The Letter to the Colossian Church- 8

Subtitle: The Victory of Christ vs The Deceivers- 1

Colossians 2:16-19.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, August 31, 2025.

Paul has just warned them about those false teachers who would come around trying to draw them away from what they have in Christ.  Now, he moves to some practical commands regarding those teachers.

Let’s look at our passage.

Some practical implications of Christ’s victory

Verse 15 ended with a powerful statement of Christ’s victory over the spiritual powers of the heavens who are operating on the earth.  “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over theme through Him.” 

These hostile spiritual powers were impotent and unwitting while Christ was saving us at the cross.  In light of this victory over all authorities, our champion delivers us out from under their domain of darkness and allows us to enter his kingdom (Colossians 1:13).  This reality should affect how we live and act in this life.

Paul says in verse 16, “Let no one judge you in regard to…”  Before we get into the areas that he mentions, notice that these teachers are making judgments about what the Colossian Christians are doing, how they are living, and what they believe.  When he says not to let them judge you, he is talking about how we can let the judgments of others impact us; we can accept them and be influenced by them.  You cannot stop a person from judging you, but you can make a choice to ignore it. 

Of course, Paul is not talking about the judgments of godly teachers.  In fact, he is making a judgment about these false teachers and the Christians of Colossae listening to them.  This is not a theoretical banning of judgments, but rather, a situational rejection of the type of judgments that are made by these men.  Christians should never have an attitude that says, “I don’t have to listen to anyone!”  That kind of approach to the Christian life will get you into trouble quickly.  However, there is a flip-side to this issue of judgments that Paul is treating here.  These teachers are not standing on the teachings of Christ and his apostles.  Their judgments serve the purpose of pulling these Christians away from both the teachings of Christ and a true saving-relationship with him.

We do not need to fear judgments, but the Lord’s judgment is the only one that matters in the end.  We can trust God’s judgments because He does so for our good and to deliver us from evil.

One of the areas that these teachers loved to make judgments had to do with food and drink.  If a teacher had a Jewish background, this would involve the dietary restrictions of the Law and the traditions that were built up around them.  They would point to certain foods as forbidden.  However, some of the Greek philosophies and religions had similar ascetic ideas regarding food and drink.  Christ taught that a person is not defiled by any foods.  For Jews, the Messiah had cleansed the foods forbidden under the Law so that his followers could eat anything.  This was reiterated by Paul many times, but 1 Timothy 4:3-4 says it very succinctly.  Thus, Christians do not look to food and drink as the means by which we make ourselves acceptable to God.

The same point is then made concerning the area of special days.  These false teachers emphasized observing special days as a part of their judgments.  The Lord had given Israel seven feasts to observe, and of these, three required males to go to Jerusalem.  Judgments could be about observing the days, period, or about how well one observed them.

We could do the same thing today with special days within Christianity.  Is my relationship with Christ affected by how well I do Christmas or Easter?  The mentality that looks to such special days as a means of connection to God does not understand what Jesus has done.

We should celebrate what Christ has done by loving him with all our heart, mind and body and by serving his purposes and mission.  We should not require the observance of festivals and even Sabbaths.

We might ask why these things were in the Law of Moses if they would not continue to be important under the Messiah.  Paul explains the purpose of the food laws and the special day laws.  They were never about making Jews acceptable to God, i.e., there was never anything inherently good or bad about them.  They only became moral issues because God had commanded them.

This distinction within the Law of Moses is important.  Some laws were inherently moral such as the law, “You shall not murder.”  There will never be a time when this becomes okay.  Yet, the laws concerning foods and special days were only moral because it was God commanding them.  His purpose had to do with pointing forward to the Anointed One that He would send to save humanity. 

Paul uses the idea of a shadow.  A shadow requires something of substance to exist, but it is not that substance itself.  These things were shadows that were being cast from the One who is the Messiah.  We can picture that shadow being cast back in time from Jesus to the making of the Mosaic covenant.  However, since Jesus was “slain from the foundation of the earth,” we could also think of the shadow being cast forward from the beginning to that day.  Regardless, the food laws and special days were pointing to Messiah somehow.

What were they pointing out?  The special days all point to the critical redemptive work of Messiah among Israel and the Gentiles.  Acts 10 reveals that the food laws were symbolic of the defiled Gentile nations that had been dispossessed by God.  Until Messiah paid the price for sins, they were a defiling influence and Israel needed to guard themselves from that.  Yet, at the cross, Jesus makes it possible for the defiled person to be made clean.  The symbol is no longer needed because Jesus had fulfilled the thing that it was reflecting.

So, Christians should not let judgments about foods and special days be used as a means of coming between us and Jesus.  Yet, this does not mean a person cannot sin with food.  Gluttony is still wrong because a person’s affections are grossly connected to the food.  Such crossings of proper boundaries are a sign of idolatry.  I am asking the food to be something in my life that it was never created to be.

