Study of Acts, Chapter 26, Message 69, Week 31, Saturday

DAILY STUDY OF ACTS

MESSAGE SIXTY-NINE

THE SPREAD IN ASIA MINOR AND EUROPE

THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS (35)

WEEK 31 – SATURDAY

Bible Reading: Lv 25:8-13; Ac; Eph 1:13-14; Col 1:12; 2:9; 1 Pe 1:4; Rom 6:19, 22

Read and pray: "In Him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise;" (Eph 1:13).

The Forgiveness of Sins

In Acts 26:18, we see that when our eyes are opened, and we make a turn—a transfer—from darkness and Satan’s authority to light and to God, we can receive the forgiveness of sins.

The forgiveness of sins is the foundation of all the blessings of the New Testament jubilee. Authentic forgiveness of sins comes through the opening of the eyes and the transfer from Satan to God. Therefore, we need to have our eyes opened and be transferred from Satan’s authority to God’s authority to receive the full and perfect forgiveness of sins.

The Divine Inheritance

Christ as the Embodiment of the Triune God

As a result of having our eyes opened and being transferred from Satan’s authority to God, we not only receive the forgiveness of sins on the negative side but also a divine inheritance on the positive side. This divine inheritance is the Triune God Himself with all that He has, has done, and will do for His redeemed. This Triune God is embodied in the all-inclusive Christ (Col 2:9), who is our share of the inheritance of the saints in light (Col 1:12).

The Holy Spirit, given to the saints, is the foretaste, the seal, the pledge, and the guarantee of this divine inheritance (Rom 8:23; Eph 1:13-14), which we share and enjoy today in God’s New Testament jubilee as a foretaste, and which we will fully share and enjoy in the coming age and for eternity (1 Pe 1:4). In the prefiguration of the jubilee in Leviticus 25:8-13, the main blessings were the proclamation of liberty and the return of each man to his inheritance.

Here, in the fulfillment of the jubilee, being delivered from the authority of darkness and receiving the divine inheritance are also the main blessings. Believers are often taught that the inheritance in Acts 26:18 is a heavenly mansion. That is what I was taught in my youth. However, after studying the Bible for over fifty years, I have learned that this inheritance is Christ as the embodiment of the processed Triune God. This Christ is the portion of the saints.

In Colossians 1:12, Paul says that the Father qualified us "to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." This share is the “portion,” the inheritance, of the saints. The inheritance is a portion, a share.

In the Old Testament, each of the twelve tribes of Israel was given a portion or share of the good land as their inheritance. The good land is a type of the all-inclusive Christ given to us as our inheritance. Thus, Christ, the embodiment of the processed Triune God, is our inheritance. It is the processed Triune God, fully embodied in the all-inclusive Person of Christ, who, through resurrection, became the life-giving Spirit.

Among Those Who Are Sanctified

According to Acts 26:18, the divine inheritance is among those who are sanctified by faith in Christ. This sanctification is not only positional but also dispositional (Rom 6:19, 22). Sanctification (becoming holy) is not merely a matter of position, that is, being moved from a common, worldly position to a position dedicated to God, as illustrated in Matthew 23:17 and 19, where the gold is sanctified by the temple, and the offering is sanctified by the altar through a change of position, and in 1 Timothy 4:3-5, where food is sanctified through the prayer of the saints.

Sanctification is also a matter of disposition, that is, being transformed from a natural disposition to a spiritual disposition, as mentioned in 2 Corinthians 3:18 and Romans 12:2. This involves a long process that begins with regeneration (1 Pe 1:2-3; Tit 3:5), continues throughout the Christian life (1 Th 4:3; Heb 12:14; Eph 5:26), and is completed in rapture, at the maturity of life (1 Th 5:23). Being positionally sanctified is merely a change in position and use.

Being dispositionally sanctified is to be transformed in nature by and with God’s holy nature. To be sanctified is to be saturated with God as our possession for our enjoyment today. This will culminate in our maturity in the divine life, enabling us to resemble God and qualify to fully possess and enjoy Him as our inheritance in the coming age and for eternity.

Enjoy more: Hymn C-32