Bible Studies For Life

Bible Studies For Life

Mission Without Boundaries   Seize the Day: Embracing Missions w’ Purpose Session 6  24 MAY 26

ACTS 13:1-3 At Antioch in A.D. 48, the gospel was going forcibly to Gentiles. Dr. Herschel H. Hobbs in his Studying Life and Work Lessons, Apr-Jun 1993, page 119-120 wrote about what he called: The Tale of Two Cities. “Two cities figure prominently in the early history of Christianity, Jerusalem and Antioch. It was in Jerusalem that Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose [the Father got him out of death and Jesus got himself out of the tomb: Ganote] from the dead. Pentecost took place there. From Jerusalem Christians were commanded to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Under the force of persecution the Jerusalem church began to preach the gospel elsewhere. Only reluctantly did they accept preaching to other ethnic groups. That church as such never became involved in Gentile missions. The gospel was first preached to Gentiles in Antioch. It was this church that first sent out missionaries to preach the gospel to a Gentile world. In due time the center of Christian work shifted from Jerusalem to Antioch. With the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70, the church there disappeared. God blesses missionary churches.  Churches that turn inward dwindle away, and die. We should learn a lesson from this.” God had commanded (Mat 28:19 RSV) "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," The Jerusalem church was a Judaizer church which believed only the Jews had the Plan of Salvation and any Gentile, in order to be saved, had first to become a Jew. The Jews long held the position that Gentiles had to come to them. The Jerusalem church continued in that thinking. They chose to ignore “all nations” to continue their biased belief. “Go” in the Greek means “as you go”. There were plenty of Gentiles in Jerusalem because of the Romans. They did not have to send out missionaries to be missionaries. They chose not to, so God could not have them be the example of a “New Testament” church to the world. Yet many preachers and teachers long that their churches to be a New Testament (Jerusalem) church. There was never A “New Testament church.” If one is to follow an example, it should be Antioch. And note that the mentioned churches in Revelation are all Gentile-originated churches.

Dr. Hobbs, page 120: “The Jerusalem Conference is dated A.D. 48 or 49. Jesus had given his commissions in A.D. 30. So it was about 18 years before the Bible records the gospel being preached outside the area running north and south along the eastern Mediterranean coast… The work in the Antioch church must have been growing judging from the number of leaders listed here. Note that Barnabas’s name heads the list, he must have been the leader.” Then the Holy Spirit sent a directive to the Antioch church to identify and support to of these leaders for a special effort. He designed Barnabas and Saul. This came to be known as The First Missionary Journey, (Acts 13-14). Sent out from the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1-3), Paul and Barnabas went to the cities of Galatia in Asia Minor.  The Jewish synagogues in these cities provided Paul a platform for preaching the gospel. At times, however, he encountered opposition from the synagogues not unlike Peter and John in the temple (ACTS 3-4). Note the common practice of the day was to fast, pray, and lay on hands. This does not mean this is the only way a church can identify people for specific work. It also does not mean only men can be so designated. It does not mean we are to duplicate this method. Paul and Barnabas (both Jews) were designated by the new center of world missions (Antioch) to go to “all people.” Naturally they would witness to both Jews and Gentiles. And so they did.

Further verses 1-3 details:

ACTS 13:1 Dr. Hobbs in his Studying Life and Work Lessons, July-September 1979, page 40 wrote about the sending of Paul and Barnabas: "But assuming that the Jerusalem Conference (ch. 15) was held in A.D. 49, it must have been in A.D. 48….It had been probably thirteen or fourteen years after Saul's conversion….The number of ministers mentioned suggests a well-organized church in Antioch…."Niger" means "black." So Simon Niger may have been a black man….Lucius also came from Africa (see 11:20)…."Tetrarach" means the ruler of a fourth part of a kingdom… The reference to Manaen means that in some way he was connected with the Herodian family. This shows Christianity had penetrated the upper class."

ACTS 13:2 Dr. Hobbs, page 41 said the Septuagint used the word "ministered" for priestly service in the tabernacle. He noted: ""Fasting" suggests that the entire procedure was directed toward learning the Lord's will for the church… So the Holy Spirit told the church to separate Barnabas and Saul for the work to which he had called them." Note, the Holy Spirit called them to specific work. The doctrine of the Priesthood of Believers says that all believers are "called" of God to serve Him. Note (Eph 2:10 RSV) "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." The only issue is to find the specific work for each of us. It may be in concert with others or it may be independent in basic nature. [Saul would later have his name changed to Paul and would become the leader. Acts 13:13]

                Also, every priest has at least one specific ability so designated by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 12:11 RSV) "All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills." There are a wide variety depending upon the needs at any specific location. (1 Cor 12:4 RSV) "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;" In the Greek the word “gifts” has several meanings. 5486. charisma, khar'-is-mah; from G5483; a (divine) gratuity, i.e. deliverance (from danger or passion); (spec.) a (spiritual) endowment, i.e. (subj.) religious qualification, or (obj.) miraculous faculty:--(free) gift. In context the meaning is a (spiritual) endowment, i.e. (subj.) religious qualification. The idea of the usual English meaning for gifts is in error. The context meaning is endowment or qualification for spiritual work. Each is specifically customized to each Christian. [A Christian may well be given several work assignments over a lifetime.] It means a designated area of spiritual work for the Father. It does not mean the Christian is instantly or automatically capable of doing this designated work. The Christian must grow spiritually in the grace and knowledge of Jesus and it may mean years of formal and/or informal education to begin the work properly. In every case, the Christian has this spiritual work identified and directed by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 12:7 RSV) "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." Note carefully each specified work is “for the common good.” This means others as well as the Christian, are meant to benefit. The emphasis is on others. (1 Cor 14:26 RSV) "What then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."

