Acts Chapter 4 Con't

[0:00] Well, as we turn to our sheet for today, we intend to conclude chapter 4 of the book of Acts. And this is our July 19 class.

[0:12] I cannot believe that the year is already more than halfway gone. And summer seems to be slipping by more quickly than we can realize. But these Thursdays continue to be a real highlight for me during the week.

[0:26] And I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all being here and your input. It's always enjoyable as well. And if you look at your sheet 458-459, we are concluding the fourth chapter of the book of Acts.

[0:40] And we see the great real estate fiasco here. And I count it as a kind of fiasco because I believe these people's intentions and heart was in the right place.

[0:52] And they were simply anticipating the return of Christ at that time and the establishment of the millennial reign of Christ, which he would effect when he comes.

[1:06] He will bring that with him. And they were simply preparing themselves for that eventuality. And fellas, at the expense of getting sidelined too much, I just want to emphasize that this establishment of the kingdom was the very burden all the way from Genesis 3.

[1:30] It has to do with the restoration of all things. And as soon as chaos had been brought into the world through sin, God promised a deliverer to address that chaos.

[1:45] And he waited 4,000 years to provide him. And when he did, it was in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of Israel. And he came to establish that kingdom just like the one who was his forerunner announced.

[2:01] John the Baptist says that one is coming after me whose shoes I am not worthy to tie or to untie. And I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

[2:16] And this one is God's fulfillment of his promise. And when Christ came early on in the Gospels, in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, we find the Sermon on the Mount.

[2:30] And it is generally extolled as marching orders for the church. And it isn't anything of the kind. And this is why we have great difficulty in looking at the Sermon on the Mount and trying to apply it to the church today.

[2:46] It's because it doesn't apply. It is part of the kingdom. The Sermon on the Mount is the constitution of the kingdom. It is delivered by Christ against the backdrop of the coming and establishment of that kingdom when everything is going to be different.

[3:02] But it isn't now. And this is why the Sermon on the Mount is held up as such a tremendous ideal. And it is. It is an ideal.

[3:14] But it is to be found in that kingdom when it is established. And this is not it. This is a different thing where we are today.

[3:24] That's why the kingdom concepts in the Sermon on the Mount don't fit today like we think they should. Because they're not supposed to fit. This is the church age.

[3:35] It's the day of grace. It's entirely different. And everything in connection with the kingdom, his promises and all the rest of it, has been set aside or postponed until the nation of Israel comes online.

[3:49] And I've told you repeatedly that there are two requirements for the establishment of the kingdom of heaven to be realized. The first is the Messiah has to die to pay the price, the legal price for the reversal of the curse.

[4:04] And that's exactly what Christ did. He effectively undid what Adam did. That's why he is referred to as the last Adam in 1 Corinthians 15.

[4:18] He came to address the mess that Adam caused. And when Christ died on that cross, he was the Son of God reconciling the world unto himself.

[4:34] And when this message was then presented to Israel, God has fulfilled his part. Now, Israel, it is your turn to get on board with the Messiah, embrace him as the one God sent, and he will establish that kingdom.

[4:49] And Israel responded by saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.

[5:00] And that's where we are today. So, this whole kingdom concept is in limbo. It has never been affected. It's still promised. It's still coming.

[5:11] It will be realized. But this isn't it. We are not living in that kingdom. We are living in an entirely different thing that is referred to as a mystery that was never foretold in the Old Testament, where Jew and Gentile would be blended together into one body, one new man, and this is the church age or the dispensation of the church.

[5:33] But here in the book of Acts, they were still functioning, operating under the assumption that that kingdom that God promised through Israel was still going to be realized and was still viable.

[5:47] That's why they are meeting the conditions that are found here in the book of Acts. And they are all taking their possessions, selling them, liquidating them, bringing the money, laying it at the apostles' feet.

[6:00] What is that? That's the Sermon on the Mount. That's the Sermon on the Mount in action. They are doing that. This is the same thing that Jesus told the rich young ruler. If you want to enter the kingdom, liquidate your assets, sell everything you've got, give it to the poor, and come and follow me.

[6:21] Isn't that different from what we tell people today? Of course it is. But that's with the kingdom thing in mind. And so is Acts chapter 4. These people are not being foolish.

[6:33] They're not being stupid. They're not being Pollyannish. They are simply meeting what they believe are the requirements. And we found that earlier in Acts 2, where they had everything in common, and they brought their money, laid it at the apostles' feet, and the apostles would distribute it as everyone had need.

