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2.3.4 - A History of Christianity in the Apostolic Age
Primitive Jewish Christianity
The Life of the Primitive Disciples - Guidance of the Spirit
A remarkable feature in the life of the early Christians of Jerusalem was their vivid realization of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Though they mingled so freely with their unconverted countrymen, and had so much in common with them, they really lived in another world, under the direct influence and guidance, as they believed, of the Spirit of God.
It is true that Paul’s idea that the Spirit is the active, moving power in the ordinary Christian life, and that the life of every believer is spiritual in the fullest sense, seems not to have been prevalent among them; but they had, nevertheless, a most vivid sense of the Spirit’s presence and activity. [This conception of the Spirit’s presence comes out very clearly in connection with the case of Ananias and Sapphira, whose effort to deceive the church is represented by Peter as deception practiced upon the Holy Spirit. The significance of the case is not affected by the doubts that may be cast upon the accuracy of the account in its present form. Even if we were to suppose, with Wendt, that the report which we have in Acts was simply due to the sudden death of the guilty pair, which was looked upon as a direct visitation of the Spirit, or that Ananias’ death was interpreted in that way, and Sapphira’s name was afterward linked with his by tradition; in any case there can be little doubt that Luke took the account from his sources, and that it represents consequently the conceptions of the primitive Christians of Jerusalem.]
Instead of finding him [the Spirit], however, in the every-day faith and piety of the common disciple, they found him commonly only where there was something striking, or remarkable, or unusual, whether in character, in work, or in work. [In this they were entirely in accord with the common Jewish idea of the activity of the Spirit. Neither in the Old Testament nor in the later Jewish literature is the piety and morality of the ordinary individual traced back to the Spirit.]
To see visions to prophesy, to speak with tongues, to proclaim the word of God with more than merely human power and boldness, all this was proof of a divine influence and control of which the ordinary Christian life was supposed to show no evidence. Such spiritual elevation was possible to most disciples only on occasion. They might be filled with the Spirit at the time of their conversion; and, lifted far above the common limitations of life, they might speak with tongues, or prophesy, or give some other striking manifestation of spiritual possession fitted to amaze and impress all beholders.
Or, again, when they were gathered together for prayer and mutual converse, the Spirit might descend upon all of them and make his presence known in similar strange and mysterious ways. Such phenomena seem to have been frequently witnessed; and yet they were isolated occurrences, which were distinguished sharply from the every-day experience of the disciples. The way in which they are referred to in our sources shows that plainly enough.
But to some Christians the spiritual elevation possible to most of them only now and then seems to have been habitual; and they were known among their brethren as men “filled with the Spirit.” It was disciples of this stamp that the apostles suggested should be chosen to manage the distribution of the alms of the church of Jerusalem; and so Stephen is expressly said to have been full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. [Acts 6:5]. The same is said also of Barnabas in another connection. [Acts 11:24] It is not to be supposed that there was any sharp or official line of demarcation drawn between such men and their brethren, but it is evident that they were pre-eminent for their faith and boldness and spiritual power, -- so pre-eminent that only the permanent indwelling of the Spirit of God seemed sufficient to account for them.
The purpose and effect of the Spirit’s presence are not always specified in our sources, but in so many cases the enlightenment of the disciples, and the quickened power of utterance that resulted, are traced directly to the Spirit, that it is evident that his influence upon their thoughts and words was looked upon as his most characteristic activity.
The prophecy of Joel, which Peter quoted at Pentecost, foretells and era of visions and of prophecy and the same conception of the Spirit’s influence runs through all the early records. Christ himself gave commandment to his apostles through the Holy Spirit [Acts 1:2]; filled with the Spirit, the disciples at Pentecost spoke with tongues, as they did on many subsequent occasions; filled with the Spirit, they bore testimony with power, they spoke the word of God with boldness, they were endowed with wisdom, they received revelations and foretold the future. [Acts 4:8, 31, 5:32, 6:10, 7:55, 10:46, 11:28]
And so, on various occasions, they received directions from the Spirit as to the particular course of action that they were to pursue. Phillip was instructed by the Spirit to accost the Ethiopian eunuch, and after his interview with him was ended, he was led away by the Spirit to another place. [Acts 8: 29, 39] Peter was directed by the Spirit to accept the invitation of Cornelius, and to go back to Caesarea with the messengers he had sent. [Acts 10:19, 11:12] Paul also frequently received instructions from the Spirit, [Acts 16:6,7, 20:23] and the apostles and elders in Jerusalem followed the Spirit’s guidance in composing their decree for the Gentile church. [Acts 15:28]
It is in such enlightenment and inspiration that the activity of the Spirit seems commonly to have exhausted itself according to the understanding of the earliest disciples.
Used by permission of the publisher.
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