Paul then moves on to another practical implication.  He tells them to let no one be cheating them.  This is similar to judging, but it has a slightly different feel.  Imagine an umpire that keeps calling strikes when it is clearly a ball.  That umpire would be cheating you out of taking your base.   By listening to the judgments of these men, you would be letting them keep you from what God has for you.  They are not really authorized to umpire your life, but you can submit to them as an umpire.  Paul goes on to describe these cheaters so that they will be easily recognized.

These teachers delight in self-abasement.  This has the sense of a lowliness of mind, which is generally good.  But these men “delight” in looking humble.  Their intentions are wrong.  They would look lowly of mind to a novice, but they will not submit to the teachings of Christ.  Thus, they are not truly lowly.  They put on a superficial show of humility, but it is always self-serving.

They also delight in worshipping angels, or hierarchies of spiritual beings.  They would promote particular angels as intermediaries between God and man.  They loved to build systems of particular spiritual beings that were to be called upon and worshipped in order to please God.

Of course, they were condemned by the early Church.  Yet, down through the ages, the veneration of saints has reduplicated this penchant.  There is only one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus.  We need to get back to approaching Jesus alone as our means of approaching the Father.

They also were standing upon what they had seen.  Some version will supply the word vision, which is likely the point that Paul is making.  The problem isn’t the visions per se.  Didn’t the apostle Paul have visions?  The problem is that their visions are not connected to Christ, the Head, nor to His apostles.  Paul’s vision was firmly on the foundation of Christ and his apostles.  But these false teachers refuse to stand upon Christ.  Instead, they stand upon their own imaginations, detached  from the Truth of God, and contradictory to it.

These teachers are also “inflated without cause by [their] fleshly mind.”  They are not lowly of mind at all.  Instead, their fleshly mind has inflated their ego.  They have become puffed up, and their view of themselves is not connected to the Truth of God.

Lastly, these teachers do not hold fast to the Head, from whom the entire body grows the growth of God.  It is not enough to have a place in your system for Jesus, if it is diminished from who he really is.  Jesus is the one to whom we must hold fast.  He is the Head of the Church and believers.  He is the Head of the New Creation.  Thus, these teachers were not operating under his authority.

It is only our connection to the One True Head of the Church that supplies what is needed, and holds the body of Christ together.  When this is happening, then we can grow the growth of God as opposed to the growth of the world.  This is both individually and corporately.

These men have either detached from Christ, or were never attached in the first place.  Without Christ, there is no supply of life, no bond of the Spirit, and no growth of God.  May God help us to keep our eyes upon Christ, his apostles, and the Scriptures which detail their message and work.

Victory of Christ 1 audio

The Acts of the Apostles 42

Subtitle: A Tale of Two Visions

Acts 10:1-16.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023.

Jesus in John 16:12-15 told his disciples that he had much more to say to them, but they would not be able to bear it, or handle it at that time.  However, he promised that the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, would come and teach them everything that they needed to know.  He would guide them into all truth- at least, all the truth that they would need.

These apostles are often referred to as the early leaders of the Church, but let us recognize up front that Jesus is the true leader of the Church.  The Apostles and any subsequent leaders are simply helpers, servants of the Lord, in his leadership.

In our passage today, we will be given a glimpse at what it looked like for the Spirit of Truth to lead the early Church.  The issue at hand was the status of Gentiles who would be coming to faith in Jesus.  What exactly did they need to do in order to become Christians?  Did they need to first adopt Judaism and its requirements and then believe on Jesus?

The book of Acts from chapter 10 to 15 gives a resounding, "No," to this question.  All of this features the Holy Spirit teaching the apostles.

Let's look at our passage.

The vision of a Gentile named Cornelius (v. 1-8)

As Peter continued to minister in Joppa, Luke brings our attention to a Gentile in Caesarea named Cornelius.  This city was 40 miles north on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and it was the headquarters for Rome's operations in the area, hence the name, Caesarea.

Cornelius is an officer in one of the Roman Legions, particularly the Italian Regiment, or Cohort.  He is a centurion, which generally means a command of 100 men or less (depending on losses in battle).  Of course, such a profession would not put Cornelius on the "nice list" with most Judeans.

Yet, verse 2 tells us that this Cornelius was a devout believer in the God of Israel.  It was not uncommon for there to be Gentiles who were sympathetic towards, and even convinced of the God of Israel as the One True God.  Most of them, however, did not want to be circumcised and officially become attached to Israel.  This created a group of people that were referred to as "God-fearers."  They were uncircumcised, but followed many of the customs and worship of Israel.

We are also told that Cornelius was very generous in alms, or charitable giving.  He had donated to particular issues that would help the people of Israel.

On this particular day, we are told that it was the ninth hour, or 3:00 pm.  Verse 30 will tell us later that he was praying and fasting.  This would be at the time of the evening sacrifice in Jerusalem.  All of this pictures a man who is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth.

Of course, prayer is a relationship with God, which begs the question.  What is his status with God?  We will talk more on this later.

As Cornelius is praying, he has a vision of an angel coming into the room.  A vision is commonly distinguished from a dream.  It is used of a person who is not asleep, and yet, sees something that may be as real as a dream, i.e., a day-dream.  It is a real spiritual interaction.  However, a vision is generally distinguished from an actual physical manifestation.  He mentally sees and hears the message of the angel.  If someone else had been there, they would not have seen or heard the angel.

