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Tag: Gospel

The Gospel is Good News to all who will humbly accept Jesus and listen to His teaching.

We refer to the four books of the Bible which tell the story of Jesus Christ as the Gospels. These books are named for their authors: Matthew, a Jewish Apostle; Mark, a disciple of the first generation who recorded accounts of Peter and the Twelve; Luke, a gentile Physician and disciple of the first century; and John, one of the Twelve Jewish Apostles chosen by Jesus.

Philip: Preaching to Good and Bad Samaritans
ACTS of Philip the Evangelist

Φίλιππος Philip who?
Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis ..

(No, not that Philip, whose wife Herodias his brother Herod Antipas took as his own wife.)
Jesus chose Twelve Apostles at the beginning His ministry in Galilee. The Apostle Philip was one of the Twelve.
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Philip has been an Apostle for about five years now.
The year c. A.D. 32 or 33.
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- (But it’s not that Philip, either. Don’t get confused like I did.)
When Simon Peter healed a lame man and spoke at Solomon’s Portico just two years ago, Philip would have observed the entire miracle. (Actually, two men named Philip may have been present.)

Our other brother Philip 🙂

As we learned in An Apostolic Model: Administration of a Growing Church from Acts 6:

As the church grew rapidly, the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples, asking them to choose seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom to lead in ministering to the Church: Steven, Philip and five others.
- (Yes, this other brother Philip, a leading deacon of the Church, second in the list of seven, is known as Philip the Evangelist.)
So now after Stephen’s trial, the Church in Jerusalem faces imminent persecution.

Philip heads back north through the mountains of Judea, traveling one of their usual routes to Galilee through Samaria.

Samaria was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, and again by the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus in 108 B.C. The city was rebuilt by Herod the Great between the years 30–27 B.C. According to Josephus, Herod expanded and renovated the city, bringing in 6,000 new inhabitants, and renamed it “Sebastia” in the emperor’s honor (translating the Latin epithet Augustus to Greek Sebastos, “venerable”). – Source: Wikipedia

Acts 8:
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We will return to Luke's chronology shortly, but lets begin with a parallel timeline from his account of events in *Sebastia from the perspective of its people.
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The ‘not so good’ *Samaritan

..there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery [μαγεύω] in the city and astonished the people of *Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.”

μάγος – magus
- the name given by the Babylonians (Chaldeans), Medes, Persians, and others, to the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers etc.
- the oriental wise men (astrologers) who, having discovered by the rising of a remarkable star that the Messiah had just been born, came to Jerusalem to worship him
- a false prophet and sorcerer
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Luke had begun his account with Philip's departure from Jerusalem following the execution of Stephen.
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Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and began proclaiming the [Messiah] Christ to them.
ACTS of the Apostles 8:5 NASB20
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Philip leaves for *Samaria fully aware its reputation. He's been there before and passed through the town many times. And Jesus had illustrated general Jewish thought about this city and these northern tribes in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
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Miracles and Signs by Philip

6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed;

Philip, along with the Apostles and many other disciples following the Lord had witnessed Jesus’ power to command evil spirits. Peter healed a lame man in Jerusalem, just one of several Apostolic signs of power. Now we learn of Philip’s miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit.

and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.
ACTS (of the Apostle philip) 8:7b – NKJV

GOOD vs. EVIL!

Scripture records several contests similar to Philip’s opposition. Some of these contests between God (good) and evil have taken place on this very mountain where Philip encounters Simon Magus.

False prophets and idolaters deceive others by spirits (i.e. demons, devils, angels) from all that is evil.

