Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 2:21
And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
21. shall be saved ] Eusebius ( H. E. iii. 5. 3) tells how the Christians were warned to leave Jerusalem before the destruction, and went into a city of Perea called Pella.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Whosoever shall call – In the midst of these wonders and dangers, whosoever should call on the Lord should be delivered (Joel). The name of the Lord is the same as the Lord himself. It is a Hebraism, signifying to call on the Lord, Psa 79:6; Zec 13:9.
Shall be saved – In Hebrew, shall be delivered, that is, from impending calamities. When they threaten, and God is coming forth to judge them, it shall be that those who are characterized as those who call on the Lord shall be delivered. This is equally true at all times. It is remarkable that no Christians perished in the siege of Jerusalem. Though more than a million of Jews perished, yet the followers of Christ who were there, having been warned by him, when they saw the signs of the Romans approaching, withdrew to Aelia, and were preserved. So it shall be in the day of judgment. All whose character it has been that they called on God will then be saved. While the wicked will then call on the rocks and the mountains to shelter them from the Lord, those who have invoked his favor and mercy will find deliverance. The use which Peter makes of this passage is this: Calamities were about to come; the day of judgment was approaching; they were passing through the last days of the earths history, and therefore it became them to call on the name of the Lord, and to obtain deliverance from the dangers which impended over the guilty. There can be little doubt that Peter intended to apply this to the Messiah, and that by the name of the Lord he meant the Lord Jesus. See 1Co 1:2. Paul makes the same use of the passage, expressly applying it to the Lord Jesus Christ, Rom 10:13-14. In Joel, the word translated Lord is Yahweh, the incommunicable and unique name of God; and the use of the passage before us in the New Testament shows how the apostles regarded the Lord Jesus Christ, and proves that they had no hesitation in applying to him names and attributes which could belong to no one but God.
This verse teaches us:
1. That in prospect of the judgments of God which are to come, we should make preparation. We shall be called to pass through the closing scenes of this earth; the time when the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, and when the great day of the Lord shall come.
2. It is easy to be saved. All that God requires of us is to call upon him, to pray to him, and he will answer and save. If people will not do so easy a thing as to call on God, and ask him for salvation, it is obviously proper that they should be cast off. The terms of salvation could not be made plainer or easier. The offer is wide, free, universal, and there is no obstacle but what exists in the heart of the sinner.
And from this part of Peters vindication of the scene on the day of Pentecost we may learn also:
1. That revivals of religion are to be expected as a part of the history of the Christian church. He speaks of Gods pouring out his Spirit, etc., as what was to take place in the last days, that is, in the indefinite and large tract of time which was to come, under the administration of the Messiah. His remarks are by no means limited to the day of Pentecost. They are as applicable to future periods as to that time; and we are to expect it as a part of Christian history, that the Holy Spirit will be sent down to awaken and convert people.
2. This will also vindicate revivals from all the changes which have ever been brought against them. All the objections of irregularity, extravagance, wildfire, enthusiasm, disorder, etc., which have been alleged against revivals in modern times, might have been brought with equal propriety against the scene on the day of Pentecost. Yet an apostle showed that that was in accordance with the predictions of the Old Testament, and was an undoubted work of the Holy Spirit. If that work could be vindicated, then modern revivals may be. If that was really liable to no objections on these accounts, then modern works of grace should not be objected to for the same things. And if that excited deep interest in the apostles; if they felt deep concern to vindicate it from the charge brought against it, then Christians and Christian ministers now should feel similar solicitude to defend revivals, and not be found among their revilers, their calumniators, or their foes. There will be enemies enough of the work of the Holy Spirit without the aid of professed Christians, and that man possesses no enviable feelings or character who is found with the enemies of God and his Christ in opposing the mighty work of the Holy Spirit on the human heart.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 2:21
Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Salvation
I. Its nature.
1. Deliverance from–
(1) The guilt of sin.
(2) The power of sin.
(3) The punishment of sin.
2. Deliverance to–
(1) Acceptance with God.
(2) Conquest of evil.
(3) Heaven.
II. Its Condition. Calling on the name of the Lord, involving–
1. A sense of helplessness. A man in the water will not cry if he can wade to dry land, but only when he feels in danger of drowning without assistance.
2. A conviction of His power to help on whom we call. A beggar will not waste time in asking alms of another beggar; a sick man will scarcely rouse himself to seek medical help from one in the same condition.
3. An assurance that He on whom we call will help us when we call. This is faith. The call should be earnest and persevering.
III. Its score. Whosoever.
1. Poor as well as rich.
2. Ignorant as well as learned.
3. Bad as well as good. What an encouragement to convinced sinners, Sunday-school teachers, preachers, and missionaries. (J. W. Burn.)
