03 Acts Chapter 3
Acts 3:1-10 Command Prayer
Acts 3:1-10 KJV Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, [being] the ninth [hour]. (2) And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; (3) Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. (4) And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. (5) And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. (6) Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (7) And he took him by the right hand, and lifted [him] up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. (8) And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. (9) And all the people saw him walking and praising God: (10) And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
There is much in this passage and we might spend a few days on it. We see how Christ overcomes “fate” and inherited effects, how weakness can be made strong, how those who beg can be made to rise up and walk - and so forth. But today I want to focus on just one often-neglected aspect - the way Peter and John performed the miracle and the kind of prayer that they used. In the New Testament demons, death and diseases are all dealt with via “command prayers”. Jesus does not pray “please God cast out this demon” or “if it be Thy will please heal this man” rather He commands the demon to go or says “be healed” or “Lazarus come forth” and with the command comes the miracle. And since He gave this authority to His disciples (see Luke 10:1-42) they were able to issue similar commands and cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead.
We can understand this happening while Jesus was walking around, but we tend to doubt that it can happen after that. But it did! Here in Acts 3:1-26 is the archetypical New Testament miracle being performed by Peter and John - and it is also a command prayer: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” In fact the vast majority (if not all) of the NT miracles are performed via command prayers.
Command prayers show we have faith in the fact that Christ has delegated His authority to us, and faith in His dwelling within us in power. It is certainly NOT faith in our own strength. The lame man was not expecting to be healed or even asking to be healed. Initially he had no personal faith for healing at all. His faith seems to have operated in a moment, and combined with the power and authority of the command of the apostles, which was issued in the name of Jesus. The power of the name of Jesus becomes the issue in chapters 3 and 4 of Acts.
Acts 3:12-16 GNB When Peter saw the people, he said to them, "Fellow Israelites, why are you surprised at this, and why do you stare at us? Do you think that it was by means of our own power or godliness that we made this man walk… (16) It was the power of his name that gave strength to this lame man. What you see and know was done by faith in his name; it was faith in Jesus that has made him well, as you can all see.
Peter explicitly denies any special power or piety of his own. The healing ingredients here are: the command prayer, the power of the name of Jesus and having personal faith in the power of that Name.
Think of someone who is suddenly made a General by a King. Suppose that person issues no commands? Suppose he meekly begs the King to make the troops do this or that? Would this person remain a General for long? Certainly not! We have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms and given power and authority in Jesus name over certain things and we are expected to exercise that authority. For things that are in the “lower realms” beneath where we are placed in the Heavenly realms - we are to use commands. For demons, death and disease, we can issue orders in Jesus name. When it comes to high and holy spiritual matters such as the health of the Church then we must bow our knees before the Father in prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 3:14) On a practical level, command prayers work and I saw no healing at all until I started using them. They are absolutely essential when dealing with the demonic.
Learning to pray command prayers is quite difficult and they may seem strange at first. They are probably best learned in a small group setting.
Mountain-moving faith involves commanding difficult situations:
Matthew 17:20 MKJV And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you shall SAY TO THIS MOUNTAIN, Move from here to there. And it shall move. And nothing shall be impossible to you. With command prayer and mustard-seed faith in the power of the name of Jesus results will be obtained: “And it shall move. And nothing shall be impossible to you.”
Thus command prayer is part of the secret of the power of the apostolic age.
Acts 3:4-8 Strength From God
Acts 3:4-8 MKJV And fastening his eyes on him, Peter with John said, Look on us! (5) And he paid heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. (6) But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! (7) And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up. And immediately his feet and ankle-bones received strength. (8) And leaping up, he stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.
Yesterday we looked at command prayer as part of the way God heals people through the power of the name of Jesus. Today we will look at the process of receiving strength from God.
1. The beggar wanted money but God gave strength and the means of production. God most often gives the power to make wealth not wealth itself. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
2. Peter gave the beggar what he had - healing in the name of Jesus. God calls us to give “what is in our hand” - whether it be spiritual or temporal goods. (1 John 3:16-18)
3. Peter acted “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” not in his own name or the name of an organization or denomination.
4. Peter took the beggar by the right hand, and gave some initial “lift” and God did the rest. There was a connection between the beggar and God’s servants.