[6:53] Now they're doing the same thing. This is a continuation of anticipating the kingdom. But, it's not going to happen. They don't know that in Acts 4. They don't know that.

[7:04] And the reason it's not going to happen is because Israel, the principal people through whom God is going to realize this kingdom, are not cooperative.

[7:16] And they are not going to become cooperative. They still are not cooperative to this day. But the time is coming when they will be. So, all of this has to be kept in mind as we look at this in verse 34 of Acts 4.

[7:32] Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet.

[7:47] And distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And, most Christians who do not understand this kingdom concept and its being postponed and all the rest, they really have a hard time with this.

[8:05] Because, if you approach the book of Acts like most Christians do today, they will tell you, the book of Acts is the modus operandi for the church.

[8:17] This is what the church is supposed to be doing. What they were doing in the book of Acts. And, you know, guys, that sounds so right. That sounds so right. I preached this for about 10 or 12 years after I became a Christian.

[8:33] This is what I preached. The book of Acts is supposed to be our pattern. We're supposed to do what they did. Well, not completely, though, because the tongues thing and the miracles, that doesn't belong to this dispensation.

[8:50] Well, now, wait a minute. Are we going to be consistent or not? And this is where our Pentecostal friends come in. You know, they say, but this is supposed to be the way the church is to function.

[9:01] And we are the church and this was the church and we are supposed to be speaking in tongues. We are supposed to be performing miracles. We are supposed to be raising the dead. And if we had enough faith like they had back in the book of Acts, we would be doing it too.

[9:14] The whole Pentecostal denomination is built on that. That's where they got their name, Pentecostal, from Acts chapter 2. They consider this the normal operating standard for the church.

[9:28] And you know what? So do most Christians, but they can't answer the thing or they don't buy the thing of speaking in tongues. Well, that's not for us. That was for another day. Why? The handling of serpents.

[9:39] Well, that's not for us. That's for another day. Why? Well, the buying and selling, liquidating your property and bringing it and giving it to the elders of the church so they can distribute.

[9:50] Well, that's not for us. Well, why is it? You see what I'm saying? There's a gross inconsistency here. And what I am telling you is the book of Acts, early chapters, is not the modus operandi for the church at all because it isn't the church.

[10:07] It's Israel. God continuing to fulfill what He promised to Israel. And the reason these things don't work today is because they're not supposed to.

[10:19] It's a different dispensation. And that is just lost on the majority of Christians today. I was a believer for probably 15 years before I came to appreciate these truths.

[10:32] And when I did, I thought, oh, man, no wonder. This fits. This, I can see this. I can understand this.

[10:44] This is the way it is. And multitudes have simply been misinterpreting and misunderstanding and misapplying the book of Acts for a long, long time.

[10:58] And it still goes on. And some say, you mean to tell me that what you are saying about the kingdom and the church and all this has been lost on Christendom for hundreds and hundreds of years?

[11:13] They've been misunderstanding this? Yes. That's exactly what I mean to say. Well, how can that be? And I'll tell you how it can be. It can be in the same way that from the time the Apostle Paul was on the scene in the first century and was making justification by faith so clear in the book of Romans and in Galatians and in other of Paul's epistles, you can't find anything more clearly spelled out than justification by faith.

[11:46] And you know how long it took them to lose that concept and replace it with religiosity and churchianity? Just about two generations. And when Martin Luther came on the scene, Martin Luther, an Augustinian priest, a priest in the order of Augustine, who was a fourth century church father, and Martin Luther was in that Augustinian order, he began preaching this thing called justification by faith, and so many of his colleagues says, where are you getting this?

[12:26] What is this stuff? Anyway, because they had long since replaced justification by faith with religiosity, with churchianity, with tradition, with all kinds of stuff.

[12:40] They had built a huge religious complex that was incredibly powerful. This was the early Roman Catholic Church, and it was as political as it was religious.

[12:58] They had enormous power over kings and princes and queens because they in the church, in the hierarchy, were seen to possess the eternal destiny of kings and queens and princes and so on.

[13:18] They commanded the gate of heaven. You didn't cross these people. You got excommunicated back in those days. You were done. You were eternally lost.

[13:30] So they used that power, wielded that power, and did so very, very effectively, and it is all predicated upon what we are talking about here in the book of Acts.