Calling on Christ
There is a story concerning the father of Thomas a Becket, who went into the crusades and was taken prisoner by the Saracens. While a prisoner, a Turkish lady loved him, and when he was set free and returned to England, she took an opportunity of following him. But she knew not where to find him she loved: and all she knew about him was that his name was Gilbert. She determined to go through all the streets of England crying the name of Gilbert till she found him. She came to London first, and passing every street persons were surprised to see aa Eastern maiden crying, Gilbert! Gilbert! And so she passed from town to town, till one day as she pronounced the name the ear for which it was intended caught the sound, and they became happy. And so, sinner, to-day thou knowest little perhaps of religion, but thou knowest the name of Jesus. Take up the cry as thou goest along the streets, and say to thy heart, Jesus! Jesus! And when thou art in the chamber, say it still, Jesus! Jesus! Continue the cry and it shall reach the ear for which it was meant. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The secret cry to God
Some years ago a young man was going home one night from the house of business in which he was engaged. The thought occurred to him that he was becoming more careless each year about his souls salvation, and that he would soon become utterly hardened. And he said to himself, Why should this be? Why not seek the Lord now? So he lifted up his cry secretly as he walked through the street, Lord, forgive me, and help me to love and serve Thee. The Holy Spirit, to whose voice he was then listening, inspired the cry for mercy; and the prayer thus offered was answered. The sleeper was awakened, and Christ gave him life. Let your conduct be like that young mans, for the Holy Spirit is calling you now. If hitherto you have rejected the message, now determine to hear and obey it. An effectual cry:–I heard of two millers who used to keep the old mill going day and night, and at midnight one miller would go down the stream, pull his boat up two or three yards above the dam, and the other miller would come along the other way. One night the miller was going down as usual, and he fell asleep, and when he awoke, it was the water over the dam that woke him. He knew that if he went over he would be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. He seized his oars and he tried to pull back, but he found that it was too late. But he got hold of a little twig between the rocks. It began to give way; and if that twig had come away he would have been swept over the dam and lost; but there was just enough strength in the root to hold him; and so he sat there in that boat and held on, and he cried, Help! help! help! and he kept crying, until at last the cry of distress was heard by the brother miller, and he found out the situation, and he got a rope and threw it, and the man let go of the twig and laid hold of the rope, and they pulled him out of the jaws of death. He saved his life because it was an honest cry for help. And there is not a man or woman in this house to-night but that shall be eternally saved if he or she will send the cry up to heaven, Lord, help me. Lord, remember me. Lord, save me, or I perish. It shall come to pass that whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Put the promise to the test. (J. McNeill.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 21. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.] The predicted ruin is now impending; and only such as receive the Gospel of the Son of God shall be saved. And that none but the Christians did escape, when God poured out these judgments, is well known; and that ALL the Christians did escape, not one of them perishing in these devastations, stands attested by the most respectable authority. See Clarke on Mt 24:13.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That he may prepare thus a people for the Lord, the apostle shows by what means they and we may escape. Pray in faith unto him. The name is that whereby any one is known; and the Lords name is his attributes, goodness, power, wisdom, faithfulness, &c.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe, Pro 18:10.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. whosoever shall call on the nameof the Lord shall be savedThis points to the permanentestablishment of the economy of salvation, which followed on thebreaking up of the Jewish state.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it shall come to pass,…. Even at that time, when these signs shall appear, and the destruction is hastening on, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord; shall believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with the heart, and shall confess him with the mouth, and shall worship him in Spirit and in truth, and submit to all his ordinances and commands; for invocation of the Lord includes the whole of worship, internal and external:
shall be saved; or delivered from that temporal destruction which came upon the Jews, as the Christians were by removing from Jerusalem to Pella, as they were directed u; and shall be saved with a spiritual and everlasting salvation by Jesus Christ;
[See comments on Ro 10:13].
u Vid. Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Shall call on (). First aorist middle subjunctive of , common verb, to call to, middle voice for oneself in need. Indefinite relative clause with and so subjunctive, punctiliar idea, in any single case, and so aorist.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And it shall come to pass,” (kai estai) “And it will occur or be,” as a state, condition or being, or fact.
2) “That whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord,” (pas hos ean epikalesetai to onoma kuriou) “That everyone (whoever he may be) that calls upon (invokes) the name of the Lord,” the Jehovah of the Old Testament, who has now come as the Lord Jesus Christ, triumphant over death and interceding at the right hand of the Father, Joe 2:32; Heb 7:25; 1Jn 2:1-2.