5. There was an expectation of receiving good (verse 5) mingled with faith in Jesus name (verses 12-14 same chapter).
6.The strength became immediately available and resulted in great joy and praise to God. The strong and the weak both are part of the body of Christ, and the strong are expected to help the weak. Christianity is built on giving and receiving - and we are each strong (and weak) in different places. A poor man may heal a rich man, a teacher may instruct a mechanic in the Scriptures, the mechanic may fix the teacher’s car in return. We are thus all in the process of lovingly making each other stronger.
Strength from God generally arrives via another believer acting in the name of Jesus. I hope that Eternity Daily Bible Study brings strength to your lives. Your encouragements bring strength to my life - and so on and so forth. In each of these exchanges there should be an expectant “receiver” and an empowered “giver”. No-one should be always giving or always receiving, but in each interaction we are one or the other. Missionaries give to the people they serve, they also receive from their supporters. Sometimes we are Peter & John, sometimes we are the lame man.
Tomorrow I will catch a bus to a board meeting in San Diego, my expectation is to be part of a community that strengthens each other in the Lord. I go to strengthen my brethren and in turn to be strengthened by them. What a change this is from the secular mentality of going to win or going to compete!
Christian community is at its best when we each give from our strengths and receive into our weaknesses.
Now what if we all share a common weakness e.g. we are all poor or all sick? This is where we need to cry out to God as a community for help and then to seek His strength in that situation. God can give people access to the means to get wealth, or bring healing (or a healer). We need to together go to prayer and seek strength from God in the name of Jesus.
Help tends to arrive via some sort of human connection. If we isolate ourselves from the body of Christ, then we cut ourselves off from the help that God can send our way. We make it that much harder to receive strength from God. If you want strength from God being at the Gate Beautiful of the Temple is a good place to start!
We tend to look for financial help first of all. That is natural and that is what the lame man expected. But God often assists us in non-financial ways. Peter and John had no silver or gold. They were not bankrolling the poor - they were empowering them! You may need money but God may give you a job or a good idea that could make money instead.
I have been praying for enough money for my own server. Instead I went to the local library and right there on the New Books shelf was a book on how to build your own server at a budget price. Reading the book has helped me to understand what I want and to find ways of getting it at about a third of the cost. This is the sort of help that God most often gives.
If you are feeling desperate like the lame men ask God to send you a servant of His who can meet your needs and lift you up and make you strong so that you can go into the Temple “walking and leaping and praising God”.
Acts 3:11-16 Through Faith In His Name
Acts 3:11-16 MKJV And as the lame one who was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering. (12) And seeing this, Peter answered the people, Men, Israelites, why do you marvel at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though we had made this man to walk by our own power or holiness? (13) The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His son Jesus, whom you delivered up, denying Him in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to let Him go. (14) But you denied the Holy and Just One and desired a murderer to be given to you. (15) And you killed the Prince of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. (16) And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, this one whom you see and know, His name made firm. And the faith which came through Him has given him this perfect soundness before you.
Peter says that the miracle of healing was NOT due to any “power or piety” that the apostles possessed and WAS due to “faith in His name”. The entire credit goes to Jesus - even the faith itself “came through Him”. (verse 16).
Grace is gracious - Jesus gives the faith and does the miracle - and not because of any deserving factor in any person involved. The lame man just wanted money; Peter and John had no special powers. It was Jesus all the way and grace all the way.
People who have great miracles happen to them are frequently “just average folk” - and people who perform miracles are rarely theologians, but tend to be ordinary believers simply acting in Jesus’ name. You cannot qualify for a miracle by “being good” or by being very religious - otherwise all the miracles should have happened to the Pharisees. Instead miracles happen when Jesus gives faith to ordinary folk as a gracious act.
James 2:5 MKJV Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?
Both Scripture and Church history tell us that miracles tend to happen more frequently when there is revival and God is pouring out His grace on a city. First grace is poured out, then faith is given, then miracles occur. Miracles are clearly limited when there is unbelief pervading the community (Mark 6:1-6).
There is no system for producing miracles other than “faith in His name”. From first to last the New Testament makes faith the requirement - and then says that such faith is indeed a gift from God through Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 3:16).
