Priorities in the Early Church (Acts 14:21-28)
When an individual or a company does something successful, one common response is to work out what practices or methods they used in order to make such progress. It is appropriate to ask the same questions of the early church because this is one purpose of the Book of Acts. In it, Luke records the priorities of the followers of Jesus in different locations as they commenced a worldwide enterprise.
The section of the book that we have been considering in recent studies deals with the planting and development of churches in the province of Galatia, in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derby. They should interest us because the gospel made progress in those places and because a distressed letter was later sent to them by Paul in which he wondered if they had been truly converted because within a short time they did allow false teachers to make inroads into their church life.
Of course, we confess here that we are watching divine sovereignty in action. There were countless places that needed to hear the gospel, but to begin with the Lord, whose activities are described in this book, sent his ambassadors to selected cities. Obviously, this was a great privilege for those churches, but they now had a responsibility to bring the gospel to communities around their cities. This is how the divine Conductor arranges things.
Reaching
Luke describes the work of Paul and Barnabas in Derbe in one clause: ‘When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples.’ It is worthwhile considering the words that he uses in order for us to understand what he meant. After all, words change their meaning and sometimes become slogans that are used in discussions without being understood.
The first word that we can consider is the verb ‘preached’. Since Luke does not tell us where they preached in Derbe, he must mean that, wherever they preached, the message was the gospel of God’s grace. This was the most common way by which they spread the faith.
What did they preach? The answer given by Luke is ‘the gospel’. What would he have meant by that description? Obviously, it must be a source of joy because the word itself means ‘good news’. What is the good news of the gospel? No doubt, many aspects of it could be mentioned. Briefly, we can think about four details, and it would be safe to assume that they featured in the messages of Paul and Barnabas.
The first is that the gospel is about a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became a man in order for sinners to be saved from a fearful danger, that of a lost eternity. The second is that the gospel contains promises of complete pardon for everyone who repents of their sins and places their trust in Jesus. The third detail is that the gospel provides forgiven sinners with a permanent position, that of being sons of God, members of his family, with all the blessings that come with that position. And the fourth detail is that the gospel includes the prospect of glory in the future, of eternal life in a perfect world.
Luke mentions the outcome of preaching the gospel, which was that Paul and Barnabas ‘made many disciples’. Often when we describe responses to the gospel, we say that there were converts or some other term. But we seldom say that they became disciples. Why should we use this term as well? In addition to the fact that the Bible itself uses it, we should use it because it describes what we should see in genuine conversions. A disciple is a person who wants to follow Jesus Christ and imitate him in life. After all, discipleship is the proof of conversion.
We might have assumed that Luke’s description did not say very much about the mission of Paul and Barnabas in Derbe. He does not highlight any individual cases, although the New Testament does refer to a prominent disciple called Gaius from Derbe, but he does say that there was a remarkable consistency in those who responded, and that was the presence of real discipleship.
Realism
Derbe was the furthest distance east that Paul and Barnabas travelled. If they had gone further, they would have reached the area of Cilicia in which Paul’s hometown of Tarsus was located. Of course, we do not know if any of his relatives still lived there. Whatever may have been the case regarding his family connections, he and Barnabas knew that they needed to return and consolidate the work that they had commenced in the three cities of Lystra, Iconium and Antioch in Pisidia.
It is certain that we can say about the apostles that they had God-given courage to go back to locations where they had been opposed and mistreated. Indeed, years later, and after having gone through many other trials, Paul still recalled what had taken place in this journey with Barnabas: ‘You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra – which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me’ (2 Tim. 3:11).
Their practice on this journey raises the question as to whether it is appropriate for new Christians should be allowed space to reflect on and respond to the changes the gospel had brought into their lives. We can imagine that the new believers in those cities would have many questions to ask Paul and Barnabas concerning Christian doctrine and about living as disciples of Jesus in a Gentile environment.