Though Cornelius is startled, he addresses the angel with, "What is it, lord?"  Again in verse 30, he tells us that "a man stood before me in bright clothing."  This is common in biblical text.  Heavenly angels generally look like men when they appear to people.  However, something makes it clear that it is not an earthly messenger.  Here, the clothing of the man is glowing, he has a message that is from God, and it would not be easy for a mortal to slip into Cornelius' room.  There was no doubt it was an angel.

The angel tells Cornelius that his prayers and alms have come before God as a memorial.  That is important to note.  Whatever his status, God was taking notice of his prayers and charitable works.  The term "memorial" is a reference to a kind of sacrifice.   This can be seen in Revelation 8:4 where we see the heavenly temple.  Incense is burned before God along with "the prayers of the saints" by angels.  It is not clear exactly how this is done.  However, the truth is shown that the prayers of the saints are before God continually.

Of course, God doesn't need incense offered  with their prayers.  He sees it all.  Thus, the importance is a demonstration to the heavenly beings that humans are praying unto God, and that God is receiving their prayers.

I believe that his status was much like Abram's.  Yes, he is a gentile and is not in complete conformity to the Law of Moses.  Yet, he is approaching God in faith, and God is responding with grace.

We should note that Cornelius is not praying to see an angel.  He already has a lot of God's grace as he has heard the truth of God, and is serving near Israel.  Rather, it was in the midst of his being faithful to God in prayer that God said, "that's my man." 

The angel is not so much a response to good worship and prayer, but as a fulfillment of the purposes of God.  This was just the sort of man that the Lord would use to help the Church to understand that Gentiles were to be saved just like Judeans.  God's grace comes to us in many different ways.  It is not ours to worry about the way, but rather, it is ours to be thankful for whatever ways the grace of God materializes.

When you pray, you may feel like nothing big is happening.  However, at the least, your prayers are coming before God.  If you are discouraged in prayer because you want something specific to happen, be careful that you are not complaining about the grace of God you already have.  God has a timing for everything, and we can be guilty of overlooking the grace that He is already giving us each and every day.

Cornelius is then told to send to Joppa for a Simon Peter who was staying with Simon the Tanner.  Peter would then tell him what he "must do."

Couldn't the angel have told him what to do?  Yes, of course, the angel could have.  God Himself could do everything in the universe while we all stand on the sidelines cheering, "Go, God!"  But, God isn't looking for a cheerleader to cheer Him on.  That may stroke your ego, but God is looking for a bride who will join Him in the field of work.

It was important that an apostle of Jesus be involved in this critical juncture of Gentiles coming into the Church.  Though Paul would become the main apostle to the Gentiles, Peter would be an important link in convincing the Jerusalem Church that God was saving Gentiles too.  He would be critical in establishing what the status of Gentiles coming to Christ would be.

Though it was afternoon, Cornelius immediately calls two of his household along with a soldier who is also a devout believer from his personal detail.  He tells them the task and sends them to Joppa in order to fetch Simon Peter.

Let us note how important it is to respond to the promptings of the Lord as quickly as we can.  All of us can think of times where we were dilatory with the leading of God's Spirit.  God doesn't generally send angels to speak to us, though He can do so at any time.  Typically the Holy Spirit prompts us in our heart and mind as we pray.  The person who is devoutly praying to God will receive instruction from Him from time to time.  We need to be in a relationship with Jesus where we are seeking his leading, and responding quickly to the leading that He gives.  Don't be lazy, and don't be resistant, or rebellious.

Peter has a vision (v. 9-16)

As the men from Cornelius approach Simon the Tanner's house, Peter also has a vision around noon.  These two visions are basically the same, but they would hit those who first heard about it as a contrast.  Peter is a Jew, devout, and an apostle of Jesus.  Of course, we can picture him having a vision.  However, Cornelius is not a Jew nor a follower of Jesus.  Yet, the same God is working in them both for His singular purpose.

Peter is praying and becomes extremely hungry.  It appears that this has been made known to the house and they are fixing some food.  Meanwhile, he continues to pray on the roof of the house.  I don't know if God caused him to be hungrier than usual, but regardless, He uses Peter's hunger to emphasize a command that will be important in regards to Cornelius.

Verse 10 tells us that Peter "fell into a trance."  The difference between a trance and a vision is nothing.  They are the same thing described from two different angles.  The word "vision" focuses on the fact that he sees something.  It is the experience from the view of the person who sees it.  The word "trance" focuses on the fact that his mind is elsewhere at the time.  It is the experience from the view of a person watching the one having the vision.  In fact, in Acts 11:5, Peter will describe this event with both words.  He will say, "in a trance, I saw a vision."

The vision was of a sheet that is bound up on all the four corners creating a sling.  It is let down from heaven before him and is filled with unclean, or non-kosher, animals.  Unclean animals are such that the Law of Moses proscribed from being eaten by the people of Israel, and from being offered up as a sacrifice to Yahweh.

