. They argue about it, but they don' t get the understanding.
Now this is the expanded one according to understanding, I hope. And again, I would like to just lay some things before the Corps, and especially before the Research Department. I translated the first part of verse 26, You always stay angry with an all-out desire to have them to change which anger will not be sin on your part.
Then I have another translation of that first part of it: You be righteously angry, 'teed off' with sin... 'Teed off' I put in quotes. But don't you sin by acting ' holier than thou' vaunting yourself by acting so righteously like you never sin.
I do not know which one of those two the Research Department feels would be the better. The last part of the phrase that I translated which would go with both of these that I have given you here on the expanded one for understanding. This, the last part, goes with that first one and with the second ... also.. .even if it is only a momentary irritation. When you go to bed, go to sleep. That's what I did with it.
Now, verse 27. King James says, Neither (or neither) give place to the Devil. The word 'place' is simply a portion, a part. No believer will give full place to the Devil, but he may be giving a part, a portion. He' ll mark off a spot, ' this is Devil' s permission over here, over here, no permission, you know. And you really give the Devil a portion or a spot if you stew about it after you go to bed and you toss and you tum and can' t sleep.
This word 'the Devil,' ' the Devil' in the Aramaic is a very interesting and exciting Word to me and it blesses my heart. It' s a compound word where the first part means ' to eat' or ' to devour.' The latter
' to slander' or ' to accuse. ' So when I got to translating this, literally according to usage, verse 27 reads: Do not give any portion or space or an opportunity to the Devil. So I used those three words synonymously: portion, space, opportunity. Do not give any portion or space or an opportunity to the Devil.
The expanded according to understanding: And you will not give a toehold, an opportunity or an occasion for the Devil to eat you. Ha ha. I get more fun than you ever will out of working this stuff, huh.
You see, and to me, that communicates to my understanding. John 10:10. The thief cometh not but for to what? [Steal, kill, and destroy] Right. To eat you out. To beat you. And that's why that Aramaic word, on the word ' Devil' really thrilled me.
And that ' s why I put it into the expanded translation: And you will not give a ' toehold.' Now, at L.E.A.D., you know how important it is to get a what? [Toehold] Ha ha. And when you' re really climbing in, you' re blessed for a toehold. How thankful you are when you get a foothold. Now the adversary can never get a foothold in a believer' s life until he first has a toehold. That's why I translated it that way.
Do not give... and you will not give a toehold ... shave all the rocks off... an opportunity or an occasion for the Devil to eat you. And that' s exactly what he likes to do to believers.
Now we go to verse 28. King James says, Let him that stole steal not more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. And here again, is another great work that I believe should be in our research journal GMIR, Walter' s work on " Workers for God."
It' s just tremendous where he... you know... he just goes into God' s men are called many things in the Word. They' re called: fellow workers, ministers, or servants, slaves, fellow slaves, partners, messengers, soldiers, fellow soldiers, athletes, fellow athletes, stewards, ambassadors, witnesses, all of those. And he covers them so beautifully. And I love very much how he covered the word ' slave,' because it' s a much stronger word than to be a minister, or to be a servant. It is to be one who is branded, marked out, sold out. And baby, from that day on, there are no ifs, and' s, or but' s. You never budge on it. You are branded. Most believers are never branded. They may be servants, they may be ministers, but they are not branded. When you' re branded, you stay faithful. You do not budge. You do not change. You stay put. If all hell breaks loose, you still live the believing Word.
I think the prophet once said, If I was in the midst of hell, God I know you' d be there. (Psalm 139:8) He' d be there. That' s the doulos. That, of course, is just a tremendous piece of work.
And the other great part that I think... and this is a second piece that I want the Corps to master before next Wednesday night, " Workers for God," the work on ' witness.' You see, it's the same word basically that's translated ' martyr,' see. And we got a lot of those canonized. That's not at all what a witness is. A witness is a living example, not a dead one. The word 'martyr' simply means that you lay down your life in witnessing. And boy, when you put the doulos together with ' witness,' then you' ve got power for abundant living. It's just a fantastic work by Walter and I' m real grateful that it was published. Because once it' s in print, people can take a look at it if they want to.
I'd like a cup of coffee, please.