[13:40] And they completely lost sight of justification by faith, and when Martin Luther came on the scene and began preaching that, they thought it was a doctrine that he had made up. He didn't make it up at all. The apostle Paul declared it, and it goes all the way back to Genesis, that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, and Luther was saying, this glorious truth has been lost and has been replaced with a system of works and religiosity and hierarchy and all the rest of it.

[14:11] So, if these truths that I'm giving you about this kingdom can be lost, it ought not to surprise us because justification by faith was lost for 1,200 years before it was ever recovered.

[14:24] So, we find them doing here what would be predictable. In verse 35, they laid him down at the apostles' feet, distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

[14:35] And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted the son of consolation, he was a Levite, having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

[14:50] I think there was a spiritual euphoria that was taking place here. I think these people were sky high spiritually. They were living on the edge of anticipation.

[15:04] This is wonderful. I think the spirit of generosity and camaraderie was probably at an all-time high. These people were just wired.

[15:15] They were living on the edge anticipating the return of Christ and the establishment of that kingdom and all they're doing is getting ready for it. But we know it still had one fly in the ointment.

[15:31] Israel. Everything is hinging on Israel's response. And we'll see what that will be in the upcoming chapters. So let's get into chapter 5 now.

[15:42] But, ignoring the chapter division here, we ought to just continue right on reading and maintain the continuity. Having land, verse 37, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet, but a certain man named Ananias.

[16:03] This Ananias is not to be confused with the Ananias in Acts chapter 9. He will be the individual whom God will send to Saul of Tarsus to lay hands on him and pray for him that he might receive his sight.

[16:18] This is after the Damascus Road experience. This is a very common name, Ananias, and this is a different Ananias rather than the one in Acts chapter 9. This man named Ananias had a wife, Sapphira.

[16:32] They sold a possession and kept back part of the price. His wife also being privy to it.

[16:44] and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. Now, right away at the outset here, when it says they kept back part of the price, it almost indicates that they were not following the customary order.

[17:04] They sold the land and they kept back. They held out part of the price that they had gotten for the land. You almost get the impression that everybody that was selling land brought the whole thing, all the proceeds, and put it in the kitty.

[17:25] So, this is set up as an exception. They are holding back part. And Peter, verse 3, Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit?

[17:48] And just as an aside, I would point out here that Peter is under inspiration is ascribing deity to the Holy Spirit.

[18:00] the Holy Spirit is a full member of the triune Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit. And Peter is recognizing that here.

[18:14] And he is saying, you have lied to the Holy Spirit and you kept back part of the price of the land. Berkeley translates it, or Weymouth translates it, and you dishonestly keep back part of the price you paid for this land.

[18:34] Now, Peter is going to launch into a little bit of logic here, and he's going, it is as much as he is saying, and Peter, there was nothing wrong with you doing that.

[18:48] There was nothing wrong with you keeping back part of the price of the land. that was okay. The problem is in, you lied in that you gave everyone the impression that you were not keeping back anything, and yet you were.

[19:05] That was the lie. So, Peter goes on to even explain that, and in verse 4 he says, whilst it remained, was it not your own?

[19:17] In other words, before you sold that land, you were the exclusive owner of it. It was your land. And let's go to our next sheet now, if we may, in chapter 5.

[19:33] And, well, where am I here? What?

[19:50] Well, I'm on, you're on 460, 461. Boy, I've got a different sheet here. What's going on? Oh, yeah, yeah, here it is.

[20:06] Okay, thank you. Yeah. And he says, and after it was sold, was it not in your own power? That is, under your own authority to do with after you went.

[20:17] In other words, he's saying, actually, you didn't have to give any of this money. I mean, you could have kept the whole thing if you wanted to. The problem was in they're giving the money, holding back part of the money, but giving the impression that they were giving everything.

[20:34] That's where the lie was. And Peter is calling them on that, and he says, why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?

[20:47] Thou has not lied unto men, but unto God. Now, this is super serious.

[21:04] What Ananias and Sapphira wanted was the approval, the accolades, the recognition of everyone in their group, that they were just as pious and just as generous and just as religious as everybody else.

[21:23] They sold the land and they gave all the money, but they didn't. They just wanted people to think they had, and that was the lie. And Peter is making it very clear, actually, you didn't have to give anything.

[21:37] And you didn't even have to sell the land. So, you are setting yourself up to be something that you're not. You're giving a deliberate misrepresentation and it constitutes a total lie.

