T. Austin-Sparks · 1 of 5

The Old Testament Taken Up in the Book of "The Acts"

"Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying... This is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel, And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy" (Acts 2:14,16-18).

Not one of us would have any question that Peter was speaking under the government and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Believing that, and having no doubt about it, it is very significant that he should have added something which looks like a quotation but which the prophet quoted did not say. Joel did not say "It shall be in the last days." Joel said, "And it shall come to pass afterward...." The phrase "the last days" is found in other prophets, but not in the passage from which Peter was quoting. It makes no difference to Peter's inspiration, but it gives a significance to which we should pay attention. Under the Holy Spirit's government, Peter used those words "in the last days." We have to know what the Holy Spirit meant, and, seeing that the application was to the time at the beginning of this dispensation, I think we are not wrong in concluding that He was indicating that a certain time and order had come to an end - the last days of that particular order had come, and now there was an afterward; in other words, a new day, a new age.

Everything in This Age Essentially Spiritual

If that is right, then the book which goes by the title "The Acts" is the book which introduces a new age; it marks the passing of certain days, age-days, and the arrival of a new day, a new age-day. But it not only marks that change, it sets forth the character of the new day. Among the many very important things which the Lord's people need to recognize anew is this - the real Divine nature of the new day which came in with that recorded in this book. The established and accepted title of the book is limiting and, to some extent, misleading. You must remember that the writer of the book never gave it that title. Luke, who wrote it, did not call it "The Acts," nor the "Acts of the Apostles," nor the "Acts of the Holy Spirit." He did not give it a title. If it had a title at all, it is in his introduction, and that purely by inference. "The former treatise I made... concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach," and the inference is that this is a further treatise of all that Jesus began to do and teach. I say, the established title, "The Acts," is limiting, and, to some extent, misleading for this reason - that it puts all the emphasis upon activity, and in so doing obscures the nature of the activity, the real character of what had been brought in, the very essence of things; that is, it very largely obscures the fact that this new dispensation is absolutely spiritual in every sense. We know how "the baptism of the Spirit," "the filling of the Spirit," all that is meant by the use of the word "Pentecost", has been taken up by men and interpreted in terms of manifestations, things that can be outwardly noted - activities, works, done in a certain kind of heat and enthusiasm and strength and assertiveness. You know what the general mentality is when mention is made of being filled with the Spirit. At once our minds leap to certain forms of manifestation. But that is not the basic thing. The basic fact is that something has changed altogether, and there is a new character given to the new age; and that is that, for this age, everything is essentially and absolutely spiritual.

First the Natural, Then the Spiritual

I think Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, has - not with this object in view but under the same Spirit's direction and inspiration - given a full summary of what this change-over really is. It occurs in a phrase in 1 Cor. 15:46 - "Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual."

First that which is natural, afterward that which is spiritual. That is only saying, in other words, that the days which have gone were natural days, the days in which Divine things were manifested naturally, on natural grounds. They could all be grasped by natural apprehension: men could see, men could feel. All that realm of God's activity was possible of observation naturally; but now that has passed.

The Establishment of the Lordship of the Holy Spirit

"And it shall come to pass afterward..."; "afterward that which is spiritual." That represents a Divine order and an established economy in the arrangement of this world's history. First that which is natural in everything, afterward that which is spiritual: and this book (we will use its accepted title, "The Acts") is the afterward that is spiritual. And one of the most wonderful things is that this book comprehends the Old Testament and changes it right over into the spiritual realm. The fact that this new day as ushered in and set forth in this book is a spiritual day is shown in quite a number of ways in the book itself - pre-eminently, of course, by the fact that, as never before, the Lordship of the Holy Spirit is established. He, in sovereignty, comes and takes charge of everything in relation to Divine purposes. He assumes the custodianship of God's eternal purposes and takes them into His own hands - and that in a very mighty way. He does demonstrate that He has assumed charge of God's interests in His Son; and if you can withstand a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2) you can withstand that sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. But in other ways His sovereignty is seen - amongst them, the way in which the Old Testament is taken up and reproduced spiritually, in some matters reversed, in others transferred. We shall see that in a moment. Again, in the swift challenge at the beginning, which the flesh and the natural life met; the Holy Spirit is in charge, and He immediately demonstrates that here flesh must not encroach and the natural life has no place. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira it is shown that things are spiritual now and the flesh and the Spirit are in deadly combat. It is a new spiritual age that has come in, and here that which is natural has passed. First that which is natural; afterward that which is spiritual.