Now, we are in verse 28. The Aramaic translation is ' and he who was stealing.' I understand it from the English, ' let him that stole,' past tense. The Aramaic is real simple, real strong. ' And he, the one who is born again, who was, past tense, stealing.'
Thank you.
His whole life was one of those before he was born again.
Whenever you bring a cup of coffee to a right-hand man, you put the handle to the right. When you serve a cup of coffee to a left-hand man, you put it on the left-hand side and put the handle to the left. Corps principle number seven or something, ha ha. Mrs. Wierwille would say, Well, be thankful you even get a cup of coffee. [Laughter] Ah, you're wonderful.
See, ' let him who stole, steal no more.' 'Stole and steal,' that' s a figure of speech and is polyptoton p-o-l-y-p-t-o-t-o-n. It' s a repetition of the same root word in different parts of speech or reflections. But, that's not earth shaking right now in my heart.
You see, in some Eastern culture, it was not considered a sin or a shame to steal because that's the way they lived, the only way they lived. Somebody told me... or not only told me, one of our people, but it was in a national magazine, that the basic culture of Russia today is to steal. And in some respects I can understand this. If you don't have anything and you're starving to death and there' s a loaf of bread you can get a hold of... steal the dam thing. I understand that.
So this verse is really sharp, really sharp. Let him who stole, even though that man previously considered it the way to live and there was no shame in it, no sin in it. He said, Well, let that fellow who stole, steal no more. Something has happened on the inside of that man. Something that happened, where He is able to meet all of our need according to His riches in glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. More than conquerors.
A record in the Old Testament, I forget where it is, but it's in there, that it' s never, you never need to borrow or steal bread or... what is that in the Old Testament? Begging bread. One person stand and tell me. {Psalm 37:25, I have been young and now am old; yet have I seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread.} Psalm 27:25 who? {Psalm 37:25} 37:25. All the years, he's never seen the righteous to have to do what? {Beg bread} Beg bread.
First of all, I wish the Christian world could hear this. Secondly, I wish our government in the United States could understand it. The Word says, If you don't work, you don' t eat. A lot of that stuff. Well, what we've been doing is stealing from the people who are willing to work to give to the people who don' t want to work. That's a bunch of crap. That's stealing. That's why this verse is so hot in my soul tonight. Let him who stole, quit stealing, dang it. See.
Many years ago I was really knocked for a loop along some of this line in India, from Dr. Williams. I think he loved India maybe like I love the United States, I don' t know. Because only a man knows how much he loves his own country, I guess.
But... as we were traveling together, he said to me, Dr. Wierwille, I hear you have whores in the United States.
You know, I never had given it a thought. I just took it for granted. [Laughter] And I said, yeah. He said, Why does a rich country like the United States have whores?
And I said, I don't know.
And he said, I can't understand it. Cannot your women make enough money to live? Yeah, but they figure that' s cheaper and more pleasurable or something, I don' t know. And he said, Well, I think it's sinful that the United States has whores.
And I said, What do you mean?
And he said to me, why, I can understand India. He said we don' t enough food, we don' t have enough of anything hardly for a lot of people. And we have whores because that' s the only way they can continue to live physically.
And I thought to myself, well boy, that' s slapping me in the face good. And I took it as a wonderful lesson. There is no excuse in the United States for any women being a whore because she doesn' t need to get screwed and paid for it in order to get money so she can live. There's plenty of work available and if there isn' t she ought to get born again, then there' s a guarantee of work. ..other work, available. I tell you, when you' re honest, some of these men in other countries have some real logic behind their thinking. How would you have liked to have handled that? I just simply admitted, Well, I think we' re wrong in the United States. But I said, I think you' re wrong in India, too, because no reason to have whores here if you get them born again.
So I don' t know. But this verse today as I worked the final working on this verse 28 is when my heart really went back and burned with that truth that Dr. Williams had stated. Because in many Eastern cultures, it was not considered as sin or as shame to steal, if it was a matter of livelihood. You sometimes wonder who will live in the greatest condemnation before God and justice and judgment when the time comes.
For in most of what are called poor countries even, there is sufficient money, food, and other things for the people to live if those in positions of authority were not so selfish and egotistical, and want it for themselves , and let the rest of the world die... or a country die.
The word ' labor' in verse 28 is the word which literally means ' hard work resulting in fatigue.' That's how I felt coming from the woods last night. And I didn' t do anything. It was just hard work being there with the rest of you. Today I got so tired of being with some, I came home. Ah, you' re wonderful.
