Posted on 10/23/2013 11:37:33 AM PDT by pastorbillrandles
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? (Acts 8:30-34)
Philip had been told by an Angel to “join a chariot” on the desert road . This meant that he ran alongside the chariot of the high Ethiopian official, as the man was reading his recently purchased scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
The Ethiopian just happened to have come to the fourth Servant song in Isaiah, chapter 52:13-53:12
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
…But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
…He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth…
“Do you understand what you are reading”? ,asked Philip.
“How can I unless someone teaches me?”, answered the Ethiopian, who then invited Philip to come up into the chariot to teach Him.
Philip preached the crucified Christ, from the text of Isaiah, who lived 700 years before Jesus came, yet described in detail the cross and it’s meaning. We can learn something from this story as to how to witness to those God puts in our path.
*Philip preached from Prophecy – An amazing sign of the veracity of the Bible is the fact that Jesus came in fulfillment of the prophets of scripture. God himself points to prophecy as being among His credentials ,
…I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:(Isaiah 46:9-10)
* Philip preached Christ crucified in the light of scripture- He proclaimed that Jesus was the man spoken of by Isaiah, the vicarious sufferer, despised and rejected by men, bearing the transgression of us all, unto God’s judgment.
* Philip preached the fall of man and the guilt of sin - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.(vs 6)
One couldn’t expound on this theme without the mention of the fact that man is lost, gone astray, guilty of sin, transgression and iniquity, liable to wrath, estranged from God.
* He preached Jesus as the substitute for us in Divine judgment – As the chapter makes clear, It was the Lord Himself who laid upon Him the iniquity of us all, the chastisement that bought us peace (with God) fell upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
* He proclaimed the vindication and glory of Jesus – Philip proclaimed from Isaiah the glorious outcome of the mysterious suffering servant,
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.(Is 52:12)
…when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.(Isaiah 53:10-11)
By this Divine report, the Ethiopian was brought into repentance and saving faith, peace with God, forgiveness of sins, and the “gift of righteousness” with God! Making a simple confession of faith in Jesus, he received the gift of eternal life.
We know he believed , because He requested baptism, to which Phillip only required sincere belief,
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.(Acts 8:37-39)
How does this chapter of the Bible end? The way the whole story will end, with a Rapture.It is like a microcosm of the future of the whole church history.
It begins with a persecution and scattering of the newly founded church, it proceeds onto the mission field, where “signs wonders and gifts of the spirit” confirm the preaching of the gospel.
Yet the word of the Lord is resisted by false wonder workers, false converts,”great men” who seduce and transfix the people, and who seek to make merchandise of God’s people, such as Simon Magnus. But always the truth of God prevails.
Spirit led conversions will occur which affect whole people groups, there has been an African church ever since the Ethiopian received the Word of the Lord.
Finally it all ends the way we expect it to end, Philip went up in a rapture!
I give up. As a devoted christian, deacon in my church, having studied daily, with years of experience teaching others, having studied the different denominations, sects and quasi-Christian off-shoots of the church of Christ - I must admit I’ve never seen anyone approach fundamental truths the way you do.
I can tell you are not a Baptist or any evangelical - so what are you?
Let me ask you a question here. Why did Paul circumcise Timothy? Why was Paul baptized by Ananias?
Do you study daily as prescribed in 2 Tim. 2:15? God tells us THAT is the kind of study that He approves of.
very interesting......i see these materials are from a group called the “Church of Christ”. I assume you are a member of this group. My understanding is this group believes the Church was “restored” in the 19th century ( much like the Mormons do ), so maybe you can tell me how it is possible for the whole Church do go apostate, where do we find this is possible in the Bible, and if you can name any members of the Church of Christ in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries. ( just one name from each century would be helpful ) surely the members of the Church of Christ in these centuries had names, no?
sorry my friend, rood rejects the Trinity as pagan. i also am not aware that he believes Jesus is God, does he?
still can’t decide the fate of the eunuch?
Can you not READ? I gave you the answer in post 148. Which gospel did the eunuch hear from Philip? The KINGDOM GOSPEL. So for what purpose was the eunuch saved? To GO INTO THE KINGDOM. That Christ will set up when He returns. As far as people knew in Acts 8, He was returning very soon, Joel’s prophecy had come about, in Acts 2 and 3 and everyone was waiting Christ’s EMINENT return to set up His Kingdom. That included the eunuch. But we know that didn’t happen. Christ DELAYED His return. Do you know why He delayed His return, oLofob?
Oh, excuse me. I gave you the answer in ANOTHER thread. Following people around much, eh? Some call that stalking. I call it desperation.
hate to break it to you, but the kingdom is here. all Christians have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. not a future event. see Colossians 1:13-14.
so i will assume you believe the eunuch was saved, therefore those who believe the Nicene Creed must be as well since it states Jesus is the Son of God. glad we agree.
what a pitiful attempt at justification of deceit. But what can I expect. You don't even seem to know what the "one baptism" you throw around in your screen name refers to.
Is Christ in Jerusalem reigning in glory?
