Three characteristics of the church at Antioch (Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3)

[Stephan Choe]

2023-08-17 Acts 13,1-3 The beginning of the mission journey.doc

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August 17, 2023

The beginning of the first missionary journey

Key verse 13:2:           "Now as they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Send me out Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

We can divide the content of Acts into two parts: Chapters 1-12 and 13-28. In Chapters 1-12, Luke tells us about the nationwide spread of the Gospel, namely in Jerusalem and then in Judea and Samaria. From chapter 13 on, Luke tells us about the worldwide spread of the gospel. In this, the church in Antioch plays like a springboard of the gospel to the world.

Why was this church used as a springboard for world evangelization?

Today we want to learn about three characteristics of this church.

1. the church of Antioch (11.19-30; 13.1-3)

Chapter 11 verses 19-21 tells us:

"Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews alone. But there were some among them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and spoke also to the Greeks, preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and were converted to the Lord."

When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. Barnabas was a proven man of the full spirit and faith. Barnabas saw the grace of God, rejoiced greatly in it, and exhorted them to abide in the Lord with a steadfast heart. Thus, many more people were won to faith in the Lord (11:22-24).

Then Barnabas traveled to Tarsus to find Saul and bring him to Antioch. Barnabas and Saul stayed with the church in Antioch for six months and taught many. It was in Antioch that Jesus' disciples were first called Christians (11:25-26). Previously, believers in Jesus were called "disciples." The people of Antioch called disciples of Jesus "Christians." This name was sometimes used in mockery. But Jesus' disciples were proud of this name, because they wanted to become like Jesus. So the name "Christians" means those who believe in and follow Jesus Christ.

We can mention three characteristics of the church in Antioch here:

First, the church in Antioch was full of grace from the Lord (11:23).

By the grace of God, the scattered Christians from Jerusalem and Judea came to Antioch. When these preached the gospel to the people, a great number of them came to believe. By the grace of the Lord, the mother church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to this church. The latter recognized the grace of God in the church and encouraged them to stand firm in faith in the Lord. By grace, many more people were won to the faith. Therefore, Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch and the two of them taught them, so that the number of believers continued to grow. Because the believers in Antioch loved Christ very much and always spoke of Him, the people of Antioch gave them the epithet "Christians." This is how the name "Christian" came into being.

Second, God gave the church good Bible teachers and leaders.

When the mother church in Jerusalem heard about the Lord's grace in Antioch, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. This was a golden decision because Barnabas was a proven man full of grace and a good communicator with the mother church in Jerusalem.

When the church in Antioch was still growing, Barnabas invited Saul to Antioch as a Bible teacher. Barnabas was a man full of grace. And Saul was a man of sound Bible knowledge. The two of them promoted the growth of the church with one heart. Because of the two of them, the church was able to remain spiritually healthy and dynamic despite the growth in numbers.

This teaches us the importance of good Bible teachers and granted leaders for the church.

Third, God sent out Saul and Barnabas for the world mission from this church.

As Barnabas and Saul devotedly preached the gospel, taught the Bible and raised disciples of Jesus, other leaders were raised up as prophets, Bible teachers and leaders. They were Simeon, called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been raised with the sovereign Herod.

Simeon Niger was probably an African. He had already been a Christian in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. He then became a Bible teacher and preacher. He then served as one of the church leaders in Antioch and was instrumental in spreading the gospel among the Gentiles.

Lucius was apparently originally from Cyrene and is said to have become a bishop either there or in Laodicea. He is counted among the Seventy Disciples.

When the leading people of the church were fasting to serve God, the Holy Spirit said to them to send out Barnabas and Saul to do the work of God.

Therefore, they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them and sent them out. Thus began the systematic world missionary work of the two. Until then, Christians had naturally invited non-Christians to faith and fellowship. Now God sent Saul and Barnabas out especially for the missionary purpose. So the two were the first professional missionaries.

Often people compare the Gospel with the light, because the light makes the darkness bright. Normally, one considers the light as colorless. But the spectrum of light shows us that light is a composition of different colors.

And when three green light, red light and blue light are put together, the result is white light. That is why these three colors of light are called three basic colors of light. There are also three basic colors.

The church in Antioch has three characteristic features. I explain these characteristics with three basic colors of light:

Paul and Barnabas testified to Jesus Christ. The two of them testified him to the listeners in an understandable way. They witnessed him to all people and in all the world.

The red color is the first basic color of the new life of a Christian: he tells others about Jesus Christ.

The green color is the second basic color of the new life: he tells others about Jesus Christ in an understandable way.  

The blue color is the third basic color of the new life: he tells about him in all the world.

But do you know that besides the three basic colors of light, there are three basic colors of dye?

