Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....August 2, 2021
This week we continue our look at the Early Church and how easily things can go wrong because of.....
False Christs, Apostles, Prophets, and Teachers.
Christianity took hold in a big way in Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and Syria; then spread across Cilicia, Pamphilia, Galatia, eventually into what was then called Asia, and on to Europe. Later we expect to explore the spread of the early church.
As you might expect, people with motives of their own began to make false claims.
• Some feared that the gospel of Christ would topple them from political power
• Some saw a parade and wanted to be in front of it
• Some found it hard to accept that the Sinai law had been eclipsed by the Christian faith, still clung to it
Jesus warned about false Christs and false prophets
• For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (Matt 24:24)
• Defending his apostleship to the Corinthian church, Paul wrote that some men, desiring the opportunity to be equal with Paul, were disguising themselves, and masquerading as apostles of Christ (2 Cor 11:12-13).
• The church in Ephesus had the same problem, and had tested those who called themselves prophets, and found them to be false (Rev 2:2)
• On his first missionary tour, Paul and Barnabas went through Cyprus (where today there’s a financial crisis). They encountered Bar-Jesus, a false prophet at Paphos (Acts 13:6)
• John wrote that “many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 Jn 4:1)
• Peter wrote about false prophets and false teachers
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (2 Pet 2:1)
• Consequently, there was a proliferation of teachers with conflicting and wrong doctrines, all claiming to be speaking the “gospel truth,” may have prompted James to caution:
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. (Jas 3:1)
Stricter judgment for what? Accidentally or deliberately teaching falsely.
• False teaching was poisonous to the early church.
One can easily understand why false teaching was prevalent.
It was a fertile time for Satan to send pompous, self-impressed charlatans with claims of access to God, and possession and ownership of truth.
With the New Testaments yet unwritten, everyone could claim to be a teacher, a prophet, or even the Christ.
Teachers who espouse and spread false doctrines will always appear to be positive they are right. But confidence does not make rightness. One may be very confident that a false thing is true. We must realize that false teaching is still going on.
If so, what constitutes false teaching today?
Is a simple misunderstanding - of which I have discovered many in my own thinking - if taught to others, instances of me being a false teacher?
If I make some mistake in this series of teachings, am I a false teacher?
What if someone makes a comment in a sermon or a class that I think is flavored with some error?
Is there anyone who has not at times come to recognize that something he or she has believed is different than he or she thought, as Apollos did? (Acts 18:24-28)
Apollos was not reproached, rebuked, and shunned as a false teacher, rather taught what was lacking in his knowledge.
Without that reality, there is no growth.
What then is false teaching?
And how are to recognize false teachers?
Jesus tells us. It is by their fruits that we are to know them. Matt 7:16,20; 24
Can we be mistaken about the fruit? What if someone who seems to live a fruit-filled life - some have far surpassed my own - but we see some error in their beliefs and teachings?
We are to know them by their fruits. A person who lives a fruitful life of devotion to God may be mistaken on some point of doctrine, but such is common among followers of Christ. False teachers are a different kind of people, who sow discord and strife. Their fruit is not the fruit of the spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23, but anger and division. In the list of six things God hates - yea, seven - one who spreads strife among brothers is listed directly behind a false witness.
VARIOUS OTHER GIFTS AND ASSOCIATED FUNCTIONS
4. Miracles and Gifts of Healing (1 Cor 12:28)
Doonamis (doo’ nam is) from a root word meaning “force,” specifically means miraculous power. It transcends natural laws we humans live by, but is in accord with higher laws (e.g., laws of aeronautics).
• Miracles were performed by the use of extraordinary powers.
• Gifts of healing - from iama (ee’ am ah) which means “a cure.”
May have been exercised without extraordinary powers, but some of the time definitely involved miraculous healing.
• Speaking and interpretation of tongues were abnormal phenomena.
There is no denying that the New Testament church had workers of miracles.
Their purpose was to minister to needs, but went beyond the immediate need of the moment, proving the credentials and authority of those who declared God's message. During the time the writing of the New Testament was not complete, these gifts enabled them to speak as Christ’s emissaries to those who had willing ears to hear. Those who had unwilling ears could find ways to explain away miracles.
Are inborn aptitudes today’s equivalent of the spiritual gifts?