3) “Shall be saved,” (sothesetai) “He will be saved.” There is no “maybe” “has a good chance,” or conditional “hope-so” to be saved. This is a Divine affirmative that he “will be saved,” Whosoever he may be that invokingly calls upon Jesus Christ for deliverance from sins, guilt and penalty, affirmed again, Rom 10:10-13.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
21. Whosoever shall call upon An excellent place. For as God doth prick us forward like sluggish asses, with threatenings and terrors to seek salvation, se, after that he hath brought darkness upon the face of heaven and earth, yet doth he show a means whereby salvation may shine before our eyes, to wit, if we shall call upon him. For we must diligently note this circumstance. If God should promise salvation simply, it were a great matter; but it is a far greater when as he promiseth the same amidst manifold dungeons of death. Whilst that (saith he) all things shall be out of order, and the fear of destruction shall possess all things, only call upon me, and ye shall be saved. Therefore, howsoever man be swallowed up ill the gulf of miseries, yet is there set before him a way to escape. We must also note the universal word, whosoever For God admitteth all men unto himself without exception, and by this means doth he invite them to salvation, as Paul gathereth in the tenth chapter to the Romans, and as the prophet had set it down before,
“
Thou, Lord, which hearest the prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come,” (Psa 65:2.)
Therefore, forasmuch as no man is excluded from calling upon God, the gate of salvation is set open unto all men; neither is there any other thing which keepeth us back from entering in, save only our own unbelief. I speak of all unto whom God doth make himself manifest by the gospel. But like as those which call upon the name of the Lord are sure of salvation, so we must think that, without the same, we are thrice miserable and undone. And when as our salvation is placed in calling upon God, there is nothing in the mean season taken from faith, forasmuch as this invocation is grounded on faith alone. There is also another circumstance no less worthy the noting; in that the prophet doth signify, that the calling upon God doth properly appertain and agree unto the last days. For although he would be called upon in all ages, notwithstanding, since that he showed himself to be a Father in Christ, we have the more easy access unto him. Which thing ought both the more to embolden us, and to take from us all sluggishness. As he himself doth also reason, that by this privilege our forwardness to pray is doubled to us: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in nay name; ask, and ye shall receive;” as if he should say, theretofore, although I did not yet appear to be a mediator and advocate in the faith, yet did ye pray; but now, when you shall have me to be your patron, with how much more courage ought ye to do that?
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord . . .Singularly enough, the precise phrase, to call upon God, common as it is in the Old Testament, does not occur in the Gospels. With St. Luke and St. Paul it is, as it were, a favourite word (Act. 7:59; Act. 9:14; Rom. 10:12; 1Co. 1:2). Its Greek associations gave to the invoking which it expressed almost the force of an appeal from a lower to a higher tribunal. (Comp. Act. 25:11; Act. 25:21; Act. 25:25.) Here the thought is that that Name of the Eternal, invoked by the prayer of faith, was the one sufficient condition of deliverance in the midst of all the terrors of the coming day of the Lord.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. Shall be saved And this for his listeners the truest glory of the notable day. It is a day of an offered Saviour, and all these signs are proclamations of a day for men to repent, and accept him of whom the prophets spake.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And it shall be, that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
In view then of what they have seen and of these coming wonders and catastrophes let them now recognise that if they wish to be saved they should ‘call on the name of the Lord’, and in terms of Act 2:36 this means on Jesus Christ. For the wonderful truth is that now, because of what is happening, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. They will find mercy and escape the wrath of God as depicted by the signs mentioned.
To ‘call on the name of the Lord’ was to approach God in worship and to seek His mercy. Compare Gen 4:26; Gen 12:8; 2Sa 22:4; Psa 55:16; Psa 86:5; Psa 105:1; Psa 116:13; Psa 116:17; Psa 145:18). But here was probably the added idea that it was Jesus Who was the Lord Who had to be called on.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 2:21. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord. See Eze 9:4-6. This context being quoted thus, was a strong intimation that nothing but their acceptance of the gospel could secure them from impending ruin. Brennius has proved, by an ample collection of texts, that calling on the name of the Lord, is often put for the whole of religion; and if it do not here directly signify invoking Christ, which is sometimes used to express the whole of the Christian character, (Comp. Ch. Act 9:14; Act 9:21 Act 22:16. Rom 10:12-13 and 1Co 1:2.) it must imply, that it is impossible for any who reject him, to pray in an acceptable manner. How awful a reflection! See the note on Joe 2:32.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 2:21 . And every one who shall have invoked the name of the Lord , this Peter wishes to be understood, according to the sense of the prophetic fulfilment, of the invocation of Christ (relative worship: see on Act 7:59 ; Rom 10:12 ; Phi 2:10 ; 1Co 1:2 ); just as he would have the understood, not of any sort of temporal deliverance, but of the saving deliverance of the Messianic kingdom (Act 4:12 , Act 15:11 ), which Jesus on His return will found; and hence he must now (Act 2:22-36 ) demonstrate Jesus the crucified and risen and exalted one, as the Lord and Messiah (Act 2:36 ). And how undauntedly, concisely, and convincingly he does so! A first fruit of the outpouring of the Spirit.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Chapter 6
Prayer
Almighty God, may we not be as fools but as wise, having understanding of the meaning of things, and knowing what thou art doing in all the days as they brighten and die. Thou art alway most surely fulfilling thy Holy Word may we be numbered amongst those who are inspired with a great expectation, and who are constantly looking for the Lord’s coming. Surely thou art alway coming, thou art nearer now than ever before; give us the insight which sees thee in the events of the day, and so ennoble our religious faculty that we may be able to interpret unto others the movements which appear to be common or degraded. Enable us by thy presence in the soul, so to see what is transpiring, as to acknowledge thine hand in it, and to be enabled to point out to others the gracious rule of thy sovereignty.
