Summary
The Church at Antioch: Four Pictures of a Healthy Congregation
The book of Acts is Luke's second volume, picking up where his Gospel left off. Where the Gospel records what Jesus did, Acts records what Jesus continued to do through his church. The outline Jesus himself gives in the opening chapter—Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth—structures everything that follows. By Acts 13, the gospel has broken out into that third circle, and the congregation at Antioch becomes the model from which we can take our bearings. From Acts 13:1–12 four pictures emerge of what a faithful church looks like.
Saturated with the Word. Antioch had at least five named prophets and teachers, and likely more. Barnabas had already gone to Tarsus to fetch Saul, and for an entire year they taught a great many people Acts 11:25–26. The prophets were proclaimers; the teachers were explainers; and some, like Paul and Barnabas, did both Acts 15:35. The result was a people drenched in Scripture, like the early believers who "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching" Acts 2:42 and like Timothy, who from childhood knew the sacred writings able to make him wise for salvation 2 Timothy 3:15. The opposite of saturation is being void of the Word—an empty vessel reduced to societal platitudes when people need the gravitas of God's Word.
Sent as servants. While the church worshiped and fasted, the Holy Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul for mission work. They sailed first to Cyprus, Barnabas's hometown—a reminder that the immediate mission field is the people we already know. Look at the contacts in your phone: there is your mission field. Yet the call also reaches further. Paul was chosen to bring Christ's name "before Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel" Acts 9:15, and on arrival at Salamis they went straight to the synagogues Acts 13:5. The church gathers at the banquet of the Word on Sunday and is sent out to feed others with that same Word—near and far.
Not surprised by the struggle for the soul. On Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas met Bar-Jesus (Elymas), a magician immersed in the occult who tried to turn the proconsul Sergius Paulus away from the faith. He resisted because he was an influencer who stood to lose his place. This is exactly the kind of opposition Paul later describes in Ephesians 6:12—the wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil. When you share the gospel and meet apathy or open resistance, do not be caught off guard. You have stepped onto a battleground for a soul. Notice too that Paul loved Elymas enough to confront his sin and call him to repentance Acts 13:9–10. A mature church, never claiming sinlessness itself, is unafraid to name sin and point to the Savior—doing so, as Paul writes elsewhere, with gentleness Galatians 6:1.
Secure in the Word. Elymas was struck temporarily blind—a fitting judgment on one who had darkened the path of others. But notice carefully why the proconsul believed: not because he saw the miracle, but because "he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord" Acts 13:12. The Word transforms the heart. That is why the church can rest secure when results are slow or invisible. Our calling is to plant; God's work is to grow. When you do not see fruit, do not slip into "What's the matter with me?" Cast the seed and trust the timing of the One who gives the increase 1 Corinthians 3:6–7.
These four pictures from "Glimpse" June 16, 2019 form a single portrait: a people saturated with the Word, sent as servants, not surprised by the struggle, and secure in the Word they carry. The good news that anchors it all is that Christ has borne our sin and redeemed humankind. There is no greater word to live in, and no greater word to give away.
Video citations
- "Glimpse" June 16, 2019 — You'll recall that the book of Acts is the second volume. The first volume was written by the gospel writer Luke and then Luke writes the second volume, which is the book of Acts. In the first…