Are the things that are said about phenomenal gifts to be understood as pertaining—in principle--to what we think of as natural talents?
I believe they are, but I hasten to add that God works no less powerfully now than he did then. The need to authenticate the messenger is different, since now the power that resides in the New Testament as delivered in the first century authenticates the message it contains - not in a person who repeats, analyzes and explains it to others.
God may act in a way now that - in our reckoning - seems to be the equivalent of a miracle. But I never have seen a human agent perform one.
The first Christians undeniably did.
5. Helps (1 Cor 12:28) This little 5-letter word is easy to read right past, but it’s there for good reason. The verse says “God has appointed in the church” these various functional capacities. What was this God-appointed function?
The Greek word antilepsis, translated "helps," appears only this once in the New Testament. Antilepsis means “relief.” KJV, NKJV, & NASB render the word “helps,” ESV says “helping.”
It is the work of aiding and comforting the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the stranger, and is akin to what we know as “pure and undefiled religion,” thanks to James, who so declared in his letter (James 1:27).
It is a crucial function, being religion pure and undefiled.
From the very beginning and throughout its history, Christianity has been intensely practical.
Someone may be incapable of teaching in front an audience, speaking in or interpreting tongues, or performing a miracle, but imminently capable of helping wherever help is needed, perhaps more so than someone who is a capable teacher. This is why I often remind you all to "share your encounter with God with someone else." Isn’t this everyone’s Christian duty?
If it is, how do we reconcile 1 Cor 12:4-11 (earlier in this same chapter) where Paul says,
• there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit
• and varieties of ministries, and the same Lord
• to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good
• to one the word of wisdom, to another knowledge, to another faith, to another gifts of healing, etc.
Some of the works we have discussed are the product of specific gifts to perform that function. Some have a gift that others do not. If we have learned anything in this series, it is that gifts differ. The eye, as wonderful as it is, cannot do the job of the hand.
Similarly to the duty of comforting those who are grieving, we are finding that some functions in the church are graces we receive from the Holy Spirit as part of the Christian character living in us, making us what we are.
We are all God-appointed for helps, or helping--relieving need or suffering where it is in our power.
While it is true that those actions come more easily to some than to others, “That’s not my gift” is no excuse.
We said in the beginning of this series that this purpose would not just be to settle questions of how we “do church,” and prove by exact conformance with procedures and methods that we are the church of the New Testament. As shown earlier, we have been very selective and inexact if that were our purpose. But this little word “helps” goes a long way to showing who we really are, and perhaps speaks volumes about how Christ - himself a “helper” - regards us.
The definition of the word antilepsis does not appear to require the use of extraordinary powers.
But to make that observation is not to say that people never used extraordinary powers for antilepsis, as Jesus did – healing the sick, feeding the hungry, etc.
Antilepsis was the action of the Samaritan on the Jericho road who came upon the man who had fallen among thieves and was robbed, beaten, and left for dead (Luke 10).
6. Administrations: ("Governments" in the KJV)
The word is kubernesis in Greek, which the Strong dictionary defines as “pilotage,” or “government.”
Vines New Testament expository dictionary defines it “to guide, denoting steerage, or pilotage.”
A form of the word is translated “pilot” in Acts 27:11 in the NASB and ESV, and “helmsman” in the NKJV, in reference to the “pilot” of the ship that Paul traveled on from Myra until it was wrecked at Malta.
In Rev 18:17, it is translated “shipmaster,” in the NASB, ESV, and NKJV, referring to those who trade by sea, lamenting the fall of the great city Babylon a result of the angel pouring out the seventh bowl of wrath.
That of course is figurative, as Babylon in Mesopotamia had fallen to Alexander the Great about 400 years earlier.
Kubernesis is a rather elastic word, as is the English word “administrations.” Using the same word in the original language, Paul defined the administration suitable to the fullness of times as "the summing up of all things in Christ." (Eph. 1:10)
• He said his work with the Gentiles was "to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden..." (Eph. 3:9)
• Paul wrote of taking precaution "that no one should discredit us in our administration" of financial gifts for the needy in Judea (2 Cor 8:20).
With the New Testament providing nothing more specific than a rather non-specific word to go on, it seems that administration or government refers to the oversight, management, and coordination of any endeavor.
