Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #15 - 9:31-43)
XI. 9:31-43 FACTORS IN CHURCH GROWTH
A. 9:31 REST FROM PERSECUTION BRINGS MULTIPLICATION
Hemen oun ek-kleSIa [1577]kath' HOles tes IouDAIas
The church therefore throughout all :Judea
kai Ga-liLAIas kai Sa-maRIas EIchen eiREnen, oi-ko-do-mouMEne; kai, po-reu-oMEneto PHObotou KuRIou
and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walking in the fear of the Lord
kai te pa-raKLEsei [3874]tou HaGIou PNEUma-tos, e-pleTHUne-to [4129].
and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was multiplied.
B. 9:32-35 MIRACULOUS HEALING: A FACTOR IN CONVERSIONS
a. 9:32 PETER VISITS LYDDA
E-GEne-to de, PEtron di-erCHOme-non [1330] diA PANton,
And it came to pass, as Peter went throughout all parts,
ka-telTHEIN kai pros tous haGIous [40] tous ka-toiKOUNtas [2730] LUDda.
he came down also to the saints that dwelt at Lydda.
b. 9:33 AENEAS, PARALYZED EIGHT YEARS
HEUren de eKEI ANthroPON ti-na oNOma-ti AiNEan,
And there he found a certain man named Aeneas,
ex eTON okTO ka-taKEIme-non [2621]ePI kraBATtou [2895]; hos en pa-ra-le-luMEnos [3886].
who had kept abed eight years; andhe was paralyzed.
c. 9:34a And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you: arise, and make your bed.
kai EIpen auTOho PEtros, AiNEa, iA-TAI se IeSOUS ChrisTOS: aNAste-thi, kai STROson [4766]se-auTO.
d. 9:34b And straightway he arose. kai euTHEos aNEste.
e. 9:35 THE MIRACLE BRINGS CONVERSIONS
kai EIdan auTON PANtes hoi ka-toiKOUNtes LUDda kai ton SaROna, HOIti-nes ePEstre-psan ePI ton KUri-on.
And all that dwelt at Lydda and in :Saron saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
C. 9:36-43 DORCAS RESTORED TO LIFE
a. 9:36 A DESCRIPTION OF DORCAS
En IOPpe DE tis en maTHEtri-a [3101], oNOma-ti Ta-beiTHA,
Now a certain disciple was at Joppa, Tabeitha by name,
he di-er-me-neu-oMEne [1329] LEge-tai DorKAS:
which by interpretation is called Dorcas:
HAUte en PLEres ERgon a-gaTHON kai e-le-e-mo-suNON [1654] hon ePOIei.
SHE was full of good works and alms which she did.
b. 9:37 THE DEATH OF DORCAS
eGEne-to de en tais heMErais eKEInais, as-theNEsa-san [770] auTEN,
And it came to pass in those :days, that she sickened,
a-po-thaNEIN: LOUsan-tes [3068] de Ethekan en hu-peRO-o [5253].
anddied: and they washed andlaid herin an upper chamber.
c. 9:38 DISCIPLES OF LYDDA SEND FOR PETER AT JOPPA
egGUS de OUses LUDdas te IOPpe, hoi ma-theTAI,
And as Lydda was near unto :Joppa, the disciples,
aKOUsan-tes HOti PEtros esTIN en auTE, aPIstei-lan [649] DUo ANdros pros auTON,
hearing that Peter was there, sent two men unto him,
pa-ra-kaLOUNtes [3870], Me okNEses [3635] di-elTHEIN [1330] HEos heMON.
entreating, Delay not to come on unto us.
d. 9:39a And Peter arose andwent with them.
a-naSTAS de PEtros suNELthen auTOIS.
