Hebrews 2 and 1 through 4, verse
4, for emphasis. Therefore we ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at
any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels
was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard? Now, there's
our focus. Confirmed unto us by them that
heard. God also bearing witness both
with signs and wonders and with diverse miracles and gifts of
the Holy Ghost according to his own will. So that verse four
gets us going with the apostles and those that heard and were
eyewitnessing. Abraham Kuyper has written a
lot about the apostolate and some of the better things that
I have studied or read. Here's a quote from him. The
apostolate bears the character of an extraordinary manifestation
not seen before or after in which we discover a proper work of
the Holy Spirit. The apostles were ambassadors
extraordinary, different from the prophets, different from
present ministers of the Word of God, unquote, the words of
Kuyper. Have you realized, I think, the
prominence of and the honor that the Lord bestowed upon this circle
of men that we call the Apostles or the Apostolate. One thing
is sufficient to display the dignity with which the Lord empowered
them or bestowed upon this band of the twelve and that is that
they were promised a special place in the Lord's Kingdom and
this is a kind of a Obscure verse with some but Matthew 19 and
verse 28 ye shall sit upon the twelve thrones judging the twelve
tribes of Israel then again, we read Revelation chapter 21
and verse 14 and the wall of the city had twelve foundations
and in them the twelve names of the Apostle of the Lamb. Yet were they otherwise common
and ordinary men when the Lord chose them, some of them ignorant
and unlearned, and from very common worldly professions they
did come as to their background, and yet chosen, called, trained,
and sent by our Lord. And perhaps the thing most clearly
distinguished them from others in the Scripture, though there
was an extension through them of the mighty works and miracles
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of them did the same wonders
that were wrought by the hands of our blessed Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ for example the shadow of Peter as we read in
the book of Acts is a chapter 5 and verse 15 healed those as
he passed by and his shadow fell upon them handkerchiefs sent
from the body of Paul were used in healing of others in Acts
19 and verse 12 and I know there are a lot of Charlton's and con
men today that have tried this same thing and are nothing but
fakes and fraud. Thus it is not surprising at
all for us when we realize in Acts chapter 5 verse 12, by the
hands of the apostle were many signs and wonders wrought among
the people. Again in Acts chapter 2 and 43,
And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were
done by the apostles. In Acts 14 and verse 3, Speaking
boldly in the Lord, which are the testimony of the word of
His grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their
hand. Again in Acts 19 verse 11, and
God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. Now our text tells us here in
Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 5, God also bearing them witness
with signs and miracles and divers wonders and gifts of the Holy
Spirit according to the will of God. Now many good exegetes
say that Hebrews chapter 2 verses 1 through 4 is in the form of
a parenthesis in this great letter, and it is put there because Jesus
is better than the angel and therefore his words are to be
more highly treasured, even above that of an angel of God. But since the word spoken by
angel is steadfast, it cannot be destroyed, It cannot be brought
down. And every transgression received
a just and a proper reward. How much more the word spoken
by him who is better than the angel. Now there is no doubt
the gospel for it contains the word of salvation. And number
one, It was spoken by the Lord. Number two, in our text, it was
confirmed unto us by them that heard, which were the apostles
and the disciples of our Lord. They were personal witnesses
of the teaching and of the glory and of the power of the Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. And God then confirmed their
teaching and their ministry as apostles, witnessed by signs
and miracles, wonders and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Not only
did they have the word of an eyewitness, but they had the
confirming testimony of God who worked miraculous things through
them by the gift and the power of his spirit. Now there are
two things said here and elsewhere that are true about the apostle. Number one, that they were eyewitnesses
of the things done by Christ and Their eyewitness extended
to the resurrection. Not only were they eyewitnesses
of his works, of some of them of his transfiguration, but of
his resurrection as well. They saw him after he came out
of the grave. And then secondly, that they
were endowed with power and with ability that they might themselves
also work miracles in the same class as the Lord Jesus Christ
had done. Now, these two things, in essence,
form the major qualification of an apostle in the day that
our Lord sent them forth. For many Jews, such as those
who first read the Hebrew epistle, and many scattered abroad, did
not see Christ in the flesh. They had heard of him, but they
did not see him in the flesh. nor did they hear his teaching
personally. They did not hear the words of
his mouth orally, and thirdly, they did not see his miracles,
and fourthly, they did not witness him after his resurrection from
the dead. Not every Jew did that, but the
apostles did. The apostles were privileged
to experience all of these things in their intercourse with the
Savior and the spiritual life that he built up in them. But without attesting truth,
without evidence that they were sin of the Lord, and came and
preached in the name of the Lord, How shall they be believed? We read, we studied how God gave
Moses confirming sign that he might work them down in Egypt
