In this message we see how the spiritual gifts that God has given to his saints are used in the planting, growth, and bearing fruit of the church of Antioch.
Teaching Notes:
The Grace of God in Antioch
Acts 11:19-30
A key phrase in Acts 11:1-18 is “to the Gentiles also” (11:18). A key phrase in our section this morning is “to the Hellenists also” (11:20). Luke is making a point as he is describing what the Spirit of God was doing in these early years. We come to the place in Acts where the floodgates of grace are thrown open, not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles. No longer are we concentrating just on Jerusalem and Judea. Now we are going to see this gospel go to the remotest parts of the earth.
This morning we are going to see the wonderful grace of God at work in a new place – the city of Antioch. Antioch becomes the first integrated church of Jews and Gentiles. It also becomes the launching pad from which the gospel begins to go to all the world. Let me give you a little background on the city of Antioch. It was situated 300 miles north of Jerusalem and was the 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire, coming in right behind Rome and Alexandria. It was founded in 300 B.C. by one of Alexander the Great’s generals, naming it after his father, Antiochus. It became known as “Antioch the Beautiful” because of its fine buildings. By this time there was a long paved road of marble 4 miles long flanked by a double colonnade with trees and fountains all around. It was the only city in the ancient world which had its streets lighted at night. It was home to a large colony of Jews, as well as Orientals from Persia, India and China giving it its other nickname “The Queen of the East.” So, in this large cosmopolitan city you had Romans, Greeks, Orientals and Jews. It was to this city that experienced a wonderful and powerful move of God!
This morning we are going to see 3 aspects of the Church in Antioch: its germination, its growth, and its fruit. Just as any plant goes through the stages of germination, then growth, and finally bearing fruit, so it is true of any Church that God plants.
1. The Germination of the Church: 11:19-21
· Who did God use in planting the church? Acts 11:19 picks up from Acts 8:1,4. Luke dropped the story for a time to flesh out the stories of Philip, Saul, and Cornelius, but now he is picking it right back up. Some spoke the word to Jews in Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. Others spoke to Greek-speaking Gentiles. Notice that no one is even named by Luke! The identity of the people who were preaching doesn’t matter. What matters is that God used it to raise up a dynamic church.
· What Was Their Message? 11:20. “The Lord Jesus.” That is always the message. The Greek is literally, “announcing the glad tidings – the Lord Jesus.” Jesus is the glad tidings. He is the gospel. He is the sum and substance of our message. This was the message of Peter, Peter, and Saul (2:36; 8:5; 8:35; 9:20). If you now Who Jesus is, and what He came to do, you know the gospel.
· What Was The Result? 11:21. 11:21 – “a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” Later, after Barnabas came from Jerusalem we read in 11:24 “a great many people were added to the Lord.” Later still when Barnabas and Saul diligently taught these new saints it says in 11:26 “For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.” The message is clear – the church in Antioch was very large. There was a great move of God, and multitudes were being swept into the Kingdom. We are not given any specific numbers like we have for the Jerusalem Church. Sometimes we can view a large church as a bad thing, but not necessarily. This Church was large, but it was a good thing because it meant that many people had been saved and were growing in their faith. This church did not become large because it compromised the truth. No, it had excellent faithful teachers in Barnabas and Saul. It grew large because God was saving many people!
· Why Were So Many Being Saved? 11:21. “The hand of the Lord was with them.” That’s the only explanation given. It wasn’t because the preaching was so mesmerizing, not because the preachers were so eloquent and dynamic and charismatic. It wasn’t because the hearer’s hearts were so soft, and pliable, and open and ready to receive the truth. The reason was because God’s hand was on these early witnesses. Luke is always very careful to explain that true conversion is a work of God, not of man. Notice 11:20 – “these people were added to the Lord.” Well, who added them? We are given the answer in 2:47, “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” The Lord added to the Lord! Acts 5:31; 11:18; 13:48. What is the only explanation for the tens of thousands who were saved in the Jesus Movement in the late 60’s and 70’s? The hand of the Lord was with them. Why have hundreds of thousands been saved in China over the last few decades? The hand of the Lord was with them. If we see a move of God here in California, it will only be because the hand of the Lord is with us.
Summary: The church was germinated in Antioch, because a bunch of nobody’s dared to preach the Lord Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them. So, what did God use to birth this church? Preaching. 1Cor.1:21. It will be the same today. If you want to see God save people and germinate churches, you’ve got to preach Jesus. God’s ordained means of salvation is not music or drama – it is preaching. The only way that someone can be saved through music or drama is if Jesus is preached through that music or drama. It’s not enough to live a godly life before the unsaved. We need to preach Jesus to them! St. Francis’ motto “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary use words” is misleading. You can’t preach the gospel without words. What that means for us at The Bridge is that we need to be about proclaiming the gospel. We’ve been doing that by going door to door and starting investigative bible studies. Let’s keep that up. Let’s not falter or grow weary. If it is really true that we are missionaries to our own people, then we need to be doing what missionaries do – preach the gospel!
