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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Acts 3 Expositor's Dictionary of Texts</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/edt/acts/31.htm" /><link href='//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cardo&subset=greek-ext' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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Of this there was no doubt. The rulers themselves acknowledged they could say nothing against it. The fact was patent to all. But the marvel was 'perfect soundness' in a moment of time after a lifetime of lameness. The secret was—faith in His name. Not faith in the unreality of lameness. Not faith in the non-existence of a twisted limb. Not faith in the doctrine of illusion by which a man who has been really always able to walk has been since his birth under the absurd infatuation that he was a cripple. No; it was not that under the suggestion of St. Peter he made a successful attempt to deny all his previous experience and say, 'How foolish to think I was lame when I could walk!' Not this, but faith in the name, the name of a Person, a Person Who had been crucified in that very city not two months ago, Whom he had probably seen entering the Temple on Palm Sunday, and Who he heard was now King of kings and Lord of lords. Braced by the words of St. Peter, he had called with all his spiritual energy upon the sacred name, and had immediately felt an inrush of strength which had lifted him on to his feet. The name, through faith in the name, had made everything possible.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>It is not unnatural for men to ask as they are now asking, Was this loss of power in accord with the will of God? Was the gift of healing intended only to last during the infancy and childhood of the Christian Church, or ought we to have it today? And these questions are asked the more insistently because, both within the Church and without it, faith-healing, as it is called, is practised with some remarkable results. And it has been hastily assumed that these successes are only typical of what could be done on a very large scale if only the doctrines and principles on which they are based were more widely held.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>I. Now in the first place we must freely admit that the old, strong, clear faith in the Sacred Name is not in this twentieth century what it was in the first, and that the exercise of it, whether individually or still more corporately, would result in a large increase of restorations to health. But whilst we fully admit this, we must also remember that Christ's office was not to abolish sickness and suffering. He was necessarily a wonderful Physician of the body; He cured probably every disease or functional disorder known to Palestine, and He sent forth His disciples to do the same; but there must have been large numbers like those in Nazareth who were never healed at all. Healing, valuable as it was, was only subordinate to another and higher object, the awakening of the soul to the love of God through faith. This our Lord confessed to be infinitely harder than the physical healing of the body, and surely infinitely more valuable. 'Whether is easier to say,' He asks of His critics, 'Arise and walk, or Thy sins be forgiven thee?' To heal the body cost Him power—virtue went out, left Him weakened—for it had to overcome the hesitancy of doubt and distrust; but to heal the soul, to give forgiveness, that needed far more difficult work—repentance, self-surrender, restitution.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>II. If we asked the beloved physician St. Luke, why we had lost the gifts of healing, might he not reply, 'Lost! but they are here! Whence comes all this that I have seen, this that has awakened such profound astonishment, this discovery of laws, principles, and remedies? Are they not the gifts of healing always latent in the Body of Christ, but called out by suffering? This marvellous manipulation of the fingers and instruments, this superb self-control that pursues its end with such unflinching determination, though it knows the slightest deviation may mean the loss of a valuable life; these splendid powers of eye and hand; this rare combination of tenderness and decision, of sympathy and calm indifference. Nay, is it not your failure to see in these some of the ripest fruits of the Incarnation, of Christ indwelling us and our indwelling Him, that has led to this manifestation of healing in such unexpected quarters.' Those who have seen devout Quakers living a lofty and unselfish life without the grace of Sacraments are not surprised to see the weak become strong, the diseased become healthy, without the blessings God has given through medicine. When we abuse His means of grace He works without them till we can use them again with reverence. This, then, seems to be what we see through the New Testament as interpreted by the life of the Christian Church.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>—Bishop Walpole, <span class="ital">The Guardian,</span> 17th June, 1910.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span> References.—III. 16.—Phillips Brooks, <span class="ital">The Law of Growth,</span> p. 167. Spurgeon, <span class="ital">Sermons,</span> vol. xliv. No. 2592. III. 17.—H. Melvill, <span class="ital">Penny Pulpit,</span> No. 1498, p. 121. <span class="ital">Expositor</span> (4th Series), vol. ix. p. 107.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">An Advent Exhortation</span><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital"><a href="/acts/3-19.htm" title="Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.">Acts 3:19</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /></span>The performance of a miracle created the opportunity St. Peter took to preach the sermon of which our text is the application. He attributes the miracle just wrought entirely to Christ, Whom the Jews in their blind bigotry and hate had betrayed and murdered. And then he calls on them to repent, to hate their sin and renounce it as a necessary condition of pardon.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>I.&emsp;&emsp;<span class="bld">Repentance is a Universal Duty.</span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span>II.&emsp;&emsp;<span class="bld">The Primary Result of Repentance is Pardon.</span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span>III.&emsp;&emsp;<span class="bld">A Secondary Result of Repentance will be Times of Refreshing from the Presence of the Lord.</span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span>IV.&emsp;&emsp;<span class="bld">The Ultimate Result of Repentance will be the Second Coming of Christ.</span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Christ will be revealed in flaming fire to the ungodly, and 'except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish'. Without sin and unto salvation He is coming to His saints. If you would see Him, would meet Him, would join His train, then 'what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness'.