Thou art expressing thyself to our vision and feeling and thought, in every occurrence of the time. Shall there be evil in the city and the Lord hath not done it shall the devil have larger scope without the Lord having given it to him doth hell enlarge its borders without permission from heaven? The Lord reigneth: there is but one God and his name is great: in the hollow of his hand all things rest, in his heart is the centre of all force. This faith thou hast taught us in Jesus Christ our Saviour and Priest, through whom we have large access unto the throne, and whose name gives the prevalence of power to the mean petitions which our own hearts suggest. If thou dost so enable us to read the signs that are passing around us, we shall be no more children tossed to and fro, visited by sudden and irregular tumults, the prey and victim of all uproar and accident, but in our inmost soul, as in a sanctuary hidden from the touch and the gaze of others, we shall have thine own quietness, the peace which maketh glad. Enable us to know that all we are and have cometh down from the heavens shining with daily blessing and offering continual hospitality. Thou dost lead us by ways that we do not know, yea in paths from whose entrance we have shrunk; thou hast found for us gardens of flowers and springing wells and places of secure repose so will we no more interfere with thee, we will not meddle with God, we will stand in Christ and say, Not our will but thine be done: it is the only wise will and good, and in us there is no thought of excellence, we live and move and have our being in God. God’s will be done though it be death to us, yea God’s will be done though our chosen places be turned upside down and the nest in which we have hidden ourselves be torn to pieces. God’s will be done: lead us on as thou wilt and how thou wilt, only hide in us the sure and indestructible confidence that thou art undertaking our life for us, and that in the end thou wilt show us the goodness and glory of thy purpose.
We have come up to praise thee with unanimous song. Thou hast been good to us with infinite grace, thou hast spared nothing from our lot that would brighten and ennoble or sanctify it, and for this providence of thine we now bow down ourselves before thee in grateful and delighted homage. We have nothing that we have not received, what we have received is enriched with thine own image and superscription, and if we have given aught to thee, of thine own have we given thee, and the glory shall be thine.
For all chastening and mellowing providences we bless thee, for everything that teaches us the brevity of our life, for all helpfulness towards the true enjoyment of thy providence we now laud and magnify thee in our common psalm. Surely thou dost not waste the days upon us, all the sunshine is not lost upon our mean life, thou dost purpose the growth of our soul and its ultimate sanctification and complete purity. Towards this end thou art working in divers ways. We humbly pray thee for growing insight into the truth as it is in Jesus, for the spirit of sympathy with the very heart of Christ, for the tenderness of soul which feels every tear the Saviour shed, and that responds with penitence to the blood which he shed in atonement for the world. Bind us to the Saviour of souls, put both our hands and our whole heart upon the cross of Christ, and bound to that sacred symbol of thy love, thy law and righteousness, may we live the rest of our time in the very spirit and under the very blessing of Christ.
Wherein we have done wrong, thy pity will be greater than our sin. We cannot go beyond thy grace in any extent of guilt. Where sin abounds, grace doth much more abound, and as for the blackness of our guilt, lo, it becomes as wool and as snow under the cleansing blood.
Thou knowest our life, it is in our breath, it is a vapour that cometh for a little time and then vanisheth away. It is as a flying shadow, or a hastening post, as a shuttle quickly moving from point to point We die whilst we live, we breathe ourselves away, every pulse that beats leaves but the number less. So teach us to number our days as to apply our hearts unto wisdom. The year is dying, the year we once called new, under the morning of which we breathed our salutations and loving wishes to one another. Behold the golden vessel is being lifted up again into the heavens whence it descended. Help us to know that our days are a handful, that a child can name the sum thereof: whatsoever our hand findeth to do may we do it with our might.
Pity all who need thy pity, save us one and all, look not upon us in the light of thy righteousness, for who can stand when thou dost appear? but look upon us in Christ and through the cross, and from the altar of his sacrifice, and hear us when we say, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Deliver us from all embarrassment, show us what we ought to do on the morrow, give us unexpected answers to surprising difficulties, lead us over the road when we cannot see it, when it is too perilous to be trodden by human feet, lift us up in thine arms and carry us clean over. Let the old man forget his age in the inrush of new life and the inshining of celestial hope, let the feeble forget his weakness by an instant access of spiritual strength, and let the young be lifted up into a chastened and joyous maturity because of the conscious presence of God.