Of course, it is not the contents of the sheet that are the problem, but the content of the command that is given to him next.  Peter is told to rise up, kill and eat.  This picture is going to occur three times.  Peter protests that he had never eaten such animals before.  It appears that he also has no desire to do so even though he is quite hungry. 

God knew that he would respond this way, and He intends to use this to hammer home a point Peter needs to understand.  Before we get into the point, we should touch base on this whole issue of unclean and common as opposed to that which was clean and holy.

We often use unholy to mean something morally bad, but the foods themselves were not morally bad.  To be holy simply means that something, or someone, is set apart for a particular purpose of God.  To be unholy simply meant to be a thing, or one, that is not set apart for a particular purpose of God.  Israel was a holy nation.  They had been called to do a particular, special duty for God among the nations.  The other nations were unholy, or common.  Yet, within the nation of Israel, there were particular people who were called to serve as priests in the temple.  In this area, the priest would be holy, but the other Israelites would be common.  The same could be said of a temple bowl.  A common bowl could be used for any purpose you like.  It wasn't holy.  However, a bowl that had been consecrated to God's work in the temple could not be used for a common purpose.  Even among the priests, only one man could go into the Holy of Holies once a year.  None of the common priests could perform the work of the high priest.

At this point, it is important to note that the clean and unclean animals served an important purpose in Israel.  Yet, now God was directly connecting the concept of unclean animals versus clean animals with the concept of unclean peoples (i.e., Gentiles) and clean people (i.e., Israel).

Let me interject at this point that I run into people who make a big deal out of Christians changing the laws of the Old Testament.  Or, they will say something like God said it was bad and then He changed His mind and said it was good.  They underlying accusation is that God is whimsical or Christians are hypocritically changing the bible.  Neither are true.

Note what God says to Peter's protest.  "What God has cleansed you must not call common."  Do you see that.  Something has changed from the days of Moses to the vision of Peter.  God has actively "cleansed" these foods.  How did He do that?  The death and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the Old Covenant.  God would now establish a New Covenant with the remnant of Israel and whosoever will of the Gentile nations.  It was no longer necessary under the New Covenant to continue a restriction on foods because the truth that they pictured was now changed.  Gentiles were no longer considered common because of the work of Jesus.

Let's be clear here.  Common and holy here have to do with the ability to approach God and have our sins dealt with.  Yes, we can speak of the holiness of one who has had their sins removed.  But, the Old Testament had an additional concept of being able to approach the altar of the Lord and offer sacrifices for your sins.  Gentiles could not do this under the Old Covenant because they were unclean.  Now, through the work of Jesus, they have been made acceptable to enter God's presence and be cleansed.  This is not a whimsical or hypocritical change.  It is a very real sacrifice done once and for all by God's Anointed One, Jesus.

Under the New Covenant, Christians can eat any food without fear of defilement.  All foods are cleansed by the work of Jesus.  However, this is also a picture of the reality that any person from any tribe, tongue, or nation, can come to God in faith and be accepted at His altar.  There is no longer any distinction between a Jewish Christian or a Gentile Christian, other than heritage.

There is a sense of warning in this command, "you must not call common."  If God makes something holy, then no one should treat it as unholy, common.  This would apply to Jewish Christians like Peter who would tend to shrink away from treating Gentiles as completely clean in Christ.  However, it would also apply to the Corinthian Christians who were taking the Gospel of Jesus and the Gifts of the Spirit, and using them in a defiled way, unholy way.  Such people often have an attitude that says, "Jesus has paid the price so all things (i.e., even sin) are clean to us now."  Such a thing must not be done.  It is important for the Church to uphold this truth in a day and age that is transgressing this on both sides.

Do you believe that God is working in your life as He was in Peter's life, or Cornelius' life?  Yes, the scope of what God is doing is greater in them.  You may not see an angel, or even have a vision.

However, we need to recognize that as we are praying and serving Jesus, there comes times when He speaks to our heart and mind.  It might be something that you are intimidated by, or afraid to do.  It might be something that you are even unsure about.

This is why God has given us His Word, His Spirit, and a body of believers with the Gifts of the Spirit distributed as He wills.  Peter had great spiritual gifts placed in his life in order to help the early Church and even us today through the word.  We may not all experience everything that Peter did, but we are all the beneficiaries of what God did through him and the other apostles.

It is not the vision, or angelic visitation, that we should be seeking.  Rather, it is the purpose and presence of the Lord Jesus Himself that is our desire.  The help of the Holy Spirit is always happening and available for those who are seeking Him.  However, it is up to God the particular ways that His grace is given to us.  Let us be a people who are used of God to further His work of saving Gentiles and Jews in these last days!

Two Visions audio

The Acts of the Apostles 35

Subtitle: The Gospel Goes to Ethiopia?  Part 1

Acts 8:26-33.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 12, 2023.

We have seen how God used Philip, Peter, and John to take the Gospel into Samaria, north of Jerusalem.  It appears that the main impetus that made Philip go to Samaria was persecution in Jerusalem.  Of course, we can preach the Gospel in jail, but Philip gets out of town and preaches in Samaria.  Clearly, the Holy Spirit was leading him.