' Working with his hands' is an Eastern cultural type of thing. Today in our culture, you could have it, you know, the truth is working with your mind or working with your hand, whatever you' re working at. But in Eastern culture, every son was to be trained to work with his hands, even if he was the son of a king. Had to learn a trade, a profession of business.
Jesus Christ was a saddle maker. He made them to ride, I guess, what do you want? Tennessee Walkers , or? See. I think not only did he do that, Paul did it, too, you know. Someday I'm going to find a...or Walter, or some of those, are going to find me a manuscript to prove it. .. and a wonderful carpenter by trade. Many times doing carpentry work and being a saddle maker were sort of in the same household, because building carpentry and having saddles to use for their business and carrying on, were very, very closely aligned. Well, I won' t argue the point, but I wish we' d keep looking.
II Thessalonians.. .Do your hands ever get so dry you can hardly hold anything? Golly, mine are so dry tonight, I wonder why? II Thessalonians, chapter 3:10... this we commanded you that if any would not work, neither should he what? [Eat] Right. Even unemployment is no excuse for stealing. He just doesn' t eat. Goes and gets work. Boy, when I first saw the greatness of these principles many years ago, and then of course, I uniquely by God' s grace, inculcated that into our W.O.W. program and very dynamically in the Corps leadership.
Acts 15:22-34
October 12, 1976
This first Jerusalem council that we’re dealing with in Acts 15, to which we will see the conclusion
in this session, is absolutely phenomenal.
Acts 15:22
This must have been quite a time. James had given that tremendous message that he shared with the
people there. Now, whether this ran for a day or two, I don’t know, but I’m sure it wasn’t just a 15
minute, or a half-hour meeting, because this was a heavy time. The decision had to now be made
whether the freedom of the Word by grace was to live, or whether the Church was still under
legalism. You can imagine this heavy thing; this was not something light, you know, like whether
you’re going to put a three-cent postage stamp or a four-cent on a letter. This was something that no
words could describe. You have to know enough of the Word and you have to be cognizant of the
requirements of the Old Testament and that which the Pharisees and others had laid upon the people,
to appreciate the greatness of this wonderful record in the early Church.
“pleased it” - it seemed good to - This, seemed good, is revelation. It pleased them because they got
revelation. They saw what God really had in store, therefore all the apostles and the elders, and the
whole Church, were pleased. Boy, what a response to revelation. The revelation came basically out
of the teaching of James; his setting before the people, and then their just being sharp, spiritually.
You have the list here of the apostles, the elders with the whole Church.
“whole” - may not mean “every Tom, Dick and Harry”, because I’m sure there was some Tom, or
Dick, or Harry who did not get convinced on the grace principle. I still see them coming up in Acts
21:20, some time later; they were still zealous for law, yet the body had agreed. Maybe there were
three, maybe two dozen. I don’t know, but the body, the whole Church, without any distinction, had
absolutely agreed that this, that now comes, they were to do.
“to send chosen men” - That’s not quite nice enough, not quite big enough, not quite deep enough. It
was not a matter of taking just the men out of the 5th Corps, because they’d been in it a year longer.
They sent chosen men by revelation.
“chosen” – select - They were selected as they had guidance; revelation. In-spirit-action was manifest
in their life and their believing. Now I know it doesn’t say all of what I’m saying in that verse, but
when you look deeper in the inherent accuracy and integrity of God’s Word and that spiritual
perception, you go with one of two things: either they were good guessers, good in their sense
knowledge picking of men, or it had to be a selection by revelation. Knowing the rest of the Word,
you can only go with revelation. It’s all you have, if you want to be right on. And of course that’s
what we’re concerned about in our in-depth study of the Word and understanding of it.
These were wonderful men who were selected by revelation. That doesn’t mean they lacked natural
leadership ability. Certainly they would have natural leadership ability. But the Church in Jerusalem
was full of that bunch. They had a lot of people there with natural leadership ability just like you
would have in the Corps here. Now, if it were a matter, tonight, of selecting two men to go with us to
Headquarters, I’d hate to have to make that selection by sense knowledge, wouldn’t you?