The Deepening Hiddenness of the Lord's Ways

Another thing not recognized as fully and clearly as it should be is the deepening hiddenness of the Lord's ways. Have you noticed this, that, whereas at the beginning there were manifestations in many directions, in many manners, plain and obvious, as you move through this book you find that the Lord is going deeper and deeper, and those things are not so obvious and conspicuous as they once were? Early in the book, you can bring the sick and just lay them on the ground, and the very shadow of Peter passing by heals them. But "Trophimus I left sick" (2 Tim. 4:20): "Epaphroditus was sick nigh unto death" (Phil. 2:27): "We despaired even of life: yea, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves" (2 Cor. 1:9), says Paul. The Lord's ways are getting deeper. First that which is natural; afterward, that which is spiritual. That opens the door to a very large field.

"The Acts" a Book of Spiritual Principles

Then there is the fact that this is a book of spiritual principles, not necessarily to be taken and imitated, but demanding that we know the principle which lies behind what is happening, and stand in possession of that principle. In that connection, let us remember that this book called "The Acts" was not written until all Paul's letters had been written and circulated. There had been some thirty-five years of missionary activity, preaching, and teaching through the Apostolic letters before "The Acts" was written, or before any one of the Gospels was written, and that to me is of tremendous significance. You see, they had received the teaching, they had the spiritual interpretation and meaning, and then they got the historical record of what happened. It would be good for us to stay with that alone as one thing for an hour. You can understand why Paul wrote to the Corinthians as he did about the manifestations. They were taken up by the acts, the happenings, the events, the outward things. He wrote to seek to get them to the inside of them, and to show that what mattered was not the things in the first instance, but the spirit behind, and that love is far more important than outward manifestations and gifts.

Well, you see, all this is a very strong foundation for this conclusion, that a new kind of day has come in, that things now are essentially spiritual. "Afterward that which is spiritual."

The Creations: Redemption by Resurrection

That is a general setting forth of the situation. Let us begin to get inside of that and break it up. We said that this book comprehends the Old Testament and does two things with it. It reverses some things, and it transfers others from one realm to another. I will explain that in a moment. First of all, this book comprehends what we have at the beginning of Genesis - the creation. The creation, as we have it in the natural in Genesis, is a work of natural redemption, the redeeming of a creation from corruption, from death, from chaos; and that redemption of the creation at the beginning of the natural was through resurrection. We can say quite truly that it was a raising of the natural from a death, from a grave, bringing it up in resurrection. "First that which is natural; then that which is spiritual." The beginning of things here in "Acts" is redemption through resurrection. The great note of "Acts," of all Apostolic preaching, is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Now you see a little more value in what I said just now about the letters having been written before. The people who would read the historic account of things in "Acts" had already received 1 Cor. 15 and the doctrine of the resurrection in Romans 6. They knew the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, that it was not only for us but included us, that we were raised together with Him, that a new creation was brought into being in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, that we were begotten again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3). The fact of the resurrection is then set forth in the historic account as the great, all-governing reality. It is a new creation, it is a redemption that is in Christ Jesus. You break that up again and you see that inside of the redemption there is the means employed. Firstly, light and life - two great redeeming powers and influences. Oh, these representatives, the twelve - twelve is the number that speaks of representation - are themselves the embodiment of this. Look at them before Christ rose, and if ever men were in the dark they were - groping as blind in the darkness. See those on the road to Emmaus, and all the rest - dark, blind, despairing, and for them the atmosphere was filled with death. He had died; it was the end of everything. But look at them here! Why, truly, those who sat in darkness have seen a great light! They have emerged, the light has broken and, in Christ, has dawned upon their darkness; they see it all and they are out! Life with light has brought them into a new world, but it is spiritual light, it is spiritual life, it is not capable of being apprehended except in a spiritual way. People can listen, can see that something has happened to them, and still be unaffected until the same mighty influence gets to work upon themselves. It is something that is wholly and solely spiritual, and the flesh cannot take hold of it. Let Simon the sorcerer try to get this on natural grounds! He will find himself under terrible judgment (Acts 8:9-24). This is something which can be had only by the Spirit. It is light and life of a new order altogether; the flesh cannot enter into this. "First that which is natural; then that which is spiritual."

The Instrument of the Creations - The Spirit