Writing in the 1600’s, Dr. J. B. Lightfoot contended that the word does not refer to ruling, but to the case of a person with a deeply comprehending mind, who is profoundly wise and prudent, whose nature lends itself to guiding others with sensitivity and discretion.
Beyond that observation, administration seem to include those oversight relationships, mechanisms and processes, that give coordination, balance, and flow to the work, so it does not become lost in confusion and neglect.
Therefore, I do not see administrations as a unique function, but a characteristic of various capacities, such as a person(s) designated to
• make worship assignments and coordinate substitutions,
• plan and coordinate “Sharing your Blessings”
• organize youth activities
• conduct home or other private studies
• host fellowship meals and other events
• coordinate gifts of food for families who have lost a loved one
• keep track of finances, pay bills, etc.
• handle requests for benevolence,
• arrange and conduct private studies or correspondence courses.
A person who is especially talented as an organizer and administrator will naturally find an outlet for that gift in the functions of the church.
7. Various kinds of tongues: We have already discussed speaking in tongues. Little more needs to be said, except to recall that Paul de-emphasized it in relation to the greater gifts in the second chapter following this one (ch 14).
Although it had a part in the early church, I do not see it as an act of worship or religious mandate in today’s church. The nearest function I see of that principle today is translating a sermon or other part of the assembly to those who do not speak English, or a person who repeats what is said in sign language for the deaf, but that is not the same is the supernatural phenomenon that occurred on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, or at the conversion of Cornelius’ household in Acts 10. I see those functions rather as being “helps.”
Paul’s central teaching in 1 Cor 12 is that there is one body, Christ is the head, and we are all members of it, each having gifts as one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Cor 12:7) Having completed his recitation of some gifts as needed to illustrate that teaching, Paul goes on immediately to emphasize that every Christian did not have all of the gifts.
4 For as in one body we have many members,[a] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. -Romans 12:4-8
Here Paul opens with exactly the same thought we discussed earlier – we have gifts that differ.
In writing to the Romans, Paul cites some of the gifts that he mentioned to the Corinthian church, and some he did not list there. He says”
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them:
• if prophecy, in proportion to our faith (already discussed)
• if service, in our serving (will discuss later on)
• the one who teaches, in his teaching (already discussed)
• the one who exhorts, in his exhortation
• the one who contributes, in generosity
• the one who leads, with zeal
• the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
8. Exhortation (Rom 12:8):
The word in the original is paraklesis, which means “to call near, to invite, invoke, beseech, or entreat.”
It is the work of stirring a person or a group to action or change.
It may involve the use of information, but it is not the mere function of imparting information alone. Rather, it is the function of overcoming inertia and apathy when action is needed, and overcoming momentum when some action needs to cease.
In the New Testament, exhorting occurred one-on-one, in written letters, in the forum of assembled Christians, and in private.
Examples of Paul exhorting and commanding others to exhort:
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. (1 Cor 1:10)
Three chapters later:
I exhort you, be imitators of me (with respect to his willingness to endure hardship and persecution - 1 Cor 4:16).
Little more needs to be said, as the principle of exhorting is easily understood, and where there is a need for it, the need is obvious. The question is - will we rise to the need?
9. Giving (Rom 12:8):
Metadidomi – to give a share, or impart. Paul’s meaning seems to be the sharing of temporal things.
He cites it as a gift (cf. v 6)
When a Christian is gifted with the ability to acquire money on a scale exceeding that of most people, that ability is accompanied by a responsibility that the gift be used for the Giver's purposes. Permit me
two points of caution, however.
• A person must not excuse himself from using other gifts he or she possesses so as to be free to singularly pursue wealth under the notion that the greatest good will accrue to the church from having more plentiful funds thus obtained and contributed.
• Secondly, those of lesser means should not refrain from giving, or give a paltry amount, because of others who they may consider able to carry the financial load without the smaller gifts. Giving is enjoined, not because the Lord needs money, but because giving blesses the giver with a grace that cannot be received in any other way.