[21:54] You are setting people up to believe one thing when in fact that isn't true at all. And the one that you have ultimately lied to is God. You know, fellas, all sin ultimately is against God.

[22:09] we offend each other. We sin against each other. But it is just one sinner sinning against another sinner.

[22:21] And we all do that in things we say and things we do. But ultimately, all sin is directed against the holy. David, the psalmist, in his great confession, the shenanigans with Bathsheba, setting Uriah the Hittite up, he said, against thee, David said, against thee and thee only, have I sinned.

[22:48] Well, now, wait a minute. Didn't he sin against Bathsheba? Yes. Didn't he sin against Uriah the Hittite? Yes. But David recognized, bottom line was, my sin was against God.

[23:01] All of our sin is against God, ultimately. And that's exactly what Peter is acknowledging here. You have conceived this thing in your heart. You have not lied unto men.

[23:12] Well, he did lie unto men. What does he mean here? You have not lied unto men. He did too. Well, all Peter is doing is acknowledging the fact that all sin ultimately is against God.

[23:25] He is saying, in effect, yeah, actually, you did lie against men, but, that's beside the point, that's a minor point compared to the one against whom you really lied.

[23:38] Because when men lie to men, it's just one liar lying to another liar. But when you lie against God, that's what Ananias is going to pay for.

[23:52] And in verse 5, the most remarkable thing happens. Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost.

[24:05] The guy died on the spot. Now, I suppose you can apply medical reasons to this and say, well, you know, the stress was too much for him and the guy had a heart attack right on the spot and keeled over.

[24:19] Maybe he did. I don't know exactly what it was that took him, but I know this. God was behind it. And I don't know if God sent the judgment by way of a heart attack or a brain aneurysm or if he just struck him dead like that.

[24:35] But the end result is the same. However, you get there, when you're dead, you're dead, and it doesn't really make that much difference how it came about. Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost.

[24:47] And great fear came upon all them that heard these things. Fellas, this is a supernatural instance of the judgment of God being exacted under anticipated kingdom conditions.

[25:10] This is the way sin is going to be dealt with during the millennial reign of Christ. This is a result, and we are told that when Christ establishes his kingdom, he is going to rule with a rod of iron.

[25:30] What does that suggest? It suggests severity. It suggests judgment. A rod of iron. A rod is a scepter.

[25:42] It is a symbol of power and authority that the regal monarch holds in his hand, and you've seen pictures of the king or queen of England sitting on the throne. They've got a crown on their head, they're wearing the ermine robes, and they're on the throne, and in their hand they have the scepter.

[26:01] That's the rod, the symbol of authority. Christ is going to rule during the millennial reign with a rod of iron. What that means is there's not going to be any nonsense. There's not going to be any injustice.

[26:14] There's not going to be any rebellion. There's not going to be any foam in any pockets, any corners of crime. They're going to be dealt with severely and quickly just like that.

[26:25] Justice is going to be administered in a way that is completely just and equitable, far removed from the way it is today. Some would have said, in the United States of America, you can have the best justice that money can buy.

[26:41] And isn't that often the way it is? Really? Absolutely. Absolutely. People who are guilty get off scot-free because they've got a good high-powered lawyer that they're able to pay for who can sway the jury.

[26:55] And people who are innocent sometimes end up in prison for life for a crime they did not commit. Because in our estimation, in our ability, justice is often not realized.

[27:08] That's part of the human condition, part of the human flaw. But, that's not going to exist when Christ is ruling and reigning in righteousness. Justice will be swift and certain and completely just.

[27:23] No one will be able to say, well, I've got a raw deal. I was framed. Nobody's going to say that in the kingdom. Justice is going to be swift and certain and Christ will be ruling with a rod of iron.

[27:35] And during that time, I think this instance that we have here with Ananias is merely an example and anticipation of what that is going to be like under these kingdom conditions.

[27:47] And we are told in verse 6 that the young men arose, younger men got up, and wrapped him around after winding his body in a sheet, wrapped him in a shroud, carried him out, and buried him.

[28:04] Just like that. Now, this is not all that common in this culture, because in Israel today, well, if you ever get the Jerusalem Post newspaper, it's a I think it's a daily publication, I'm not sure.

[28:26] But anyway, you'll never see in the Jerusalem Post, you'll see a number of deaths recorded, of who died when, but you'll never see.

[28:37] Services will be held such and such a time, you know, two or three days later, like we do here in the Springfield. In Israel, when you get the notice in the newspaper that somebody died, you can be sure of one thing, they've already been buried.

