Study #37: God used Peter to heal a paralyzed man and raise a woman from the dead (9:32

Study #37: God used Peter to heal a paralyzed man and raise a woman from the dead (9:32 - 43)

Acts, Chapter 1.5: God elected special Gentiles to hear the Gospel and be saved (9:32 - 12:24)

§Complement Introduction: God used Peter to heal a paralyzed man and raise a woman from the dead (9:32 - 43)

¶Opposite Peter healed a paralyzed man at Lydda (9:32 - 35)

¶Opposite Peter raised a woman from the dead at Joppa (9:36 - 43)

§Complement Body: God led Peter to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles for the first time (10:1 - 11:30)

¶Unique Peter received a vision from God to prepare him to meet with the Gentile Roman Cornelius and his family (10:1 - 23a)

¶Complement Peter met with Cornelius and his family to preach the Gospel to them (10:23b - 48)

¶Complement Peter met with the church at Jerusalem to explain the sequence of events that led him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles (11:1 - 18)

¶Opposite The Jews preached the Gospel to the Gentiles in Antioch, and the converts became the first church of the Gentiles (11:19 - 24)

¶Opposite Agabus the Prophet prophesied of a great famine, which led the church to send relief to the Christians in Judea (11:25 - 30)

§Unique Conclusion: The angel of the Lord delivered Peter from death, and killed king Herod (12:1 - 24)

¶Complement The angel of the Lord delivered Peter from being slain by king Herod (12:1 - 17)

¶Complement The angel of the Lord smote king Herod and killed him for his pride (12:18 - 24)

§Complement Introduction: God used Peter to heal a paralyzed man and raise a woman from the dead (9:32 - 43)

¶Opposite Peter healed a paralyzed man at Lydda (9:32 - 35)

Unique And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all regions, he came down also to the saints who dwelt at Lydda.

Complement And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had kept his bed eight years, and was paralyzed.

Complement And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you whole; arise, and make your bed.” And he arose immediately.

Opposite And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him;

Opposite and they turned to the Lord.

Comments: I won’t repost this outline with a detailed explanation of the Golden Ratio design, because it is so simple and obvious.

The first paragraph of the Introduction Section has the “UCC-OO” design on the subparagraphs inside it: one Unique, two Complements, and two Opposite.

The Apostle Peter was traveling around the country of Judea and stopped in Lydda (aka Ludd), a town in the coastal plain of modern-day Israel, 10 mi. or 16 km. S.E. of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

God used Peter to heal a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed for eight years. This miracle led to everyone in Lydda and Saron trusting Jesus Christ as their Savior, and becoming born-again Christians. The Bible doesn’t say how many people that represented, but any way you look at it, this was a great event that positively impacted those people for many years for sure.

¶Opposite Peter raised a woman from the dead at Joppa (9:36 - 43)

Opposite Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, who by translation is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.

Opposite And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died; whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper room.

Complement And forasmuch as Lydda was near to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, asking him that he would not delay to come to them.

Complement Then Peter arose and went with them; and when he came, they brought him into the upper chamber; and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.

Unique And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

Comments: The Golden Ratio design of the subparagraphs for this paragraph is “OO-CCU”, the reverse of the first paragraph; so the subparagraph pattern for each paragraph agrees with the themes of the paragraph. In other words, the opposing subparagraph design agrees with the themes, which oppose each other:

¶Opposite Peter healed a paralyzed man at Lydda (9:32 - 35)

¶Opposite Peter raised a woman from the dead at Joppa (9:36 - 43)

Healing is quite different than raising someone from the dead! Both are miracles, but in totally different leagues.

While Peter was at Lydda, a woman named Tabitha died, who was much loved by those who knew her for her many good works. The Bible doesn’t say it, but I think we can assume that she was a born-again Christian as well, because the disciples of Jesus in that area were the most concerned about her.

The disciples (Christians) at Joppa heard about Peter’s miracle at Lydda, and sent two men to him to ask him to come to them also, hoping that he might be able to do something.

Peter prayed for some time, and then told Tabitha to rise up; and she did. No doubt Peter prayed more than a few minutes! It was not his power, but the power of God working through Peter that did the miracle, just as He had done for Aeneas in Lydda.

This miracle also led to many in Joppa trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior and becoming born again Christians.

The Larger Picture:

If you read the survey study of Acts Chapter 1.5, you know that this Chapter is centered on Peter preaching the Gospel to the Roman Cornelius and his family and friends, all Gentiles.

So these two miracles set the stage for the most significant event in Bible history since Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees to follow Jehovah to the land of Canaan: Instead of God separating a people from the Gentiles for his Name’s sake and calling them Israel, God was now opening the door for the Gospel to spread to all races and all nations: black, white, yellow, brown, Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, whoever.

God gave the Apostle Peter the privilege of giving the Keys to the Kingdom of God to every race and nation under Heaven.

What are the Keys to the Kingdom? Here they are:

1) You are a sinner before God, because you (and I) have broken God’s Laws: you have lied, you have stolen, you have cursed, you have committed adultery in your heart and maybe in practice, you have murdered in your heart if not in practice. This is the first Key to the Kingdom. You cannot get into the Kingdom of God without understanding that you are a sinner.

“Because all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

2) Jesus Christ is the Son of God: He was born of a Virgin, lived a sinless Life, and died for your sins and mine on the cross of Calvary. This is the second Key to the Kingdom. You cannot get into the Kingdom of God without believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14:6.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life.” John 3:16

3) You must repent of your sins: This is the third Key to the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). To repent means to turn from or change your mind about your sins. Until today, you probably thought using Jesus’ Name in vain was not a big deal, or using the F word or SH word was something that came out of your mouth dozens of times every day.

Or maybe you thought living in sin with a woman not your wife was not a big deal either, or stealing food from the supermarket or items from your neighbor’s garage. You know what sins you have committed and you know that they were wrong. God knows all about them! Nothing is hidden from his EYES, my friend! Everything that you have done has been recorded, and are recorded in the Books in Heaven, waiting for Judgment Day before God.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the Books were opened; and another Book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the Books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:12

God wants you to admit to Him that they were wrong, and that you have sinned against Him, and that you want to turn to Him instead. Real repentance is an admission of wrongdoing, and a desire to do better in the future. No one is perfect, and God knows that; but God wants you to admit (confess) your sins to Him (not to a priest or any other man), and turn to Him instead of sinning again.

4) You must receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior! This is the fourth Key to the Kingdom of God.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he authority to become the children of God: even to them that believe on his Name” John 1:12

“Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved” Romans 10:13

Remember: if you reject any one of these four Keys to the Kingdom, you will go to Hell when you die, because there is no other way into Heaven, except the Bible Way.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14:6.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” John 10:1

“Then Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the Door of the sheep.” John 10:7

If you want to be saved, and know for sure that you will go to Heaven when you die, find a place to pray alone, and use all four of the Keys to the Kingdom that I have just described to you to open the door to the Kingdom of God for yourself:

1) Understand that you are a sinner who has sinned against God.

2) Believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God: born of a Virgin, lived a sinless life, and died for your sins on the cross, so that you might have Eternal Life in Heaven with Him.

3) Repent! Admit to God that you are a sinner, and ask God for forgiveness because Jesus died for you on the cross almost 2,000 years ago.

4) Ask Jesus Christ to come into your life to be your Savior, and Lord: “Savior” is for forgiveness of sins and making you a child of God; “Lord” is for daily obedience to the Word of God, and spiritual growth.

Here is a prayer that you can use to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.