We have talked about Spiritual Gifts in classes for years and I encourage all of you to take the Spiritual Gifts Survey, for the first time or to refresh you since your gifts may change over the years...Here is the link to take the survey:
https://enewhope.org/spiritualgifts/
Just copy and paste into your URL. Please let me know if you have trouble or questions. Also, please read this weeks Books of the Bible at the bottom of this page. We look at the Book of Acts where many of the Scriptures for this teaching come from.
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
"Is Christianity a religion or a relationship?"
Religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” In that respect, Christianity can be classified as a religion. However, practically speaking, Christianity has a key difference that separates it from other belief systems that are considered religions. That difference is relationship.
Most religion, theistic or otherwise, is man-centered. Any relationship with God is based on man’s works. A theistic religion, such as Judaism or Islam, holds to the belief in a supreme God or gods; while non-theistic religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, focus on metaphysical thought patterns and spiritual “energies.” But most religions are similar in that they are built upon the concept that man can reach a higher power or state of being through his own efforts. In most religions, man is the aggressor and the deity is the beneficiary of man’s efforts, sacrifices, or good deeds. Paradise, nirvana, or some higher state of being is man’s reward for his strict adherence to whatever tenets that religion prescribes.
In that regard, Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship that God has established with His children. In Christianity, God is the aggressor and man is the beneficiary (Romans 8:3). The Bible states clearly that there is nothing man can do to make himself right with God (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; Romans 3:23; 6:23). According to Christianity, God did for us what we cannot do for ourselves (Colossians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sin separates us from His presence, and sin must be punished (Romans 6:23; Matthew 10:28; 23:33). But, because God loves us, He took our punishment upon Himself. All we must do is accept God’s gift of salvation through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Grace is God’s blessing on the undeserving.
The grace-based relationship between God and man is the foundation of Christianity and the antithesis of religion. Established religion was one of the staunchest opponents of Jesus during His earthly ministry. When God gave His Law to the Israelites, His desire was that they “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). “Love” speaks of relationship. Obedience to all the other commands had to stem from a love for God. We are able to love Him “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). However, by Jesus’ time, the Jewish leaders had made a religion out of God’s desire to live in a love relationship with them (1 Timothy 1:8; Romans 7:12). Over the years, they had perverted God’s Law into a works-based religion that alienated people from Him (Matthew 23:13–15; Luke 11:42). Then they added many of their own rules to make it even more cumbersome (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:9). They prided themselves on their ability to keep the Law—at least outwardly—and lorded their authority over the common people who could never keep such strenuous rules. The Pharisees, as adept as they were at rule-keeping, failed to recognize God Himself when He was standing right in front of them (John 8:19). They had chosen religion over relationship.
Just as the Jewish leaders made a religion out of a relationship with God, many people do the same with Christianity. Entire denominations have followed the way of the Pharisees in creating rules not found in Scripture. Some who profess to follow Christ are actually following man-made religion in the name of Jesus. While claiming to believe Scripture, they are often plagued with fear and doubt that they may not be good enough to earn salvation or that God will not accept them if they don’t perform to a certain standard. This is religion masquerading as Christianity, and it is one of Satan’s favorite tricks. Jesus addressed this in Matthew 23:1–7 when He rebuked the Pharisees. Instead of pointing people to heaven, these religious leaders were keeping people out of the kingdom of God.
Holiness and obedience to Scripture are important, but they are evidences of a transformed heart, not a means to attain it. God desires that we be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). He wants us to grow in grace and knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18). But we do these things because we are His children and want to be like Him, not in order to earn His love.
Christianity is not about signing up for a religion. Christianity is about being born into the family of God (John 3:3). It is a relationship. Just as an adopted child has no power to create an adoption, we have no power to join the family of God by our own efforts. We can only accept His invitation to know Him as Father through adoption (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15). When we join His family through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside our hearts (1 Corinthians 6:19; Luke 11:13; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22). He then empowers us to live like children of the King. He does not ask us to try to attain holiness by our own strength, as religion does. He asks that our old self be crucified with Him so that His power can live through us (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6). God wants us to know Him, to draw near to Him, to pray to Him, and love Him above everything. That is not religion; that is a relationship.
"Is Christianity a religion or a relationship?"
Religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” In that respect, Christianity can be classified as a religion. However, practically speaking, Christianity has a key difference that separates it from other belief systems that are considered religions. That difference is relationship.
