Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 26:18
To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
18. to open their eyes, and to turn them ] More literally Rev. Ver. “that they may turn”. A sentence full of hope and promise of success. If the eyes of the Gentiles be but opened, then they will turn. In blindness the Jews often said (as Paul found) “We see,” therefore their sin remained.
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me ] Better, with Rev. Ver., “by faith in me.” It is by their belief in Jesus that men are sanctified. And here “sanctified,” as so often “saint” in St Paul’s Epistles, is applied to those who have been set on the way of salvation, and not to those who are perfect in holiness. To that they will be brought if they persevere.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To open their eyes – To enlighten or instruct them. Ignorance is represented by the eyes being closed, and the instruction of the gospel by the opening of the eyes. See Eph 1:18.
And to turn them from darkness to light – From the darkness of paganism and sin to the light and purity of the gospel. Darkness is an emblem of ignorance and of sin, and the pagan nations are often represented as sitting in darkness. Compare the Mat 4:16 note; Joh 1:4-5 notes.
And from the power of Satan – From the dominion of Satan. Compare Col 1:13; 1Pe 2:9. See the notes on Joh 12:31; Joh 16:11. Satan is thus represented as the prince of this world, the ruler of the darkness of this world, the prince of the power of the air, etc. The pagan world, lying in sin and superstition, is represented as under his control; and this passage teaches, doubtless, that the great mass of the people of this world are the subjects of the kingdom of Satan, and are led captive by him at his will.
Unto God – To the obedience of the one living and true God.
That they may receive forgiveness of sins – Through the merits of that Saviour who died – that thus the partition wall between the Jews and the Gentiles might be broken down, and all might be admitted to the same precious privileges of the favor and mercy of God. Compare the notes on Act 2:38.
And inheritance – An heirship, or lot kleron: that they might be entitled to the privileges and favors of the children of God. See the notes on Act 20:32.
Which are sanctified – Among the saints; the children of God. See the notes on Act 20:32.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 26:18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light.
The effects of the gospel
I. The opening of the eyes to let in the truth. The gospel shows us our dark, lost, and needy state, and the willingness and ample means of God to deliver us.
II. The new bias of the soul, as a consequence.
1. A turning away the mind from darkness and sin. Men love darkness rather than light in their natural state.
2. An opposite yearning towards God.
III. The grand object of that new bias is that the soul may receive additional blessings.
1. The forgiveness of sins–the crisis of the whole matter.
2. The gift of the inheritance. (E. Craig, M. A.)
Vital ministry
Should anyone ask, What does Christianity want to do in the world? point the inquirer to this verse–
I. To open their eyes.
1. Any religion that proposes to open our eyes is presumptively a true religion. Superstition says, Keep your eyes closed. Christianity, then, does not want to shut me up in some prison, priest-locked, roofed in with superstition, wound round with darkness.
2. There are no blind Christians. The Christian is a wide-awake man–all reason, all life. Christianity is rationalism because it opens the eyes.
3. Do not, however, suppose you understand it in a moment. This is a daily process in our education–namely, seeing things more clearly, noting their relations, proportions, and final issues.
4. There is no mission so sublime! It is almost like creating a man to give him sight. The greatest gift of man to man is the gift of idea, thought, new vision. To open the eyes is to give wealth. The poet cannot give me the acres of my lord, but he can give me the landscape that belongs to the poorest of the children of men.
II. To turn them from darkness to light. That is upon the same line of thinking? Not to open their eyes to see the darkness as seven fold greater than they dreamed it to be. Yet men will follow any demagogue who will delude and befool them, and turn their back upon the man who wants to lead them out of darkness into light. What a turning is this! Who can measure the distance from darkness to light? These are terms that transcend arithmetic.
III. There is another turning–namely, From the power of satan unto God. Christianity is the upward movement of the world. Nearer God! is the watch cry. We know what is meant by the power of Satan–the power that victimises us, that gives us promises which end ever in disappointments; the power that unmans us, breaks upon our self-control, mocks our prayers, and points us to the grave as the sad end.
IV. So far this is in some sense negative. Now we come to what may be termed a blessing more positive: That they may receive forgiveness of sins. No man ever invented that! Man has invented forgetfulness of sins; but Christianity will not administer narcotic to me; it will fight the battle right out, and the end shall be forgiveness. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. Conclusion: Is it worth our while trying to open mens eyes, etc. In this faith I would serve and count all other programmes mean as lies. Then will come the inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me–new character, new brotherhood, new riches. This is what Christianity wants to do; and when this work is done, earth will be heaven. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The commission of the Apostle Paul
I. The purposes of St. Pauls mission. It was–
1. To open their eyes.
(1) The words, like those spoken of Christs mission (Isa 42:7), refer to those spiritually blind, through inattention, unbelief (2Co 4:4), prejudice, superstition, love of the world, fleshly lusts, wicked habits.
(2) Paul opened their eyes–
(a) By means of his miracles, which tended to awaken their attention, and convince them that his mission was from God.
(b) By his discourses, informing their understanding and conscience.
(c) By his unblameable, holy, and useful life, overcoming their prejudices–partly by affecting their hearts, and exciting their sympathies with his sufferings.
2. To turn them from darkness to light. The heathen, even the learned Greeks and Romans, were in a state of great darkness, i.e., ignorance and error, as to spiritual things. By the preaching of the gospel and the influences of the Spirit, men are translated from this darkness. In equal darkness are involved the present heathen, Mahomedans, Jews, Papists, and many Protestants! Now missionaries are sent abroad, and ministers are labouring at home to enlighten them.
3. From the power of Satan unto God. Satan, who is the prince of darkness, the ruler of the darkness of this world (Eph 6:12), obtains his power over mankind through their ignorance. Through ignorance of the true God, they worshipped false gods (Rom 1:21-23); through ignorance of His purity, mercy, truth, and righteousness, they were filthy, cruel, and false. Hence their dreadful corruption of manners (Rom 1:24-32). And why did the Jews crucify the Lord of glory? Because they knew Him not (Act 3:17; 1Co 2:8). Why have so many nations embraced the Mahomedan delusions? From the errors with which their minds were blinded (Rev 9:2-3). Whence the superstitions of popery (1Ti 4:1; 2Th 2:3-9). And whence is it that among almost all descriptions of persons, even among us, the body is preferred to the soul, earth to heaven, the world to God; sin, the greatest evil, to holiness, the greatest good; Belial, the worst master, to Christ, the best! All this is from darkness, and the power of Satan exercised thereby. The gospel, by enlightening men, rescues them from his power, and brings them to the experimental and saving knowledge of God.
4. Hence, being turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, they receive the forgiveness of sins; being delivered from the dominion of them, they are exempted from their penalty. They do not merit this as a reward or debt, but they receive it as the effect of Divine mercy and grace (Tit 3:4-5); obtained through Christs sacrifice and intercession (Rom 5:9-10); received by faith in Christ (Joh 3:14-18; Gal 2:16), and sealed on the heart and conscience by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13).
5. And an inheritance among them which are sanctified. Sanctification is an internal change wrought by the Holy Ghost (1Pe 1:2; 2Th 2:13), by means of the Word (Joh 17:17), and faith in Jesus (see the text and Act 15:9). This implies a deliverance from sin, and from the world, a dedication to God in heart and life, in soul and body, in our faculties and members, our all being employed for Him; a conformity to Him, a participation of the Divine nature (2Pe 1:4); and hence walking with God (Gen 5:24), and communion with Him, living and walking in His Spirit (1Jn 1:3; Gal 5:25). How great is this blessing! They obtain an inheritance among the sanctified here and hereafter. Thus they have a lot among the wisest, best, holiest, the most honourable and blessed of the human race in this world and another; yea, among angels with Christ and God.
II. The infinite importance of His mission. These ends never were, and never will be obtained in any other way, than by the preaching of the gospel. Some few of the heathen had a degree of knowledge and virtue (chap. 10:35; Rom 1:19-20), and might attain some degree of happiness after death, but not the proper Christian salvation as here set forth. Hence the command of Christ, that His gospel should be preached to every creature (Mar 16:15; Mat 28:19; Luk 24:47). Hence this wonderful miracle wrought in the conversion of St. Paul (verse 16; Act 9:15). Hence the great sufferings to which he was exposed (Act 9:16; 1Co 4:9-13; 2Co 4:8-12). Hence, likewise, Christ requires all His disciples, and especially His messengers, to deny themselves, etc. (Mat 16:24; Mat 10:37-39; Luk 14:26). Nay, the Lord Jesus Himself was born and came into the world, and lived and died to bear witness to the truth.
III. Inferences. What, then, shall we think of–
1. Those Christians, so called, who, like the Jews in St. Pauls day, forbid the preaching of the gospel to the heathen (1Th 2:15-16)?
2. Those who are so attached to their worldly wealth that they cannot be induced to sacrifice a little of it to promote the salvation of the heathen? May not one properly use the words of Peter to such characters, and say, Thy money perish with thee!
3. Those pious young men, who have reason to think themselves called to missionary work, but are backward to offer themselves to this service?
4. Those, who, having set their hands to the plough, look back, and give up such a cause after they have undertaken it? (J. Benson.)
The work of man and the gift of God
I. The direct work of the Christian ministry. I send thee to open their eyes. The work is described, and the power is in the sending. If Christ sends, He will also give the power.
1. So then, before Him who looks on it from heaven, humanity lies as it were sleeping. The eye is closed: the eye of the understanding, of the heart, of the soul. Very remarkable is the contrast between this and the tempters promise. Then your eyes shall be opened. He prevailed, and the eyes of them both were opened–they knew that they were naked. That opening was to a consciousness of shame. To everything save wretchedness it was a closing. As Christ looks on from heaven, He sees man blind. He sends Paul to open their eyes. It was the first thing done for Paul himself. Brother Saul, receive thy sight. Look up, the word is, see again! What Saul needed man needs now.
2. The came eye may be opened to some things and closed to others. The very clearness of its vision for some things–say, for near objects–may be a mark of its dulness as to the mere distant. A man may be quick to discern his own rights, interests, pleasures, in the life that is; and yet utterly mistaken, or indifferent, as to his highest interest, happiness, duty, as a being born for immortality. Oh, how dull oftentimes is the man of business, politics, literature, or philosophy, when the thing presented to him is the work of Christ or the hope of heaven! He, too, needs to have his eyes opened.
3. And this is the office, we here read, of the Christian ministry. As Christs witness, if he cannot say, as St. Paul could say, Listen tome, for I have seen Jesus Christ; at least he should be able to say, Listen to me; for I know Jesus Christ; I have heard His voice, I have talked with Him in my soul, and He by His Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death. It is here that we fail. We bring a hearsay message, but we have not felt it ourselves, and therefore we have no evidence to bring of facts known, of things seen. Alas! it is too much with us, as it was with the prophets of old, who prophesied out of their own hearts, followed their own spirit, and had seen nothing.