Nurse our sick ones: they are too delicate for us to touch, our gentlest embrace would but crush them in this very last feebleness make their bed in their affliction, for our rough hands cannot touch it, speak comfortably to them, for in our voice there is no music; heal those whom the physician has surrendered; when all human aid has gone out of the door dejected, helpless, confessed to be exhausted, go thou in and show us that our extremity is the opportunity of God. Amen.
The Outpouring of the Spirit
Act 2:21
( Continued. )
IT is in the presence of the Holy Ghost that we find the true union of the church. There are diversities of operation, and must always be such, but diversity of operation does not destroy, or in any degree impair, the unity of the Spirit. There is one Spirit, there is one faith, though there be many creeds, there is one baptism, though there be many forms of it, there is one Lord, though He shine in a thousand different lights. We have been vainly looking for union in uniformity, and because of the lack of uniformity we have oftentimes most ignorantly mourned the absence of union. Consider how irrational is such mourning, and how it is rebuked in the most practical terms by all that we know, even of the lower life with which we are most familiar. Is the human race one or many? is there any difficulty in identifying a man, whatever his colour, form, stature, language, or individuality of expression? yet are there any two men exactly alike? Consider how few are the elements which, so to speak, God had to work upon in making men, and yet see the infinite variety which he has wrought out of the few. Man has, say, some seven features, forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, form or contour, colour or complexion, so that they roughly sum up the man, yet out of those seven notes what music of facial expression has God wrought! Out of the twelve hundred millions of men now on the face of the globe, who can find two absolutely alike and identical? Yet, “God hath made of one blood all nations of men:” the unity is not in the form, but in something below the form, yea, in a something so subtle that it cannot be expressed in image or in word. “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
Do you therefore think of asking whether these two men can really belong to the same human nature: namely, a man black and a man white; a man speaking an unknown tongue, and a man speaking the language with which you are most familiar; a man with habits diametrically opposed to the habits of other men? Does it ever occur to you to ask the irrational question, whether these two belong to a common stock? You do not doubt the unity of the humanity, you comment upon diversities of temperament and peculiarities of habits, but you never think of striking at the central and vital unity of the race.
It is so in the Christian church. The Christian church is split up into a score of sects, but the church itself is one. When we seize that idea in all its range and significance, we shall not be seeking any mechanical unification of Christendom. Christians are one, the world over. To those who look upon things from the outside merely, it would seem impossible that the Arminian and the Calvinist can both be readers of the same Bible, and worshippers of the same God. But their unity is not found in formality, in credal expression, in propositional theology, in ecclesiastical arrangement; down in the centre of the heart, in a place untouched, so to say, by human fingers, there lies the common organic nerve that unites Christendom in its worship and in its hope.
It is a common complaint amongst persons who do not look deeper than the surface, that Christians are much divided; they are only divided in outward expression, their division as compared with their union is as a small drop in the bucket; when the CROSS is touched, the defence never comes from any one section of the church, the whole church with unanimous love and loyalty rushes to the vindication.
This has been exquisitely illustrated from another point of view by Mr. Robertson of Brighton, who calls our attention to the diversities which occur in the expression of sorrow, and also in the expression of worship and of loyalty. He reminds us of the Eastern sufferer, who throws himself upon the ground, and lies there prostrate, crying piteously and vehemently. The Western may be silent and self-controlled, but suffering all the while in his very heart a mortal agony. Is there therefore a difference in sorrow? The difference is not in the sorrow, but in the manifestation of the sorrow. So the Oriental before his king falls flat on the ground, and the Briton before his God only kneels. Is there, then, a difference in the spirit of worship? The meaning is the same, the whole conception is the same, a conception of lowliness, self-insufficiency, homage, dependence, loyalty. Who, therefore, would argue anything from the superficial comments of men who remark upon the diversities of the modes of worship which are found throughout Christendom? The Papist and the Protestant have different forms; those who follow symbolic worship, and those who are devoted to simplicity simplified, are all meaning, in proportion to their sincerity, the same thing. He therefore will, in my judgment, misspend his time, and will throw away his strength for naught, who seeks to mechanise the unity of the church, and to have one form or one liturgy, singing out of one hymn-book, breathing praise through the medium of the same music, and he will be on the right road, and will have a prophet’s power, yea, about him shall be the shining of an angel, who tells us that union is in the heart, in sympathy, in meaning, in the ultimate purpose of the mind, which is to glorify God in a noble, holy and beneficent life.
Have we received the Holy Ghost? The question does not admit of hesitation as to its answer. No man can mistake the summer sun when he sees it; he will not come home with a half tale of having seen some kind of light, but is not quite sure what it is or whence it shone, whether it was a gas jet, or the shining of an electric light, or a new star. The sun needs no introduction, has no signature but its own glory, and needs take no oath in proof of its identity. The shadows know it, and flee away; the flowers, and open their little hearts to its blessing; all the hills and valleys know it and quiver with a new joy.