Most religion, theistic or otherwise, is man-centered. Any relationship with God is based on man’s works. A theistic religion, such as Judaism or Islam, holds to the belief in a supreme God or gods; while non-theistic religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, focus on metaphysical thought patterns and spiritual “energies.” But most religions are similar in that they are built upon the concept that man can reach a higher power or state of being through his own efforts. In most religions, man is the aggressor and the deity is the beneficiary of man’s efforts, sacrifices, or good deeds. Paradise, nirvana, or some higher state of being is man’s reward for his strict adherence to whatever tenets that religion prescribes.
In that regard, Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship that God has established with His children. In Christianity, God is the aggressor and man is the beneficiary (Romans 8:3). The Bible states clearly that there is nothing man can do to make himself right with God (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; Romans 3:23; 6:23). According to Christianity, God did for us what we cannot do for ourselves (Colossians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sin separates us from His presence, and sin must be punished (Romans 6:23; Matthew 10:28; 23:33). But, because God loves us, He took our punishment upon Himself. All we must do is accept God’s gift of salvation through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Grace is God’s blessing on the undeserving.
The grace-based relationship between God and man is the foundation of Christianity and the antithesis of religion. Established religion was one of the staunchest opponents of Jesus during His earthly ministry. When God gave His Law to the Israelites, His desire was that they “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). “Love” speaks of relationship. Obedience to all the other commands had to stem from a love for God. We are able to love Him “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). However, by Jesus’ time, the Jewish leaders had made a religion out of God’s desire to live in a love relationship with them (1 Timothy 1:8; Romans 7:12). Over the years, they had perverted God’s Law into a works-based religion that alienated people from Him (Matthew 23:13–15; Luke 11:42). Then they added many of their own rules to make it even more cumbersome (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:9). They prided themselves on their ability to keep the Law—at least outwardly—and lorded their authority over the common people who could never keep such strenuous rules. The Pharisees, as adept as they were at rule-keeping, failed to recognize God Himself when He was standing right in front of them (John 8:19). They had chosen religion over relationship.
Just as the Jewish leaders made a religion out of a relationship with God, many people do the same with Christianity. Entire denominations have followed the way of the Pharisees in creating rules not found in Scripture. Some who profess to follow Christ are actually following man-made religion in the name of Jesus. While claiming to believe Scripture, they are often plagued with fear and doubt that they may not be good enough to earn salvation or that God will not accept them if they don’t perform to a certain standard. This is religion masquerading as Christianity, and it is one of Satan’s favorite tricks. Jesus addressed this in Matthew 23:1–7 when He rebuked the Pharisees. Instead of pointing people to heaven, these religious leaders were keeping people out of the kingdom of God.
Holiness and obedience to Scripture are important, but they are evidences of a transformed heart, not a means to attain it. God desires that we be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). He wants us to grow in grace and knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18). But we do these things because we are His children and want to be like Him, not in order to earn His love.
Christianity is not about signing up for a religion. Christianity is about being born into the family of God (John 3:3). It is a relationship. Just as an adopted child has no power to create an adoption, we have no power to join the family of God by our own efforts. We can only accept His invitation to know Him as Father through adoption (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15). When we join His family through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside our hearts (1 Corinthians 6:19; Luke 11:13; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22). He then empowers us to live like children of the King. He does not ask us to try to attain holiness by our own strength, as religion does. He asks that our old self be crucified with Him so that His power can live through us (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6). God wants us to know Him, to draw near to Him, to pray to Him, and love Him above everything. That is not religion; that is a relationship.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
Moving forward in our look at the books of the Bible.....and in keeping the theme of first century Christianity we look at......What Will I Find in the Book of Acts?
Acts is really the second volume of Luke’s two-volume work, with the gospel of Luke being the first volume (compare the opening verses of each book). Therefore, if the gospel is about what “Jesus began to do and to teach” (Acts 1:1), the book of Acts is about what Jesus continued to do and teach, but now through his followers, and even more specifically, through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit really is the primary character in the story told here, as evident through references to the Spirit throughout the book.
Luke’s purpose in the book of Acts seems to be to demonstrate how God moved the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel, from its geographical roots in Jerusalem, farther and farther out to the city of Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. In other words, now that the incarnate Son of God had provided the way for all people to be made right with God, God was determined to get the message of Jesus Christ out to all people by moving it from the center of the Jewish world to the center of the Gentile world.