You’d have to just know in your heart, “It’s John, it’s Herman.” And that would have to come just
that quickly by revelation, otherwise you’d have 500 people qualified to go. And you can only use
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two, so you have to make a selection. I absolutely couldn’t go with anything but revelation on this
verse, or they just guessed, or they played favorites. If they played favorites, then Peter might have
argued with James and James might have argued with Matthew and somebody else might have
argued with somebody else, but instead, they didn’t. They just were in harmony and alignment.
That’s why revelation manifestations that are carried out, bring deliverance. That’s why they keep
the body together. But if the revelation manifestation that James had, and others, would have been
doubted, would have been criticized, they’d have had nothing but problems. But because they
believed, God worked mightily in them to will and to do of His good pleasure.
“Judas, whose surname was Barsabas” – in Acts 1:23-24 they “appointed”, or nominated Joseph
called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus. I believe it was this Joseph. When I think of that, and
work that in my heart and mind, what a wonderful, wonderful thing that he was not selected to be the
apostle in Acts l, but that he is now selected at the heaviest time in the early Church to represent the
Church, in Antioch, in Cilicia, as that wonderful man to carry the Word of the grace of God to the
Gentiles.
Many times God overrides man’s stupidity, simply because of His grace and mercy. Yet, even when
man sometimes does things that don’t look so kosher on the surface, in the long run the thing works
out. Like Matthias is called an apostle; he’s listed among the apostles. The Word says he was one.
Yet this Judas, whose surname was Barsabas, he also was one of those wonderfully qualified men,
who, had he been selected in Acts 1, would not have been available for this particular job that he’s
now going to be called upon to do. The whole body of the Church would have been hurt. But God, in
His foreknowledge, saw this thing come to pass and therefore Judas Barsabas was not selected, but
Matthias was in Acts 1.
It says, in Acts 15:32, that this Judas was a prophet. By the way, this “Barsabas” should have another
“b” in it. King James leaves it out, but all the texts give it as Barsabbas.
Acts 16:37a:
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans
It was Silas who was with Paul in prison (Acts 16:25). Therefore if they were beaten openly as
Romans (plural) then Silas was a Roman.
Imagine the beauty of this thing. They sent Judas Barsabbas who was with them way back at the
beginning, for it said, one must be ordained who has been with us from the beginning (Acts 1:21-22),
but not the Roman. So, now they’re going to send somebody to Antioch, who was with them way
back from the beginning, real Jewish so to speak, in background. On the other hand, they’re going to
send a Roman. You talk about the psychology. Those fellows didn’t know anything about
psychology; they just believed God. And today we call it psychology, I guess. They just walked. That
they would send a man dating way back to the beginning almost, plus one who was a Roman, look at
what this is going to do in the minds of the people, when they finally get there. It’s going to have a
tremendous effect on the former Gentile-believing household; a real exciting effect.
“chief men” - principal men - the best that God had for the occasion – principal; spelled with a -pal
I think it was someone in one of the heart nights we did at International with the other Corps at
Headquarters. I believe that’s where it happened, where one of the guys was telling how he believed
in the principles, but he didn’t believe in the principal. In other words, he believed the good Jesus
Christ stood for, but he didn’t believe in Jesus Christ. I thought that was a very beautifully couched
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phrase. He believed in the principles, but not the principal, who is Jesus Christ; the chief. Well, that’s
this word “chief” here, principal; real wonderful men.
Acts 15:23
“they wrote letters” – the word “epistle” is used in Acts 15:30, the last word – “letters” is not the text
here. I don’t think it needs to be here and I’ll show you why in a minute. It just simply says, “and
they wrote” or “they having written.” They wrote something. Now naturally, if they wrote
something, it’s got to be a letter or an epistle. But they wrote something. And that which they wrote,
the basic essence of it is what’s given. The important thing is not that it was an epistle or a letter. The
important thing is what they wrote.
“by them” - by them, who? - The elders, and the apostles, and the whole Church of verse 22. The
whole body composed this letter. Isn’t that something? Just look at it carefully.
“And they wrote by them” literally means “they, having written as a body.”
Now it tells you how the letter opened. This is the salutation of this letter. I will give it to you
literally according to usage here in this 23rd verse, and then discuss it a little bit with you. Here’s the
salutation:
“The apostles and elders and brethren, unto the brethren throughout Antioch, Syria, and
Cilicia.”