We may have the form, and not the spirit. The apostle speaks of some who having the form of godliness deny the power thereof. Herein it is that so many men get wrong in their comments upon Christianity. They say the great thing after all for a man to do is to do good. That is correct. But what would you think of me if I said the great thing after all is for a train to go, when the train has not been attached to the engine? You are perfectly right in saying that the train is useless if it does not go, and if the train is going it is all right. But you must bring within your argument the fact that the engine could not go without the fire , that the train cannot go unless attached to the engine, that the engine and the train move, vibrate, fly, under the power of light; the light that was sealed up in the bins of the earth ten thousand ages ago, is driving your great locomotives today! When, therefore, you tell me that a man must do good, a man must be kind and noble and forgiving and excellent, and that is enough, you omit from your statement the vital consideration that we can only do these things as we are inspired by the indwelling Spirit of God.
I see before me at this moment certain cords suspended from the roof of this building. We are, I understand, about to attempt the experiment of introducing for a brief period, the electric light into this building. Is that the electric light which I see now? ‘Tis but a piece of dead cord; I could burn it, and yet it is necessary, yes, that must be allowed. What is wanted then is but to connect these cords with a motive power, near at hand or far away but until the connection is established these festoons I see before me are but dead, useless things, without a spark of light which I can make available. Connect the cords, set the engine going, let it cause the necessary rotations to fly, and presently an arrangement may be made by which from these cords we shall receive a dazzling glory. They are nothing in themselves, and yet without them, the engine might for a thousand ages, and we should get no light.
It is even so with us in our very soul and heart and mind. We are here, men educated, intelligent, well-appointed, and what is it that we need but connection with the heavens, direct communication with the source of light and fire? “Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire.”
Let us see by all these common illustrations, the meaning of the grand spiritual truth, “Without me Christ ye can do nothing.” Except the cord be attached to the really energetic centre it can do nothing. Except a branch abide in the vine it cannot bear fruit. Such is the lesson of all symbolism: we have detached ourselves from God, we have undertaken our own course in life; for a time we may go because of the original connection which existed between God and ourselves, and which he may even now in mercy be continuing unto us, in the hope of his infinite love that the filial relation may be re-established. Happy are we if we so interpret these outward symbols and suggestions, as to get from them the solemn lesson that unless we are vitally related to Christ, we have no life abiding in us.
When the Holy Spirit is communicated to the church, we must not imagine that we shall be other than ourselves, enlarged, ennobled and developed. The Spirit will not merge our individuality in a common monotony. Whatever your power is now, the incoming of the Holy Ghost will magnify and illuminate, so that your identity will not be lost, but will be carried up to its highest expression and significance. And more than that, not only will there be development of that which is already ascertained and known, but there will be a development of latent faculties, slumbering powers, the existence of which has never been suspected by our dearest friends. “If any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creature, old things have passed away, and all things have become new.” Look for surprises in the church when the Holy Ghost falls upon it: dumb men will speak, ineloquent men will attract and fascinate by the sublimity of their new discourse, timid men will put on the lion, and those who had hidden themselves away in the obscurity of conscious feebleness will come out and offer themselves at the Lord’s altar to help in the Lord’s service.
Do not let us have any attempts at mechanical enthusiasm. Any enthusiasm that is simulated, must die in the very act of expressing itself. When the Holy Ghost falls upon an assembly, the assembly loses mechanical self-control, but not spiritual self-direction. It is not carried away by mere exhilaration, as if by “wine wherein is excess,” it knows the hour of the day, it knows the genesis and the meaning of the process it has carried up to an enthusiasm which confounds all outside dwellers, but which brings its own explanation to the heart which it inflames.
So we await the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Holy Spirit, baptize us as with fire! Show me a true Christian who has not surprised his friends, not only by natural expansion of acknowledged power, but by many gifts and impulses, which had not been suspected before. What patience, what long-suffering, what nobleness of charity, what instantaneousness of large interpretation of misunderstood actions, what willingness to oblige and serve! How courteous, how simple, how chivalrous, how helpful altogether! The rough places have been made plain, high places have been brought low, the valleys have been lifted up, for the Lord hath come, and in his coming is reconciliation and ennoblement, and we are at our best only when we are under his inspiration.
The resources of the church will be multiplied in proportion as the church enjoys the presence and power of the Holy Ghost. How the old earth has continued to keep pace with all our civilization and science why should I not amend that sentence and say, How the old, kind motherly earth has been keeping herself back, as if she would be wooed and entreated and besought to tell the secret of her heart and yield up the riches which she had hidden. The electric light was, as to its possibilities, in Eden, as certainly as it is in the metropolis of England today. The locomotive has not created anything but a new combination and a new application and use. The locomotive was lying beside the four rivers that flowed through Paradise. Nothing has been added to the earth, no shower has fallen in the night-time to give the earth new riches and new susceptibilities: we have had to dig and search and wait, and we have realized this great Scriptural injunction and exhortation, Seek, and ye shall find; ask, and it shall be given unto you, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Whosoever asketh receiveth, and whoso seeketh findeth, and the door is opened to him who knocks upon it as if he meant to go in.