In our passage today, Philip is going to travel southwest of Jerusalem on the road to Gaza in order to help the Gospel on its way to the continent of Africa!  That's right.  It is most likely that the Gospel went into Africa before it ever made it to Europe.

What happened in Jerusalem is now spreading to the ends of the earth.  Hmm...it is interesting that we are here, hearing the Gospel at the ends of the earth.  You are an answer to the Lord's prayer, his purpose, and even prophecy.

Amen.  Let's look at our passage.

God causes a divine appointment (vs. 26-29)

God has a divine appointment for Philip on the road to Gaza with an Ethiopian eunuch. 

You may have heard that phrase before now.  There is a sense where a parent has a divine appointment every day, even every minute, with their children.  God wants you to train them in His Word and in His ways.  However, in a case like this, you know it, and it is on your "appointment calendar."

There are times that God has something out of our normal routine, or schedule.  It is not on our calendar, not on our radar, but it is on God's calendar.

It is important to recognize it when God is bringing us to something that we were not expecting.  When it happens, we need to learn to quickly shift gears, and focus on what God is doing.  A good prayer to pray is, "Help me, Lord, to be used of You in this situation!"

In this case, Philip is told by an angel of the lord some of what he is to do.

The term angel simply means a messenger, and this is what an angel does, but this was a heavenly messenger.  We are not told exactly how this meeting happened.  Was Philip in prayer alone?  Was he back in Jerusalem?  Regardless, Philip has an angelic visitation and now the divine appointment is on his calendar.

In reading the Bible, we may come under the impression that angels should be showing up every day in our lives.  This is not an accurate reading.  Sometimes it was hundreds of years between a clear visitation of an angel in the Bible.  In fact, Hebrews 13:2 tells us that some people have entertained angels without knowing it.  Have you ever had something happen that later you thought to yourself that the person who helped you may have been an angel?

One of the men in our church, Joe Pyott, was driving at night outside of Spokane.  As he was going through a snowy pass, he slid off the road in a remote area.  He was a bit worried because it was late at night, and he did not figure anyone would be driving by for a long time.  However, in short order, three different people showed up and helped him in different ways.  One guy had a shovel and dug out the snow around his vehicle.  Another man had a truck and a chain.  He was able to pull Joe back on the road.  Even better, Joe was able to drive the car all the way home.  Praise the Lord! 

We might wonder if one of those people were an angel, or even all of them.  But, ask yourself this.  Does it really matter if you were pulled out of the ditch by an angel, or by a human being who was quick to do God's will in the situation?

Scripture details increased angelic visits during periods in which God is doing something critical for His plan of salvation.  We see this around the birth of Christ, and then later around the death of Christ, even the beginning of the Church in this passage.  The situation is so critical that God gives heavenly assistance so that the moment is not lost.  Now, notice that this doesn't seem to be how God led Philip to Samaria.  So, why now?

There seems to be something about this man.  He was a critical man, at a critical juncture of God's plan of salvation, with a desire to know God.  He needed to hear the Gospel, and God could see that he would go back to Ethiopia never having heard the Gospel.  That is, unless God did something out of the ordinary.

Just know this.  God can lead us through supernatural methods, but we should not be stuck on only being led by angels.  God is a big God, and creative too.  It is up to Him how we are to be led, and we need to be aware of those ways.

Philip's instructions from the angel are to head down the road from Jerusalem to Gaza through the Judean wilderness, i.e., no one is out there.  There is no indication that Philip is told what will happen.  Of course, since it was an angel, he has a pretty good idea that it has something to do with spreading the Gospel.  Is he going to preach in Gaza?  What will he find?  He doesn't know.

God doesn't always give us all the instructions up front.  He is wanting to see if we will trust Him and step forward.  At the right time, He will give you the next instruction.  Just be faithful.  Thus, we are told that Philip "arose and went."

How important it is for us to be quick to obey when God leads us to do something.  Philip isn't asking why.  He simply gets up and goes.  Better to muse in your mind as you are obeying, then to sit at home wondering what could happen.

Yet, it doesn't have to be just about obedience.  There is a higher level to all that God gives us to do.  Anything that God asks us to do will be a chance to participate in something live changing.  If we really understood that, then we would jump at the chance to do anything for Him.  "Alright, I get to see God do something great!  Let's get started!"  More than that, we get to participate with Him by faith!

Remember that all responsibilities require doing duties, but when we understand the heart of God, we will jump with joy at doing what He wants done.  If God is in it, then we can have joy in it because He transforms lives!

If we look at the story from the Ethiopian's view point, then it is quite different.  God is leading him too, but it is unknowingly.  Of course, we could say that he is not a Christian yet.  True, but he is a believer in Yahweh, a convert to Judaism, a God-worshiper.  Just as God can put something on our heart by His Holy Spirit, or lead us by an angelic visitation, so God can lead us without us even knowing it.  Sometimes God just likes to surprise us with a divine appointment.

So, Philip is traveling along the road, sees the chariot, and the Spirit tells him to overtake the chariot.