Luke mentions three areas that Paul and Barnabas spoke about and they would have done so because they were three areas of need in the new congregations. Strengthening their souls indicates that they were not spiritually strong, encouraging them to continue in the faith implies that some at least were thinking of giving up, and stating the inevitability of opposition points to the existence of it as a regular event in the lives of those new believers.
This state of affairs should cause us to think about what occurs in the lives of new converts. Initially, there will be great joy usually. Yet after a while they discover that they have spiritual enemies – the devil and their own sinful tendencies. In addition, the world will oppose them in a variety of ways. They can be strengthened and encouraged by considering the character of God and his many promises.
In their response to the situation facing those new Christians, we can see that the apostles focussed on what would happen in the next world, describe here by Luke as the kingdom of God. The phrase itself can mean different things. It can describe the current life that a Christian knows because he is a member of the kingdom of God. And it can describe life beyond this world when the kingdom comes in its final form after Jesus returns and the new heavens and new earth appear. The answer of the apostles to the difficulties faced by the new Christians was to point them to the glory that they would yet enjoy.
Nevertheless, the apostles knew that spiritual care had to be provided for those Christians. Paul and Barnabas could not remain with each congregation, so they arranged for elders to be appointed. The word ‘appointed’ suggests that they were identified by a show of hands, and that at least two were appointed in each congregation. I suspect that their responsibility was to repeat the teaching and advice that Paul and Barnabas had given to the Christians experiencing spiritual attack, wondering whether to give up, and undergoing opposition for their faith.
A special time was held to commence the role and it was marked by two features – fasting and prayer. It is not clear if only Paul and Barnabas fasted and prayed – it depends on whether ‘them’ in verse 23 refers to the same people. If it does, then it refers to the Christians in general, and it would not be likely for all the Christians to be present. If the second ‘them’ refers to the elders, then it looks as if they were present. I suspect that Paul and Barnabas had realised that their mission there was now complete and what could be more appropriate and necessary than committing the believers to the Lord in prayer?
Reporting
Luke then describes the journey of the apostles back to their home church in Antioch in Syria. No doubt, they wanted to encourage the Christians there with information about the progress of the gospel through the faithfulness of God and his blessing on their labours. They realised that it was only the start of something incredible, a door by which Gentiles could enter the kingdom. And they are still doing so today. They would also want the believers in Antioch to realise that their prayers for Paul and Barnabas had been answered. Indeed, a main reason for the degree of blessing that they had enjoyed was connected to those prayers.
Lessons
What is needed in order for a church to commence is the declaration of the gospel. The places that Paul and Barnabas had travelled to would not have been regarded as hopeful locations for the gospel to flourish. But the straightforward explanation of the gospel did flourish in those places, even if its contents were alien to those who lived there. The fact is, the gospel can work anywhere. But it only works anywhere if the Holy Spirit is present. Without his involvement, nothing genuine will take place.
The methods of Paul and Barnabas show us that it is not enough to start a church, there must be subsequent care for the new converts, no matter what the size of the church is. What kind of care will be needed? New Christians discover their sinfulness and weakness, they need to be informed of the glory ahead, and they need guidance regarding the inevitability of ongoing opposition. They required care from spiritual shepherds.
Prayer was also an essential feature priority of those early Christians and a reason for the spiritual progress that was made in those places. Paul and Barnabas were commissioned during a time of prayer and the church in Antioch would have continued to pray for them even although the church would not have had much information about what was happening with them. The mission concluded with a time of prayer, which means that Luke bracketed his account with references to prayer. Prayer is evidence of dependence on God and expectation from God.
The fourth priority that Luke mentions is the importance of the involvement of other churches. Paul and Barnabas shared with the church in Syrian Antioch details of their mission work in Cyprus and Galatia. No doubt, this would have confirmed their willingness to let Paul and Barnabas follow the heavenly instruction to take on the task. How happy the church would have been through such shared information! They had been involved through their prayers, and were now seeing some of the results. And they could continue praying for those new churches. Later on, Paul and Barnabas would share the same information with churches in other places when they travelled to Jerusalem, and similar joyful responses were given.