KLEROS: “A Place Among Those Who Are Sanctified” – Acts 26:18

“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

In the original Greek text of the New Testament, the word translated here as “a place” is “kleros.” The King James Version translated it “inheritance,” which is one of its meanings. Kleros is a very important word in both the New Testament and in the Greek version of the Old Testament that the Apostles used in the early church (called the “Septuagint”).  This is the first in a series of lessons exploring the meaning of this term.

Reference books list the main definitions of kleros as “lot, portion, or share.”  It is the word used for casting lots to inquire of the Lord in Acts 1:26.  Peter told the money-loving Simon Magus that he had “no share in this ministry” in Acts 8:21 (“neither part nor lot in this matter”), using the same word “kleros” for “lot” or “share.”  In Colossians 1:12 Paul uses the word for the “inheritance” of the saints, and in 1 Peter 5:3 it uses the same word to call the faithful church the Lord’s “heritage” that has been entrusted to the pastors.  The common theme is our allotted portion or share, designated and revealed by God’s grace to us.

Here, kleros is a place among the true saints. When we experience salvation through Christ, we receive a place at His table, at the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb.  “He brought me to his banquet table, and his banner over me is love.”  (Song of Songs 2:4; see also Isaiah 25:6).  There is a place with your name, designated and reserved for you.

Continue reading KLEROS: “A Place Among Those Who Are Sanctified” – Acts 26:18 »

The Mission of the Apostle – Acts 26:18

Acts 26:16-18 – “‘Now get up and stand on your feet.  I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.  I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles.  I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

In this passage, Paul recounts for a few royal officials (unbelievers) how he became a messenger for Jesus Christ.  He quotes the very words that the Lord spoke to him on the day of his conversion, many years before.  The Apostle Paul had nothing to impress the worldly dignitaries.  His call was to be a mere “servant and witness,” (Acts 26:17), rather than to “be somebody important.”  Interestingly, the Lord’s only promise in this passage was to “rescue” Paul from unbelievers – there was no promise to make Paul rich, prosperous, successful, or famous.  The Lord values the things of eternity, not the things of this world.

“Now get up and stand on your feet.” (Acts 26:16) – The Lord gave the same command to Old Testament prophets when He spoke to them (see Jeremiah 1:17; Ezekiel 2:1; Daniel 10:11; Micah 6:1).  In all these passages, standing before the Lord signals both reverence and readiness to act.   Continue reading The Mission of the Apostle – Acts 26:18 »