The man in the chariot is a eunuch from Ethiopia.  He was a eunuch because that was common practice for palace slaves and palace servants in much of the world throughout history.  It may not seem to be important, but by the end of this sermon, you will see that it is very important that he is a eunuch.

He is also an "Ethiopian."  This term was created by the Greeks to refer to Africans who lived anywhere south of Egypt.  This is a very general term.  However, the reference to the Candace, Queen of Ethiopia, gives us a bead on exactly where he was from.  If you look at a map, you will see Egypt.  As you travel south you will run into the country called Sudan today.  Southeast of Sudan is the modern country of Ethiopia.  Candace is not the name of this Queen.  It was actually a term like "Pharaoh, or Caesar."  In Greek, it is phonetically Cahn-'dah-kay, or better, The Kandake.  These African Queens ruled in what we would call northern Sudan today.  In the Old Testament, this kingdom is always referred to as the kingdom of Cush.

The Kandake ruled in a co-regency with her son as king.  They both had their own armies, treasuries, and palaces.  However, they co-ruled over the Cushites.  In fact, the king's son would not be the next king.  The Kandake's eldest son was king, but the first son of her eldest daughter (who would take her place upon death) would be the next king.

How had this man heard about the God of Israel?  The capital of the Cushite kingdom was over 1,500 miles from Jerusalem.  Notice that he had gone to Jerusalem to worship.  Perhaps, he heard about Yahweh through a servant.  Regardless, he believed in the God of Israel, and went to worship.

The fact that The Kandake would let him travel that far, either means that she values him very highly, or that she is interested in this religion of his, or both.  God was leading this man, whether he knew it or not.

Whether you know it or not, God is leading you.  That doesn't mean that we never make mistakes.  In fact, we can be resisting God like Saul of Tarsus was doing.  God will always be faithful to lead us into opportunity for repentance.  This man had repented and believed, and so God put him on a path to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

A man is puzzled by the Scriptures (vs. 30-33)

As Philip approaches the chariot, he hears the man is reading the prophet Isaiah.  This scroll may be a gift to The Kandake, or it may have been purchased by him.  Philip asks him a clear question that is not insulting, but also opens the door for discussion.  "Do you understand what you are reading?" 

Let's not jump past this simple point.  God wants you to understand the Scriptures, and they have been written in such a way that they can be understood.  Of course, our spiritual state will make a big difference whether or not we can understand the Scriptures.  Only a person who approaches the Word with faith can begin to understand.  Yet, anyone who is really looking for Truth will find it in the Scriptures.

Yes, there are parts of the Scripture that are not as clear to us.  The Bible itself speaks of some parts being "milk" as opposed to other parts that are "meat."    The picture has to do with development.  A baby only digests milk at first.  However, as it grows on that milk, it will be able to digest more and more complex food.  If I read something today, and I don't know what it means, then I should just pray this simple prayer.  "Lord, I love you, and I want to know what this means.  Please help me to understand at the level that I can for now."  In fact, it doesn't matter if you have been a Christian for 70 years.  There is always stuff to learn about God's Word.  He is the God of the universe.  Anything that He has written is bound to keep us busy for a life time of understanding.  However, that is the beauty of God's Word.  You don't have to understand everything in order to understand the most important things.

Believers need to take the Word of God seriously.  He wants you to understand, and understanding will take devotion to reading, studying, and discussing the text with other believers.  We blow a lot of time with entertainments when we could be reading the words of the Creator of the universe!  Don't squander the wealth of Truth and knowledge that God makes available in order to go after the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life.

Some may feel like studying the Bible is the pastor's job.  Don't rely upon another person for your understanding.  They won't be there on that day that you stand before God and give account.  He has written this Bible to you as much as to anyone else.  If you really love Jesus, then you will take His Words to you seriously.

The Ethiopian eunuch's response lets us know that he was having trouble understanding.  He needed a guide, a teacher.  Self-study is the bedrock of understanding the Bible.  However, on top of this, God provides guides or teachers.  This man was isolated.  How many years would it take for the Gospel to make it to Cush without some assistance from God?  God saw his desire to understand the Scriptures, and He sent him a good guide.

Of course, there are many "guides" in the world today who want to lead you astray.  They are false guides, even anti-guides, false teachers, and false apostles.  Jesus warned that Israel's leaders had become blind guides leading the people into a ditch.

So, how do I protect myself?  You protect yourself by being a person who is devoted to reading the Word, and praying to God for understanding.  You protect yourself by being a person who is committed to being led by the Holy spirit.  Such a person will always find that God provides exactly what they need.  Thus, the Bereans of Acts 17:11 searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things that Paul was preaching were really so.  Such a person will be very hard to deceive.

This brings us to the passage that the man was reading.  You may have recognized the verses.  They come from Isaiah 53.  This is the most important section of Isaiah, which reveals God's suffering servant who would save Israel, and the Gentiles, from their sins.  Of course, it is talking about the Messiah, Jesus.

During those days in Israel, it was acceptable to see this passage as talking about Messiah, but after the cross and Christians preaching Jesus, the rabbis began developing arguments against the passage speaking of Messiah.  Today, the typical rabbi will say that the passage speaks about Israel saving the world through her suffering.  However, this does not make good sense of the flow of God's arguments from Isaiah 40 to 53.

