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This, then, is Peter's explanation. The lame man who had been healed,
and who was seen walking and leaping and praising God (Acts 3:8), was a
picture of the millennial day when `the lame man shall leap as an hart, and
the tongue of the dumb shall sing' (Isa. 35:6). Bringing the healed man
forward, Peter says, in effect:
`Look at this man. He has been healed by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, and stands before you as a prophetic anticipation of Israel's
restoration; neither is there The Healing (that is, the healing and
restoration of Israel) in any other. None but this despised and
rejected Messiah can ever avail'.
Alas, Israel did not repent. The next outstanding typical miracle is
that of a Jew stricken with blindness, while a Gentile believes (Acts 13).
The type is fulfilled in Acts 28, when blindness falls upon the whole nation,
and `the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles' (28:28).
The restoration of the kingdom to Israel, is the key thought of the
first section of the Acts, the Gentile coming in only when it began to be
evident that the necessary repentance of Israel would not be forthcoming.
Pentecost is bound up with this restoration, and is a pledge that one day it
will come. (See articles entitled Kingdom2; Pentecost3; Remnant, p. 35, for
further details).
RESURRECTION
The historic fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is
a matter of evidence, and the doctrinal consequences of this stupendous
miracle belong to another department of truth, this analysis being
particularly concerned with Dispensational Truth. (See An Alphabetical
Analysis, parts 6 and 7, Doctrinal Truth). Historic fact, gospel truth, and
dispensational differences are however so intermingled that they will present
themselves for examination at every turn. Apart from the actual record of
the resurrection given in the four gospels, no one passage is of such
outstanding importance as 1 Corinthians 15. Let us therefore give this
chapter our consideration.
The structure of 1 Corinthians 15 as a whole
A
15:1-11.
The evidence and evangelistic importance of
the resurrection of Christ.
A
15:12-34.
The fact of the resurrection of Christ and of man.
A
15:35-58.
The manner of the resurrection.
Resurrection dominates the chapter, some phase of it being present
throughout the whole discourse. The opening section is concerned with the
gospel and its connection with the resurrection of Christ. Let us therefore
consider 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 a little in detail.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The evidence and the evangel
A
15:1,2.
The gospel -- `I preached'
`Ye received'.
B
15:3. The gospel no human invention