Instead of saying, “Dear Mr. and Mrs.,” this is how they addressed it. They said, “The apostles and
elders and brethren, unto the brethren throughout Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.” First of all, the
apostles, secondly the elders, thirdly the brethren; that says anybody and everybody of the household
that’s standing fast is agreed on this.
Imagine, this letter now getting back and being read at Antioch where they were sitting on needles
and pins because they knew what they had; they knew that they were speaking in tongues. But they
were concerned about what the older brethren, the older people in the ministry, would say about them
back in Jerusalem. What would Peter have to say? And James? And Andrew? And Philip? And
Matthew? And Nathaniel? What would these older men of the Church have to say? Just that greeting
alone, just that greeting alone would lay their hair down. It would take the fight out. Just imagine
hearing, “The apostles, all the apostles in the church in Kansas, all the elders of the Church, and all
the brethren.” Man, what wouldn’t that do?
But then there is one other word that just, oh golly, it just melts your heart: “unto the brethren.” Oh,
look what they’re calling them; “The brethren in Jerusalem, unto the brethren in Antioch, Syria, and
Cilicia, the Gentiles.” They are calling them brothers. Now in our world, you know you’ve got
brothers and you call people “brother,” and I hear sometimes church people say brother so and so;
but they knife each other in the back, many times. When you called a man a brother in Oriental
culture, that meant he was on par with you; you wouldn’t knife him, you wouldn’t cut his throat.
You’d protect him to the death. When Ananias walked into the house of Judas where Saul was, he
said, “Brother Saul.” (Acts 9:17) God, by revelation, had told him that he was born again on the road
to Damascus. That’s why he could call him brother.
They had the covenant of salt in the Word of God, and then you’re a brother, But this covenant was
bigger; this was even bigger than salt; this was eternal life, born again of God’s spirit, Christ in them.
They had the witness of it; the manifestations. “These have received the same as we...” (Acts 15:8)
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And in that wonderful letter, just imagine getting that letter where it says, “Apostles, elders, and
brethren, UNTO THE BRETHREN,” putting them, in Antioch, on the same level, all because of the
foundation of the Word that had met the need of the Jews as well as of the Gentiles.
That is a streak of revelation; “Brethren.” It just stopped the split. There was no fight anyplace,
anymore, this letter getting to Antioch, they didn’t want to fight. They didn’t want to fight in the first
place. They were afraid the people in Jerusalem wanted to fight. So if you’re afraid that the people in
Jerusalem want to fight, then you’re afraid to fight, which means you’re already fighting. So, they
had the problem at Antioch and they were afraid the people in Jerusalem had the problem. But
Jerusalem, by walking by revelation, just laid down all their hair, and just quieted their hearts with a
great inner serenity. Later on you’re going to see that word “comforter” come up. It’s the same word,
root, basically that it is on the Holy Spirit. And it begins right here in this salutation: “The apostles
and elders and brethren.” Here the “double ands” are the figure of speech polysyndeton. That then, is
another stroke of divine revelation. They could have said, “Apostles, elders, brethren, we the brethren
in Jerusalem say, ‘Hi’ to you brothers.” It wouldn’t have fit. But when God worked this in their
hearts, they used that fantastic polysyndeton, many ands, like in Genesis 1: “In the beginning was:
and this, and that, and that”, passing from one great act of God to another. Here it is, “from one great
apostle, to one great elder, to one great brethren”; just all equally important for the outreach of Gods
Word. Man, what a thing.
In King James it says:
“The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the
Gentiles in Antioch and Syria, and Cilicia.”
I don’t know if Ill ever find a text to substantiate what I’m saying tonight, but I’m sure going to get
some of you people looking for it if you are text conscious. Because I just know that’s how it fits and
I just know that’s how tremendous it is. It would literally have to read:
“The apostles and elders and brethren unto the brethren throughout Antioch, Syria, and
Cilicia, former Gentiles, REJOICE!”*
The word “greeting” is written in all capital letters, underscored, double black, because the word is:
REJOICE! That’s the word and that’s the emphasis. “Unto the brethren, former Gentiles,
REJOICE!” “Greeting”; cold as turkey. It wasn’t a greeting. It was a greeting, greeting, greeting;
REJOICE! In other words, “Don’t be upset, don’t be disturbed, don’t be distraught. We’re just
tickled to death, REJOICE!” That’s the first word in it. “Former Gentiles, REJOICE!” Why former
Gentiles? They could no longer be Gentiles, for they were born again. Then you’re neither Jew nor
Gentile. That’s why I know, it has to be that. They are not Gentiles. They’re not writing to the
Gentiles; they’re writing to the Church. That’s why it has to be “former” Gentiles. REJOICE!*
Acts 15:24
“as we have heard” – delete “have” – “as we heard” - How did they hear? Paul and others had come
down, talked about it; they’d had a big meeting.