Our 21st century Christian minds easily dismiss powers we cannot explain.
- Do you really believe in such powers of the spiritual realms?
Acts reveals the Power of the Holy Spirit [πνεῦμα].
- “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit G4151; you are doing just as your fathers did. – Acts 7:51
- But he, being full of the Holy Spirit G4151, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God – Acts 7:55
- They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit G4151!” – Acts 7:59
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The HOLY SPIRIT of the ONE GOD, WHO IS One with God the Father and the One begotten Son Christ Jesus, works for good in the hearts and lives of sinful men and women like us once we turn to Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
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- Acts of the Apostles is a first century account of a continuing battle between Good and Evil.
- The Good News (Gospel) of the Lord’s death and resurrection is that JESUS will win this war.
Simon Covets Philip’s Power
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Of course this power is not from Philip, but from the Holy Spirit.
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11 They [the Samaritans] were attentive to him {Simon] because he had amazed them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

13 Even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he followed Philip everywhere and was amazed as he observed the signs and great miracles that were being performed.
- Philip’s signs are more powerful than the power of Simon Magus, who the Samaritans called, ‘the great power of God!’
  - Was Simon’s baptism a complete turning from evil and a permanent cleansing?
  - Did Simon receive the Holy Spirit
    
    (even as Ananias and Saphira had claimed, yet sought to deceive the Holy Spirit and other believers)?
  - Luke tell us: 16 ‘They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
    
    Baptism alone does not make you any more faithful to Jesus than Ananias and Saphira OR Judas.
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Philip continues teaching of new believers in Samaria with great success.
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Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem..

14 When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

Why Peter and John?

About eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
Luke 9:28 NASB20

Peter, James and John know the Person of Jesus more intimately than the other nine Apostles.
1. These three comprised an inner-circle of leadership for the Lord Jesus.
2. The Twelve in turn lead other disciples (hundreds of them at times), so that now these Apostles lead a growing Church.
The Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven! (At the conclusion of Luke’s Gospel and opening of ACTS of the Apostles, leadership passes to them.)

Simon Peter leads this inner circle of the Apostles, all of the Twelve (including Mathias), Jerusalem’s seven deacons (including Stephen and Philip); and NOW [c. A.D. 33] many disciples of Jesus beyond Jerusalem as they, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel.’

Peter and John join Philip in Samaria

ACTS 8:15 After they went down there, they prayed for them so that the Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit because he had not yet come down on any of them..

Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
- Apparently Simon is not of one accord with these new believers in Samaria. So the magician has missed out on the blessings of the Holy Spirit;
  - But the powerful always covet more power.
18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying,
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“Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
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If Simon’s story had ended here
- Would you recognize this false prophet, a teacher with power?
  - Do you realize that such a man must bow down to the LORD God or face judgment with eternal consequence?
- Does Scripture not warn us how to handle such sheep in the designer clothing of wolves?
ACTS of the First Century Church

Stephen had just called out such false leaders in Jerusalem! For two years now the Apostles have demonstrated signs from God to Jerusalem’s leaders. Revenge and persecution fill its political streets.

These leaders of the Great City of religion misused Scripture. AND false accusation meant to silence opposition to the Truth of the Gospel, resulted in their false leadership condemning Stephen to death!

The Lord Jesus Christ had warned of others to come. Simon Magnus could have been one of the first.

“And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people.

Gospel of Matthew 24:11 NASB20

Peter’s Reaction to Simon

YOU want such power, right? To make a lame man stand? Heal someone’s cancer? Help someone paralyzed with pain to get up and walk once more? Even to save a young man or woman from death? (Stephen was just thirty years old)

So did Simon, who like so many just offered to pay Peter for such POWER.

“Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
ACTS 8:19 NIV – Simon’s request to Peter

PETER would have none of it.

20 But Peter replied,

“May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God.
Acts of the Apostles 8:20-21 NLT

Is YOUR heart right with God?

8:21 οὐκ ἔστιν σοι μερὶς οὐδὲ κλῆρος ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ ἡ γὰρ καρδία σου οὐκ ἔστιν εὐθεῖα ἔναντι τοῦ θεοῦ

²¹وَلَيْسَ لَكَ حِصَّةٌ أوْ نَصِيبٌ فِي هَذَا الأمْرِ، لِأنَّ قَلْبَكَ لَيْسَ سَلِيمًا أمَامَ اللهِ. ²²فَتُبْ عَنْ شَرِّكَ هَذَا وَصَلِّ إلَى الرَّبِّ، لَعَلَّهُ يُسَامِحُكَ عَلَى الفِكرَةِ الآثِمَةِ الَّتِي فِي قَلْبِكَ. ²³فَأنَا أرَاكَ مُمتَلِئًا مَرَارَةً وَعَبدًا لِلخَطِيَّةِ.»