e. 9:39b BELIEVERS SHOW PETER DORCAS' GOOD WORKS
hon pa-ra-geNOme-non [3854], aNEga-gon [321] eis to hu-peROon:
And when he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber:
kai paREste-san [3936] auTO PAsai hai CHErai [5503] KLAIou-sai [2799],
and all the widows stood by him weeping,
kai e-pe-deikNUme-nai [1925] chiTOnas [5509] kai hiMAti-a HOsa ePOIei, met' auTON OUsa, he DorKAS.
and showing how many coats and garments :Dorcas made, while she was with them.
f. 9:40a PETER COMMANDS LIFE FOR DORCAS
ek-baLON [1544] de Exo PANtas ho PEtros, kai theis ta GOna-ta [1119] proSEUxa-to [4336];
But :Peter put all out, and knelt andprayed;
kai e-piSTREpsas [1994] pros to SOma EIpen, Ta-beiTHA, aNAste-thi.
and turning to the body said, Tabeitha, arise.
g. 9:40b And SHE opened her :eyes; and seeing :Peter sat up.
hede Enoi-xen [455]tous oph-thalMOUS auTES; kai iDOUsa ton PEtron a-neKAthi-sen [339].
h. 9:41 PETER PRESENTS DORCAS ALIVE
dous de auTE CHEIra, aNEste-sen [450] auTEN;
And he gave her hishand, andraised her up;
phoNEsas [5455] de tous haGIous kai tas CHEras, paREste-sen [3936] auTEN ZOsan.
and calling the saints and :widows, presented her alive.
i. 9:42 And it became known throughout all Joppa: and many believed on the Lord.
gnoSTON de eGEne-to kath' HOles 'IOPpes: kai ePIsteu-san polLOI ePI ton KUri-on.
j. 9:43 And it came to pass, that he abode many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.
E-GEne-to de, heMEras hi-kaNAS [2425] MEInai auTON en IOPpe paRA ti-ni SImo-ni burSEI [1038].
NOTE: 9:31 - Peace following persecution brings multiplication. See Brother Yun, the “Heavenly Man” of China, and how the same results came. Madam Mao prophesied in the late 60's and early 70's that the church of China would be eliminated. But in the midst of the following persecution, it has multiplied to what some believe could be over 100 million in the underground church. Many signs and wonders accompanied the preaching of these persecuted leaders and people, which no doubt were a contributing factor to this exponential growth.
9:32-35 - This is another example of the above.
9:36-43 - Notice that with Dorcas, Peter followed the example of his Master, Jesus, and put the distracted disciples out of the room where they had laid the dead body of Dorcas. Then after being on his knees in prayer for a time, the Spirit released him to speak to the dead body; her spirit returned, and she rose from the dead. This happened time after time in China and in Mozambique, where Rolland and Heidi Baker have seen scores of native leaders do what Peter did here, perhaps over 100 times.
Many believed in the Lord in Joppa area following the raising of the dead through Dorcas.
Some believe that such signs and wonders as the two above examples, ceased with the early church. Not so! they are multiplying. And theologically and Biblically speaking, those used in this, have the most solid ground from which to launch out in faith!
In Ephesians 4:11, the Spirit leads Paul to write that Jesus “gave” to the church the 5-fold ministries; especially the apostles and evangelists, who in the early church performed these miracles. But- the word gaveis in the “Aorist” tense. Greek is often called the languageof the Aorist, because is appears so frequently. We in English have no equivalent to this tense. Dr. J. Edwin Orr called it the “punctiliar” tense. It is an action in time that God often used, complete in itself, but with continuingconsequences. That means that as long as the church exists and functions, it is God's willthat the 5-fold ministries of Ephesians 4:11-12 will continue to function. When they do not - His will has not changed - nor His Word. Rather, the low estate of the church needs revival, and following that, these ministries again function.
In 1 Corinthians 12:28, we read that God “set” in the church the 5-fold ministries plusthe gifts of the Spiritfor healing and miracles. Again - “Aorist” tense. And again, as long as the church exists, it is His willthat these Offices and Gifts continueto function. Don't let the theologians talk you out of this. Rather, let the Biblejudge the theologies of the theologians! J.A.W.
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