[28:54] None of this embalming, because they don't embalm. The Jews do not embalm the body, so the body is not maintained. And decay begins to sit in very quickly.

[29:06] And in this culture and in this climate, if you die in Israel, if you die in the morning, you're buried in the afternoon. Same day. If you die at night, you're buried the next morning.

[29:19] And the body needs to be in the grave within 24 hours of the day of death. That's a cultural thing, and it is maintained to this day. I'm sorry?

[29:31] Is that common here? Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's common here, too, among Jews. Now, of course, there are some Jewish people who are, they call themselves, I'm not a religious Jew.

[29:43] All that means is I'm Jewish by ethnicity and by genetics. I'm Jewish, but I don't practice Judaism. I don't go to the synagogue.

[29:55] I don't, you know. So they're just Jews in name only, like a lot of Christians are just Christians in name only. And they may cross over and partake of some of the Gentile things and have a body embalmed and wait until aunt and uncle so-and-so can come from San Francisco to be here and all that.

[30:13] But that's very rare. Most Jews today follow this same, whether here in the United States or in Israel or in Russia or wherever. So we read that in verse 7 that, and it was about the space of three hours after when his wife, Sapphira, not knowing what was done, came in.

[30:37] Now she's completely oblivious to the fact that her husband's dead and buried. She doesn't know that. And she was at a social party with the other Jewish ladies while all of this was going on.

[30:49] And when she is free, she comes in. And Peter answered and said unto her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.

[31:06] 20th century New Testament. TCNT says, Is it true that you sold the land for such and such a sum? Now you know what Peter is doing here? He is affording her a gracious opportunity to tell the truth.

[31:23] And if she had been truthful, if she had lowered her head and said, Well, I hate to tell you this, and my husband is going to hate me for this, but that's not really true.

[31:38] We didn't sell the land for such and such. We sold it for such and such. I am convinced it would have spared her life. But she didn't know that.

[31:49] She is part of a conspiracy here. She and her husband had discussed this. Let's hold back. Think of what we could do with this extra money. Let's hold back and let's just give them the impression that we did what everybody else did.

[32:03] We gave the whole thing. And nobody needs to be the wiser. And after all, we still given most of it. We just kept back a little bit. And she agreed to it. And she said, Yea, for so much.

[32:16] And then Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?

[32:29] Behold, boy, can you imagine the drama of this scene? Peter, Sapphira, some of the other apostles standing around, probably all closed-lipped, just listening and watching to what's going on.

[32:45] And Peter says, The feet of them which have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee out.

[32:59] In other words, these guys have taken the body of Ananias, gone off, and prepared the grave, and put the body in it.

[33:10] And now they are coming back, probably, to report to Peter and the others that they have cared for that responsibility, and that Ananias has been buried.

[33:22] And they are standing there at the door, waiting to enter, and Peter says to Ananias, The feet, not just the feet, but the rest of them too. The feet of those who've carried out your husband and buried him.

[33:36] And they are standing outside the door now, and they are prepared to do the same for you. Can you imagine?

[33:46] I bet this lady's face just turned ash-white. What? She is shocked. Maybe she's shocked to death. I don't know.

[33:57] But at any rate, verse 10 says, Then fell she down straightway at his feet and yielded up the ghost.

[34:08] What she yielded up was her spirit. Ghost is not a good rendering here. It gives all wrong impressions. Jesus on the cross said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.

[34:19] And it was the spirit of Christ that exited his body when he slumped on that cross and died. And here it is the human spirit of Ananias that departed her body.

[34:33] And the young men came in and found her dead. These guys are just acting as morticians and business is booming. And carrying her forth, they buried her by her husband.

[34:52] And great fear came upon all the church and as many as heard these things. You know what that's translated to me? To me to say, and these people became really very much aware that God was not fooling around.

[35:13] He was really serious about this thing. And everybody is doing a second take. Ooh, buddy. This is the time to mind your P's and Q's.

[35:26] This is really something. Great fear came upon them. And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.

[35:40] Why? Because that's the way it's supposed to be. This is nothing more, fellas. Please understand this. This is nothing more than a continuation of the miracles that Christ was performing while He was here on the earth.

[35:58] He gave this power to the twelve apostles to raise the dead, heal the sick, give sight to the blind. That's what they're doing here. They are continuing what Christ did when He was here.

