Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good… I. THAT IN CHRIST WHICH IS INIMITABLE BY US. 1. God sent him on a mission altogether higher than our own. He "anointed him" to be the Redeemer of a world, to be its Savior by suffering and dying in its stead, by revealing truth which it could not possibly have discovered. 2. God dwelt in him as he dues not and could not do in us. He was anointed "with the Holy Ghost," and God "gave not the Spirit by measure unto him." 3. He was armed with a power which was irresistible: the "winds and the waves obeyed" him; sickness fled at his touch; death itself was obedient to his voice; the spirit-world owned his presence and yielded to his authority; he "healed all that were possessed of the devil." Our function in the world, our possession by God, our power over the forces around us, - this is in striking contrast with the work and present power of Jesus Christ. II. THAT IN CHRIST WHICH IS IMITABLE BY US. 1. We are charged with a holy and benign mission; we are "anointed" to do a good if not a great work in the world (see John 20:21). We are "sent" by our Lord to "bear witness unto the truth," both in word and deed; "to work and speak and think for him;" to "serve our generation by the will of God." 2. We are to be those in whom God dwells by his Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:22). 3. We are to be possessed of spiritual power (Ephesians 3:16, 19; Ephesians 6:10; Colossians 1:11). 4. We are to be the sources and channels of blessing; we are to "go about doing good" (Hebrews 13:16). We may "do good" everywhere and always - the smile of encouragement, the look of love, the sigh of sympathy, the touch of kindness, the word of truth, the act of integrity, every manifestation of the Spirit of Christ is "doing good." And all is to be done under the same condition. For: 5. We are to have the continual presence and sanction of our heavenly Father: "God was with him." - C. Parallel Verses KJV: How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. |
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