It is even so in the Bible. We have not begun yet the great preaching. The church knows nothing yet about the possibilities of revelation. No new Bible will be written, but new readers will come. No man may add one word to what is written in the sealed book, but the Lion of the tribe of Judah will open the book and read it as it has never been read before. To a certain extent we have learning enough, ability enough, industry enough: what we want is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. When that baptism comes we shall not be asking for definitions, for definitions are the exhaustion of terms. Genius cannot be defined, Inspiration cannot be defined, Love cannot be defined we know them all, we bow before them all, but we cannot put our homage into words, or carve in dead, cold stone, the beauty which we see and idolise in the soul. Be not asking frivolous questions about divergent and colliding creeds, fret not yourself because of those who make creeds and create differences, but understand that the union of the church, the power of the church, the life of the church, is in the felt presence of God the Holy Ghost.
When he comes we shall be one and yet many, no individuality will be lost; Peter will still flame, John will still burn, Paul will still reason, James will still moralize, David will still sing. Our identity will not be lost, but under the influence of a common fire, warmed by a common love, every man shall bring forth fruit according to his individuality, and as in the infinite diversity of nature we discover one common and grand beauty, and as one star differeth from another star in glory, yet every lamp was lighted at the same fontal fire so we shall rejoice in one another’s gifts, be thankful for the diversity of tongues and offices and services in the church, and shall not make this an occasion of separation. Whilst we look we shall be astounded at the infinite possibilities of human nature, at the infinite graciousness of the divine gift, and out of these very diversities shall come the inspiration of a new and ever-enlarging thankfulness.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Ver. 21. Shall be saved ] Therefore to be able to pray is better than to be able to prophesy, Mat 7:22 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Act 2:21 . , the usual LXX rendering of a common Hebrew phrase. The expression is derived from the way in which prayers addressed to God begin with the invocation of the divine name, Psa 3:2 ; Psa 6:2 , etc., and a similar phrase is found in classical writers, , Xen., Cyr. , vii., 1, 35; Plat., Tim. , p. 27, c.; Polyb., xv., 1, 13. From this it was an easy step to use the phrase as meaning the worshippers of the one God, Gen 4:26 ; Gen 12:8 , 2Ki 5:4 . It is therefore significant that the Christian converts at Corinth are described by the same phrase, 1Co 1:2 . But just as in Rom 10:12 this same prophecy of Joel is beyond all doubt referred by St. Paul to the Lord Jesus, so here the whole drift of St. Peter’s speech, that the same Jesus who was crucified was made both Lord and Christ, points to the same conclusion, Act 2:36 . In Joel is undoubtedly used of the Lord Jehovah, and the word is here transferred to Christ. In its bearing on our Lord’s Divinity this fact is of primary importance, for it is not merely that the early Christians addressed their Ascended Lord so many times by the same name which is used of Jehovah in the LXX although it is certainly remarkable that in 1 Thess. the name is applied to Christ more than twenty times but that they did not hesitate to refer to Him the attributes and the prophecies which the great prophets of the Jewish nation had associated with the name of Jehovah, Zahn, Skizzen aus dem Leben der alten Kirche , pp. 8, 10, 16 (1894), and for the force of the expression, . , in 1Co 1:2 , see Harnack, History of Dogma , i., p. 29, E.T. ., “whosoever”: it would seem that in St. Peter’s address the expression does not extend beyond the chosen people; cf. Act 5:36 . : to the Jew salvation would mean safety in the Messianic kingdom, and from the penalties of the Messianic judgment; for the Christian there would be a partial fulfilment in the flight of the believers to Pella for safety when the Son of Man came in the destruction of Jerusalem; but the word carries our thoughts far beyond any such subordinate fulfilment to the fulness of blessing for body and soul which the verb expresses on the lips of Christ; cf. Luk 7:50 . And so St. Luke places in the forefront of Acts as of his Gospel the thought of Jesus not only as the Messiah, but also as the , Luk 2:14 ; cf. Psalms of Sol. , Act 4:2 (Ryle and James).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
call, &c. Greek. epikaleo. Compare Act 7:59; Act 9:14; Act 22:16. Rom 10:12-14. 1Co 1:2.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Act 2:21. [, every one) All men of this kind, and they alone.-V. g.]-, shall invoke, shall call upon) All kinds (species) of prayers are included in this word. Melancthon especially delighted in the term invocation. [Such an invocation is meant as is made in spirit.-V. g.]-, shall be saved, shall be made safe) shall escape all penalties; shall attain to blessedness. [Even in the very end, which shall be so terrible to the whole creation. V. g.] Luk 21:36.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
saved
(See Scofield “Rom 1:16”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
whosoever: Act 9:11, Act 9:15, Act 22:16, Psa 86:5, Joe 2:32, Mat 28:19, Rom 10:12, Rom 10:13, 1Co 1:2, Heb 4:16
Reciprocal: Gen 4:26 – Enos Gen 12:8 – called Jos 6:25 – Rahab 2Ch 14:11 – cried unto Psa 18:3 – so shall Jer 33:3 – Call Zec 13:9 – they shall call Act 7:59 – calling
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1