[36:12] That's exactly what is in effect. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. This is the temple. This is a huge public gathering area.

[36:26] And it is really large. It could accommodate thousands and thousands of people. Although we're not told exactly how many are here now, this is where they were. And there was plenty of room.

[36:36] And verse 13 says, And of the rest durst no man join himself to them. That's not a very good rendering. Goodspeed says, a little further down, G.S.B.D.

[36:48] says, None of the others dared to associate with them. Beck says, None of the others dared to come too near to them. In other words, hey, you don't want to mess with these people.

[37:01] I mean, this is really heavy stuff. You don't want to keep your distance from these people. You don't want to this is, boy, this is something. And we read that the people magnified them.

[37:14] In other words, the people were really impressed and they were held in high esteem. They extolled them. People held them in high esteem. Ruth says, And believers were the more added to the Lord.

[37:29] Multitudes, both of men and women. That simply means more and more people were being convinced of the legitimacy of this. And fellas, I want to just close with this one thought. This is very, very important.

[37:41] Verse 14 doesn't say, And believers were the more added to the church. It does not say that. Because the church, as we know it, the body of Christ, doesn't even exist here.

[37:57] What they were added to was to the Lord. The same as on the day of Pentecost. They were added to the Lord. And this is an awesome, utterly awesome demonstration of the power of God against a backdrop of kingdom conditions which are very much in effect here and they are anticipating this.

[38:18] And verse 15 tells us that the miracles will go on and we'll continue this on the flip side of this page in our next session together. Any questions or comments anybody has before we break?

[38:28] Marty. Okay, Marty and then Dick. I mean, John. Let's go back to the point where sell everything and lay your cash down and feed it from the process.

[38:43] If now was not the time, I mean, it's not going to happen like this where everybody realizes it and says, Oh, sell everything. Well, I think that's probably what happened.

[39:06] Yeah, I think there were some initial people who did that and it caught on. No. That's true.

[39:19] And nobody is suggesting and please understand I'm not suggesting. Okay, which of you spiritual daredevils is willing to sell your home and bring the money to the church?

[39:37] I mean, just think of what you could be instrumental in starting if you were willing to set the example. So, will you step out in faith and do that?

[39:49] And if you do, you know, Marty, if you'll do that, maybe that'll speak to John and he'll say, well, maybe I ought to do that too. And then Bill will say, well, I want to get in on this.

[40:00] And you know what? We could have the same thing right here. And I'm sure that there are people who think that way. But the thing that I want to emphasize here is the Lord was in this.

[40:11] And this wasn't human ingenuity or human wisdom. And it makes a huge difference, of course. So, this is not our pattern. This is not our modus operandi. So, you can relax. You know, you can keep the deed.

[40:23] You can sell the house. You can do whatever you want with it. But I can understand how people get caught up in this. And you can see the confusion that could accompany it. John. Yeah.

[40:33] Okay. Okay. Not like you, I believe these are all Jews. And the church is known to see him. But why in verse 11, it said, and great fear came upon all the church.

[40:47] The church is only meant, the word church is only mentioned a couple of times before you get to the epistles. Yeah. Well, you look at the other translations, and we've spent a little bit of time on this, but I would like to cover it again.

[41:06] Rhames says, and there came great fear upon the whole assembly. And this is the word ekklesia, and it literally means assembly or gathering. An assembly is a gathering of people that are called out for any specific purpose.

[41:21] And it does make a difference what the purpose is. So, it could even be social, it could be political, doesn't necessarily have anything to do with religion. An ekklesia is simply an assembly.

[41:35] That's all it is. It's a gathering of people. But, translators render this, great fear came upon the church. Aha! There's the church right there. How could fear come upon the church if the church didn't exist?

[41:47] Well, this is not the church which is the body of Christ which is going to come into existence later. That will be a blend of Jew and Gentile together. These are still all Jews. And the church at this time, what we know as the church as the body of Christ has not yet even come into existence.

[42:04] And it will not until Paul the Apostle comes on the scene and introduces a whole new concept that is called the mystery. And that's the church.

[42:15] Jew and Gentile blended together into one. So, it's a very good question. I'm glad you brought it up. Dana? I find out the line and I can't remember if instance is now but I can remember when I have lied I usually get a second chance to work myself and I usually feel that's not sad.

[42:33] Yeah. And then I feel bad about it. I understand. I understand. Okay, guys. Thank you for being here and enjoy your breakfast on the day ahead. Thank you.