and the people might believe and follow. So let's look more
closely at a passage found in Acts chapter 1, before or right
after the ascension of our Lord. In Acts chapter 1 and verse 1
and 3 would be where we were being emphasized. Now this is
the final preparation by the Lord of his apostles before his
ascension. He would go away, he would be
no longer personally and physically and visibly present with them,
and they had been for three years, they had been the company of
the Lord and that almost constantly. But here we have the final instruction
before he exits out of this world and is exalted again or ascended
again into the right hand of God in heaven. Henceforth He
would govern, he would teach, he would command by means of
the apostles from that day forward in the early church. And therefore
the Holy Spirit would guide them and until the canon of the scripture
had become complete in the New Testament and the gospel firmly
installed and then No more need of miracles, signs, wonders,
and the apostle. J.A. Alexander points out that
the six words that we find there, after that he had given commandments
in Acts 1, 1 through 3, is really, he said, a single word, when
we look at it in the Greek, used as a participle and has the meaning
of having charged or commanded. having charged or commanded them,
having given them all final words and all final necessary instruction,
and commanded and commissioned them to preach the gospel as
he had taught and instructed them. But notice something else
that is mentioned. in Acts chapter 1 and verse 3,
to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many
infallible proof, being seen of them forty days, and speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. That's a great
introduction for his going away and their taking up the work.
Thus, as an apostle was one who had not only personally been
called, trained by the Lord, but one who had been a witness
of the resurrection of the Savior out of the grave. Now that might
bring up a question in some people's mind, and some might think a
little bit ahead and said, where does this leave Paul in his claims
of apostleship? For number one, He was not among
the original 12 that we know, that we do not doubt, that we
cannot argue again. But number two, he steadfastly
maintained his apostleship everywhere he went, in person and in epistle
he sets it in the clearest of light in the book of Galatians
his apostleship from the Lord a Christ appeared to him personally
to call and commission him as an apostle that you have in Acts
chapter 9 1 through 15. You have some more about it in
Ephesians chapter 3 and verses 1 through 12, but particularly
the passage in Acts 9 when the Lord appeared unto him. The second
thing that he claimed is Christ taught him the gospel. He did not receive the gospel
that he preached in the school, the seminary, or from Gamaliel,
or from any other man at all. He claimed to have received his
gospel from the Lord Jesus Christ by direct revelation. And you'll
find that in Galatians chapter 1 and verse 12. He did not learn
it from the other apostles, as he states, but directly by revelation
from Christ. Thus, in a real sense, his preparation
exceeded that of the Jerusalem apostle, for it was to the apostle,
to the Gentile, that Paul was commissioned and to be an apostle. And I think that fuller proof
is offered in another passage in Acts chapter 1 verse 15 to
verse 26 if you care to kind of keep it open and that would
be the occasion of the selection of an apostle by them led by
Peter to replace Judas who by transgression fell from apostleship
and went to his own place. And under the leadership of Peter,
we know to be the chief apostle in Jerusalem who acted under
the authority and the commission of Christ. Let us not here take
up that argument, pro or con, that some have taken up, that
Peter and the others got ahead of themselves in doing this,
and they should not have, and that Paul was intended to be
that other one. But suffice it to say that Peter
quotes here, and let's notice this, extensively from the prophecy
regarding Judas. He quotes extensively to urge
the selection of an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot, possibly
upon the ground that the circle of 12 apostles was to maintain
that number, that it was a closed one, required to be kept at the
number of 12. Maybe it can be proven from the
fact that these were two men of exact qualification both of
them possessing the requirement to fulfill the office of an apostle,
and yet they would choose only one and not both there in Acts
chapter 1. Bringing the number again onto
12, not 13. Though both men in that Acts
passage fit the requirement, yet they would only choose the
one to be added to the number of the apostle. Peter begins
in verse 16 by reminding them that the Scripture, and I'm talking
about Acts 1, verse 16, that the Scripture must be fulfilled
which David spake concerning Judas. Now David does not mention
him by name, but Peter makes the application that it spoke
or referred to Judah. Judas was never a Christian,
but obtained part of the ministry and the apostleship. But the
scripture predicted him to turn out to be an apostle, or rather
an apostate and an enemy of the Lord. He was predicted to be
a betrayer of Christ. Psalm 41 and verse 9 with which
reward that was to be purchased a field of blood as predicted
in Zechariah chapter 11 and verse 13. Now these are scripture quotations
that Peter is is making, and they all were familiar with the
recent events concerning the death of Judas. And yet, such
things were the subject of the scripture centuries and centuries
before, which had been fulfilled in their very midst in the behavior
and the death of Judas. In verse 20 of chapter 1, Peter
draws from the book of Psalms. Let his, that is Judas, habitation
be desolate, let no man dwell therein, and his bishopric, or
his office, let another take. Now these are two scriptures
from the Psalms that Paul, or rather that Peter, has used.
