Why Acts 2:28 Enables A Positive Outlook
“You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.â€
(Acts 2:28 ESV)
In our experience, the typical preaching emphasis of Acts 2 has been to use 2:28 to get to 2:38. Perhaps, it can be argued that the plan of salvation is so beautifully arranged in that one single verse of 2:38 that 2:28 is something of a stepping stone. However, we have found that Acts 2:28 holds real delight for those who have already been added to the church, according to Acts 2:41.
1. Acts 2:28 comes from Psalm 16, a Psalm of David. As such, Christians are reminded that Jesus is David’s ultimate Messianic subject (2:25). We are, therefore, a people of the Messiah: with a royalty behind us, and a majesty before us (2:30,37).
2. In Psalm 16:11, David speaks in the first person. The life of David was bound up in the coming of Messiah. Christians are people whose lives, also, are bonded to their Lord, inseparable with him—one with Christ, we say.
3. Acts 2:28 (because of the above observations) offers specific benefits:
a. Knowledge – Â Â Â Â Â Â Cognitive (logos)
b. The paths of life – Moral (ethos)
c. Full of gladness – Â Emotional (pathos)
d. Your presence – Â Â Â Spiritual (theos)
– Robert M. Housby