There are two aspects to this, the receiving of the faith and the acting out of God’s will in faith. This is seen in an aspect of the life of Elisha:
2 Kings 13:14-19 MKJV And Elisha had fallen sick with his illness in which he died. And Jehoash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over his face. And he said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen of it! (15) And Elisha said to him, Take bow and arrows. And he took bow and arrows to himself. (16) And he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand on the bow. And he placed his hand. And Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. (17) And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened. And Elisha said, Shoot! And he shot. And he said, The arrow of Jehovah’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria. For you shall strike the Syrians in Aphek until it is finished. (18) And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Strike on the ground. And he struck three times and stopped. (19) And the man of God was angry with him, and said, You should have stricken five or six times, then you would have stricken Syria until it was finished. But now you shall strike Syria three times. The grace was there, the prophetic moment had come, but Jehoash failed to exploit it. So there is a synergy between God pouring out His grace - and our operating in it for His glory.
I remember a time in my hometown when it became very easy to win converts (for about 6 months) and I led 50 people to Christ in 7 weeks through personal evangelism. But most Christians did nothing. The grace for salvation was there and the city could have been won for Jesus, but people failed to take advantage of God’s season. When grace is present it is important to “exploit” it fully - whether it be grace for healing or grace for salvation or grace for positive social change. At such moments we should ask for extra faith and get moving! (And remember to use your command prayers!).
How do we know when such a moment of grace has arrived? Sometimes we can sense it in our spirit, but often we can observe it. We can see changes taking place, or people being healed, or sinners repenting and we know that it is “for a season” and that we must act now - it could be a day, a fortnight or a month, it is seldom for more than 2 years.
We need to sensitively respond to the grace of God by exercising active faith in His name.
Acts 3:17-21 Times of Refreshing
Acts 3:17-21 MKJV And now, brothers, I know that you did it through ignorance, as also your rulers did. (18) But those things which God before had shown by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He fulfilled in this manner. (19) Therefore repent and convert so that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. (20) And He shall send Jesus Christ, who before was proclaimed to you, (21) whom Heaven truly needs to receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since the world began.
There are three great blessings referred to by Peter:
a) Times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. b) And He shall send Jesus Christ, who before was proclaimed to you. c) The times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since the world began.
Jesus does not just forgive sins; He also builds a forgiven world, and constructs a renewed humanity in a transformed Creation. Thus the gospel ends up with a radically different and much better world.
While ultimately we will only see the full “restoration of all things” after Christ’s return we can see glimpses of it here and now. The true gospel should be revealing a better world and more whole communities as it changes human lives and as Christians live out their discipleship in community. The first two stages - times of refreshing and the manifest presence of Jesus, are possible in this Church Age. And they have some prerequisites - that we repent and convert! That is that we repent of our sin and convert our thinking and our lifestyle into that of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The word for “convert” is epistrepho - which means to turn back to the right path and the true worship of God. It is a call to revert to the deep inner truth of our conscience. The refreshing comes as we leave the tangled mess of worldliness and sin behind and find the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit. The inner eternal realm that is truth and conscience and Christ is refreshing to dwell in and does not exhaust us or harangue us. It is far from compulsive or nagging. It is gentle, gracious, kind and easy on our souls. (Matthew 11:28-30, 1 John 5:3)
If you find yourself being “driven” by your faith then you need to stop and reflect. The driven-ness is from another source - perhaps your own desire for approval, your own need to be needed, or a desire to be liked or to feel highly productive. It can also be demonic! Luther said “Hurry is not of the Devil, it IS the Devil!” and someone said BUSY is an acronym for Bound Under Satan’s Yoke! Now there is a place for hard work in ministry - but it should not be compulsive, nagging and harassing. You should always have your sense of being free in Jesus Christ.
Times of refreshing come from the hand of the Lord! Seek His refreshing! Seek His gracious love and peace!
We find refreshment when we give up trying to live in two worlds and stop trying to serve two Masters - God and Mammon, Jesus and human approval…and so forth. When Peter says “and He shall send Jesus Christ….who Heaven must receive..” I take it in a two-fold sense. Firstly that He will send the manifest presence of Christ into the midst of the Church in answer to prayers such as those in Acts 4:1-37:
Acts 4:29-30 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Word, (30) by stretching forth of Your hand for healing, and miracles, and wonders may be done by the name of Your holy servant Jesus.
