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Commentaries
English
Acts
  
15. Revival and many Healings (Acts 5:12-16)
12And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.13Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly.14And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,15so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.16Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.


The saints were not selfish in their communion, only living for themselves. They did not perfume each other with the incense of hypocritical praise. Instead, they were full of compassion, for they also suffered for the troubles of their nation. They not only preached, but also healed, and asked help from the hand of God. They not only served God with their voices, but also with their hands and muscles.
The saints did not go forth trusting in their own personal power, nor did they organize a charity or gather money for the poor. Instead, they gave out of the power of God that had been gifted to them. As a result, their service became an open banner intended to glorify Jesus. The Savior had worked many signs and miracles through them, which were all in response to their prayer of ch.4: 24- 30. God had stretched out His hand and prevailed over diseases, demons, and troubles through His apostles. His kingdom was coming, obviously and tangibly.
The believers did not build a church made with hands. They were not in need of a holy house for God, for their hearts were the place in which God dwelt. They assembled in their own houses in small circles, or met together in the wide porch of the temple, where Jesus Himself had previously taught the people. There they sang psalms, spoke, and prayed together. The sight of their company became well-known to all the people. They were beloved and honored, since none of them had ever complained against the other. They knew each other through the Holy Spirit, and longed to come together at all times.
Strangely, the multitudes did not race to them, knowing that the apostles had a common fund full of money ready to be divided among needy members. Neither did they go to them to investigate the power of God that had been freely flowing out of His servants. They remained watching, neutrally and fearfully, for they sensed that God was dwelling in these believers. He who was not prepared to die immediately to his selfishness remained far from the communion of the saints. Only groups of men and women who firmly believed and were converted came into the Christian church. They became renewed, and were endued with power and security in the Lord.
The Hebrews customarily counted only the men. Luke the evangelist, however, emphasized that multitudes of women had followed the apostles of Christ, experiencing the power and salvation of the Holy Spirit. Their faith was not a philosophical belief, but a true participation in God’s salvation and power that was dwelling in them.
The flow of the power of the Holy Spirit was so abundant in those days that many miracles were being performed, just as in the days of Jesus (Mark 6: 56), when sick people were carried out into the streets and placed on beds and mats to touch Jesus’ garment as he passed by the villages and towns. Thereby, many came to be healed through their faith in Jesus. Similarly, Peter’s shadow became so filled with power that the Holy Spirit flowed from it. The love of Christ is a tangible spiritual atmosphere in which the soul of man is healed.
This revival movement did not go unnoticed in the Jewish villages and towns. People came from the surrounding regions with their sick and demon-possessed in order for the apostles to heal them. By their so doing, the second part of Christ’s great commission command was realized. The apostles had to begin preaching the gospel in Jerusalem, and then spread into Judea. They healed all the sick by the power of Christ. The word “all” was not given by a priest, a clergyman, or a bishop, but by an experienced physician with thorough knowledge of the corruptive powers, diseases, and spirits which cause insanity in men. The power of Him who had been raised from the dead, which was now dwelling in the living church, prevailed over all the devil´s destruction. Thus the disciples accompanied their Lord in the procession of His triumph. Even today, Christ delivers many from the chains of sin, the bonds of the devil, and painful diseases. For believers it remains for them to be joined together in the communion of love, to pray together as the temple of God, and to submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in love and truth. Is the Christian church being realized in you, dear brother? Study the Book of the Acts of the Apostles and its accounts in detail, for Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Prayer
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Question
What was the mystery of charity in the early church?