2. The Growth of the Church: 11:22-28. Just as any plant which germinates begins to grow, so too any Church planted of the Lord will start to grow. So, what is necessary for the spiritual growth of a Church? Gifted Men. In this section, Luke introduces us to 3 men whom God used to help this brand new church to grow and flourish – Barnabas, Saul, and Agabus. Notice that God didn’t expect these new believers to learn “directly from Jesus.” He sent them believers who had been walking with Jesus for many years and knew His Truth, to teach and exhort them. God’s normal way of bringing spiritual maturation is through the gifts of other mature believers. Eph.4:11. Isolating yourself from other believers is not a model for spiritual growth!
1. Barnabus: It appears that in this Church, there were many new believers, but no mature leaders. When the Jerusalem church heard of the work of God in Antioch, they sent them a seasoned and proven man of God who could help them to grow and get grounded in their faith – Barnabas. Acts 4:36. He was from Cyprus, the very island that these guys were from who preached the Lord Jesus in Antioch! In other words, he wasn’t an outsider, but one of their own. It would be easier for the preachers in Antioch to receive his ministry, because he was one of them.
· Why Was Barnabas Selected? Look at his character – Good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. These were the same character qualities the apostles looked for when appointing the 7 to care for the Grecian widows in Acts 6. Further, Barnabas was a humble man. That is seen in the fact that he deliberately sought out Saul to help him in this work. That tells us a lot. It tells us he was a humble man who wasn’t seeking his own glory or the praise and approval of man. Barnabas could have been the Senior Pastor, The Big Man on Campus. He could have had all these new believers looking to him for spiritual nourishment, and become sort of an idol figure. However, he deliberately decided to find someone else to share the ministry with.
· How Did He Minister?
1) He confirmed that a genuine work of God was taking place in the city. When he saw it, he rejoiced and was glad.
2) He exhorted these young believers to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. To Exhort means “to urge another to a course of action.” The course of action Barnabas was seeking to motivate them towards was to remain faithful to the Lord, to persevere. Barnabas knew these new believers would have many trials, temptations, and sufferings. He was doing his best to prepare them for them, and to be resolutely committed, that come what may, they would remain true to the Lord.
· What Was The Result of His Exhorting Ministry? 11:24 – a great many people were added to the Lord. So, initially through the work of these unnamed preachers who were scattered by the persecution there were a great number who turned to the Lord. Now there is another great many people added to the Lord. Barnabas’ ministry has had a wonderful effect on the new church. They have determined that whatever comes, they will remain true to the Lord, and their zeal and passion has been effective in drawing in many other lost people to the Lord.
2. Saul: Why would Barnabas seek out Saul to help in this ministry? Well, for starters, he realized that there were way too many people for him to be able to effectively minister to and shepherd. For another, he knew that Saul was the man that this church needed. Both Barnabas and Saul were diaspora Jews, having grown up outside of Palestine. Saul was fluent in the Greek language and culture. Furthermore, Saul was specifically called by God to bring the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15), and had a rare gift of teaching, which is exactly what these new believers needed. Saul has been walking with Jesus for about 9 or 10 years at this point. Jesus has given him wonderful revelation, and he is bursting to share it. The Lord is going to use this time in Barnabas and Saul’s lives to prepare them for their mission in chapter 13. They are learning to minister together as a team, to submit to one another, and to teach the Word to a Gentile audience.
· How Did He Minister? He, together with Barnabas taught the church for a whole year. Perhaps there would be teaching sessions going on 6 or 7 days a week. Barnabas and Saul would alternate, or perhaps they taught together, one taking the lead, and the other filling in the gaps. Notice, that they were teaching. Initially, the gospel was preached. However, after a group of people had been born again, the emphasis switches from preaching to teaching & exhorting. Teaching and Exhorting are prime gifts that are needed by believers in order to grow in their salvation. Teaching generally comes first. You can’t apply truth until that truth has been explained to you. Teaching lays the foundation, and exhortation builds upon it. In teaching, the Word is analyzed, explained, and illustrated. Then the person with the gift of exhortation urges people to put into practice those truths they have been taught. Rom.12:6-8; 1Tim.4:13; Mt.28:20; Acts 2:42.
· What Was The Result of His Teaching Ministry? 11:26 “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Notice that the disciples didn’t call themselves Christians, they were called Christians. These zealous disciples in Antioch caught the attention of the unbelieving city, and the people there nicknamed them Christians, similar to a follower of Herod being called a Herodian. This tells me that as a result of Saul’s teaching ministry, these disciples were always talking about Christ. Saul taught them everything he knew of Jesus Christ. They soaked it in, and shared it with the unbelievers in Antioch, until these unbelievers said, since you guys can’t seem to talk of anything except Christ, we’re going to call you Christians, followers of the Christ.
