Commentary on Acts 12:18-23

By Bob Myhan

¹⁸Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

The day for Peter’s planned execution having arrived, Peter is not to be found. Remember, he was chained between two soldiers and there were others soldiers standing watch outside. With four squads assigned, there were probably one or two changes of the guard during the night. It is highly unlikely that the soldiers standing guard were sleeping. Apparently there were no plans to unchain Peter from the two between whom he was sleeping.

When a miracle occurs the impossible happens. There was no way that Peter could have escaped if God were not involved. We can only imagine the shock and awe of the soldiers as they realized Peter was gone. The penalty under Roman law of letting a prisoner escape was that which the prisoner faced. Because of this, no bribe, however large, could have secured the help of the sixteen soldiers assigned to guard him. But they would be unable to give any rational explanation for Peter’s disappearance.

¹⁹But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

The search for Peter yielding no positive results, Herod questioned the guards. This was no pleasant experience for the guards, to be sure. Thinking about their response, reminds this writer of Ralph Kramden responding to the interrogation of his wife, Alice. “Homina, homina, homina….”

Not receiving a satisfactory answer, Herod has the soldiers killed, the punishment he had planned to inflict on Peter.

Any cred Herod had received by the execution of James has surely been spent. Doubtless because he could gain no more without Peter to execute, he departs from the province of Judea for the coastal city of Caesarea where he had a residence.

²⁰Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king's personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king's country.

The cause of Herod’s anger is not certainly known but some suggest the wording indicates an anger as generally leads to war. The cities here mentioned are cities of Syria, as are Damascus and Antioch. Syrian is a Roman province under Roman control. Herod could ill afford to start a war with them, which no doubt made him that much angrier. Hearing he is in Caesarea they came to him, probably through chosen ambassadors, to ask for peace.

²¹So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. ²²And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!"

According to Josephus, the apparel mentioned here was woven from silver thread that shone brightly in the sunlight. The effect would be similar but inferior to the transfiguration of Jesus (Matt. 17:1-2; Mark 9:2-3; Luke 9:29).

Perhaps trying to placate his anger, the people blasphemously elevate him to the level of deity in their accolades. Only a megalomaniac would accept such praise.

²³Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

Accepting such praise was also blasphemy. In the age of the miraculous such an attitude must be punished quickly in a way that would demonstrate his mortality. Though he was immediately struck, he did not immediately die. Josephus tells us he collapsed in pain at the end of this speech due to intestinal worms and died five days later. The angel may or may not have been seen by anyone.

(To be continued)

A Study of the Holy Spirit (Part 1)

By Bob Myhan 

There is much confusion in the religious world regarding the Holy Spirit. Some teach that the Holy Spirit is not God but an impersonal force which God uses in the accomplishment of His purposes. Others teach that the Holy Spirit is God, but is not a distinct person from the Father and Son. But what does the Bible teach about the nature of the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit a person or a mere impersonal force?

There are also many who believe they have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit either as a part of their salvation experience or as a “second work of grace” following salvation. Those who view it as part of the salvation experience, generally, do not believe they can speak in tongues, while those who view it as subsequent to salvation, generally, believe they can and do speak in tongues. But, again, what does the Bible teach? May anyone living today legitimately expect to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? And what does the Bible teach about the gift of tongues and other miraculous, spiritual gifts? What were the gifts, what was their function, how were they received and what was the intended duration of them?

There is also much misunderstanding - not only in the denominational world but in the Lord’s church, as well - concerning the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence in the lives of Christians. Does He indwell Christians indirectly or directly, non-miraculously or miraculously? Does He do so via natural or supernatural means?

The Nature of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is not a mere impersonal force but a person. A person is “a being conscious of self, subsisting in individuality and identity, and endowed with intuitive reason, rational sensibility, and a free will” (H. Leo Boles: The Holy Spirit, His Personality, Nature, Works; page 33). It is here affirmed that the Holy Spirit is “conscious of self” – is aware of having a personal, independent existence; “subsisting in individuality and identity” -- exists as an individual, having his own identity, separate and distinct from all other individuals; and is “endowed with intuitive reason” -- possesses the ability to analyze and explain.

The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit in such a way as to warrant the conclusion that He is a person. Notice the following scriptures.

“Of all persons set Barnabas and Saul apart for me for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2, NWT).

The Holy Spirit, in this place, used the personal pronoun, “I,” and is therefore “conscious of self.”

“But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name” (John 14:26, NWT).

Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as being separate and distinct from both the Father and the Son. Therefore the Holy Spirit “subsists in individuality and identity.”

“That one will teach you all things” (John 14:26, NWT).

The Holy Spirit has the ability to analyze and explain and is, therefore, “endowed with intuitive reason.”

“That one will…bring back to your minds all things I told you” (John 14:26, NWT).

Thus the Holy Spirit is in possession of mental faculties with which to retain information and impart the same to others and is “endowed with…rational sensibility.”

“However, when that one arrives, the spirit of the truth, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak of his own impulse, but what things he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things coming” (John 16:13, NWT).

The Holy Spirit has His own impulses, but chooses not speak of them, but to speak “what things he hears.” He is therefore “endowed with…a free will.”

[Note: We quote from the New World Translation, which was produced by the New World Bible Translation Committee, and copyrighted by the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania, because those involved in the translation deny both the personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, its testimony can hardly be called biased in favor of either.]

A Member of the Godhead

The Bible teaches that there is one God.

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut. 6:4)

But this is a collective “one,” not an absolute “one.” Consider the following passages.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Gen. 1:26)

Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. (Gen. 3:22-23)

This should not be a difficult concept to grasp. A husband and his wife are also a collective “one.”

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24)

The Holy Spirit Is God

If the Holy Spirit were not a member of the Godhead inspired men would not have referred to Him as God. Yet Peter does so in the following passage.

But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." (Acts 5:3-4)

The Holy Spirit Is One of Three

While the Old Testament indicates a plurality of persons in the Godhead, it does not specify the number of those persons. The New Testament does. We will cover this in part two of this study.

(To be continued)