Church Officials Speak Against a Reformer With a Bibleby chrishcollins
4:20Acts 4:20
For we can not but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
Peter and John spoke these words when brought before the priests, the Sanhedrin and the rulers after the healing of the lame man in the temple, ordered under threat of punishment and death not to teach in Jesus' name while the healed man stood beside them and the miracle could not be denied. They meant they were eyewitnesses who had personally seen and heard Jesus, including his resurrection, ascension and power given to his followers, and that he is Lord and Christ. Their bold compulsion to speak came from the Holy Spirit and from fidelity to the work God had given them, which threats could not silence. When human authority forbids proclaiming entrusted truth or requires disobedience to God, obedience to God stands above obedience to people, even at the cost of suffering and imprisonment. This does not license needless defiance of law and order, for believers are to avoid antagonistic words until rulers actually command silence, and then to answer with continued witness, including witness to Scripture and to the seventh-day Sabbath. All who have received the life, peace, joy and indwelling presence of Christ likewise cannot be restrained, but must tell what they know with a shining life of zeal, meekness and love.
Setting and Original Meaning
The declaration was made after the healing of the man lame from birth in the temple precincts in the name of Jesus. Peter and John were seized and imprisoned for it and brought before the priests, the high priest, the Sanhedrin and the Jewish rulers. There they were ordered not to speak, teach or preach in the name of Jesus and were threatened with punishment, beating and death. The healed man stood beside them, so the miracle could not be refuted, and thousands who saw it believed. The rulers feared the anger of the people and dared no violence but set the apostles free, and their opponents feared to act because the evidence plainly showed that God was working.
The words mean eyewitness testimony to what had been personally seen and heard of Jesus. That witness included his resurrection, that he had risen and ascended to heaven and had given power to his followers, that he is both Lord and Christ, and a charge of his rejection and murder. Peter, who had once cowardly denied his Lord, was transformed to boldly declare the power of the risen Saviour. With John, and with James, he sought to persuade fellow Jews in Jerusalem despite danger to life and despite opposition.
The compulsion to speak was bold and clear because it was empowered by the Holy Spirit and given by God. The message and testimony came from God, and fidelity to that sacred calling and God-given work made threats and punishment powerless to silence them. Their declaration expresses unswerving faithfulness to the work God had given them.
The verse reveals the apostles' calling to work with God to save people, with an office second only to Christ's own. The twelve represented the gospel church as the twelve patriarchs represented Israel. The gospel mission in Jerusalem was entrusted to the believers, many believed as God bore witness to the message, and Spirit-led generosity and sacrifice for that mission gave the proclaimed truths powerful influence to help others hear.
Obeying God Above Men
When human authorities forbid the work of sharing entrusted truths or require disobedience to God, obedience to God takes precedence over obedience to people. Peter and John could not keep silent or deny what they had seen and heard of Jesus even when the high priest and the Sanhedrin ordered them not to preach or speak in His name. Their loyalty to God's commandments meant accepting threats, suffering, imprisonment and opposition rather than disobeying God or complying for the sake of peace. They continued to proclaim salvation through Christ and remained true to Him when human laws opposed God's authority, and God confirmed their message with power and could use those trials to spread the truth. Human authority cannot rightly require believers to violate their duty to God.
When civil authorities forbid proclaiming God's commandments and the faith of Jesus, believers must continue to speak what they have learned and received from God rather than obey commands that oppose Him. That witness includes holding up Scripture as the rule of life, bearing testimony to the Creator, and proclaiming the seventh-day Sabbath even when such witness is prohibited.
The verse does not authorize defying authorities or acting against law and order unnecessarily. Until rulers command silence and forbid proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, believers are not to defy authorities, attack individuals and institutions, find fault with rulers, or speak and write in ways that appear antagonistic to law and order, disloyal or treasonous. Words spoken or written must be carefully considered so as not to needlessly close the way, while magnifying God's law, holding up Scripture, and preparing a people to stand in the great day of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only when, after such a careful course, men forbid this work does the verse supply the reply to give, that those entrusted with truth are compelled to keep advocating those truths in Christ's name.