What are followers of Jesus called in the New Testament?
Disciples: occurs 269 times in the NT. 239 times in the Gospels, and 30 times in Acts. Never occurs after Acts 21.
Brethren: occurs 290 times in the NT. Occurs in Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.
Saints: occurs 61 times in the NT. Occurs in Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.
Christians: occurs 3 times in the NT. Here, Acts 26:28; 1Pet.4:16
Sinners: occurs 43 times in the NT. All but 1 refer to unregenerate people. Only time Paul uses the term of a regenerate person is of himself – 1Tim.1:15.
It seems ironic that the term that are used the least are the ones we use the most (Christians, sinners). You are a disciple (learner), brother or sister (family), saint (holy one). That is your Biblical identity!
3. Agabus: 11:27-28.
· How Did He Minister?
As part of a group of prophets. Don’t miss the plurality of these prophets. There was a group of prophets that were in Jerusalem. They came to Antioch, hoping to use their gift of prophecy to be a blessing to this new church in Antioch. Everywhere you look in the NT you see a team, a plurality of men & women ministering in teams. It’s always Elders, Deacons, Prophets. Paul always ministered as part of a church planting team. Even here, Barnabas doesn’t try to minister alone, but seeks out Saul to help him. There is an important principle here. A plurality ensures that there will be mutual accountability and submission among the leaders, which is imperative for a healthy church life.
With the Gift of Prophecy: He foretold by the Spirit of a great famine. Claudius Caesar reigned from 41 – 54 A.D. Josephus records a very severe famine in Judea during Claudius’ reign, in which many people died for lack of money to buy what little food was available. Notice this gift of prophecy had nothing to do with giving new revelation concerning doctrine or theology. Its purpose was to reveal something which was about to take place, so that church could make preparations to assist one another when times got really bad. Also notice that no one is recording Agabus’ prophecies word for word and making a book of the Bible out of them like Isaiah or Jeremiah. His prophecies are not intended to convey word for word Scripture-level authority. They are a specific word from God for a specific people at a specific time. That’s all. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the congregational NT prophecy is somehow inerrant like Scripture. No, it must be judged by the congregation.
· What Was The Result of His Ministry? The church took note, and took up a generous offering to help the poor brethren in Jerusalem where the famine would hit the hardest. Agabus’ prophetic ministry was an important gift to enable the Church to do the will of God at a particular point in time. It is still an important gift today!
3. Fruit of the Church: 11:29-30. After a plant has germinated and grown to a considerable size, if it is healthy, will be fruit. It is no different in the Church of Jesus. What was the fruit that we see the church in Antioch bearing?
· Generous Giving:
How Much Did They Give? According to his ability. Those with more gave more. Those with less gave less. Notice there is no percentage that each one was compelled to meet. Tithing was an OT practice, given by God to take care of the Levites. It is not brought into the NT. Today, there is no percentage that believers are bound to give according to. But, if we look at giving that way, we have entirely missed the point. Giving is not a duty that we have to perform in order to be “good Christians.” It is a privilege that we get to do out of joy. The object shouldn’t be to meet a minimum standard. The object should be to see how much of our income we can give. The problem with tithing is that people think that as long as they give 10%, they can do whatever they want with the rest. No! Folks, 100% of your income is God’s, and we are His money managers. We should be asking Him what He wants us to do with His money.
Who Gave: Everyone. None were excluded, or excluded themselves. The same is true today. God’s will is for every child of God to be a generous giver.
Why Did They Give? To send relief to the brothers living in Judea. Rom.15:27. The church in Jerusalem had ministered to them by sending Barnabas and Agabus and other prophets who strengthened them spiritually. It was only reasonable for them to reciprocate and bless them materially.
How Did They Send Their Gift? Entrusting it to Barnabas and Saul who delivered it to the Elders. They were wise about it. Barnabas and Saul had proven themselves to be men of integrity among them. They knew they could trust them to deliver it safely. Barnabas and Saul were wise enough to know that this gift needed to be entrusted to the Elders, who would dispense it with wisdom.
Application:
The Lord uses many people and many gifts in planting, growing, and bearing fruit in His Church: preaching, teaching, exhortation, and prophecy. I exhort you to be like these unnamed preachers, Barnabas, Saul, and Agabus. Use your spiritual gifts for the benefit of others! Pour yourself out for the brethren! Find another person who needs your encouragement, your generosity, your instruction, your timely word, and invest in them. Let’s be busy about the Master’s business. “Only 1 Life – Will Soon Be Past – Only what’s Done For Christ Will Last!”
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