ACTS of Repentance

“Therefore, repent of this wickedness of yours,
and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart will be forgiven you.
Acts of the Apostles 8:22 NASB20 – Peter’s admonition to Simon Magnus

23 for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”

24 “Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”

Returning to the scene of the crimes against Christ and His Church:

25 After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News.
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ACTS of Philip (the Deacon Evangelist): TO BE CONTINUED...
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February 1, 2022
An Apostolic Model: Administration of a Growing Church
Now that we have defined some key terms of the church (including ‘church’ – ἐκκλησία), we can proceed to examine the administration of disciples following the Lord Jesus Christ (‘Christians).
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If you missed this defining first post about ACTS 6, you may want to visit some of the secure links included in Ministering to a Growing Church (BELOW).
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An Apostolic Model: Ministering to a Growing Church

Who would lead change after hearing their murmurings?

Last time we only got to one verse, Acts 6:1, then encountered a roadblock before I could address how the Twelve ran their administration of the multitudes.

..when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews,
Acts 6:1 excerpt KJV

Does that sound like YOUR Church?

Let’s address my next question from our previous post about ministering to the personalities in this initial Church of the Apostles.

How can WE help relieve so many PERSONAL problems for hundreds of families belonging to our growing church?
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Filling in a four-hundred year gap between the OLD and NEW TESTAMENTS:

(The Apostles, of course, understood their church family history better than we do.)
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Mapping out traditions of our pasts

I suppose you have wondered about my FIRST CENTURY CHURCH MOSAIC attached to this post. So let’s take a look at the diverse ethnic gathering of the lost sheep of Israel (along with some NON-JEWS as well).

First Jerusalem Church of the Apostles

Here’s an unspoken issue of ethnos underpinning their recent ‘murmurings.’
Israel did not exist!

In the time of the Apostles, a divided Greek-speaking Roman empire changed administrations frequently.

Before the Herod’s

JEWS exiled to the EAST to Babylon, some returning to Jerusalem AFTER Persia defeats Babylon.
Many JEWS remained in cities WEST of Jewish influence in cities of the Greek and Roman world.
BEFORE HEROD – Kingdom of Alexander the Great 336-323 B.C.
- 323 BC, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon
  - Alexander had conquered cities, kingdoms & empires from Greece to Asia and to Egypt, Babylon, Persia and beyond.
  - These ‘Hellenized‘ cultures then embraced or tolerated Greek customs and language as a universalist ethnos applied to trading and communication between cultures.
    (Compare to a contemporary founding culture three centuries ago in North America.)
- 200’s BC, The Ptolemy’s of Egypt (who had also been Hellenized by Alexander’s conquests) ruled Jerusalem and the eastern Mediterranean coast to Syria beyond Tyre and Sidon.
- 100’s BC, Seleucia (modern-day Bagdad) was the Hellenized capital of the Seleucid Empire which survived until 63 BC
  - As you can see on the top-left of my map mosaic, much of this massive empire lies east of Rome’s later reach.
  - 167-134 BC, Maccabean revolt and resistance against Seleucid rule in Judah
- 63 BC, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus or Pompey the Great, captured Jerusalem for Rome
- 37 BC, Herod the Great (of Edomite ancestry, born in Idumea) aligned himself with Rome.
Rome divides its client kingdom into:

Bashan
Lower Galilee
Samaria
Mishor
Judea &
Idumea

In the time of Jesus and the Apostles into:

Samaria, Judea & Idumea
Perea & Galilee
Batania (Caesarea Philippi) & Auranitis
Syria, including Phoenicia & Ituraea
(with Antioch, Roman city of 500,000+ residents, residence of its Governor)

source
Apostolic ACTS of Administration

6:2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said,
“It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
NIV

WHEN will we ever have time to minister to our church family?

NOT OUR PROBLEM? NO! That’s not what the Apostles leading the growing church are saying.

In fact, the Apostles lead other servants of God to solve the church’s own ministry ‘challenge.’