Compelled Witness for Believers
Those who have received the message of life and have tasted its peace and joy cannot be silenced or intimidated from declaring what they know, but carry that witness wherever they go. When believers are clothed with Christ's righteousness and filled with the joy of His indwelling Spirit, they long to make His salvation and the truth known, with healing for the sick and preaching to the poor. Those who know the love of Jesus and have Christ abiding in the heart cannot remain silent, for when truth lives in the heart it speaks in testimony and shines out in the life. That speaking belongs to a simple, consistent Christian life marked by fervent zeal, meekness, and love for the perishing, and silence and failure to reflect that light show the absence of His abiding presence and saving faith.
When divine truths are understood, loved, made part of life and incorporated into experience, they become a living reality stamped upon the mind like an overflowing fountain that cannot be restrained or bound. Those who have this experience are unable to stay silent but must tell and write what they know with vivifying power by the Holy Spirit to bless others and advance God's kingdom. They hold fast the profession of faith with Christ dwelling within by faith, and this witness depends on minds trained to grasp and represent truth.
The Spirit's power compels those who receive a message from God to speak, and they dare not withhold the testimony. The message comes from a higher-than-human source and cannot be recalled at will. God may give instruction in symbols and explain their meaning, and love for Christ and for people also urges the messenger to speak.
Those who know the truth of Christ cannot remain silent even when preaching brings persecution, beating, imprisonment and martyrdom. God sends angels to strengthen them for steadfast testimony unto death, and they remain faithful even when that faithfulness costs life itself. Their courageous preaching makes many converts who carry the truth to other parts of the country and among all classes of society, as seen in resolve to preach the gospel despite the threat of death.
The verse describes God's servants in the time of persecution when faith is tried after faithfully giving the warning looking to God and His Word alone. With holy zeal and the divine impulse strong upon them they enter duty without coldly calculating consequences, without consulting temporal interests or seeking to preserve reputation or life, because God's Spirit moving on their hearts constrains them and puts truth in their hearts. When the storm of opposition, reproach and fierce temptation bursts upon them, though overwhelmed with consternation, hedged with difficulties, threatened with destruction, feeling helpless and the work beyond ability with enthusiasm gone, they are tempted to wish they had held their peace. Yet they cannot turn back but flee to the Mighty One for strength, remembering the words were not their own but His who bade them give the warning.
Peter and John spoke these words when brought before the priests, the Sanhedrin and the rulers after the healing of the lame man in the temple, ordered under threat of punishment and death not to teach in Jesus' name while the healed man stood beside them and the miracle could not be denied. They meant they were eyewitnesses who had personally seen and heard Jesus, including his resurrection, ascension and power given to his followers, and that he is Lord and Christ. Their bold compulsion to speak came from the Holy Spirit and from fidelity to the work God had given them, which threats could not silence. When human authority forbids proclaiming entrusted truth or requires disobedience to God, obedience to God stands above obedience to people, even at the cost of suffering and imprisonment. This does not license needless defiance of law and order, for believers are to avoid antagonistic words until rulers actually command silence, and then to answer with continued witness, including witness to Scripture and to the seventh-day Sabbath. All who have received the life, peace, joy and indwelling presence of Christ likewise cannot be restrained, but must tell what they know with a shining life of zeal, meekness and love.
Setting and Original Meaning
The declaration was made after the healing of the man lame from birth in the temple precincts in the name of Jesus. Peter and John were seized and imprisoned for it and brought before the priests, the high priest, the Sanhedrin and the Jewish rulers. There they were ordered not to speak, teach or preach in the name of Jesus and were threatened with punishment, beating and death. The healed man stood beside them, so the miracle could not be refuted, and thousands who saw it believed. The rulers feared the anger of the people and dared no violence but set the apostles free, and their opponents feared to act because the evidence plainly showed that God was working.
The words mean eyewitness testimony to what had been personally seen and heard of Jesus. That witness included his resurrection, that he had risen and ascended to heaven and had given power to his followers, that he is both Lord and Christ, and a charge of his rejection and murder. Peter, who had once cowardly denied his Lord, was transformed to boldly declare the power of the risen Saviour. With John, and with James, he sought to persuade fellow Jews in Jerusalem despite danger to life and despite opposition.
The compulsion to speak was bold and clear because it was empowered by the Holy Spirit and given by God. The message and testimony came from God, and fidelity to that sacred calling and God-given work made threats and punishment powerless to silence them. Their declaration expresses unswerving faithfulness to the work God had given them.