4. In a true sense, all of us have at least seen the light. Light, the true light, is come into the world, but some love darkness rather than light, etc.
II. That work has a further object; in which not the minister, but the hearer, must be the agent.
1. That they may turn. Turning, or conversion, follows upon the opening of the eyes. The communication of light, by the faithful preaching of the gospel, is the work of another; but this turning is (under God) a mans own work. A minister may enlighten, but he cannot convert. That is (under God) an act of the will, of the individual will, consequent upon conviction. I see that this is true. Now therefore, seeing the light, I must turn to it. Therefore I awake and arise, and Christ shall give me light. I will walk in this light which He has brought to me. I will accept this two-fold blessedness which He offers me, of a forgiven past and a cleansed future. That is conversion. Oh, how unlike the dreams of many; who have mistaken the opening of the eyes for the turning to the light; more often a startled, feverish, fleeting feeling, for a deliberate self-surrender to a forgiving Saviour and a holy God!
2. But we must not exaggerate mans power, or forget the difficulty of that change. Satan has great authority. Let a man honestly turn from darkness to light, and then, if never before, he will become conscious of the strong grip of evil. Habits of life, habits of mind, habits of feeling, are not changed in a day. Let him turn, then, not only from the darkness to the light, but also from the authority of Satan unto God. There is a Stronger than the strong man armed.
III. The ultimate object of the work is that men may turn to God so that they may receive–
1. Forgiveness of sins. I know how lightly sin can sit upon the conscience of a transgressor. He has only to keep out of the light, and he may travel smoothly enough along a considerable stage of lifes journey. But let the light penetrate, let conviction come, and then see whether it is an easy thing to bear, or an easy thing to escape, that sense of sin! If it he true, as men say, that nature has no forgiveness; that the body and the life of man must still and forever be found out by iniquities long past, long repented of or forgotten; how much more does this magnify the unspeakable gift of God. He who heartily turns receives at once forgiveness, yea (for it is the very meaning of forgiveness) dismissal, of sins. Where, save in Christ, will you find this?
2. Dismissal of the past: and now an inheritance. Properly, a lot; and so an allotment; a portion falling to one by lot. It may remind us of those chapters of the Book of Joshua, in which we read of the assignment by lot to the tribes of Israel of their inheritance in the land of Canaan. And so in the Psalms, The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground: yea, I have a goodly heritage. The inheritance itself waits to be bestowed: but there is an earnest and a foretaste of it now.
3. Who are the sanctified? The consecrated; those whom God has taken to be His own; free from the contaminations of sin, and from the profanenesses of the world. This is not an attainment of man, but a gift of God. The word denotes not those who have made themselves holy, but those whom God has set apart for Himself by anointing them, as His kings and priests, with the Holy Ghost. We all have received the sign and pledge of this in baptism: which of us has the reality of it?
4. By faith that is in Me. He who speaks from heaven, still, even as when He spake on earth, makes faith everything. (Dean Vaughan.)
Divine forgiveness
In the State House at Albany is an old worn letter, an autograph pardon granted by President Lincoln. Its story is a short one. In the time of war a soldier was arrested, charged with desertion, and, though stoutly protesting his innocence, he was promptly tried, condemned, and sentenced to a deserters death. With emphatic remonstrance, he bravely prepared to meet his doom. The facts were laid before the merciful President, who was so affected by them that he was convinced that injustice had been done, and, taking his pen, wrote an autograph pardon for Boswell McIntyre of Co. C, 6th Regiment, New York Volunteers, on condition that he return to and remain with his regiment until it was mustered out of the service. We can better imagine than describe the joy of this man, as the pardon reached him just as he was preparing to die. In the busy activities of army life in Virginia, this incident was apparently forgotten. After the last battle of the war had been fought–the engagement that forced Lee ultimately to surrender–the battle of Five Forks, when the field was being cleared of the dead and wounded, the bullet-riddled body of Boswell McIntyre was found with that autograph pardon of the great president next his heart. Do we who have accepted the atonement of Christ wear His Divine pardon next the heart?
Faith that is in me.
Faith in Christ
1. It is commonly said that what are called the distinguishing doctrines of Christianity are rather found in the Epistles than in the Gospels, and the reason is that Christ came not to speak the gospel, but to be the Gospel. Yet if anybody asks us where did Paul get the doctrines which he preached, the answer is, Here, on the road to Damascus, when he saw his Lord, and heard Him speak. These words spoken then are the germ of all Pauls Epistles. Mans ruin, mans depravity, the state of darkness, the power of Satan, the sole redemptive work of Christ, justification by belief in that, sanctification coming with justification; and glory, and rest, and heaven at last–there they all are in the very first words that sounded upon the quickened ear of the blinded man when he turned from darkness to light.
2. To the one part of this comprehensive summary I turn. The word faith is so often on our lips that it has come to be almost meaningless in many minds. These keywords of Scripture meet the same fate as do coins that have been long in circulation. They pass through so many fingers that the inscriptions get worn off them.
I. The object of faith is Christ.
1. Christianity is not merely a system of truths about God, nor a code of morality deducible from these, but the affiance and the confidence of the whole spirit fixed upon the redeeming, revealing Christ. True, the object of our faith is Christ as made known to us in the facts of His recorded life and the teaching of His apostles. Apart from them the image of Christ must stand a pale colourless phantom before the mind, and the faith which is directed towards such a nebula will be as impotent as the shadow towards which it turns. Thus far, then, the attempt which is made to establish a Christianity without doctrines on the plea that the object of faith is not a proposition, but a person, must be regarded as nugatory; for how can the person be an object of thought at all, but through the despised propositions? But notwithstanding this, it is He, and not the statements about Him, who is the object of faith.
2. Look at His own words. He does not merely say, Believe this, that, and the other thing about Me; but believe in Me! He that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and He that believeth in Me shall never thirst. I think that if people rightly grasped this truth, it would clear away rolling wreaths of fog and mist from their perceptions of the gospel–that Christ is it, and that the object of faith is not simply the truths that are recorded here in the Word, but He with regard to whom these truths are recorded. The whole feeling and attitude of a mans mind is different, according as he is trusting a person, or according as he is believing something about a person.
3. What a strong inference with regard to the Divinity of Christ is deducible from this! In the Old Testament you find constantly, Trust ye in the Lord forever; Put thy trust in Jehovah! Religion has always been the same in every dispensation. It has always been true that it has been faith which has bound man to God, and given man hope. But when we come to the New Testament, the centre is shifted. With calm, simple, profound dignity, Christ lays His hand upon all the ancient and consecrated words, and says, They are Mine–give them to Me! That ancient trust, I claim the right to have it. That old obedience, it belongs to Me. I am He to whom in all time the loving hearts of them that loved God have set. I am the Angel of the Covenant, in whom whoever trusteth shall never be confounded! And I ask you just to take that one simple fact, that Christ steps into the place filled by Jehovah; and ask yourselves honestly what theory about Christs nature and person and work explains that fact, and saves Him from the charge of folly and blasphemy? The object of faith is. Christ; and as object of faith He must needs be Divine.
II. The nature and the essence of the act of faith itself.
1. If the object of faith were certain truths, the assent of the understanding would be enough; if unseen things, the confident persuasion of them would be sufficient; if promises of future good, the hope rising to certainty of the possession of these would be sufficient; but if the object be a living person, then it follows that faith is the personal relation of him that believes to the living Person its object, viz., trust.
2. By laying hold of that simple principle, we get light upon the grandest truths of the gospel. It is the very same kind of feeling, though different in degree, and glorified, as that which we all know how to put forth in our relations with one other. When the child looks up into the mothers face, the symbol to it of all protection; or into the fathers eye, the symbol to it of all authority, that emotion by which the little one hangs upon the loving hand and trusts the loving heart is the same as the one which, glorified and made Divine, rises strong and immortal in its power, when fixed and fastened on Christ, and saves the soul. The gospel rest upon a mystery, but the practical part of it is no mystery.
3. And if this be the very heart and kernel of the Christian doctrine of faith, all the subsidiary meanings and uses of the Word flow out of that, whilst it cannot be explained by any of them. People are in the habit of setting up antitheses betwixt faith and reason, faith and sight, faith and possession. But the root from which springs the power of faith as the opposite of sight, as the telescope of reason, as the confidence of things not possessed, is the deeper thing–faith in the Person, which leads us to believe Him whether He promises, reveals, or commands, and to take His words as verity because He is the Truth.
4. And then, again, if this personal trust in Christ be faith, then there come also, closely connected with it, certain other feelings in the heart. For instance, if I am trusting to Christ, there is inseparably linked with it self-distrust, and it will obviously have for its certain and immediate consequence, love.
III. The power of faith. If a man believes, he is saved. Why so? Not as some people sometimes seem to fancy–not as if in faith itself there was any merit. What is that but the whole doctrine of works in a new form? When we say we are saved by faith, we mean, accurately, through faith. Faith is simply the channel through which there flows over into my emptiness the Divine fulness, or the hand which is held up to receive the benefit which Christ lays in it.
IV. The guilt and criminality of unbelief. People are sometimes disposed to fancy that God has arbitrarily selected this as the means of salvation, but the principles that I have been trying to work out help us to see that it is not so. There is no other way of effecting it. God could not do it in any other way than that, the fulness being provided, the condition of receiving it should be trust in His Son. And next they show where the guilt of unbelief lies. Faith is not first and principally an act of the understanding; it is not the mere assent to certain truths. It is the will, the heart, the whole moral being, that is concerned. Why does a man not trust Jesus Christ? Because he will not; because he has confidence in himself; because he has not a sense of his own sins; because he has not love in his heart to his Lord and Saviour. Unbelief men are responsible for. Unbelief is criminal, because it is a moral act. And therefore Christ, who says, Sanctified by faith that is in Me, says likewise, He that believeth not, shall be condemned. (A Maclaren, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 18. To open their eyes] To be the instrument of informing their understanding in the things of God.
To turn them from darkness to light] From heathenism and superstition to the knowledge and worship of the true God.
From the power of Satan unto God] , From the authority and domination of Satan; for as the kingdom of darkness is his kingdom, so those who live in this darkness are under his dominion; and he has authority and right over them. The blessed Gospel of Christ is the means of bringing the soul from this state of spiritual darkness and wretchedness to the light and liberty of the children of God; and thus they are brought from under the power and authority of Satan, to be under the power and authority of GOD.
That they may receive forgiveness of sins] That all their sins may be pardoned, and their souls sanctified; for nothing less is implied in the phrase, , which signifies the taking away or removal of sins.