Call is from EPIKALEO, and Thayer defines it at this place, “To call upon (on one’s behalf) the name of the Lord, i. e., to invoke, adore, worship, the Lord, i, e., Christ.” It is the same Greek word for “calling” in chapter 22:16, where the context shows that calling on the name of the Lord for salvation means to obey His commands.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 2:21. And it shall come to pass, that who-so ever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. St. Peter here winds up the first division of his discourse, turning from theology to life, telling men and women of all races and ages the name of Him who could save them in all and through all, if they would only call upon Him.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 19
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
TIME OF WAITING
21. And it shall come to pass that whosoever may call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved. If the Pentecostians had proved true to the wonderful enduement of the Holy Ghost, they might have peregrinated the whole known world and preached the gospel to every nation, in which case the Lord would have returned to the earth before that generation had all passed away (Mat 14:24; Mat 16:28.) But like humanity in all ages, they failed. Man has always been a failure and always will be. He failed in Eden, winding up with the Fall; he failed in antediluvian times, swept away by the righteous judgments of the flood; he failed in the Patriarchal dispensation, landing in Egyptian slavery; he failed in the Mosaic dispensation, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies and the dispersing of the Jews to the ends of the earth; he also failed in the Saviors ministry, blindly rejecting and crucifying Him. The prophecies are equally explicit as to his egregious failure in the Gospel dispensation, plunging blindly and precipitately into the horrors of the great Tribulation. Is not this very discouraging? Does it not prove that the plan of salvation is a failure? To both of these questions we respond an emphatic negative. The plan of salvation is a glorious success to all who willingly appreciate it. The very fact of mans failure in all dispensations, and under all environments, is the grandest incentive conceivable, inspiring all truly and intelligently awakened souls to abandon humanity, world without end, and sink into God. Man never was created for independency. Hence whenever he undertakes it, failure and calamity inevitably supervene. When the Pentecostal generation failed to preach the gospel to every nation, a period came on, designated
the time of waiting. Meanwhile the Son is waiting on the Father to verify His promise, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool (Act 2:34.) At the same time the Son is waiting on the Church to preach the gospel of the kingdom to every nation (Mat 24:14); while the Church at the same time is anxiously watching and waiting the return of her divine Spouse, who flew up to heaven from Mt. Olivet.
During this period of waiting, in which the Father alone knows the end and the time of our Lords return, the commandment is repeated, rigid and explicit: Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man cometh. In this twenty first verse, we have a terse, clear and beautiful revelation of the gracious economy during the time of waiting. In our hurried rush to evangelize every nation on the globe, we have no time to bother with human ecclesiasticisms. They are utterly out of harmony with gospel expedition and New Testament simplicity. What do you mean by human ecclesiasticisms? I mean the human appropriation of the divine ecclesia. This word used by the Holy Ghost simply means the souls He has called out from this wicked world and separated unto God. The Holy Ghost Himself in regeneration and sanctification brings the New Testament church into existence, Himself organizing the same with bishops, i. e., pastors, elders, and deacons. The human usurpation of the ecclesia has girdled the world with popery, prelacy, and priestcraft, locking the nations in the Briarian arms of spiritual Babylon and dumping millions into hell. In this verse, oh! how beautifully, simply and unmistakably does the Holy Ghost define the gospel economy and the plan of salvation: Whosoever may call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So what are we to do? Why! simply go to the ends of earth and prevail on the people to call on the name of the Lord, i. e., to pray to God. All who fall in line, begin to pray and keep on to the end of probation, fly right up to heaven, as Gods Word is infallible as Himself. Instead of all the Christians on the globe running to the ends of the earth, preaching Jesus and getting all the people to pray, we have the nations humbugged by intriguing priests and tyrannized by ecclesiastical laws unheard of in the Bible. The apostles were unlearned and ignorant men (Act 4:13). Yet they were fully competent to the great work of the gospel ministry. Instead of wearing out your nerves, eyes and brain by poring over dry-boned theology, get the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, and run like Samsons foxes, preaching hell- fire to sinners till you get them all on their knees praying to God to save them from the burning pit. At the same time preach heavenly fire to Christians till you get them all on their knees crying to God for the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire to sanctify them for heaven.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
2:21 {4} And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall {n} call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
(4) The most important use of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit is to bring men to salvation by faith.
(n) These words “call on” signify in Holy Scriptures and earnest praying and craving for help from God’s hand.