Waiting tables is just one of our many ministries

“Instead, brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.
Acts of the Apostles 6:3 NASB20
- Together this first church in Jerusalem, saints ministering to each other (though having common petty differences),
  - must address the administration of their own servant duties to the community
  - without intervention of the their masters (and teachers) the Apostles.
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry^G1248 of the word.

ACTS 6:5 This proposal pleased the whole group.
- Select seven (for administration of a church of 500+ saints now)
- These seven men must be μαρτυρέω [of good reputation]
  - (NOT as we might think, but i.e. ‘to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that he knows it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration.’
  - Seven men from the
- .. full of the [Holy] Spirit
- .. and of wisdom σοφία [sophia] who we should put in charge [administrators] of this task.
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These laymen disciples will choose those who will administer the daily tasks of the church.
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An Administration by More Servant Leaders

And they chose:
1. Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and
2. Philip,
3. Prochorus, [Greek, probably a Hellenist]
4. Nicanor, [a Greek name]
5. Timon,
6. Parmenas, [may have been from Asia minor] and
7. Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch [a pagan converted to Judaism from the city in Syria where he will soon to minister to the gentiles]
What must we do for each and every saint of our Lord Christ Jesus?

Administration of our designated authority

And they brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.
ACTS of BLESSING the seven men in Jerusalem given authority by the Apostles 6:6

Prayer (inquiring of the LORD) followed by Blessing

We see such acts as this throughout Scripture.

Moses chooses seventy to help. Israel blesses each of his grown sons before his death. (Isaac had blessed Jacob and not Esau.) Moses blesses Joshua. David blesses Solomon.

Conversation with the LORD followed by the Lord’s blessing of continued authority of administration of His work through another.
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They laid their hands … - Among the Jews it was customary to lay hands on the head of a person who was set apart to any particular office, Numbers 27:18; Compare Acts 8:19. This was done, not to impart any power or ability, but to "designate" that they received their authority or commission from those who thus laid their hands on them, as the act of laying hands on the sick by the Saviour was an act signifying that the power of healing came from him, Matthew 9:18; compare Mark 16:18. In such cases the laying on of the hands conveyed of itself no healing power, but was a sign or token that the power came from the Lord Jesus. Ordination has been uniformly performed in this way. See 1 Timothy 5:22. 
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Though the seven deacons had been chosen by the church to this work, yet they derived their immediate commission and authority from the apostles.
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible – Source of this & extended quote above: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/acts/6-6.htm

The Great Commission

(Mat 28:16–20; Luk 24:44–49; Act 1:6–8 )

Later he [Jesus] appeared to the Eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table. He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who saw him after he had risen. Then he said to them,

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Gospel of Mark 16:15 CSB

.. but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
ACTS of the risen Christ 1:8

Pentecost – a narrative of the fifty days fulfilled

And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them.
Acts 2:3

The Day of Pentecost had been a laying on of hands by the Holy Spirit such as man had never seen!
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com

Recalling a caution of Gamaliel

But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”

Acts of the Apostles 5:39 NLT

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts of the Apostles 6:7 NIV
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ACTS of the Apostles - To be continued...
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December 28, 2021
Obituary 3: Searching for Purpose for my life
Questions of meaning

We’ve been asking our SELVES in this series the questions of life, as well as questioning our purpose memorialized at our own funeral.

Songs mentioned in previous posts resound in our thoughts from time to time – limited time in this fragile mortal frame. Some ask of meaning while others speak of a purpose driven life.

Is God that purpose?

Does you life have meaning in the eyes of the Eternal Lord God?

Scriptures

Hebrews 9

Jeremiah 1:9

Ephesians 5 & 6

1 Corinthians 2 & 11

Gospel of John excerpts

Original talkofJesus.com post

Is that all there is (of my life)?

from July 3, 2014 – topic: God’s purpose

Summer 2021 AD {Scriptural} Reruns
- CLICK “…Continue reading ” above,
- THEN Ask a question or comment at the end of this post
- OR email Roger@talkofJesus.com with your reaction, questions & comments.
Stay tuned from more Summer of 2021 Reruns from talkofJESUS.com

(ditto: Summer 2022 – more to come)
July 5, 2021