And inheritance] By remission of sins, i.e. the removal of the guilt and pollution of sin, they become children of God; and, if children, then heirs; for the children of the heavenly family shall alone possess the heavenly estate. And as the inheritance is said to be among them that are SANCTIFIED, this is a farther proof that signifies, not only the forgiveness of sins, but also the purification of the heart.
By faith that is in me.] By believing on Christ Jesus, as dying for their offenses, and rising again for their justification. Thus we see that not only this salvation comes through Christ, but that it is to be received by faith; and, consequently, neither by the merit of works, nor by that of suffering.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To open their eyes; the eyes of their minds, that they might know God, and their duty towards him. Our Saviour assures Paul, that he should do that for the souls of men which he should find effected in his own body, being made to see. Now though this be only the work of God, yet, to honour the ministry, he is pleased to attribute it unto his ministers, as being the instruments he ordinarily worketh it by; and who are hence called co-workers with God, 2Co 6:1.
To turn them from darkness to light; this was signified by the glorious light which came from the body of our glorified Redeemer, which appeared unto him.
The power of Satan; so are all sins, for by them Satan rules in the children of disobedience, Eph 2:2.
That they may receive forgiveness of sins; thereby intimating, that their former sins (how grievous soever) should not hinder their salvation, who received the gospel in the love and power of it.
By faith that is in me; by faith which purifieth the heart; but this may be referred, either to our being sanctified, or to our receiving of the inheritance, for both are by faith; and as without faith we are no better, and do no better, so we shall receive no better, than other men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. To open their eyes, and to turnthem from darkness to lightrather, “that they may turn”(as in Ac 26:20), that is, asthe effect of their eyes being opened. The whole passage leans uponIsa 61:1 (Lu4:18).
and from the power ofSatanNote the connection here between being “turned fromdarkness” and “from the power of Satan,” whose wholepower over men lies in keeping them in the dark: hence he iscalled “the ruler of the darkness of this world.” See on2Co 4:4.
that they may receiveforgiveness . . . and inheritance among the sanctified by faith thatis in meNote: Faith is here made the instrument ofsalvation at once in its first stage, forgiveness, and itslast, admission to the home of the sanctified; and the faithwhich introduces the soul to all this is emphatically declared by theglorified Redeemer to rest upon Himself“FAITH,even THAT WHICH IS IN ME.”And who that believes this can refrain from casting his crown beforeHim or resist offering Him supreme worship?
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
To open their eyes,…. The eyes of their understanding, which were shut, and darkened, and blind: one copy reads, “the eyes of the blind”; and the Ethiopic version renders it, “the eyes of their heart”; and to have them opened, is to have them enlightened, to see their lost state and condition by nature, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the plague of their own hearts, the impurity of nature, the impotence of man to that which is spiritually good, the imperfection of obedience, and the insufficiency of a man’s righteousness to justify him before God; and to see where help is laid, and where salvation is; to behold Christ as the only able, willing, complete, and suitable Saviour; to see that there is life and righteousness, peace, pardon, grace, and glory in him; and to have an insight into the doctrines of the Gospel, and a glimpse of the invisible things of another world. Now though this is all the work of the Spirit, by whom only the eyes of the understanding are enlightened; yet this is ascribed to the apostle, not as the efficient cause, but as the instrument and means through preaching of the Gospel, which the Spirit of God would, and did make use of:
and to turn them from darkness to light; or “that they might be turned”, as the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions render it: by “darkness” is meant, the darkness of nature, the darkness of sin, of ignorance, and unbelief, in which all men by nature are; who are in the dark about, and are ignorant of God, and the perfections of his nature; and about sin, and the evil there is in it, and that comes by it; and the way of peace, righteousness, and salvation by Christ; and the work of the spirit in regeneration and sanctification upon the heart; and about the Scriptures of truth, and the doctrines of the Gospel, and what will be their state and portion in another world; they do not know where they are, what they are, nor where they are going: and in the effectual calling this darkness is in a great measure removed, and they are turned to light; to God, who is light itself, and to Christ, the light of the world, and to the light of the word, and to a participation of the light of grace here, in which they see light, and behold the above things, and of the light of glory hereafter. This is a phrase used by the Jews, at the time of the passover, when they praise the Lord, and give thanks unto him for the wonders he wrought for their fathers and for them, as that he had brought them out of bondage to liberty, and from sorrow to joy, and , “from darkness to a great light” e. Conversion is the end of the Gospel ministry, and illumination is necessary to it; yea, it lies in a turn from darkness to light, as is here expressed: and this conversion is not a mere external one, or a reformation of manners; this is indeed sometimes called a conversion, and is a man’s turning from the evil of his ways, from a vicious life and conversation, to a sober way of living, and is often brought about through the ministry of the word; but then this may be where true conversion is not, and where there is no special illumination of the Spirit, nor any true spiritual light; and there may be a turning again to the former course of life; besides, this external conversion, when it is right and genuine, is the fruit and effect of inward conversion, or true grace, and is at most but the evidence of it: nor is it a conversion to a doctrine in a professional way; men may be converted in this sense, and remain wicked; they may have the form, but not the power of godliness; know the doctrine and profess it, and yet be strangers to the experience of it: nor does it design a restoration after backslidings; which sometimes goes by the name of conversion, such as was Peter’s after his fall; but the first work of conversion is here meant, which is internal, and is a turn of the hearts of men; and is not the work of man, but of God, who has the hearts of all in his hands, and can turn them as he pleases; and is what man is passive in, he does not turn himself, but is turned by the Lord; though ministers may be, and are instruments in it. It follows,
and from the power of Satan unto God: this power of Satan regards not his power over the rest of the devils, whose prince and head he is; hence he is called the prince of devils, and the prince of the power of the air; but his power over the world of men, which he has by usurpation, and therefore is called the prince of the world; but not his power over the bodies of men, by possessing them, inflicting diseases, and death itself upon them, nor over their estates; all which is only by permission of God, whenever he exercises it; but over the souls of men, in whom he rules as in his own kingdom: he is the strong man armed, and the hearts of men are his palaces, which are guarded with devils and unclean lusts; when all the goods are kept in peace by him, there is no concern about sin, no inquiry after salvation, no dread of the curses of the law, nor fear of hell and damnation, but all in the utmost security: and he not only dwells in the hearts of unregenerate persons, but he works effectually there; by stirring up their corruptions, putting ill things into their minds, and instigating them against true spiritual and powerful religion, and the professors of it: he has power over the minds of them that believe not, to blind them, by keeping them in blindness, and increasing it; which he does by diverting their minds from hearing the Gospel; and whilst hearing it, by filling them with enmity against it. Moreover, they are led by him as captives at his will; they are in his power, as the bird is in the snare of the fowler, and as a prisoner in the hands of a jailer; and are entirely at his beck and command, and do his lusts, and obey his will: and this also may have a particular respect to the power and authority which he exercised over the Heathens, before the Gospel came among them; Satan usurped a power over the Gentile world, and took upon him to be the god of it; and for many hundred of years was worshipped in their idols; and he held them fast bound unto him in the fetters of ignorance, superstition, and idolatry; but now the Gospel was sent among them to free them from this power and tyranny of his; and it was made effectual to the turning of multitudes of them from him, and subjection to him, which is done in the effectual calling of every person; not that Satan then has no more power over them to tempt and distress them, but not to rule over them, and lead them about at pleasure, and much less to devour and destroy them: and then also are they turned to God, to have true knowledge of him, and an hearty desire after him, which they had not before; and to a love of him, whose hearts before were enmity to him; and to believe in him, and trust in him as the God of providence, and of grace; and to have communion with him; and to be subject to his government, and yield a cheerful obedience to him, both externally and internally.
That they may receive forgiveness of sins: as an act of God’s free grace, through the blood of Christ, which was shed for it; and which free and full forgiveness of sins is published in the Gospel, that whoever believes in Christ, may by faith receive it. This is what every enlightened soul sees it needs, and is desirous of; it is the first thing it wants, and asks at the hands of God; and nothing can be more suitable to its case, and welcome to it; and this is the good news which is declared in the ministry of the Gospel: and it is had in a way of receiving; for it is not purchased with money, nor procured by the merits of men; but is a gift of God, which is received by the hand of faith into the conscience of the enlightened sinner; the consequences of which are peace, joy, and comfort.
And inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in one: by the “inheritance” is meant, either something enjoyed now, as God himself, who is the portion of his people, and the lot of their inheritance; or a part and interest in Christ, who is that good part and portion, and which shall never be taken away; and the blessings of grace in him, which, besides forgiveness of sins, are peace with God, a justifying righteousness, and adopting grace: or rather eternal glory and happiness hereafter is here designed, which is called an “inheritance” or “lot”, in allusion to the land of Canaan, which was distributed by lot; not that heaven is a casual thing; but it signifies that every Israelite indeed will have their share and portion in it. There are many things which show an agreement between heaven, and the land of Canaan; that was a goodly land, and ready prepared for the Israelites; and so heaven is the better country, and the city and kingdom God has prepared for his people from the foundation of the world: a wilderness was passed through first, and many battles fought before it was possessed; the people of God pass through the wilderness of this world, and fight the good fight of faith, and then enter into rest: the Israelites were introduced into it, not by Moses, but by Joshua; and saints get to heaven, not by the works of the law, but by Christ the Saviour, another Jesus or Joshua: and lastly, Canaan was a place of rest; and so is heaven. Moreover, it may be so called, in allusion to inheritances among men, though it vastly exceeds all earthly ones, being incorruptible, undefiled, which fadeth not away, reserved in the heavens; yet it bears some likeness to them; it is what is bequeathed to the children of God by their heavenly Father, and comes to them through the death of Christ the testator, and is for ever: it is neither purchased nor acquired, but is freely given; belongs only to the children of God, and is their Father’s free gift unto them, and is only enjoyed by such who are “sanctified”; and it lies among them, and will be jointly and equally possessed by them. The heirs of salvation are said to be sanctified in different senses; they are sanctified by God the Father in eternal election, being separated from others, and chosen through sanctification to it; and they are sanctified “in” and “by” the Lord Jesus Christ: they are sanctified in him representatively, he being the covenant head of his people, has all grace, and so all holiness in him for them, which is perfect and complete; and this is the source of all that holiness that is in them, and which they have communicated to them by virtue of their union to him; and also they are sanctified “in” him through the imputation of the holiness of his human nature to them, which is a branch of their justification before God; and they are sanctified by him meritoriously, or by his blood, through which their sins are expiated, and fully atoned for; and so in this sense they are sanctified by it: and they are sanctified internally by the Spirit of God, who in regeneration produces principles of grace and holiness in them, which were not there before; man was originally possessed of a perfect moral holiness, but through sin is become an unholy creature; and in the same state and condition are the children of God by nature, as others, and need the sanctifying influences of the divine Spirit to make them meet for the undefiled inheritance: and this inheritance these sanctified ones receive by faith now, as they do the forgiveness of their sins; that is, they now receive by faith the promise of the inheritance, and the earnest and pledge of it, and their right unto it, and claim upon it: for the phrase,
by faith that is in me, is not to be connected with the word “sanctified”, but with the word “receive”, in the preceding clause; and has respect to both benefits, which it receives from Christ, the object of it here expressed; for it is not any faith, but faith which is in Christ, by which these blessings of grace are received and enjoyed: and the whole of this shows the great ends and usefulness of the Gospel ministry.
e Haggada Shel Pesach, p. 23. Maimon. Hilchot Chametz Umetza, c. 8. sect. 5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To open (). First aorist active infinitive of purpose.
That they may turn ( ). Another infinitive of purpose first aorist active (genitive case and articular), epexegetic to .
That they may receive ( ). Another genitive articular infinitive of purpose subordinate (epexegetic) to .
Sanctified by faith in me ( ). Perfect passive participle of , instrumental case of , article before (“by faith, that in me”). These important words of Jesus to Paul give his justification to this cultured audience for his response to the command of Jesus. This was the turning point in Paul’s career and it was a step forward and upward.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “To open their eyes,” (anoiksai ophthalmous auton) “To open their eyes,” from semi-blindness, astigmatism, or darkness of unbelief, from impaired spiritual vision, as prophesied Isa 35:4-5; and declared, 2Co 4:3-4; 2Co 4:6 — to see themselves as sinners, and Jesus as Savior.
2) “And to turn them from darkness to light,” (tou epistrepsai skotous eis photos) “That is to turn them, to change their course of life, out of darkness into light,” or unto light, spiritual light, Rom 1:21; Eph 1:18; Eph 4:18; Joh 8:12. What a mission! to rescue men from wandering the dark shores of despairing doubt and unbelief, and deliver them to the shores of the river of life! Rev 22:1-2.
3) “And from the power of Satan unto God,” (kai tes eksousias tou satana epi ton theon) “And from the authority or jurisdiction of Satan toward God,” to deliver them from the administrative slavery of servitude of the slanderer, of Satan himself, to the service of God; What a deliverance! 2Co 1:10.
4) “That they may receive forgiveness of sins,” (tou labein autous aphesin hamartion) “That they may receive, of their own accord, in their own behalf, for themselves, forgiveness of sins;” This is the essence or purpose of the Divine call of Paul, of the church, and of the witness of every believer, Act 26:16; Luk 19:10; Joh 20:21; Act 1:8; Eph 1:7; Eph 1:16-18; 1Jn 1:8-9.
5) “And inheritance among them which are sanctified,” (kai kleron en tois hegiasmenois) “And an heirsetting position among those having been already sanctified,” among the Jews in the golden millennial age or era, that the church, called from among the Gentiles, as a witness for His name sake, should also be heir-holding participants in the millennial reign promises and privileges with Israel, Act 15:13-18; Eph 3:5-12; Eph 3:21.
6) “By faith that is in me.” (pistei te eis eme) “By the faith that is (now exists) in me, “that is by the faith, system of teaching, of the church of Jesus Christ, that I now embrace and espouse or teach, preach, and practice, Act 10:43; Rom 1:16; Rom 10:8-13; 1Co 11:1; 2Co 11:1; 2Ti 1:12; 2Co 3:5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
−
18. That thou mayest open their eyes. Paul, in taking to himself that which is proper to God, doth seem to exalt himself too high. For we know that it is the Holy Ghost alone which doth lighten the eyes. We know that Christ is the only Redeemer which doth deliver us from the tyranny of Satan. We know that it is God alone who, having put away our sins, doth adopt us unto the inheritance of the saints. But this is a common thing, that God doth translate unto his ministers that honor which is due to himself alone, not that he may take any thing from himself, but that he may commend that mighty working of his Spirit which he doth show forth in them. For he doth not send them to work, that they may be dead instruments, or, as it were, stage-players; but that he may work mightily by their hand. But it dependeth upon the secret power of his Spirit that their preaching is effectual, who worketh all things in all men, and which only giveth the increase. −
Therefore, teachers are sent, not to utter their words in vain in the air, or to beat the ears only with a vain sound, but to bring lively light to the blind, to fashion again men’s hearts unto the righteousness of God, and to ratify the grace of salvation which is gotten by the death of Christ. But they do none of all these, save only inasmuch as God worketh by them, that their labor may not be in vain, that all the praise may be his, as the effect cometh from him. −
And, therefore, we must note, that so often as the Scripture doth extol the external ministry so honorably, we must not separate it from the Spirit, which quickeneth the same even as the soul doth the body. For it teacheth in other places how little man’s industry can do of itself. For they must plant and water, but it is God alone which giveth the increase ( 1Co 11:6). But because many are hindered by their own ignorance and malice, that they cannot reap such fruit of the gospel as they ought, we must note this description, which setteth before our eyes briefly and plentifully that incomparable treasure. Therefore, this is the drift of the gospel, that being delivered from blindness of mind, we may be made partakers of the heavenly light; that being delivered from the thraldom of Satan, we may be turned to God; that having free forgiveness of sins, we may be made partakers of the inheritance among the saints. Those which will rightly profit in the gospel must direct all their senses to this end; for what good shall the continual preaching thereof do us, if we know not the true use thereof? Also, the way and means to attain to salvation is described to us, all men boast that they be desirous of salvation, but few consider how God will save them. −
Therefore, this place, wherein the means is prettily comprehended, is, as it were, a key to open the gate of heaven. Furthermore, we must know that all mankind is naturally deprived of those good things which Christ saith we have by believing the gospel; so that it followeth that all are blind, because they be lightened by faith; that all are the bond-slaves of Satan, because they are set free by faith from his tyranny; that all men are the enemies of God, and subject to eternal death, because they receive remission of sins by faith. So that nothing is more miserable than we, if we be without Christ, and without his faith, whereby it appeareth how little, yea, that nothing is left for the free will of men’s merits. As touching every part, this lightening is referred unto the knowledge of God, because all our quickness of sight is mere vanity and thick darkness, until he appear unto us by his truth. That reacheth farther which followeth afterward: To be turned from darkness to light; for that is when we are renewed in the spirit of our mind. −
Therefore, in my judgment, this member, and that which followeth, express both one thing, to be turned from the power of Satan unto God. For that renewing which Paul declareth more largely in the second chapter to the Ephesians, ( Eph 2:10, and Eph 4:23) is expressed in divers forms of speech. Remission of sins followeth next, whereby God doth freely reconcile us to himself, so that we need not doubt but that God will be favorable and merciful to us. At length, the furnishing and filling of all things is put in the last place; to wit, the inheritance of eternal life. Some do read it falsely in one text, among those who are sanctified by faith, because this word is extended unto the whole period. Therefore, the meaning thereof is, that by faith we come unto the possession of all those good things which are offered by the gospel. And faith is properly directed unto Christ because all the parts of our salvation are included in him. Neither doth the gospel command us to seek the same anywhere else save only in him.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(18) From darkness to light.The words gain a fresh interest if we think of them as corresponding with the Apostles own recovery from blindness. The imagery, though naturally common throughout Scripture, taking its place among the earliest and most widely received of the parables of the spiritual life, was specially characteristic of St. Paul. (Comp. Rom. 13:12; 2Co. 4:6; Eph. 5:8-13; Col. 1:12; 1Th. 5:5.)
Among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.Better, have been sanctified; the Greek participle being in the perfect. The word, as always, expresses primarily the idea of a completed consecration rather than of a perfected holiness (Heb. 9:13; Heb. 10:10; Heb. 13:12); but the one thought passes naturally into the other. The last six words may be connected grammatically either with sanctified or with receive. On internal grounds the latter is, perhaps, the best construction. Faith, i.e., is theoretically connected with forgiveness of sins, as well as with the inheritance, which implies sanctification.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. To open The contents of his high office are now unfolded in a rich succession of beautiful clauses. Compare for beauty the prophetic commission of the Messiah himself, Luk 4:18-19.
That they may receive This that, equivalent to in order that, depends upon open and turn.
Sanctified Among the saints of Act 26:10. (See note.)
By faith in me Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith in Christ is here received from Christ himself. As Christ sets himself forth as Saviour of the world, so the world can be saved only by committing itself in good faith to him. And in the fulness of this faith in Christ is included the very fulness of obedience to Christ in every holy work.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Act 26:18. To turn them That they may turn, seems to be the sense of the original, which may properly be rendered thus, without the need of any supplement; and this will best agree with the construction, and with the sense in which the word is generally used in other places. See Act 26:20 ch. Act 9:35 Act 11:21 Act 15:19.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Chapter 95
Prayer
Almighty God, let light fill our minds, and let love excite and ennoble our emotions. Thy gospel is light. Jesus Christ, thy Son. is the Light of the world. In him, as in thyself, is no darkness at all. The darkness fleeth at his approach. He is the Child of the day, the Glory of the summer, the Lustre that fills all space. Yea, heaven itself shall have no need of the sun, because the glory of the Lamb will be the light thereof. Thou hast, in thy Son, Christ Jesus, turned us from darkness unto light. Our eyes are now open; we see somewhat of the reality of things. Once we were blind; now we see. A Man that is called Jesus anointed our eyes, and we do see. We owe all our knowledge to thy Son; we owe our liberty to the Cross of Christ. The Son has made us free; therefore are we free indeed. This is a glorious liberty; it is our heaven begun below; it is the liberty of large, keen, clear sight. We are not deceived by shape and figures now by bulk and nearness: we see the things that are not seen; we are living in the invisible; we are on the earth, yet in heaven; and we bring the power of an endless life to bear upon the question of the dying hour. This is our inheritance among them that are sanctified; this is our sonship by adoption; herein is the great grace of God abounding over sin, opening up a way into a blissful and pure eternity, and giving us to glory in tribulation also. The night is far spent; the day is at hand glorious day! cloudless day! the reign of light, the sovereignty of pure splendour. This is the realisation of faith; this is the fruition of hope. For all religious uplifting of the soul we bless thee; for all the emotion that cleanses the heart we thank God; for the tears that come into our eyes and take out of them all earthly sights we bless thee as for great gifts. May we, having enjoyed the Christian feeling, go forward to do the Christian work, and thus confirm in action what we have enjoyed in fellowship. Show us what our duty is. Point us to the plough thou dost intend each of us to use. May there be no shrinking from the appointed labour; with a true heart, a responsive love, a soul all trust, may we answer the call of God. Thou dost appoint our habitation, thou dost fix our business, thou dost cut our bread for us, and say, “It is enough,” and thus rebuke the voracity that would destroy what it professes to nourish. Thou knowest how many coats apiece we need, and how many staves and swords, and how much of purse and scrip. May we take our whole life role from God, and have no will or wish or thought but to love the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with perfect love. Great peace have they who love thee; inner and eternal joy, not to be touched by thievish hand, have they who live in Christ, who move and have their being in the Son of God. This is heaven! this is immortality! We have what we ask for; we are where we wish to be. Regard us as having many needs, all of which are nothing in the presence of the fulness of thy river. May we not look to our necessity, but to the fulness of God. Carry away our sins by a way thou hast thyself appointed, full of mystery, full of grace. Bring us every night to the Cross; remind us every day of thy love. When the spirit of duty calls us to sacrifice, may the spirit of grace call us to triumph. Bless all old travellers and all young pilgrims; all lookings back upon battlefields and roads well worn, and all dreamy forecasts of the future, shapeless and unknown. Be the Physician of the sick. Speak to the disappointed man who holds a blighted life in his hand, and tell him that this is not the end, yea, hardly the beginning, and may he take heart again. Be with those whose way lies through the grave-land, who are more in the cemetery than out of it, who are skilled in digging graves, yet get not accustomed to the wearing sorrow. The Lord himself stand by them; breathe messages of peace into their hearts, and speak those great words never invented by the makers of human speech. The Lord have us, every one, like an only child, in his own keeping; the Lord point out the road, fix the rate of travel, make us lodge where he pleases in the palace, or in the open air, or under a sheltering tree a stone a pillow; where thou wilt and as thou wilt, only may our eye be fixed upon the star which leads lo the Infinite Light. Hear us, every one for ourselves, our loved ones; for the present, for the absent; for those whose life is needful to us, and for whose love we vainly pine. Good Lord, thou wilt enlarge thyself, rather than there should be no room for even one of the least of the countless host.
Hear our prayer at the Cross, made powerful by the intercession of the Priest, and whilst we say, Amen, let thine answer be hidden in our hearts. Amen.
Act 26:18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Vital Ministry
Words fail to express my personal appreciation of this magnificent charge. This is the New Testament. Everything is in the eighteenth verse. No man ever invented that verse: it is a house not made with hands. I pause before it as before an object of infinite sublimity. Should any one ask, “What does Christianity want to do in the world?” point the inquirer to the twenty sixth chapter of the Acts, and the eighteenth verse. That is our answer. We do not attempt to amend it; we accept it just as it stands there. We take no banner out on which we do not write these words in light. Would God we could enter into the spirit of this charge! It is not in the heart of man to invent that verse as an imposition. This is the centre of reason, the centre of health, the seal of God. Sometimes we want a concise expression an easily quotable explanation of what we are and what we want to do. You cannot find any words so full, so bright, so tender, as you find in Act 26:18 . Write them at the head of every sermon; write them in gold, brightened with diamonds, around every pulpit. This is what our Lord Christ wants to do. Is it worth doing? Would the world be the better for the doing of it? Is it worth my while your while to take up this programme? Let us examine it in detail, and then we shall know the fulness and the value of the Divine reply.
Picture the scene. A strong man is thrown down a man capable of all but inveterate prejudice, invincible in will, cultivated in mind; a man of rare intellectual penetration and great moral sternness. Bidden to stand up, he receives a charge from an invisible speaker. I will not stop at the mystery of the invisibleness until I have mastered the moral purpose of the words that were spoken. We may spend so much time over the invisibleness as to overlook or neglect the beneficence. Let us stand at the point best fitted to our reason and our whole faculty, and then advance into the transcendental and the infinite. What does the invisible speaker want this man to do? To go to the Gentiles, the heathen peoples of the world. What does he want this man to do when he reaches the far-off lands? Everything depends upon this revelation. First, “to open their eyes.” My confidence is already turned towards this speaker. He is not the inventor of a superstition. Any religion that proposes to open our eyes is presumptively a true religion. Superstition says, “Keep your eyes closed; put a hood over your reason; do not make any inquiries; take my report of everything, and be contented and satisfied with it.” That is superstition. Christianity says to every man, “Stand up, I will open thine eyes; thou shalt see the bigness of the universe, the reality of things, the magnificence of life, the solemnity of destiny. Stand up, I will make a luminous man of you; thou shalt have sight faculty of criticism; thou shalt have a large estate, a glorious appeal to the eye.” Christianity, then, does not seek to befool me; Christianity does not want to envelop me in darkness, to shut me up in some prison, priest-guarded, priest-locked, roofed in with superstition, wound round with darkness. Verily not. There are no blind Christians. In proportion as they are blind, they have not received the benefit of Christ. The Christian is a wide-awake man all reason, all life. If any had supposed him to be a dotard, a superstitious fanatic, they have misunderstood the faith, if they have not misinterpreted the man. A rationalist? That is what I am! If any man outside Christ’s great revelation propose to be a rationalist, I call him a false man a thief. He has stolen a livery that does not belong to his court; he wears a crest he has purloined. I claim that Christianity is rationalism because it opens the eyes. Marvellous is that expression! Do not suppose you understand it in a moment. It has in it a whole firmament of light and possibility, education, growth, development. This is a daily process in our education namely: seeing things more clearly, with a happier and more satisfactory distinctness, noting their relations, proportions, interdependences, and final issues. Christ has no blind followers. If any man want to follow Christ, he must first have his eyes opened. That was Christ’s way in the days of his flesh. He did not say to blind men by the wayside, “Grope your way after me, and we may see about your vision by-and-by.” No; he stopped, gave eyes to the blind, and then passed on. Christians are not blind men, but men whose eyes have been divinely opened. Is it worth my while giving up what strength I may have, or faculty, to open men’s eyes? Why, there is no mission so sublime! It is almost like creating a man to give him sight. The man blesses you with a grateful, overflowing heart; he says he owes the universe to you, as the instrument of God: for before it was a great night, now it is a sun-lit, glowing day. The greatest gift of man to man is the gift of idea, thought, new vision, the enlargement of the critical, judicial, and appreciative faculty. To open the eyes is to give wealth. The poet cannot give me the acres of my lord, but he can give me the landscape that belongs to the poorest of the children of men.
“To turn them from darkness to light.” That is upon the same line of thinking? Precisely: that is the Divine logic. Not to open their eyes to see the darkness as sevenfold greater than they dreamed it to be, but “to turn them from darkness to light.” What superstitious religion ever proposed to increase the day? One wonders that men, hearing this to be Christ’s purpose, do not stand up and say, “King of kings! Lord of lords!” They will follow any demagogue who will delude and befool them, and turn their back upon the man who wants to lead them out of darkness into light. This is the proof of the Divinity of the Christian religion. It is the religion of light; it cries, “Light! more light! cleanse the whole firmament of clouds and let all the light of God shine without interception.” What a turning is this from darkness to light! The phrase may go for less than its value because of its very simplicity. The white diamond does not attract the untrained attention so much as some muddily-coloured stone quite valueless: the diamond is neglected because of the very quality which gives it value. Is there a religion in this world that even proposes to turn men from darkness to light? I accept that religion at once on that very profession. Who can measure the distance from darkness to light? This is one of the immeasurable distances finding its counterpart in the expression, “as far as the east is from the west.” These are terms that transcend arithmetic. The writers would have borrowed arithmetical numbers to express their ideas but that arithmetical numbers have no relation to such stupendous distances. Darkness imprisons, darkness brings fear, darkness enfeebles, darkness contracts the mind. Jesus never said, “Take away the light; or if you light a candle, put it under a bushel.” Contrariwise, he said, “I am the Light of the world,” and “ye, my disciples, are the light of the world…. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Because Christianity fights the darkness, loves the light, calls for midday, I accept it as the fullest and strongest philosophy of life yet made known to me.
There is another turning namely: “from the power of Satan unto God.” Christianity is the upward movement of the world. “Nearer God!” is the watch-cry; “Away from the enemy; further from the destroyer; upward, out of his reach” that is the sublime charge, that the Divine inspiration. We know what is meant by “the power of Satan” the power that victimises us, that dupes us, that gives us promises which end ever in disappointments; the power that unmans us, takes away our crown, breaks upon our self-control, mocks our prayers, and points us to the grave as the sad end. We know that power. It never gave us any education, it never took us to school; it never offered us any new book written by genius and inspired by purity. It always said, “Avoid school, keep out of the library; turn your back upon the Church, never mind the preacher; feed yourself: drink where you can, eat what you can get hold of; obey me, and I will give you the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them” a figure as large as the lie.
So far this is in some sense negative: “To open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.” Now we come to what may be termed a blessing more positive: “that they may receive forgiveness of sins.” No man ever invented that! Man has invented forgetfulness of sins; man has brewed certain drinks which he will give to himself in order to dull the recollection of his iniquities. But this is dew from heaven; no fingers ever moulded these translucent drops of celestial purity. Christianity makes the greatest of all offers. It will not lull me, it will not administer opiate or narcotic to me: it will fight the battle right out; it will adapt means to ends; it will bring the eternal to bear upon the temporary, the Divine upon the human, the sacrificial blood upon the human sin; and the end shall be “forgiveness.” Sweet word! infinite in its depth of meaning, infinite in its height of promise. An incredible word! That is its difficulty with me: I know my sin so well that I know it cannot be forgiven I am speaking now within the bounds and observation and consciousness of a personal and social kind. You can throw flowers upon it; you can employ men to come with instruments of iron and throw clay and sand and rocks upon it; you can bring all the great seas of the globe and pour their infinite floods upon it; but you cannot forgive it. Christianity says to me, in this mood of dejection and despair, “You can be forgiven, and I have come to tell you how.” I am touched by the sublimity of the offer. If it were possible, I would accept it; but to accept it would be to contradict all my own consciousness and all my own observation, and all the efforts of every empiric who has come to practise his nostrums upon me. Christianity replies: “I am well aware of that; this will be no compromise; my action is building upon original foundations: the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.” My reply to that speech is a great flood of tears; I say, “Would God that were true, thou sweet angel!” and I look suspiciously at the radiant mother-preacher. Can it be? What is it that cleanses from all sin? “The blood of Jesus Christ.” I want that to be true! O angel, radiant one making the snow ashamed of its imperfect whiteness by the lustre of thy purity I would thou couldst make me feel the Gospel thou hast made me hear!
Is it worth our while trying to open men’s eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins? In this faith I would serve and count all other programmes mean as lies. Then will come the “inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” new character, new brotherhood, new riches. This is what Christianity wants to do. Fly abroad, thou mighty gospel! When this work is done, earth will be heaven.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Ver. 18. To open their eyes, &c. ] An excellent description of St Paul’s commission to preach, by the five ends or effects of it, viz. conversion, faith, remission of sins, sanctification, salvation.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
18. . ] not, as Beza, and E. V., ‘ to turn them :’ but, that they may turn ; see , Act 26:20 .
The general reference of becomes tacitly modified (not expressly, speaking as he was to the Jew Agrippa) by the expression and , both, in the common language of the Jews, applicable only to the Gentiles. But in reality, and in Paul’s mind, they had their sense as applied to Jews, who were in spiritual darkness and under Satan’s power, however little they thought it. See Col 1:13 .
.] A third step : first the opening of the eyes next, the turning to God next, the receiving remission of sins and a place among the sanctified , see ch. Act 20:32 .
This last reference determines to belong not to but to .
Thus the great object of Paul’s preaching was to awaken and shew the necessity and efficacy of . And fully, long ere this, had he recognized and acted on this his great mission. The epistles to the Galatians and Romans are two noble monuments of the APOSTLE OF FAITH.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 26:18 . . , cf. Act 9:8 ; Act 9:40 , and also Mat 9:30 ; so too Isa 35:5 ; Isa 42:7 . Both Jews and Gentiles were blinded ( above, referring to both), the former because seeing they saw not, Mat 13:13 , Rom 11:8 ; the latter in that knowing God in His creation they glorified Him not as God, and their senseless heart was darkened, Rom 1:21 ; and to both St. Paul proclaimed the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, 2Co 4:6 , Eph 1:18 . The infinitive of purpose depending on , Burton, p. 157; Viteau, Le Grec du N.T. , p. 169 (1893). : “that they may turn,” R.V. (” to turn them,” margin, so A.V.); in St. Luke, who uses the verb more frequently than any other N.T. writer, it is nearly always intransitive, except in Luk 1:16-17 , Moulton and Geden, while Grimm adds Act 26:20 below; so here all E.V [401] before the authorised, cf. Vulgate, “ut convertantur” (Humphry). If we thus take . as intransitive, it is subordinate to the previous infinitive of purpose, , and again subordinate to ., expressing the final result aimed at (Page, and see also Wendt’s note, in loco (1899)). : throughout St. Paul’s Epistles the imagery was frequent with reference not only to Gentiles but also to Jews, cf. Rom 2:19 ; Rom 13:12 , 1Th 5:5 , Eph 5:18 , Col 1:12 . The words gain in interest here if we think of them as corresponding with the Apostle’s own recovering from blindness, spiritual and physical (Plumptre). , Blass, Gram. , pp. 32, 144; no less than ten times by St. Paul in his Epistles; cf. 2Co 4:4 , Eph 2:2 ; Eph 6:12 (Col 1:13 . , Luk 22:53 ). There is no reason to suppose with Bengel that St. Paul is here referring to Gentiles rather than to Jews, for whilst the Jews no doubt would regard the Gentiles as loving and in the power of Satan, cf. also Luk 13:16 ; Luk 22:31 , Act 5:3 . For current ideas with regard to Satan and the teaching of the N.T. cf. Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah , ii., p. 775; Charles, Book of Enoch , Introd., p. 52, and Assumption of Moses , x., 1, where Satan is apparently represented as the head of the kingdom of evil; cf. in the N.T. Eph 1:21 ; Eph 6:12 , Col 2:15 , for the whole hierarchy of evil spirits at the disposal of Satan, and 2Th 2:9 ; cf. 2Co 11:14 for his supernatural powers of deceiving or preventing men; see especially Sanday and Headlam, Romans , p. 145. : expressing the ultimate object of (see above, and Weiss, in loco ). ., Act 3:16 , the language here is quite Pauline, cf. Col 1:12-14 , where also deliverance out of the power of darkness and forgiveness of sins in the Son of God’s love are connected as here. : may be connected with , faith in Christ as the condition of forgiveness placed emphatically at the end; cf. Act 10:43 , A. and R.V. connect the words with , so Vulgate. ., cf. Act 20:32 , Col 1:12 .
[401] English Version.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Acts
FAITH IN CHRIST
Act 26:18
It is commonly said, and so far as the fact is concerned, said truly, that what are called the distinguishing doctrines of Christianity are rather found in the Epistles than in the Gospels. If we wish the clearest statements of the nature and person of Christ, we turn to Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians. If we wish the fullest dissertation upon Christ’s work as a sacrifice, we go to the Epistle to the Hebrews. If we seek to prove that men are justified by faith, and not by works, it is to the Epistles to Romans and Galatians that we betake ourselves,-to the writings of the servant rather than the words of the Master. Now this fuller development of Christian doctrine contained in the teaching of the Apostles cannot be denied, and need not be wondered at. The reasons for it I am not going to enter upon at present; they are not far to seek. Christ came not to speak the Gospel, but to be the Gospel. But then, this truth of a fuller development is often over-strained, as if Christ ‘spake nothing concerning priesthood,’ sacrifices, faith. He did so speak when on earth. It is often misused by being made the foundation of an inference unfavourable to the authority of the Apostolic teaching, when we are told, as we sometimes are, that not Paul but Jesus speaks the words which we are to receive.
Here we have Christ Himself speaking from the heavens to Paul at the very beginning of the Apostle’s course, and if any one asks us where did Paul get the doctrines which he preached, the answer is, Here, on the road to Damascus, when blind, bleeding, stunned, with all his self-confidence driven out of him-with all that he had been crushed into shivers-he saw his Lord, and heard Him speak. These words spoken then are the germ of all Paul’s Epistles, the keynote to which all his writings are but the melody that follows, the mighty voice of which all his teaching is but the prolonged echo. ‘Delivering thee,’ says Christ to him, ‘from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God; that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith that is in Me.’ Now, I ask you, what of Paul’s Gospel is not here? Man’s ruin, man’s depravity and state of darkness, the power of Satan, the sole redemptive work of Christ, justification by belief in that, sanctification coming with justification, and glory and rest and heaven at last-there they all are in the very first words that sounded upon the quickened ear of the blinded man when he turned from darkness to light.
It would be foolish, of course, to try to exhaust such a passage as this in a sermon. But notice, what a complete summary of Christian truth there lies in that one last clause of the verse, ‘Inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.’ Translate that into distinct propositions, and they are these: Faith refers to Christ; that is the first thing. Holiness depends on faith; that is the next: ‘ sanctified by faith.’ Heaven depends on holiness: that is the last: ‘ inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.’ So there we have the whole gospel!
To the one part of this comprehensive summary which is contained in my text I desire to turn now, in hope of gathering from it some truths as to that familiar word ‘faith’ which may be of use to us all. The expression is so often on our lips that it has come to be almost meaningless in many minds. These keywords of Scripture meet the same fate as do coins that have been long in circulation. They pass through so many fingers that the inscriptions get worn off them. We can all talk about faith and forgiveness and justifying and sanctifying, but how few of us have definite notions as to what these words that come so easily from our lips mean! There is a vast deal of cloudy haze in the minds of average church and chapel goers as to what this wonder-working faith may really be. Perhaps we may then be able to see large and needful truths gleaming in these weighty syllables which Christ Jesus spoke from heaven to Paul, ‘faith that is in Me.’
I. In the first place, then, the object of faith is Christ.
True, the object of our faith is Christ as made known to us in the facts of His recorded life and the teaching of His Apostles. True, our only means of knowing Him as of any other person whom we have never seen, are the descriptions of Him, His character and work, which are given. True, the empty name ‘Christ’ has to be filled with the doctrinal and biographical statements of Scripture before the Person on whom faith is to fix can be apprehended or beheld. True, it is Christ as He is made known to us in the word of God, the Incarnate Son, the perfect Man, the atoning Sacrifice, the risen Lord, the ascended Intercessor in whom we have to trust. The characteristics and attributes of Christ are known to us only by biographical statements and by doctrinal propositions. These must be understood in some measure and accepted, ere there can be faith in Him. Apart from them, the image of Christ must stand a pale, colourless phantom before the mind, and the faith which is directed towards such a nebula will be an unintelligent emotion, as nebulous and impotent as the vagueness towards which it turns.
Thus far, then, the attempt which is sometimes made to establish a Christianity without doctrines on the plea that the object of faith is not a proposition, but a person, must be regarded as nugatory; for how can the ‘person’ be an object of thought at all, but through the despised ‘propositions’?
But while on the one hand it is true that Christ as revealed in these doctrinal statements of Scripture, the divine human Saviour, is the Object of faith, on the other hand it is to be remembered that it is He, and not the statements about Him, who is the Object.
Look at His own words. He does not merely say to us, ‘Believe this, that, and the other thing about Me; put your credence in this and the other doctrine; accept this and the other promise; hope for this and the other future thing.’ All these come with but are not the central act. He says, ‘Believe: believe in Me! “ I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life”: He that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst.’ Do we rightly appreciate that? I think that if people firmly grasped this truth- that Christ is the Gospel, and that the Object of faith is not simply the truths that are recorded here in the word, but He with regard to whom these truths are recorded-it would clear away rolling wreaths of fog and mist from their perceptions. The whole feeling and attitude of a man’s mind is different, according as he is trusting a person, or according as he is believing something about a person. And this, therefore, is the first broad truth that lies here. Faith has reference not merely to a doctrine, not to a system; but deeper than all these, to a living Lord-’faith that is in Me .’
I cannot help observing, before I go on-though it may be somewhat of a digression-what a strong inference with regard to the divinity of Christ is deducible from this first thought that He is the Object to whom faith has reference. If you look into the Old Testament, you will find constantly, ‘Trust ye in the Lord for ever’; ‘Put thy trust in Jehovah!’ There, too, though under the form of the Law, there, too, faith was the seed and germ of all religion. There, too, though under the hard husk of apparently external obedience and ceremonial sacrifices, the just lived by faith. Its object was the Jehovah of that ancient covenant. Religion has always been the same in every dispensation. At every time, that which made a man a devout man has been identically the same thing. It has always been true that it has been faith which has bound man to God, and given man hope. But when we come to the New Testament, the centre is shifted, as it would seem. What has become of the grand old words, ‘Trust ye in the Lord Jehovah’? Look! Christ stands there, and says, ‘Believe upon Me’! With calm, simple, profound dignity, He lays His hand upon all the ancient and consecrated words, upon all the ancient and hallowed emotions that used to set towards the unseen God between the cherubim, throned above judgment and resting upon mercy; and He says, ‘They are Mine-give them to Me! That ancient trust, I claim the right to have it. That old obedience, it belongs to Me. I am He to whom in all time the loving hearts of them that loved God, have set. I am the Angel of the Covenant, in whom whoever trusteth shall never be confounded.’ And I ask you just to take that one simple fact, that Christ thus steps, in the New Testament-in so far as the direction of the religious emotions of faith and love are concerned-that Christ steps into the place filled by the Jehovah of the Old; and ask yourselves honestly what theory of Christ’s nature and person and work explains that fact, and saves Him from the charge of folly and blasphemy? ‘He that believeth upon Me shall never hunger.’ Ah, my brother! He was no mere man who said that. He that spake from out of the cloud to the Apostle on the road to Damascus, and said, ‘Sanctified by faith that is in Me,’ was no mere man . Christ was our brother and a man, but He was the Son of God, the divine Redeemer. The Object of faith is Christ; and as Object of faith He must needs be divine.
II. And now, secondly, closely connected with and springing from this thought as to the true object of faith, arises the consideration as to the nature and the essence of the act of faith itself.
And I think that there again, by laying hold of that simple principle, Because Christ is the Object of Faith, therefore Faith must be trust, we get bright and beautiful light upon the grandest truths of the Gospel of God. If we will only take that as our explanation, we have not indeed defined faith by substituting the other word for it, but we have made it a little more clear to our apprehensions, by using a non-theological word with which our daily acts teach us to connect an intelligible meaning. If we will only take that as our explanation, how simple, how grand, how familiar too it sounds,-to trust Him! It is the very same kind of feeling, though different in degree, and glorified by the majesty and glory of its Object, as that which we all know how to put forth in our relations with one another. We trust each other. That is faith. We have confidence in the love that has been around us, breathing benedictions and bringing blessings ever since we were little children. When the child looks up into the mother’s face, the symbol to it of all protection, or into the father’s eye, the symbol to it of all authority,-that emotion by which the little one hangs upon the loving hand and trusts the loving heart that towers above it in order to bend over it and scatter good, is the same as the one which, glorified and made divine, rises strong and immortal in its power, when fixed and fastened on Christ, and saves the soul. The Gospel rests upon a mystery, but the practical part of it is no mystery. When we come and preach to you, ‘Trust in Christ and thou shalt be saved,’ we are not asking you to put into exercise some mysterious power. We are only asking you to give to Him that which you give to others, to transfer the old emotions, the blessed emotions, the exercise of which makes gladness in life here below, to transfer them to Him, and to rest safe in the Lord. Faith is trust. The living Person as its Object rises before us there, in His majesty, in His power, in His gentleness, and He says, ‘I shall be contented if thou wilt give to Me these emotions which thou dost fix now, to thy death and loss, on the creatures of a day.’ Faith is mighty, divine, the gift of God; but Oh! it is the exercise of a familiar habit, only fixed upon a divine and eternal Person.
And if this be the very heart and kernel of the Christian doctrine of faith-that it is simple personal trust in Jesus Christ; it is worthy of notice, how all the subsidiary meanings and uses of the word flow out of that, whilst it cannot be explained by any of them. People are in the habit of setting up antitheses betwixt faith and reason, betwixt faith and sight, betwixt faith and possession. They say, ‘We do not know , we must believe’; they say, ‘We do not see , we must have faith’; they say, ‘We do not possess , we must trust.’ Now faith-the trust in Christ-the simple personal relation of confidence in Him- that lies beneath all these other meanings of the word. For instance, faith is, in one sense, the opposite and antithesis of sight; because Christ, unseen, having gone into the unseen world, the confidence which is directed towards Him must needs pass out beyond the region of sense, and fix upon the immortal verities that are veiled by excess of light at God’s right hand. Faith is the opposite of sight; inasmuch as Christ, having given us assurance of an unseen and everlasting world, we, trusting in Him, believe what He says to us, and are persuaded and know that there are things yonder which we have never seen with the eye nor handled with the hand. Similarly, faith is the completion of reason; because, trusting Christ, we believe what He says, and He has spoken to us truths which we in ourselves are unable to discover, but which, when revealed, we accept on the faith of His truthfulness, and because we rely upon Him. Similarly, faith is contrasted with present possession, because Christ has promised us future blessings and future glories; and having confidence in the Person, we believe what He says, and know that we shall possess them. But the root from which spring the power of faith as the opposite of sight, the power of faith as the telescope of reason, the power of faith as the ‘confidence of things not possessed,’ is the deeper thing-faith in the Person, which leads us to believe Him whether He promises, reveals, or commands, and to take His words as verity because He is ‘the Truth.’
And then, again, if this, the personal trust in Christ as our living Redeemer-if this be faith, then there come also, closely connected with it, certain other emotions or feelings in the heart. For instance, if I am trusting to Christ, there is inseparably linked with it self-distrust. There are two sides to the emotion; where there is reliance upon another, there must needs be non-reliance upon self. Take an illustration. There is the tree: the trunk goes upward from the little seed, rises into the light, gets the sunshine upon it, and has leaves and fruit. That is the upward tendency of faith- trust in Christ. There is the root, down deep, buried, dark, unseen. Both are springing, but springing in apposite directions, from the one seed. That is, as it were, the negative side, the downward tendency-self-distrust. The two things go together-the positive reliance upon another, the negative distrust of myself. There must be deep consciousness not only of my own impotence, but of my own sinfulness. The heart must be emptied that the seed of faith may grow; but the entrance in of faith is itself the means for the emptying of the heart. The two things co-exist; we can divide them in thought. We can wrangle and squabble, as divided sects hare done, about which comes first, the fact being, that though you can part them in thought, you cannot part them in experience, inasmuch as they are but the obverse and the reverse, the two sides of the same coin. Faith and repentance-faith and self-distrust-they are done in one and the same indissoluble act.
And again, faith, as thus conceived of, will obviously have for its certain and immediate consequence, love. Nay, the two emotions will be inseparable and practically co-existent. In thought we can separate them. Logically, faith comes first, and love next, but in life they will spring up together. The question of their order of existence is an often-trod battle-ground of theology, all strewed with the relics of former fights. But in the real history of the growth of religious emotions in the soul, the interval which separates them is impalpable, and in every act of trust, love is present, and fundamental to every emotion of love to Christ is trust in Christ.
But without further reference to such matters, here is the broad principle of our text. Trust in Christ, not mere assent to a principle, personal dependence upon Him revealed as the ‘Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,’ an act of the will as well as of the understanding, and essentially an act of the will and not of the understanding-that is the thing by which a soul is saved. And much of the mist and confusion about saving faith, and non-saving faith, might be lifted and dispersed if we once fully apprehended and firmly held by the divine simplicity of the truth, that faith is trust in Jesus Christ.
III. Once more: from this general definition there follows, in the third place, an explanation of the power of faith.
And now, lastly, these principles likewise help us to understand wherein consists the guilt and criminality of unbelief. People are sometimes disposed to fancy that God has arbitrarily selected this one thing, believing in Jesus Christ, as the means of salvation, and do not distinctly see why and how non-belief is so desperate and criminal a thing. I think that the principles that I have been trying feebly to work out now, help us to see how faith is not arbitrarily selected as the instrument and means of our salvation. There is no other way of effecting it. God could not save us in any other way than that, salvation being provided, the condition of receiving it should be trust in His Son.
And next they show where the guilt of unbelief lies. Faith is not first and principally an act of the understanding; it is not the mere assent to certain truths. I believe, for my part, that men are responsible even for their intellectual processes, and for the beliefs at which they arrive by the working of these; and I think it is a very shallow philosophy that stands up and says-it is almost exploded now, and perhaps not needful even to mention it-that men are ‘no more responsible for their belief than they are for the colour of their hair.’ Why, if faith were no more than an intellectual process, it would still be true that they are responsible for it; but the faith that saves a man, and unbelief that ruins a man, are not processes of the understanding alone. It is the will, the heart, the whole moral being, that is concerned. Why does any one not trust Jesus Christ? For one reason only: because he will not . Why has any one not faith in the Lamb of God? Because his whole nature is turning away from that divine and loving Face, and is setting itself in rebellion against it. Why does any one refuse to believe? Because he has confidence in himself; because he has not a sense of his sins; because he has not love in his heart to his Lord and Saviour. Men are responsible for unbelief. Unbelief is criminal, because it is a moral act-an act of the whole nature. Belief or unbelief is the test of a man’s whole spiritual condition, just because it is the whole being, affections, will, conscience and all, as well as the understanding, which are concerned in it. And therefore Christ, who says, ‘Sanctified by faith that is in Me,’ says likewise, ‘He that believeth not, shall be condemned.’
And now, brethren, take this one conviction into your hearts, that what makes a man a Christian-what saves my soul and yours-what brings the love of Christ into any life, and makes the sacrifice of Christ a power to pardon and purify,-that that is not merely believing this Book, not merely understanding the doctrines that are there, but a far more profound act than that. It is the casting of myself upon Himself, the bending of my willing heart to His loving Spirit; the close contact, heart to heart, soul to soul, will to will, of my emptiness with His fulness, of my sinfulness with His righteousness, of my death with His life: that I may live by Him, be sanctified by Him, be saved by Him, ‘with an everlasting salvation.’ Faith is trust: Christ is the Objeet of faith. Faith is the condition of salvation; and unbelief is your fault, your loss-the crime which ruins men’s souls!
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
and to turn = that they may turn.
turn. Greek. epistrepho. Compare Act 3:19.
from. Greek. apo. App-104. Compare Col 1:13.
power = authority. Greek. exousia, as in Act 26:10.
forgiveness. Greek. aphesis. See Act 2:38; Act 5:31.
sins. Greek. hamartia. App-128.
inheritance = a part. Greek. kleros. See Act 1:17.
them which are, &c. = the sanctified. Greek. hagiazo. Compare Act 20:32. Joh 17:17, Joh 17:19.
faith Greek. pistis. App-150.
in = towards. Greek. eis. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
18. .] not, as Beza, and E. V., to turn them: but, that they may turn; see , Act 26:20.
The general reference of becomes tacitly modified (not expressly, speaking as he was to the Jew Agrippa) by the expression and , both, in the common language of the Jews, applicable only to the Gentiles. But in reality, and in Pauls mind, they had their sense as applied to Jews,-who were in spiritual darkness and under Satans power, however little they thought it. See Col 1:13.
.] A third step: first the opening of the eyes-next, the turning to God-next, the receiving remission of sins and a place among the sanctified, see ch. Act 20:32.
This last reference determines to belong not to but to .
Thus the great object of Pauls preaching was to awaken and shew the necessity and efficacy of . And fully, long ere this, had he recognized and acted on this his great mission. The epistles to the Galatians and Romans are two noble monuments of the APOSTLE OF FAITH.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 26:18. , to open) He opens the eyes, who sends Paul; and He opens them by the instrumentality of Paul, who is sent. There is in this passage a noble description of the whole process of conversion. Comp. Isa 42:6-7.-, their) viz. of Jews and Gentiles.- ) There is not added , as it is presently added to for which reason, as , so , is said of Paul (as the modern Greek Version understands it, as also Beza and others): and is explanatory, as in Luk 1:73, , where the article indicates that the preceding Infinitive, , is explained by this subsequent one, To perform the mercy-that He would grant unto us; note.- , from darkness to light) This clause more belongs to the people (the Jews): that which follows, more to the Gentiles. Comp. Act 26:20, note: , into light, 1Pe 2:9. Comp. Col 1:12-13; 1Jn 1:7; 1Jn 2:9-10; Rev 21:24. here is without the article, as in Act 26:23.-, the power) which was very gross among idolaters. Comp. Col 1:13-14, Redemption through His blood-the forgiveness of sins.-, of Satan) Satan is opposed to GOD, as antichrist is to Christ.-) Anaphora [the frequent repetition of the same word at beginnings].- , forgiveness of sins) This belongs expressly to the people: ch. Act 2:38, Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. , lot, inheritance, among them who are sanctified, more applies to the Gentiles.-, inheritance) Comp. again Col 1:12-14.- , among them which are Sanctified) See ch. Act 20:32, note (This title is applied to believers from among the Gentiles, not however excluding Jewish believers: therefore , not , is used).-, by faith) Construe this with , that they may receive [not with , sanctified, as Engl. Vers.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
sins
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
open: Act 9:17, Act 9:18, Psa 119:18, Psa 146:8, Isa 29:18, Isa 32:3, Isa 35:5, Isa 42:7, Isa 43:8, Luk 4:18, Luk 24:45, Joh 9:39, 2Co 4:4, 2Co 4:6, Eph 1:18
and to: Act 26:23, Act 13:47, Isa 9:2, Isa 49:6, Isa 60:1-3, Mal 4:2, Mat 4:16, Mat 6:22, Mat 6:23, Luk 1:79, Luk 2:32, Joh 1:4-9, Joh 3:19, Joh 8:12, Joh 9:5, Joh 12:35, Joh 12:36, 2Co 4:6, 2Co 6:14, Eph 1:18, Eph 4:18, Eph 5:8, Eph 5:14, 1Th 5:4-8, 1Pe 2:9, 1Pe 2:25, 1Jo 2:8, 1Jo 2:9
and from: Isa 49:24, Isa 49:25, Isa 53:8-12, Luk 11:21, Luk 11:22, Col 1:13, 2Ti 2:26, Heb 2:14, Heb 2:15, 1Jo 3:8, 1Jo 5:19, 1Pe 2:9, Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3
that they: Act 2:38, Act 3:19, Act 5:31, Act 10:43, Act 13:38, Act 13:39, Psa 32:1, Psa 32:2, Luk 1:77, Luk 24:47, Rom 4:6-9, 1Co 6:10, 1Co 6:11, Eph 1:7, Col 1:14, 1Jo 1:9, 1Jo 2:12
inheritance: Act 20:32, Rom 8:17, Eph 1:11, Eph 1:14, Col 1:12, Heb 9:15, Jam 2:5, 1Pe 1:4
sanctified: Act 20:32, Joh 17:17, 1Co 1:2, 1Co 1:30, 1Co 6:11, Tit 3:5, Tit 3:6, Heb 10:10, Heb 10:14, Jud 1:1, Rev 21:27
faith: Act 15:9, Joh 4:10, Joh 4:14, Joh 7:38, Joh 7:39, Rom 5:1, Rom 5:2, Gal 2:20, Gal 3:2, Gal 3:14, Eph 2:8, Heb 11:6
Reciprocal: Gen 3:5 – your Exo 25:37 – give Lev 24:2 – the lamps Num 22:31 – opened Num 34:2 – an inheritance Jos 18:10 – before the Lord 2Ki 5:17 – will henceforth 2Ki 6:17 – open his eyes Job 33:30 – enlightened Psa 22:27 – turn Psa 51:13 – converted Psa 119:111 – Thy testimonies Psa 119:130 – entrance Psa 147:20 – not dealt so Pro 8:5 – General Pro 20:12 – General Son 8:8 – what Isa 11:10 – to it shall Isa 35:7 – in the Isa 42:1 – he shall Isa 49:9 – to them Isa 53:12 – will I Isa 60:2 – the darkness Isa 61:1 – to proclaim Jer 23:22 – then Jer 36:3 – that I Eze 3:5 – thou Eze 18:21 – if the Hos 14:1 – return Mic 7:8 – the Lord Zec 9:11 – I have Mal 2:6 – and did Mat 9:13 – but Mat 12:18 – and he Mat 12:22 – blind Mat 13:16 – General Mat 20:34 – and they Mar 10:52 – he received Luk 5:32 – General Luk 7:22 – how Luk 8:16 – when Luk 11:34 – light of Luk 14:23 – Go Luk 18:43 – he Luk 22:53 – the power Joh 9:7 – and came Joh 12:31 – now Joh 12:46 – am Joh 16:11 – judgment Joh 17:25 – the world Act 9:35 – turned Act 11:21 – turned Act 20:24 – and the Act 22:21 – for Act 28:28 – sent Rom 1:14 – debtor Rom 1:21 – their foolish Rom 2:19 – a light Rom 10:14 – and how shall Rom 11:13 – the apostle Rom 15:16 – I should Rom 16:26 – according 1Co 1:17 – not to 1Co 5:5 – deliver 2Co 3:14 – which veil 2Co 5:20 – ambassadors Gal 1:16 – that Gal 2:8 – the same Eph 1:19 – exceeding Eph 2:13 – were Eph 3:2 – the dispensation Eph 5:26 – he Eph 6:12 – against the Col 1:6 – knew Col 3:11 – there 1Th 1:9 – ye 1Th 4:3 – your 1Th 5:5 – General 1Th 5:23 – sanctify 1Ti 2:7 – a teacher 2Ti 4:17 – by Heb 10:32 – after Rev 12:9 – and Satan
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
Act 26:18. Open their eyes spiritually to the truths of the Gospel. Darkness is ignorance of those truths, and light is the knowledge of them. Satan is the minister of darkness, and God is the source of divine light. Forgiveness of sins was to be the personal benefit conferred on those who accepted these truths. Inheritance means a share of the spiritual possessions enjoyed by the sanctified, which denotes the same as the “saints” in verse 10, and this state was to be obtained by faith in the risen Lord.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 26:18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light. The beautiful words of Isaiahs prophecy of the coming Messiah and His peculiar work, seem to ring in our ears as we read these words of the glorified Redeemer. Read now in the light which the history of eighteen centuries of the struggles of Christianity flings over the old Hebrew prophecies, one marvels at the strange blindness which came over the Jewish people when their Messiah visited them, and which induced them to hinder in every possible way His blessed work among men. The two great features in Jesus Christs life and work which shocked His own people and drove them into fierce rebellion, were(1) In His life, He presented, the true image of a suffering Messiah. (2) In His work, begun by Himself and faithfully carried on by His disciples, He showed that the kingdom of the future was not intended to be confined to the old chosen race, nor to the old Holy Land, but that the chosen race of the future was to be made up of all mankind, and the Holy Land of the future was to consist of all the countries of the world. And this is exactly what their own prophets, in clear language, all foretold. The Isaiah prophecy, which is here so faithfully reproduced in the form of a charge to Saul from the glorified Jesus, will be found in Isa 42:6-16, where the Messiah is especially mentioned as given for a light of the Gentiles.
The exact correspondence between the prophecy of Isaiah and the command of Jesus to Paul will be best seen from a glance at the prophecy and command when set side by side:
Isaiah 42Jesus Command to Paul, Acts 26
I the Lord . . . will give thee (My servant Messiah) . . . for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house . . . Isa 42:16. I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them . . . . These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.Act 26:16. I have appeared to thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness . . . . Act 26:17. Delivering thee . . . from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee. Act 26:18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light.
With what weighty force must all this have struck Paul during those two to three years solitary study in Arabia which succeeded the Damascus journey and came before his active ministry!
And from the power of Satan unto God. The glorified King was still considering the case of the Gentiles, among whom Sauls life-work lay. He here regards all that elaborate system of idolatry which among the Pagan nations represented religious worship, and which in so many cases encouraged and even taught the vilest profligacy, as belonging to the realm of Satan.
That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith which is in me. The purpose and end of Sauls life-work is here sketched out. The peoples who had hitherto sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, were to be guided into a knowledge of their state, of their slavery to sin, of the impossibility of their being able to help or redeem themselves, of their utter hopelessness as regards the future. Their eyes were to be opened. This was the first step. The second was to tell them of the one fountain where all sin and un-cleanness might be washed awaya fountain open to Gentile as well as Jew; they were to be told how to turn from Satan to God. The third step was to show what would be the result of this opening the blind eyes and this seeing their real state, and of their turning to God. Forgiveness of all sin would follow, and they would win a place among the sanctified, a home in one of the many mansions of the redeemed and restored.
The closing words tell us that these blessed results were to be produced by faith, in its highest, truest sense of loving trust, entire child-like confidence in Jesus the Crucified and Risen.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 12
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
18. To open their eyes. The devil knocked the eyes out of humanity in the Fall. Hence all alike, good and bad, walk in the devils rayless midnight till the resurrection power gives sight to the blind to open their eyes. To turn them from darkness into light. We are not only in blackest darkness, but we ourselves are darkness throughout so long as we remain in the black regions of Satans rayless kingdom. Regeneration takes us out of darkness into the light of Gods kingdom. Then sanctification takes all the darkness out of us, so filling us with light as to make us light itself throughout, having no darkness. From the dominion of Satan to God. Regardless of all our moral goodness and church loyalty, we are in the devils merciless grip till the Omnipotent Jesus delivers us. That they may receive remission of sins. This is our first great deliverance. When the light comes, conviction interpenetrates, and we cry importunately to God for deliverance; in utter desperation fully recognizing our meetness only for hell fire, we cast ourselves on the mercy of God in Christ. Then for Christs sake alone He cancels all our sins from heavens chancery, removing our guilt, counting us righteous in Christs stead. And inheritance among them who have been sanctified by faith, which is in me, and have it yet better than ever. We have here the perfect tense of hagiadzoo, sanctify, which in Greek has more than double the force of the English, i. e., meaning that we have been sanctified in past time and have it yet better than ever. Oh, the riches of redeeming grace and sanctifying power! And how do we get it? Not by works (Eph 2:8); not by growth, death, nor purgatory, but as we see here so clearly and unmistakably revealed in Pauls commission, it is by faith, and nothing but faith, having reached believing ground by radical and complete consecration. Here Paul becomes wonderfully impetuous, preaching to two kings and queens, as well as a great audience.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
26:18 {5} To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
(5) The end of the Gospel is to save those who are brought to the knowledge of Christ, and are justified and sanctified in him, being laid hold on by faith.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This verse recalls the divine commission of Messiah (cf. Isa 35:5; Isa 42:6-7; Isa 42:16). It is one of the best summary statements of not only Paul’s mission but also the mission of every believer (cf. Mat 28:19-20; Col 1:12-14). Paul was to do for others what God had done for him, and so should we. The sanctification in view is positional; God sets a person apart for a special purpose before and when he or she trusts Christ (cf. Eph 1:4).
Paul had gone to Damascus as the apostle (i.e., sent one) of the Sanhedrin. He returned as the apostle of Jesus Christ. [Note: Barclay, pp. 194-95.]