We can compare the characteristics of the Antioch church with three basic colors of the dye.

First, the church of Antioch is characterized by the fact that they accepted God's love in Jesus Christ.

God first loved the people of Antioch and gave them faith in Jesus Christ through His Spirit. And the people of Antioch gratefully accepted Jesus Christ and God's love for them. They were very grateful to God for Christ and His love. Therefore, they loved other people. They obeyed God and sent Paul and Barnabas as missionaries. Thus, the church of Antioch was a three-colored church.

This is true for all Christian churches. This great God loves us human beings unchanged from the beginning until now. He continues to love us until eternity. This is fascinating. Even when God created the first man, He made him in His image and gave him His Spirit and confessed His love: "You are very beautiful!" (Genesis 1:31). This is God's confession of love for us. When people sinned against God, He could have simply wiped people out. But He loved us, people who had sinned against Him. He promised us the Savior. He then sent Jesus Christ as Savior for all nations. He did not hate the people who rebelled against him, but forgave their guilt through Jesus Christ and warmly accepted them as his children.

Christians have understood this love of God in Christ. We have gratefully accepted God's love in Jesus Christ. God's love in Jesus Christ reigns mightily in our hearts. And because of this love, we are overjoyed. The Spirit of God works mightily in us so that God's love in Jesus Christ works mightily among us. God's love in Jesus Christ can make everyone in the world happy. Whoever accepts this Good News of Jesus Christ, God gives him great joy.

Second, the church in Antioch is characterized by its brotherly love.

Antioch today is called Antakya. This city had about half a million inhabitants at that time. It was the third largest city in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. In a big city, it is not easy for the brothers and sisters of the church to love one another.  But the Christians in Antioch loved one another.

The story of the church of Antioch is doubly the story of Christ's love for all peoples: Jesus Christ showed the people of Antioch that He loves all people from different walks of life. And the people of Antioch gratefully accepted this divine love and loved all people beyond their different cultures to one another. This brotherly love was especially visible among the leading people of the church.

The USA is called the "melting furnace of different races". In reality, the races in the USA do not melt well, but form groups. It could easily happen that Christians in an international church group by race. But the Christians in Antioch did not group by race. That church was Christ-centered. That is why they warmly accepted different people. All churches that are truly Christ-centered are broad-minded toward people from other cultures and customs. Brotherly love in the Antioch church was preciously used by God for world mission.

If a multicultural church has brotherly love, it can be used well by God for world mission. We thank God for giving us a multicultural brotherly love.

Third, the church is characterized by its obedience.

While the leaders of the church were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to the church, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Barnabas and Saul were considered the supporting pillars of the church in Antioch. Verse 3 tells us that the church had prayed and fasted at this command and then laid hands on them and sent them out. The church delighted in knowing and serving the will of God. It is important for every church to know the will of God and to obey it with joy.

The book of Acts does not tell us of mere works of men, but of God's works through men. God worked through His Holy Spirit, and people recognized the will of God and obeyed it.

The Lord first had to change Peter's attitude in order to steer the work of His church in the right direction. Peter had initially understood Jesus as a nationalistic Messiah. That is why he dreamed of the national restoration of Israel. However, through the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to understand that God wants to give people the eternal kingdom of God. But because of his nationalistic understandings, he believed that only the people who kept Jewish tradition were entitled to belong to the church of Christ and have eternal life. God had to help him to see through supernatural vision of various animals in a cloth and through Cornelius. Thus, only with God's help could Peter understand the universal way of salvation of the gospel: All people, regardless of their races, can become God's children simply by believing in Jesus Christ.

And Jesus Christ had to change Saul as well. Saul was originally a nationalist. He first used his fervent zeal against Christians to defend Jewish tradition and laws. Jesus Christ had to show Himself to him personally to change his mind. Although Saul was changed into a Christian by the Lord's help, people would not believe in the genuineness of his conversion. Christ had to use Barnabas so that the Christians could believe in the genuineness of Saul's conversion and accept him as a Christian.

After making such preparations, God used the church in Antioch as a springboard for His worldwide work. The church in Antioch was such a springboard for world evangelization.

The church in Antioch was God-centered, international and brotherly. It obeyed God from the heart. But their obedience to the will of God was not accidental. They were full of the Lord's grace and brotherly. Out of grateful hearts, they served the Lord with joy. They served the Lord and prayed to Him with all their heart.

Jesus Christ is the conductor in world history. He directs the history of the world. He also directs the work of his congregation. When the church accepts the love of God in Jesus Christ, recognizes his will and obeys him, the Lord does his wonderful work. We are to pray to God to help us accept His love for us, to love brother and to obey the will of God with joy. Then the Lord will do His wonderful work in us and through us.