In fact, the argument is precisely that God made Israel to be a servant to the nations, but Israel had become a blind and deaf servant, i.e., useless.  God himself would rise up and bring forth His perfect servant who would not only save Israel, but also save the nations.  Isaiah 53 shows Jesus carrying the sin, and the curse of sin, of the nation of Israel and the Gentiles upon himself.  He would be punished in our place and provide forgiveness through his wisdom.

I don't think the Ethiopian eunuch was reading this by accident, and Philip is not there by accident either.  However, there is one more "accident," or should we say coincidence that we should give our attention.

No doubt, the eunuch not only knows that Isaiah 53 is talking about Jesus, and what Jesus did for him, for all of us, he will keep reading.  Guess what he will find only three chapters later in Isaiah 56:3-8?  Here is the text.  As you read it, you should weep for joy as that eunuch no doubt did when he read it.

3 Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying, “The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.”

4 For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,

5 Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.

 6 “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant—

7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

How must that have hit him.  The Lord is essentially telling this man through Isaiah (written 700 years before this), "Don't say that you are a dry tree!"  In the natural, he was a dry tree.  He was never going to have a family to pass on his love and knowledge.  Yet, he now had a treasure within him that was Jesus, the Lord of Life!

He would take this treasure of God's love through Jesus with him back to Cush as an ambassador of the Lord.  We don't know the rest of the story of this man.  How many people did he share the Gospel with throughout his life?  On the day that he would lay his head down in death, he was leaving behind a spiritual heritage that the God of Israel loves Cushites, and whosoever.  He died so that you can be forgiven and live with him eternally.  It didn't matter that he was a foreigner to Israel, or a "dry tree" in the natural.  He would pass on the faith to spiritual offspring by the power of Jesus. 

And, so will you, if you put your faith in Jesus. If you follow the world, you will be a dry tree.  I don't care how many kids you have.  But, in Christ, the Spirit of God will give you life, and that life will overflow you and impact others!

Ethiopian Eunuch audio

The Acts of the Apostles 20

Subtitle: Run-in with the Law #2

Acts 5:17-32.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 9, 2022.

In today’s passage, the leaders of Israel are going to haul the apostles in because they continue to preach salvation and forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus.

It is important to pay attention to the attitude of these men as they disobey earthly authorities in order to obey God.  Some people use the idea of obeying God rather than man as a moral cover for selfish reasons.  The fruit of their life bears out the message that they are simply using it as a license for immorality. 

May God help us to be led by the Holy Spirit, rather than man.  But, may we also understand that His plan is always to give a witness to all those who are watching, whether leaders or not.  This is a holy matter and we should be careful not to muddy the waters of what God wants to say to others.  If we attempt to use this as an excuse, we will one day stand before Him with no excuse.

Let’s get into the passage.

The apostles are imprisoned (vs. 17-21)

The first arrest of any of the apostles was at the beginning of chapter four.  Peter and John were arrested, questioned, threatened and then released.  Now we have a second arrest.

It is the high priest of Israel and his religious party, the Sadducees, are filled with indignation that these men continue to teach in the name of Jesus.  The word translated “indignation” is often translated as “zeal.”  It refers to the heat and passion to defend or pursue something.  In this case, they are going to defend their actions with Jesus, and pursue the goal of shutting up these disciples of Jesus.

We must always hold our passions in check before the Lord to determine whether they are motivated by righteousness and His Spirit, rather than by our own flesh and the world around us.

The phrase “they laid their hands on the apostles” simply means that they had them arrested, most likely by the temple guards.  It is most likely that all of the apostles are arrested this time since Luke made it clear in chapter four that it was only Peter and John.  He only says “apostles” in this chapter.

The apostles are held over night in the common prison.  However, God has different plans in mind.  He sends an angel to release them that night.  The angel simply “opens the doors,” with no mention of the guards in these verses.  In a bit, we will see in verse 23 that the guards are still outside the jailhouse and don’t know that anything has happened the next morning.  Most likely a spiritual sleepiness came over them because there is no mention of them being afraid and running away as in the case of the resurrection of Jesus.

Of course, angels don’t need keys.  In Acts 12, an angel will rescue Peter from prison and it basically says that the “chains fell off his hands,” and that a large iron gate opened “of its own accord.”  The word is the Greek term automate that has the idea that it opened by itself, without the intervention of something else.

Thus, the disciples found themselves freed late at night without the soldiers and the high priest knowing what had happened.

The angel then gives them a message from the Lord.  They are to go to the temple, and “speak to the people all the words of this life.”  It is most likely a reference to the eternal life that Jesus promised to his followers and those who believed upon him through their preaching.  However, we should not separate this eternal life from the here and now.  Christian believers already have the eternal life of Christ welling up in them like a spring.  The Christian life is itself an expression of God’s life flowing through us day by day, and will climax at the resurrection when this mortal flesh is overwhelmed by the power of God’s eternal life!