The verse reveals the apostles' calling to work with God to save people, with an office second only to Christ's own. The twelve represented the gospel church as the twelve patriarchs represented Israel. The gospel mission in Jerusalem was entrusted to the believers, many believed as God bore witness to the message, and Spirit-led generosity and sacrifice for that mission gave the proclaimed truths powerful influence to help others hear.
Obeying God Above Men
When human authorities forbid the work of sharing entrusted truths or require disobedience to God, obedience to God takes precedence over obedience to people. Peter and John could not keep silent or deny what they had seen and heard of Jesus even when the high priest and the Sanhedrin ordered them not to preach or speak in His name. Their loyalty to God's commandments meant accepting threats, suffering, imprisonment and opposition rather than disobeying God or complying for the sake of peace. They continued to proclaim salvation through Christ and remained true to Him when human laws opposed God's authority, and God confirmed their message with power and could use those trials to spread the truth. Human authority cannot rightly require believers to violate their duty to God.
When civil authorities forbid proclaiming God's commandments and the faith of Jesus, believers must continue to speak what they have learned and received from God rather than obey commands that oppose Him. That witness includes holding up Scripture as the rule of life, bearing testimony to the Creator, and proclaiming the seventh-day Sabbath even when such witness is prohibited.
The verse does not authorize defying authorities or acting against law and order unnecessarily. Until rulers command silence and forbid proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, believers are not to defy authorities, attack individuals and institutions, find fault with rulers, or speak and write in ways that appear antagonistic to law and order, disloyal or treasonous. Words spoken or written must be carefully considered so as not to needlessly close the way, while magnifying God's law, holding up Scripture, and preparing a people to stand in the great day of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only when, after such a careful course, men forbid this work does the verse supply the reply to give, that those entrusted with truth are compelled to keep advocating those truths in Christ's name.
Compelled Witness for Believers
Those who have received the message of life and have tasted its peace and joy cannot be silenced or intimidated from declaring what they know, but carry that witness wherever they go. When believers are clothed with Christ's righteousness and filled with the joy of His indwelling Spirit, they long to make His salvation and the truth known, with healing for the sick and preaching to the poor. Those who know the love of Jesus and have Christ abiding in the heart cannot remain silent, for when truth lives in the heart it speaks in testimony and shines out in the life. That speaking belongs to a simple, consistent Christian life marked by fervent zeal, meekness, and love for the perishing, and silence and failure to reflect that light show the absence of His abiding presence and saving faith.
When divine truths are understood, loved, made part of life and incorporated into experience, they become a living reality stamped upon the mind like an overflowing fountain that cannot be restrained or bound. Those who have this experience are unable to stay silent but must tell and write what they know with vivifying power by the Holy Spirit to bless others and advance God's kingdom. They hold fast the profession of faith with Christ dwelling within by faith, and this witness depends on minds trained to grasp and represent truth.
The Spirit's power compels those who receive a message from God to speak, and they dare not withhold the testimony. The message comes from a higher-than-human source and cannot be recalled at will. God may give instruction in symbols and explain their meaning, and love for Christ and for people also urges the messenger to speak.
Those who know the truth of Christ cannot remain silent even when preaching brings persecution, beating, imprisonment and martyrdom. God sends angels to strengthen them for steadfast testimony unto death, and they remain faithful even when that faithfulness costs life itself. Their courageous preaching makes many converts who carry the truth to other parts of the country and among all classes of society, as seen in resolve to preach the gospel despite the threat of death.
The verse describes God's servants in the time of persecution when faith is tried after faithfully giving the warning looking to God and His Word alone. With holy zeal and the divine impulse strong upon them they enter duty without coldly calculating consequences, without consulting temporal interests or seeking to preserve reputation or life, because God's Spirit moving on their hearts constrains them and puts truth in their hearts. When the storm of opposition, reproach and fierce temptation bursts upon them, though overwhelmed with consternation, hedged with difficulties, threatened with destruction, feeling helpless and the work beyond ability with enthusiasm gone, they are tempted to wish they had held their peace. Yet they cannot turn back but flee to the Mighty One for strength, remembering the words were not their own but His who bade them give the warning.