____________________________________________
* “greeting” – Greek; chairein – literal; to rejoice
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“have troubled you with words” - Words either make you or break you, many times. Words can be
words of healing, or words of disruption. In the Book of James, it says the tongue is sort of set on fire
at times. And with the tongue, we can bless people, and with the tongue we can curse them. (James
3:5-6&9) It isn’t that physical thing. It’s what that tongue represents; words. By words, you can
tenderize people or you can harden them. By words, you can either tell the truth or lie. Words are
those which communicate, and our lives are conditioned by words. These people, in Antioch and
Cilicia And Syria, had been troubled by words.
“subverting your souls” – disturbing - it’s a disturbance that’s just disturbingly disturbing, to the end
where it unsettles you; it shakes you at the foundations, unsettling your souls, unsettling you or your
mind. Or, you could say, “unsettling the believers.”
“saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law” – delete - not in the text - but we know that’s OK
as far as truth is concerned, because we have it in Acts l5:5.
“To whom we gave no such commandment” - Man how their hearts must have thrilled when this
letter gets over there, and Paul reads it to the body of believers. Words like, “brethren,” words like
“REJOICE.” Words like, “We never sent anybody to disrupt you or unsettle you or your mind. We
never did this.” My, how that must have blessed them, because these other fellows came down and
said, “The elders and apostles in Jerusalem sent us.” They didn’t do anything like it! Now they put it
in writing; that they didn’t.
Acts 15:25
“It seemed good” - same as the word “pleased it” in verse 22
“being assembled with one accord” - literally – “having come together in one accord on this
situation” – “having talked it over, and now we’re all agreed” - the whole Church; we are all agreed -
unity of purpose
“chosen men” - principal, chief men
Not only are they going to send a letter; they’re going to send a delegation with the letter to report to
the people the same thing that it says in the letter. That again was revelation to do this. Just imagine
the impact of all this. They were not going to take any guff from the Adversary any longer; they were
going to send the letter, and send men with it, to be sure that the people in Antioch understood their
hearts.
“our beloved Barnabas and Paul” - Oh, how that must have melted them, because, in Antioch, among
the Gentiles, Barnabas and Paul were “their” beloved. They weren’t sure, in Antioch, how beloved
Barnabas and Paul were in Jerusalem. And here they come back from Jerusalem, and penned in that
letter is the word “our.” Man, how that must have blessed them. In Antioch, yes he is “our” Paul.
Coming from Jerusalem, “we want you in Antioch to know he is ‘our’ Paul and ‘our’ Barnabas, too.”
Our”, don’t you just sense the excitement and the electricity of the spiritual dynamic that moved
through that outfit. You’ve just got to put yourself in the shoes of getting this letter. You’ve got to
feel what they could have felt and would have felt back in Antioch. How would you have felt; getting
from Headquarters the information, “This is ‘our’ beloved Barnabas and Paul”? He was your beloved
Barnabas and Paul, yeah, but when it comes from Jerusalem, “He is ‘our’ beloved Barnabas and
Paul”, golly. I bet they got out all the Kleenex they had. They just cried and wept with joy. It’s like a
son wanting to be respected by his father; like a daughter wanting to be loved by her mother, and
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respected. And this letter, coming from daddy and mommy so to speak, to the kids. And daddy and
mommy write, “REJOICE! We love you!” “With our love we send Barnabas and Paul.” Golly, it
must have been terrific. “Our beloved Barnabas and Paul.”
Acts 15:26
“hazarded” - they laid down their lives. “Our” men laid down their lives. You and I would say, “Bled
out their hearts” or something; laid down their lives, poured out their life’s blood, so to speak.