ACTS 13:3 Dr. Hobbs, page 41 ""Sent away" is the only finite verb in this verse, the others, being Greek participles… Clearly the fasting was voluntary and not a scheduled one. The laying on of hands was done by the above-mentioned group (see v. 1) on behalf of the church, or the entire congregation did it." Before we make too much of this, as many do, we must remember that there were no church buildings in that day for the church's members to assemble. Naturally the church would use representatives to perform actions for the church as a whole. Dr. Hobbs pointed out "It was certainly not an ordination to the ministry. Later Paul insisted that his credentials came not from men but from the Lord (Gal. 1:11-12, 17; 2:6). It was a means of showing the church's approval of the missionary enterprise." [Note again: “certainly not an ordination to the ministry.”]  Apparently the church did not finance this effort but simply approved it. Dr. Hobbs, "Certainly Antioch had multitudes of pagan people. But the Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul to other areas." Since all Christians are priests, the church was not left without witnesses. Jesus commands every Christian to witness. What was lacking was enough Antioch Christians doing (Mat 28:19a RSV) "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations".

ACTS 13:42-43 Sometimes when the truth is spoken to listening ears, the people will want to know more. As Dr. Hobbs noted, "the King James Version does not give a clear picture at this point… The Revised Standard Version is clearer…As they were going out they were urged to return the next Sabbath day to speak these words again to the people." The people asked for it, the leaders did not. There is a lesson here as well. Church leaders are no more of a priest before God than any other member of the congregation. Leaders can and are wrong at times. When they are, the people must act on their own to live and sustain the truth. The key factor is we are to be Obedient to God. That is where our call comes. Imagine the proselytes' amazement to all this. For the first time they heard that God accepts faith people and they did not have to become a Jew to have a saving relationship with God. Certainly the synagogues' leaders would oppose such a message.

ACTS 13:44-46 Church leaders today often have the same sin problem as did this synagogue's leaders. If they do not "invent" or conceive the message, then it cannot be true. They feel they have the solitary lock on God's message. For a church teacher to challenge the correctness of a pastor's message quickly brings reprisals. While the pastor is to be the lead teacher, the pastor is not the pope-equivalent for the church. But many Baptist pastors see themselves as this pope-equivalent and too many members support it without rational Bible thinking. So teachers are often left out on the limb, as Paul was on occasion, and some have the limb cut off under them. Paul took the historic position that has shaped God's family as no other Apostle has. (Acts 13:46 RSV)  "And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles."

ACTS 13:47-48 Paul moved to the core of his calling he had gotten from God {through the Holy Spirit}. Certainly it was not a call made from the Jerusalem church. "For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.'" The Gentiles heard this and were glad and responsive. This verse in no way supports predestination as being only some can be saved. Dr. Hobbs never taught such a thing. This is a false doctrine that flies in the face of (John 3:16 RSV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." "Ordained" in Greek means 5021. tasso, tas'-so; a prol. form of a prim. verb (which latter appears only in certain tenses); to arrange in an orderly manner, i.e. assign or dispose (to a certain position or lot):--addict, appoint, determine, ordain, set. Thus in the orderly manner of Acts 20:21, many Gentiles had saving faith.

ACTS 13:49-50 Being both faithful and qualified, Paul and Barnabas were effective so that “the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region.” But orthodox Jews of the region did not like this. They viewed Jesus as both a false messiah and a heretic because He said He was the Son of God, i.e. divine. Note the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city.” This is a most interesting statement for the day. If a woman had money of her own or was married to a socially powerful man, she could do many things common women could not, including having a level of social power herself. So the high standing women and leading men brought together religious power and “drove them out of their district.”

ACTS 13:51-52 What did Paul and Barnabas do about this? They shook off the dust of the districts! A good Jew took pains not to carry back into Palestine any dust from non-Jewish countries. To "shake off the dust" was a vivid gesture of complete break of fellowship and renunciation of responsibility for the person or community gestured at. See Christ's command at Luke 9:5; 10:11. (Mark 6:11 RSV) "And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them."" What does this mean for us? There are many lost people in need of priest-witnessing. If after a reasonable period of time, if some show no interest, then we need to move on to others. Jesus did. Jesus directed His Apostles to do so. It is the same for us.

                Note the response of the Christians: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” They were very joyful because “the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region.” They were also, at this time, allowing themselves to be fully influenced by (Greek meaning for “filled”) the Holy Spirit as He guided their doing of His designated priest-work.

                Do we, do you, and does your church need to return to witnessing to your district? Would Jesus say to you and your church “(Rev 2:4-5 RSV) "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."

                Note the scope of Matt 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations!” We are not to limit ourselves to just the house next door. (Acts 2:17-18 RSV) "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy." MEN AND WOMEN GO AND DO!

APPLY THE WHOLE BIBLE BEFORE YOU STATE A DOCTRINE!

Best Study Guide: How to Study the Bible Principles with Bible, A Study Sources by Orin T. Binkley.

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