Acts 3:16-20

 

Acts 3:16 (KJB)

And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

 

Notice in this verse it speaks about the name of Jesus in two manners. First, it speaks about His name which carries all the authority of the Godhead and Heaven and secondly, it was having faith in Christ, in His name which carries all the authority of Heaven, that made that man healed. It was the power of Christ who made this man well. Then Peter states that they are seeing this man in his healed condition and the fact that they know who he is, that he was once a crippled person, is standing before them healed. What they are seeing is undeniable. Then Peter speaks about the faith the man had. The first mention of faith, “the faith which is by him” is not speaking of the man’s faith which initiated inside him but it was the faith which was given by Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit. (Gal 5:22 KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Secondly, faith is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and is given only to those who are saved. Unsaved man is spiritually dead and does not possess any ability to produce faith. A person believes only when they have the faith to do so and they cannot believe until they receive the Holy Spirit. This man was not only physically healed but he was also spiritually healed which means he was a true believer. This miracle was not done in private or in some back room but was done in the presence of all.

 

Acts 3:17 (KJB)

And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

 

I wot - I know

Ignorance - Lack of knowledge

 

Peter continues his lecture concerning their complicity in Christ’s death. Peter is fully aware that these people were complicit in the death of Christ because they had lacked knowledge. They did not know that He was the Son of God nor did they know He was the long awaited Messiah. However, ignorance in the execution of any criminal act does not lessen the act nor the penalty for it. Peter also tells them that the rulers were also ignorant of the facts concerning Christ. The leaders are guilty because they, of all people in Israel, should have known the signs surrounding the Messiah since they were the ones who were supposed to have the most understanding of Scripture. Would you take great pleasure in going to a church where the Pastor and Elders know less about the Scriptures than everybody else in the congregation?

 

Acts 3:18 (KJB)

But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

 

The fact is that the events which happened in Jerusalem concerning Jesus were not just spur of the moment occurrences but were prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures going all the way back to Job and Moses. (Job 19:25 KJV) For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: (Deu 18:18 KJV) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. These are just two prophecies but if those who had the understanding of the Scriptures would have pieced all the information together, they would have seen a pattern emerge that the Messiah had certain events surrounding Him which was the fulfillment of the prophesies of the Hebrew Scriptures. Then they would have easily seen that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), would suffer death (Isaiah 53:1-10), would be resurrected (Psalm 16:10), would be betrayed (Psalm 55:12), He would be a king (Numbers 24:17), He would be the Son of God (Psalm 2:7, 12; Daniel 3:25), was forsaken by God (Psalm 22:1), etc. Yet, even though the events of Christ’s life were prophesied, they were still guilty of their acts. (Mat 26:24 KJV) The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. The involvement of Judas was prophesied but he was still accountable for his actions.

 

Acts 3:19 (KJB)

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

 

Be converted - Turn back or return

May be blotted out - Wipe, smear out, or obliterate

Of refreshing - A recovering and relieving from toils and evils

 

Peter did not just leave them with the guilt but here he lays down a great spiritual truth concerning the sins of the believer. In the previous verses, Peter was telling them that they were complicit in the crucifixion of Christ but here he tells them how they can be reconciled unto God and receive forgiveness for that sin. The words “repent” and “be converted” are in the Imperative Mood in the Greek making them commands. Now only those whom God has chosen will repent and be converted to true Christianity. Those who do will have their sins blotted out. Under the Mosaic system, sins were covered but not removed. (Heb 10:4 KJV) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. The blood of animals did not have that power to remove sins only cover them.

 

The great truth about the blood of Christ is that it removes sins from the believer. No longer does the believer have the stench of any sin on them. (Col 2:13-14 KJV) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; {14} Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Psa 103:12 KJV) As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. As we read in Colossians 2:13-14, the sins of the believer are gone and when we look at Psalm 103:12, it states that God removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. Those who claim you can lose your salvation have no basis for it because if all sins were paid for and removed from the believer, then what can keep a true believer out of Heaven? The only thing that can keep a person out of Heaven is sin but if all the sins have been removed, then what sin is left, after all of them have been removed, to keep you out of Heaven? Then Peter states that once the heavy burden of sins have been removed from your soul, the Lord refreshes the soul with new life and the guilt of sin has been removed. Once the stench of sin is removed, the refreshing of the Lord comes through the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is the direct presence of the Lord in the life of the believer. Sin and evil are removed and the Lord Himself moves in forever.

 

Acts 3:20 (KJB)

And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

 

Preached - Proclaimed

 

The Lord Jesus Christ will come and dwell in those who will become saved. They had heard and seen the reality of the Holy Spirit as many spoke in different languages, but now they are coming to learn that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who will indwell His people through the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus whom they have been hearing about and who is being preached about right now. This principle is not only for those back in Peter’s day, but that promise is for every true believer. This is why Jesus could say to Paul on the Damascus road that it was He that Paul was persecuting. (Acts 9:4 KJV) And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? With Jesus indwelling the believer, when persecution comes, it is aimed at Jesus who indwells us, that is why the warfare is spiritual, even though it may manifest itself physically.

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