This intention is indicated by a key verse of the book, Acts 1:8—“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This can be seen throughout the book in several ways. First, we see it in a series of four events that demonstrate the progressive advance of the gospel. Step one is recorded in Acts 8:4–25, as the gospel moves out from its roots among Jews and into Samaria. Samaritan worship looked very Jewish; they worshiped the God of Israel and followed the Old Testament Law. However, they were hated by the Jews due to their mixed ancestry; they were “half-breeds,” the descendants of Jewish and Gentile intermarriage dating back to the Old Testament period. This ethnic antipathy was a major hurdle, even for Jewish Christians, so God had to launch a persecution against the Christians to push them out of Jerusalem and among the despised Samaritans (8:1). Once the gospel was presented to them, many Samaritans believed in Jesus Christ (8:12). One major hurdle for the gospel had been crossed.
The second step is recorded in the latter part of chapter 8. After his great success in proclaiming the gospel among the Samaritans, God redirected Philip to do the same for one individual on the edge of nowhere (8:26). The Ethiopian eunuch was coming from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship the God of Israel at the temple. Even though it is not explicit in the text, this indicates that he was at least a God-fearer, a term applied to a Gentile who believed like and worshiped as a Jew but who had not officially converted to Judaism; he may even have been an official convert to Judaism, called a proselyte. On his way home, he was reading the book of Isaiah, specifically the amazing chapter 53, which is about the coming messiah. God brought Philip along his path to help him understand the fulfillment of that prophecy in Jesus (8:35). As a result, this man believed and was baptized (8:36–38). The man was a Gentile from Ethiopia, which at that time was considered to be the southern limitation of civilization. This was an early fulfillment of the gospel going to “the ends of the earth” (1:8).
The third step is recorded in chapter 10. Peter was led by God through a vision (10:9–19) to the house of Cornelius, a Roman army officer. He, too, was a full-blooded Gentile ethnically, but is also identified in the text as “God-fearing” (10:2), one who believed like and worshiped as a Jew. As a result of Peter’s sharing the gospel with Cornelius and his household, they believed in Jesus and were baptized (10:44–48). Whereas the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch anticipated the gospel going to the edge of the Roman Empire, the conversion of Cornelius anticipated its going to the capital of the Roman Empire, Rome.
The fourth and final step is recorded in chapter 16. Paul was led to the continent of Europe through a vision (16:9–10). In the city of Philippi he and Silas were thrown into prison, but through a God-sent earthquake they had the opportunity to answer the jailer’s famous question, “What must I do to be saved?” (16:30). The simplest gospel is found in their answer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (16:31). This man, like the Ethiopian Eunuch and Cornelius, was a full-blooded Gentile, but he had no apparent connection with Judaism at all; he was a pagan.
So from the roots of Christianity among full-blooded Jews, God propelled the gospel to the Samaritans, who were half-Jew/half-Gentile and worshiped the God of Israel, to full-blooded Gentiles, who were also worshiping as Jews—one representing the extent of the empire, the other representing the heart of the empire—and finally, to a full-blooded Gentile who did not worship the God of Israel at all. God had pushed the good news of Jesus Christ to those who needed to hear it in the fully pagan world.
A second way Luke demonstrates the progression of the gospel is through the evangelistic journeys of Paul recorded in the latter part of Acts, beginning in chapter 13. These three trips cover more and more territory as Paul took the gospel to places where Christ had not yet been named (Romans 15:20). At the close of the book of Acts, Paul was imprisoned in Rome, but he continued to proclaim the gospel (28:30–31). Even though its messenger was in chains, the gospel message itself could never be put in chains, as Paul revealed in Philippians 1:12–14. God saw to it that the gospel reached the heart of the empire.
The story of Acts continues—“Acts 29,” as some people have called it—as God is still propelling the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the peoples of the world.
As with his gospel, Luke does not identify himself as the author of the book of Acts, nor does he even mention himself by name as a character in the book. However, he does include himself indirectly several times by saying “we” or “us” (Acts 16:10, 17; 20:5–6; 27:1). We know from a few of Paul’s letters that Luke was there at times working with Paul (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24).
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou