The Eyes the Early Church possessed




Acts 3:1~10 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (6)
 



♬ Hymn for scheduled worship: Korean/English Hymnal # 38 Come, Thou Almighty King (#34 in previous version)
 


 No matter what happens, there are consequences that follow. And those consequences will come according to what we have done. However, what is more important is what we have seen. Seeing is important, but more important is what is hidden in our possession. In today’s Scripture reading, Peter told the crippled man, ‘what I have I give you.’ If we have the Gospel, then we will come to see everything through the eyes of the Gospel. Many people, however, are not aware of the Gospel and are living their lives caught up in their present realities. What kind of eyes did the Early Church possess that they received answers even in the midst of hardships?





1. The Pharisees and the Early Church
 The Pharisees saw everything through the eyes of ideology. Ideology is a result that comes to the intelligent and is something that the intelligent possess. Ideology, however, can keep people from developing the good things they possess, and can also keep people holding onto their scars and unable to move forward. In other words, their past scars remain as a form of ideology. God told the Pharisees to do world missions, but they could not overcome their ideology. On the contrary, the Early Church had the Gospel. While the Pharisees were seeing their own people with the eyes of ideology, the Early Church saw the world with the eyes of the Gospel.





2. Eyes of knowledge
 The Pharisees insisted on what was theirs. They possessed traditions, systems and customs, and emphasized the law. The Early Church, however, did not regard these things as something of great worth. The Early Church, from the beginning, knew the Gospel and looked towards faith. Being able to see this correctly is having the true eyes of knowledge.





3. Life
 The Pharisees had the eyes to see the physical. They put what was visible to others first and valued reputation and traditions. The Early Church, however, had spiritual eyes. Therefore, Peter saw the crippled man with spiritual eyes. He had been unable to see that man in that way before, but opened his spiritual eyes once he came to realize who Christ was. The Early Church continued to receive this amazing blessing, and the Remnants¶S must have the eyes of renewal to see what God’s time schedule daily because they must receive the blessings the Early Church received.





● Forum Topic - With what kind of eyes do you view yourself, the people around you and your future? Perhaps you are seeing everything with the eyes of the Pharisees. Do you see everything with the eyes of the Gospel just as the Early Church did?




RUTC Morning / 2009.6.25