Psalm 69 and verse 25. Let their habitation be desolate,
and let none dwell in their tents. Psalm 109 and verse 8. Let his days be few and let another
take his office. And Peter combines those in Acts
1 and understands them to mean that another was to take the
place of the apostate and dead Judas to serve as an apostle. But even more important, Acts
1, 21, and 22 list the requirement of an apostle as well as the
necessity of selecting a replacement. Wherefore, must one be ordained? Since the office of apostle is
ordained by God and its breach was predicted, then the divine
will must lead the matter in this deal and select them another
apostle, may it be the leadership of the Spirit. Now, the whole
qualification can be summed up in these words that I have taken
from the book by James A. Alexander in his commentary on
the book of Acts. Number one, or rather, quote,
familiar intercourse with Christ and his immediate followers throughout
the public ministry and a consequent capacity to bear witness of his
words and his action and resurrection, J.A. Alexander. This is stated
in verse 21, if we look at it, which have accompanied with us
all the time that the Lord Jesus Christ went in and out among
us. Literally, those going about
with us, those coming and those going. those who have followed
and heard the Lord Jesus Christ, those who almost constantly had
been the companions of the Savior and that band of disciples over
the period of his public ministry, who had followed him, who had
heard him, who saw his miracles, his works, and his wonders. And then the 22nd verse gives
the extent of this following of Christ. beginning with the
baptism of John, that is, having been with Christ from his connection
under John's ministry. In other words, from the very
beginning, meaning either when John baptized the Lord Jesus
Christ, and they were there and saw it, or from the earliest
period of the ministry of Christ These men had accompanied with
the Lord and had been his constant, almost companion. Ending with,
notice, the same day that he was taken up from us. So from
the period beginning with John to the day in which he was taken
up from us. The ascension is described earlier
in chapter 1, and it would include the whole public ministry, therefore,
of our Lord and Savior. But then notice further words
in Acts 1 and verse 22. Must one be ordained to be witness
with us of his resurrection? not just his earthly ministry
and his teaching and his wonder and such like, or his death on
the cross, but also his resurrection. Now this becomes one of the most
important function of the apostolate, that they were supplied with
undeniable evidence of the resurrection of the Savior from the grave. They saw him they felt him, they
touched him with their own hand and with their own eyes, and
thus they were witness in a twofold sin. A, they saw the Lord after
his resurrection, though at first they were not fully understanding
and frightful, but they saw the Lord After his resurrection and
most of them not once in the upper room But several times
on certain occasion or as it is written back in Acts 1 and
verse 3 To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion
by many infallible proof being seen of them 40 days and speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God and There was
a series of appearances to the apostle beginning on the day
of his resurrection, John chapter 20, and then it scanned a period
of 40 days after that until our Lord took the ascension. In 1
Corinthians 15, 4 through 8, Paul recounts some of the personal
appearances of Christ after his resurrection. And this is the
chapter on the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15. So I might
say that the resurrection of Christ was as well documented
as anything pertaining to the Lord that the Apostles might
preach and teach. But in 1 Corinthians chapter
15 verse 5, he was seen by Cephas, that is Peter, in Luke 24 and
34. In verse 5 again, he was seen
by the 12, that is after his resurrection. Verse 6 of 1 Corinthians
15, he was seen of about 500 brethren, some of them still
living. that time verse 7 he was seen
of James an important man verse 7 then of all the Apostle and
verse 8 he also was seen of Paul you see that in Acts chapter
9 on the Damascus Road as we said these were real appearances
of the risen Savior to those of his choosing as he persuaded
the twelve beyond any doubt at all that he was indeed alive
from the dead and had gained a victory over the grave in their
behalf. And then B, they were witnesses
in another way, and that is that they preached the resurrection
Lord Jesus Christ. You know what the leading subject
of their sermon, you read in Acts, read the apostolic sermon
in the book of Acts, one thing that they brought up almost every
sermon was the resurrection, that the Lord was alive. I won't go there, but you find
it in Acts 2.32, 315, 410, 530, and 1040. All those places, they
emphasize Jesus, whom you killed, is alive again from the dead. They preached the resurrection
of Christ as the great capstone of the Christian system and the
Christian religion and belief. It is the culminating principle
the redemptive work of our blessed Lord and Savior, the divine evidence
of the Sonship of Christ as having been personally witnessed by
the Apostle, declared to be the Son of God by the power of holiness
by his resurrection from the dead, Romans chapter 1 and verse
4. Thus the Apostles were a very
fundamentally between Christ and the church and the gospel