YES, YES, YES, 1,000 times yes.
the real Jerusalem is spiritual and it’s citizens are all those who are in Christ. it’s citizens have Christ as our King. at the end of the world, the inhabitants of the spiritual Jerusalem will descend and meet the earthly inhabitants of spiritual Jerusalem and they will be together forever.
The city referred to as Jerusalem in present day Israel was a type or figure of the real Jerusalem.
Poor pitiful lost soul.
My Goodness. Might I suggest you change your FR name? To something you understand? Your replies indicate a lack of understanding on the meaning of OLOFOB.
It’s quite simple. Christ died for his Church. One Church. Not a denomination. Not a religion with man made creeds, codicils, edicts and whatever, but the One Church that was established in Acts Chapter 2.
Secondly - the church of Christ is not a group. Not unless you consider Christians a “group”. And while there was a Restoration Movement, as was as a Reformation - Christians view these as merely historical footnotes in time. Christ’s church has been active and alive in many seen and unseen ways since Acts 2. You want names of each Christian in each century? Odd request. I suggest you ask God when you see him. There are more serious theological matters at hand, right?
The Scriptures are clear, there are two kingdoms and everyone is either in the kingdom of darkness or they are in the kingdom of the Son of God. Christians have been taken out of Satan’s kingdom into the Body of Christ, where Jesus reigns in the hearts of believers. There is no difference between Jews and Greeks, all are under the same King, Jesus Christ.
i agree with much of what you posted, Christ did indeed die for His Bride, the Church. There is only One Church, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One Bread. This One Church has been on earth for just about 2,000 years, the gates of hell can not prevail against it and Jesus Christ has been glorified in the Church IN EVERY GENERATION ( Ephesians 3:21 )
Christians are a group, they are a group that has put their faith in Jesus Christ and kept the Apostolic Faith handed down for almost 2,000 years now.
now, anyone who holds the Apostolic Faith gets off the train when someone says a “restoration movement” is needed. The true Church, the real Body of Christ on earth, can not be overtaken by the devil, the Holy Spirit guides and protects it. It is not a man made organization, like the Elks, but rather a Divine One. NO RESTORATION HAS EVER BEEN NEEDED, not by Joseph Smith, the Campbell’s, Ellen White or any other false prophet the Scriptures predicted would come along to deceive many.
so if we are members of this One, Universal Church, we should be able to point to any century and name Christians who have been glorifying Jesus Christ IN EVERY GENERATION.
I did not ask you to name EVERY Christian, i merely asked you to NAME ONE CHRISTIAN in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries. We know the TRUE CHURCH existed then, surely if we are members of that TRUE CHURCH we should be able to identify other Christians. now certain groups who claim to be the Church of Christ can’t do this - the Mormons can’t, Jehovah Witnesses can’t, 7th Day Adventists can’t. If i said to you can you name a 20th century Christian, you might answer Keith Copeland. fair enough, we can then examine Keith Copeland to see if his teachings and beliefs are line with the Faith received from the Apostles.
so if you are a member of the TRUE CHURCH and not some 19th century heretical group, please name JUST ONE CHRISTIAN FROM -
2ND CENTURY -
3RD CENTURY -
4TH CENTURY -
5TH CENTURY -
Now, since i wouldn’t ask you to do anything i wasn’t prepared to do, i would answer as follows -
2ND CENTURY - Ignatius of Antioch
3RD CENTURY - Cyprian of Carthage
4TH CENTURY - John Chrysostom
5TH CENTURY - Augustine of Hippo
anyone who can’t provide names of Christians from these centuries, we don’t need to waste time listening to since their faith obviously is not the historical faith once delivered to the saints.
i look forward to see what you come up with.
Rood may very well hold the belief of individual entities, but I haven't heard him say. Anyway, it has little to do with his sharing knowledge of the Baptism doctrine, which he does know a lot about, which you have expressed an interest to also know more about.
Letting a prejudice of ideas, especially when there may or may not even be a basis for it, prohibit a source of knowledge is an indicator of fear and lack of understanding and faith in one's own ideas - don't you think?
can’t put my finger on what tape i heard it from, but he said it.
without the Holy Spirit, the natural man ( including rood ) is in darkness and can’t understand spiritual things. he has no clue what baptism is, no matter how many times he calls Jesus Yeshua or how many Hebrew words he uses. the man is a false prophet and is leading many straight to hell.
I haven’t heard him say anything he can’t backup with scripture. Someone who can prove what they’re saying is true, is always a good sign. ;)
there is a way that seems right to man......
In Hebrew, the "J" sound is the "Y" sound. In Spanish, it's the "H" sound. You wouldn't think twice about properly calling someone who is Hispanic "Hey-sus" instead of Jesus. Why is it you have such adversion to rendering the same courtesy to the one you claim to honor, by saying his name, "Yeshua", they way it was said in his land?
Ask yourself, do really know him? Do you know when he was actually born, or actually died? I can tell you most gentile "Christians" don't have a clue, since most don't know and don't care to even properly pronounce his name correctly.
Imagine, the "bride" of Yeshua doesn't yet know how to say his name properly! Is this not part of the "falling away" written about in scripture? There is much Christians have to re-learn and much work to be done to correct the lies we've inherited.
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