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span> References.—III. 19.—John Watson, <span class="ital">The Inspiration of our Faith,</span> p. 72. Spurgeon, <span class="ital">Sermons,</span> vol. xiv. No. 804. <span class="ital">Expositor</span> (5th Series), vol. vii. p. 227. III. 19-21.—J. Keble, <span class="ital">Sermons for Lent to Passion-tide,</span> p. 318. Bishop Gore, <span class="ital">Christian World Pulpit,</span> vol. liv. p. 374. J. Bowstead, <span class="ital">Practical Sermons,</span> vol. ii. p. 237. <span class="ital">Expositor</span> (4th Series), vol. vi. p. 211; <span class="ital">ibid.</span> vol. x. p. 198.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital"><a href="/acts/3-21.htm" title="Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.">Acts 3:21</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Luther had a dog named Tölpel, who was very dear to himself and his children. Some one questioned him about the restitution of all things, and asked whether in the heavenly kingdom there would be dogs and other animals. He replied: Certainly. For the earth in those days will not be void and empty, and Peter in Acts 3 calls that day—'the day of the restitution of all things.' Seeing then that the heavens and earth are to be changed, as in other passages we are more clearly told, He will create a new heaven and a new earth, and He will create new Tölpels, whose skin will be golden and their hair of pearls. There God will be all in all. There no creature will devour another. Serpents, toads, and other animals which on account of original sin are poisonous and harmful, will not only be harmless then, but even agreeable and pleasant to us, so that we shall play with them. How is it that we cannot believe the Word of God, although the things that the Scripture says have come true up to this article of the Resurrection. The cause lies in original sin.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>—E. Kroker, <span class="ital">Luther's Tischreden</span> (1903), p. 360, No. 700.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span> References.—III. 21.—D. Martin, <span class="ital">Penny Pulpit,</span> No. 1625, p. 50. E. A. Stuart, <span class="ital">The New Commandment and other Sermons,</span> vol. vii. p. 25. <span class="ital">Expositor</span> (4th Series), vol. i. p. 31; <span class="ital">ibid.</span> vol. ii. p. 381. III. 22.—<span class="ital">Ibid.</span> vol. i. p. 85; <span class="ital">ibid.</span> (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 223. III. 25, 26.—<span class="ital">Ibid.</span> vol. ii. p. 381. III. 26.—A. Tucker, <span class="ital">Preacher's Magazine,</span> vol. xviii. p. 561. <span class="ital">Penny Pulpit,</span> No. 1671, p. 407. J. Bunting, <span class="ital">Sermons,</span> vol. ii. p. 406. R. J. Campbell, <span class="ital">New Theology Sermons,</span> p. 204. <span class="ital">Expositor</span> (6th Series), vol. x. p. 17. IV. 1.<span class="ital">—Expositor</span> (4th Series), vol. i. p. 86; <span class="ital">ibid.</span> (5th Series), vol. v. p. 324. IV. 2.—S. Baring-Gould, <span class="ital">Village Preaching for a Year,</span> vol. i. p. 319. <span class="ital">Expositor</span> (6th Series), vol. iii. p. 121. IV. 3.—G. T. Newton, <span class="ital">Preacher's Magazine,</span> vol. xvii. p. 211. <span class="ital">Expositor</span> (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 140. IV. 3-6.—G. Gladstone, <span class="ital">Christian World Pulpit,</span> vol. liv. p. 22. IV. 5-7, 18-20.—J. Laidlaw, <span class="ital">Studies in the Parables,</span> p. 283. IV. 6.—Phillips Brooks, <span class="ital">The Law of Growth,</span> p. 184. <span class="ital">Expositor</span> (4th Series), vol. iv. p. 329. IV. 7.—J. M. Neale, <span class="ital">Sermons on the Apocalyse,</span> p. 167. IV. 11.—<span class="ital">Expositor</span> (5th Series), vol. ix. p. 37.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-2.htm">Acts 3:2</a></div><div class="verse">And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-3.htm">Acts 3:3</a></div><div class="verse">Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-4.htm">Acts 3:4</a></div><div class="verse">And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-5.htm">Acts 3:5</a></div><div class="verse">And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-6.htm">Acts 3:6</a></div><div class="verse">Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-7.htm">Acts 3:7</a></div><div class="verse">And he took him by the right hand, and lifted <i>him</i> up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-8.htm">Acts 3:8</a></div><div class="verse">And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-9.htm">Acts 3:9</a></div><div class="verse">And all the people saw him walking and praising God:</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-10.htm">Acts 3:10</a></div><div class="verse">And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-11.htm">Acts 3:11</a></div><div class="verse">And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-12.htm">Acts 3:12</a></div><div class="verse">And when Peter saw <i>it</i>, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-13.htm">Acts 3:13</a></div><div class="verse">The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let <i>him</i> go.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-14.htm">Acts 3:14</a></div><div class="verse">But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-15.htm">Acts 3:15</a></div><div class="verse">And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-16.htm">Acts 3:16</a></div><div class="verse">And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-17.htm">Acts 3:17</a></div><div class="verse">And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did <i>it</i>, as <i>did</i> also your rulers.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-18.htm">Acts 3:18</a></div><div class="verse">But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-19.htm">Acts 3:19</a></div><div class="verse">Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-20.htm">Acts 3:20</a></div><div class="verse">And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-21.htm">Acts 3:21</a></div><div class="verse">Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-22.htm">Acts 3:22</a></div><div class="verse">For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-23.htm">Acts 3:23</a></div><div class="verse">And it shall come to pass, <i>that</i> every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-24.htm">Acts 3:24</a></div><div class="verse">Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-25.htm">Acts 3:25</a></div><div class="verse">Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.</div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/acts/3-26.htm">Acts 3:26</a></div><div class="verse">Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.</div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Nicoll - Expositor's Dictionary of Texts<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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