Secondly this means that God will send Jesus Christ a second time, for judgment and for bringing a new order to Creation which shall be redeemed and liberated from its bondage:
Romans 8:19-23 ISV For the creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his children, (20) because the creation was subjected to frustration, though not by its own choice. The one who subjected it did so in the hope (21) that the creation itself would also be set free from slavery to decay in order to share the glorious freedom of God’s children. (22) For we know that all creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (23) However, not only creation groans, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly wait for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. At this time, known as the restoration of all things, the world will be set “right way up” and the saints will be rewarded.
Matthew 19:27-30 MKJV Then answering Peter said to Him, Behold, we have forsaken all and have followed You. Therefore what shall we have? (28) And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (29) And everyone who left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (30) But many who are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
Thus Jesus wants us to inherit refreshing, miraculous and eventually well-rewarded lives as a result of our faith in His name.
Acts 3:22-26 Blessed Through Jesus Christ
Acts 3:22-26 MKJV: For Moses truly said to the fathers, "The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet to you from your brothers, One like me. You shall hear Him in all things, whatever He may say to you. (23) And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people." (24) And also all the prophets from Samuel and those following after, as many as spoke, have likewise foretold of these days. (25) You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your Seed shall all the kindreds (families) of the earth be blessed." (26) Having raised up His son Jesus, God sent Him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you away from his iniquities.
Jesus Christ is the gateway to blessing: “And in your Seed shall all the kindreds (families) of the earth be blessed." Or, as Ephesians confirms:
Ephesians 1:3 MKJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; And Galatians likewise says that our curses are ended and our blessings abound through Christ:
Galatians 3:7-16; Galatians 3:29 MKJV Therefore know that those of faith, these are the sons of Abraham. (8) And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations through faith, preached the gospel before to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all nations be blessed." (9) So then those of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. (10) For as many as are out of works of the Law, these are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the Book of the Law, to do them." (11) But that no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God is clear, for, "The just shall live by faith." (12) But the Law is not of faith; but, "The man who does these things shall live in them." (13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone having been hanged on a tree"); (14) so that the blessing of Abraham might be to the nations in Jesus Christ, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (15) Brothers, I speak according to man, a covenant having been ratified, even among mankind, no one sets aside or adds to it. (16) And to Abraham and to his Seed the promises were spoken. It does not say, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, "And to your Seed," which is Christ…(29) And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
I met a Christian group yesterday that seemed to be “all obligation. They carried around a list of 111 commandments of Jesus, which they read every day. They lived simply and with much sincerity but they did not seem to be blessed, happy, peaceful or relaxed. Jesus brings us out of Law and burdensome religion and into blessing and power and peace and joy.
Jesus is meek and lowly and His way is easy:
Matthew 11:28-30 MKJV Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. And His commandments are not burdensome:
1 John 5:3 MKJV For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.
Jesus blesses us first of all by offering us the gift of repentance: “to bless you in turning every one of you away from his iniquities.” To be free from sin and from wrath is the very first step in being blessed. You cannot be blessed while you carry the weight of iniquity. Christ also redeems us from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:10-14). The next great blessing is the gift of the promised Holy Spirit: Galatians 3:14 “so that the blessing of Abraham might be to the nations in Jesus Christ, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” The blessing of Abraham is the Holy Spirit that was upon Abraham’s life and which enabled communication with God in friendship and blessing.
Finally there are the multitudes of blessings in the spiritual realms that become ours in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3) so that all the promises of God are Yea and Amen in Him. (2 Corinthians 1:20) These include answered prayer (Mark 11:24) and material provision (Matthew 6:33). Above all there are the blessings of grace, peace, joy, wisdom and spiritual growth that are mentioned so often in the epistles (e.g. James 1:5-8, Ephesians 3:14-21).
Christ is the gateway to blessings and Christians are meant to be a totally blessed people. The Christian life is not all sacrifice and obligation - it is also righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
Peter proclaimed that the blessing comes with the following: "The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet to you from your brothers, One like me. You shall hear Him in all things, whatever He may say to you. (23) And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.
If we follow Christ closely in genuine discipleship in the Spirit we will know true blessing. I do not mean that we will become wealthy (for in some quarters blessing only equates to finances) - but that your life will be truly meaningful and full of love, joy and peace. On the other hand if we “will not hear that Prophet” we end up cut off from grace (Galatians 5:1-11). The Christian life is the only pathway to lasting blessing and those blessings are found only in Christ. The allure of the world is intense, but its “blessings” pass away - while those who do the will of God abide forever. (1 John 2:15-17)