“for” – in behalf of
“our Lord Jesus Christ” – “our” Lord Jesus Christ, “our” Lord mutually - Your men; but they’re also
our men, and our Lord. Boy, don’t you see it! Brethren, men, Lord, all the same; same Word, same
household.
Somebody ought to do a study sometime, a research paper on, “What’s in a name.” Jacob’s name
was changed from “Supplanter” to “Israel”; one Beloved of God. What’s in a name? Here you’ve got
it; “for the name”, baptized in the name. You see, there’s something really significant about what’s in
a name. I believe, if I recall correctly, it relates itself to that one type of justice in the Old Testament
period. What is that type of justice called? Do you remember, any of you? No, it isn’t “benefactor.”
“Kinsmen”, he was the sole judge, because he’d lived so long, and been so honest, and worked so
hard to be absolutely just in all of his decisions. “The Daysman”, now maybe we’ve got it. All you
needed to say is, if that man stood for you in the name of “Mr. Daysman”, and then there wouldn’t be
any question about it. If that daysman said you were innocent, nobody questioned it. It’s in that name
that the judgment was made. In the name of Jesus Christ the judgment was made. That’s why in that
name we have the righteousness of God and all the rest of that stuff. It’s all in that Name. That Name
which is above all Names; at that Name every knee must bow in heaven above and earth beneath.
(Philippians 2:10) In that Name; boy, oh boy. Men just laid down their lives!
“our Lord Jesus Christ” - What’s the proof you’ve made him lord? [Speaking in tongues] Our Lord,
Jesus Christ. I don’t know; I just can’t communicate what it says here. You’ve got to get that spiritual
depth here. You’ve got to feel that; you’ve got to sense it in the innermost part of your being. What a
fantastic statement! Men who have just risked their lives; poured out their lives, bled their hearts out,
witnessed from house to house, taught the Word of God 20 hours a day, if necessary. Then the other
six hours of that day they’d make saddles so they could buy bologna. Men, who hazarded, bled out
their hearts all for the name of “our” (one family, one body, one household) Lord, “our” Lord Jesus
Christ.
Acts 15:27
“mouth” – word (logos) – “We have written it to you. These men are going to tell you the same thing
by word.” I’ve often wondered if the letter and the delegation corroborated it; established it, and
when the two, Judas and Silas, spoke, whether that doubly established it. I don’t know. In other
words, they had two involved in more than one way.
“we have sent” – “We’re not going to bill you for it. We felt it so absolutely urgent, and we just
wanted you to know our hearts in Jerusalem, therefore we’ve gone to all this trouble.” Antioch didn’t
ask for them; “we sent them” because of love. It’s really neat.
Acts 15:28
“it seemed good to the Holy Ghost” - the Pneuma, the Hagion. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit. So
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what? It seemed good to God. How did they know it seemed good to God? Revelation. So when it
says, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit,” that means they got revelation how to do it. That’s what it
means.
“us” - the “us” is the whole Church - men, brethren; the whole Church. Remember?
This was also by revelation: to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.
“burden” – pressure – weight - I very much love the word “pressure.” In my mind that communicates
the in-depth greatness of that burden; “to lay upon you no greater pressure.” You see, “burden,” or
“weight” wouldn’t communicate to me like the word “pressure” would. I don’t know what
communicates to your mind, but these synonyms would all fit this word burden: pressure, weight.
“necessary” - compulsory
You see, you, as a Protestant or a Gentile in background, looking at this and not having the full
impact in your heart and life because you didn’t live under that type of legalistic Judaism, it’s difficult
for you to see that this compulsion was not negative. The word “compulsory” here was much
more positive than it would be to your mind. Where I would say, “You are compelled to do so and
so.” You would turn around and say “Nuts, I’m not compelled to do anything.” That is not the tone
and the depth of this usage, because the discussion was circumcision, the keeping of the law, which
was to the Gentiles a thousand times weighty than whether you had beans for breakfast.
“No great burden than these compulsory things.” And these are so minor, compared to the bigness of
the fight that had loomed up there, that the natural reaction was, “Oh, that’s wonderful, we’ll just do
her, you know, We won’t have ice cream for supper, we’ll just have it for dinner.” That’s how this
thing all settles in. Here’s what they said to them:
Acts 15:29
I handled verse 29; it’s taken right out of James’ teaching, remember? (Acts 15:20, pg.229) I
handled it last week. This was all he wrote to them. And I love this, “Fare ye well.”
