Verse 38
This is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel that spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received living oracles to give unto us: to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt, saying unto Aaron, Make us gods that will go before us; for, as for this Moses, who led us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.
The church in the wilderness ... This is not a reference to the church of Christ, but to the congregation of Israel in the wilderness which is typical of Christ's church. They had been baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Corinthians 10:2); and their testing during the wilderness wanderings was typical of the testing of Christians during their present probation.
Bruce discerned this implication of Stephen's words here:
There in the wilderness Moses was guide to the people; there they were constituted the [@ekklesia] of God; there they had the angel of the Presence in their midst; there they received the living oracles of God. What more could the people want? ... and it was all theirs in the wilderness, far from the promised land and the holy city.[14]
The living oracles ... This designation of the word of God also appears in Romans 3:2; Hebrews 3:12, and 1 Peter 4:11. It means "the living word."
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