When it comes to angels, the bible is clear that angels are ministering spirits on behalf of those who are being saved (Hebrews 1:14).  Their work is generally unseen.  However, from time to time and as it suites God’s purposes, they operate in a way that enables people to see them, or recognize after the fact that they have been active.  We shouldn’t address them, pray to them, or try to direct them.  We pray to God and let Him decide how we should be helped!

The apostles then waited until the temple opened that morning.  They then boldly marched up onto the temple mount, no doubt setting up in Solomon’s Colonnade, and began to declare the words of life through faith in Jesus!  At this point their lives are totally surrendered to what Jesus has for them.  There is no discussion about what is wise and what is foolish.  If the Lord gives a command, then we need to obey.  May God help us to develop and walk in such courage.

There is a sense of humor that the apostles are preaching in the temple as the Sanhedrin is gathered in order to question them, and determine their fate.  God doesn’t always do things the same way.  These men are sprung from jail, whereas, Daniel was protected in it.  Others went on to be executed, and have their heads cut off.  We need to learn to trust Jesus, to exercise our faith in him no matter what may happen.

The apostles are on trial again (vs. 22-32)

As we see, they are going to be arrested again and brought before the council of Israel, but first, there is the question of where they are.  When the council sends for the apostles to be brought before them out of the prison, the officers cannot find them.  They go back to the council and report that everything looks like it should, officers are still guarding it, the doors are locked, and yet there are no apostles.  Wasn’t that nice of the angel to lock up after they left? 

This leaves the council wondering what was going on.

At this point, someone comes from the temple and reports that the apostles are preaching on the temple grounds!  Of course, this can’t be allowed to stand, so they are arrested again “without violence”, mainly because they were afraid that the people might stone them.

This is a common problem among those who stand in the place of the law.  The power to arrest is supposed to be done in service of righteousness, and doesn’t always require violence.  However, some men do require strong force to bring them into custody.  Yet, at the same time, power can go to people’s heads, even law enforcement officers.  Those giving arrest orders, and those carrying out the arrests, can completely overstep their proper authority when their ego gets over-involved.  Thus, you can lawlessly execute a lawful order, or even lawlessly execute a lawless order.

The apostles are set before the council and the high priest addresses them.  He reminds them that previously they had been commanded not to teach “in this name.”  Apparently, he doesn’t even want to say the name of Jesus.   Yet, they have gone out and filled Jerusalem with their teaching, and appear to be intent on making “us guilty of this man’s blood.”

Think about it this way.  A lawful execution of a wicked man is not murder.  This is what the leaders want to be the official narrative.  However, the apostles are saying that the execution was not valid and that God had overturned it through resurrection.  This means that the leaders are guilty of the blood of Jesus.  His blood is on their heads in the way of guilt.

Peter serves as the spokesman for the group and gives their answer.  You can compare this answer with the one that he gave last time in Acts 4:19-20.

In Acts 4, he used the verb “listen,” but here, it is “obey.”  Also, in chapter 4 it is put forward as a question for the council to decide upon, but now Peter makes a statement.  Here are both forms.  Chapter 4: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!”  Chapter 5: “We must obey God rather than human beings!”    The question should never be, “What do men want me to do?”  Rather, it should always be about what God wants!

Peter then details what God has done and what He is doing just as he did in chapter 4.  God raised up Jesus whom they murdered by hanging.  Of course, the Romans did the killing, but it would not have happened without the rulers pushing it.  To add insult to injury, they chose hanging to be the form of death knowing that the Law of Moses claims that a man who hangs on a tree is cursed of God.

God then exalted Jesus to His right hand in order to make him two things.  First, it is in order to make him to be Prince.  The word prince is used here in the sense of the principal leader of a something and is synonymous with king.  This is connected to Daniel 9:25 where Messiah the Prince is prophesied to be executed.

Second, Jesus is raised to the right hand of the Father in order to make him to be Savior.  Remember that this term involves more than just dealing with sins.  It may better be translated as Deliverer- like the Judges of old.  Just as Israel needed a savior all those years ago, we too need a Savior today.  Praise God that He has already given us Jesus!

Jesus was also giving to Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.  That is a powerful statement.  How long had they gone as a society without repenting for their past and present sins?  It had been a long time.  Through Jesus God was granting them repentance.  I would that God would grant to the United States of America repentance and forgiveness of sins for it seems that we are bent on doubling down on our sins.

Peter declares again that the apostles are witnesses of all of these things.  They don’t just have two or three witnesses, but twelve!  On top of that, there are two classes of witnesses.  The apostles are the human witnesses, but the Holy Spirit bears witness as well by healing powerfully through the disciples.

Peter ends with the statement that God is giving the Holy Spirit to those who obey.  In a sense, this is put before them laden with potential.  If they simply dropped the ego and admitted they were wrong, then they too could participate in the blessed promise of the Holy Spirit.  Alas, it was not to be so.

May God help us to make the choice today.  We will either be a part of the remnant that is receiving the Spirit of God and moving forward into blessing or we will be part of the larger group that is receiving the judgment of God and moving forward into His wrath.  Choose this day whom you will serve!

Run-in audio