“Fare ye well” - be strong. It starts out with “REJOICE” and it ends up with “be strong.” Isn’t that
something? And it says to them, “Be strong in your believing, strong in what you’ve stood for. We
are brothers, let’s be strong.” In my terminology, I’d most likely say, “Walk tall. Throw your
shoulders back, your head up, and walk like a woman of God or a man of God.” That’s what he’s
saying in those words, “Fare ye well,”
Acts 15:30
“So when they were dismissed” - You know, people read this, and they never see anything. They just
read, and then they don’t see anything. You know, “They were dismissed; Good bye.” Ah, no, no, no,
no. What do you honestly think would’ve happened in Jerusalem after this letter had been composed,
Judas and Silas were selected to go with them? They’d say “Bye, bye?!!” Oh, no. They had a party.
Now I don’t know just how they’d go about it in that culture, but that’s what we would do. We’d be
so hilarious; so blessed, we’d order a fifth or something or beer or potato chips, or pizza or spaghetti
or something. I don’t know. But they don’t see that in the word “dismissed.” I do. Sure do. You’ve
got to remember these people are human. I read you once the other Sunday night that Elijah was a
man, subject to like passions as we are, yet he prayed and it didn’t rain for three years and six
months. (James 5:17) Well, these people are human. Paul is human. Barnabas and James are human.
So after they get all happy about what they’re going to do, well what do you think they did? They
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celebrated. Sure. They just had a big doo, or something. That’s how they closed the first Jerusalem
council. I am sure, knowing culture, that in that word “dismissed” is not only the party, but they led
them on the road and headed them toward Antioch, and walked with them, and sang together with
them, and just had a great time.
“they came to Antioch” - Well, they finally come back to Antioch. And I can see this. Somebody ran
ahead and told some of the wonderful people in Antioch, “Paul and Barnabas are coming...! but
they’ve got other people with them!” They were all excited, “Are these others coming to dog us? We
just had those fellows here. Are they coming over here to tear us apart?” And the people came and
met them, to go back in.
“when they had gathered the multitude together” - They sent the information down through the
branch leader, the branch leader through the twig coordinator. They got them all together.
“they delivered the epistle” - That simply means they tore it open, took the letter out, and read it.
That’s what it means, “delivered” - told them about it.
Acts 15:31
“which when hey had read, they rejoiced” – they rejoiced - that’s what he told them in that letter to
do. What did they do after they heard it? Rejoiced; they weren’t angry, they were tickled to death.
They were just higher than a kite. They just rejoiced.
“consolation” – paraklēsis – we get the English word “Paraclete” - translated “comforter” – literal
translation of this would be fantastic as “consolatory exhortation.” Rejoice for the consolatory
exhortation; exhorting them toward a more worthy endeavor. One translation has “admonitory
encouraging.” That’s this word “consolation.”
They read it to them. The people rejoiced because it brought comfort. Words, words brought
comfort: the written word and the spoken word. Look at what the early church needed: comfort. They
didn’t need anybody to raise hell with them. That’s all they’d ever had. What do you think the
Church of God needs today? Comfort is right; people who are tender one with another, and forgiving,
understanding, patient, loving, A man’s heart almost breaks. After 2,000 years, that people who call
themselves “Christian” can be so unloving, and so unkind, and so hurtful with words. It cannot be
from the true God, because the words of God are always words that bless, even as this is, admonitory
encouraging. The admonition was there.
A little while ago, the word was “compulsory.” Doctrine, reproof; even in reproof, if it’s on the
Word, it will be loving. It will be tender. It will be words that will really bring comfort. By the way,
after verse 31, you ought to read Galatians 2:9-21. I don’t want to read it tonight, but you do it.
Acts 15:32
exhorted” - encouraged toward a more worthy endeavor - because they said with their mouths what
Paul read from the letter. They simply corroborated it, substantiated it, added to it, and told them how
wonderful they were in Antioch, Syria, Cilicia. They exhorted the brethren with many words.
“exhorted” – comforted – paraklēsis – Paraclete - that type of exhortation; exhortation that is
comforting.
“confirmed them” - has nothing to do with the Lutheran or Roman Catholic. We didn’t have a
confirmation service. And these are not the bishops sent from Jerusalem, to do the confirming