in that period of time, an almost indispensable link in that period
of time and in that great work. The completion of the canon of
scripture then came, as these men wrote, as they were moved
and inspired by the Spirit of God, and they being Christ-Vikers,
to declare his truth and to guide the church in that time of infancy,
and to present it or to preserve it from error, and to govern
the churches in the authority and in the name of Christ. This was a very unique period,
this period that we're talking about, the apostolic period,
requiring a very unique group of men. I like to call it the
transition period. In Acts, you see the transition
period when Jewish ceremonialism was passing away and gospel principles
were being brought in and established and being practiced. And not
the least is their apostolic writing as they wrote the inspired
New Testament and gave us a record of the word of God. This leads
us again to refer to them as a most unique band of men ever
called by God or by Christ. And in turn it requires the testimony
of God in their behalf that they might function as ministers extraordinary
of the Lord. Now the Hebrew text states, God
also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and divers'
miracles, gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His will. We have
their testimony, backed by the testimony of God. that they are
indeed ambassadors for Christ, God approving them by the miracles,
signs, and wonders, just as he had done for Moses and Aaron,
for Elijah and for Elisha. Their mighty works are evident
that they were sent from God and that they acted in the authority
of Christ and as the servants of Christ. They performed works
not possible by mere human power, nor explainable by mere natural
means or reason. They defied the law of natural
process, such as Acts chapter 5, when Peter discerned the heart
of Ananias and Sapphira, and they were smitten with death
because they lied to God. Or when Peter restored Darkus
to life again in Acts chapter 9. Or Paul smote Elymas with
blindness in Acts 13. Or shook off vipers from his
hand without any harm, as we read in Acts chapter 28. Almost
all of their mighty works were done on that period covered by
the book of Acts, again, Consider the transition period, the period
covered there, to the end that their doctrine should be confirmed
to be of God and of Christ by the signs and miracles that they
did. Now these signs and wonders and
miracles were never intended to be the standard norm of the
whole gospel dispensation. They never were intended, and
they certainly have not been visible. They are not the birthright
of every Christian, as we hear some of them saying today, proven
by the fact that they ceased in commemoration with the death
and the ceasing of the age and death of the apostle. They were
not passed on to a new generation, for they had served their purpose
as God intended and were not needed. For there is no new revelation
that is to be made, especially when we remember that such signs
were not as much for believers as they were for unbelievers,
that they might They were only necessary to convince the stubborn
heart of the unbeliever. When the infant church had been
established and the gospel principle and the scripture was complete,
the miraculous age ceased by God's design. As he had instituted
it, so he brought it unto a close. Not because Christians become
worldly, or because they neglected to seek the use of the gifts. That's not the reason they're
not present with us in the churches today. We hear people talk about,
you need to pray through, you need to give this up, you need
to give that up, stop this, stop that. and we could see a repeat
of Pentecost again anytime. It's an unrepeatable event, Pentecost
was, never intended to be repeated again. And with the death and
the passing of the apostle, then these miracles calmed and quieted
down, and the gospel is in place, and it is written, and we have
the written record and the written word. as a continuation of such
works would have required the continuation of an apostolate,
I think we might reason. They were only to be temporary,
to serve a purpose, and that purpose in the apostate was to
found the Christian church, and established the gospel as the
word of God, and were more or less restricted to the apostle,
whose use of them was not dependent upon the acceptance of the people. It didn't matter if the people
prayed through or didn't pray through. It didn't matter if
they gave up their this or that or didn't. They worked their
miracle. They worked their wonders under the power given to them
by the Lord Jesus Christ. They were never put off by the
hardness of the people. They never charged for their
blessings or wanted a prove-me-offering or any such thing as that as
they did their wonders. They did it to the glory of Christ
and to the confirming of the blessed gospel. The only biblical
view I think, therefore, of miracles is that they were temporary.
They were for a temporary time, a temporary period, and a temporary
reason, and they ceased by God's will at God's appointed time. Now are there such today who
claim that they are the equal of Peter or Paul? Well, some
have tried. Some are still trying, but never
do we put them in the same class with Peter or Paul or those others
that our Lord trained and endowed. So it was a period, the apostolic
period, the transition period from Judaism to Christianity
being set up and established in practice, and the Lord used
this method and these men for that.