Acts 13:1 tells us that in the church in Antioch there were “prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” Prophets are those who speak for God and speak forth God by God’s revelation. They sometimes speak with inspired prediction (11:27-28). Teachers are those who teach the truths according to the apostles’ teaching (2:42) and the prophets’ revelation. Both prophets and teachers are universal as well as local (Eph. 4:11).
When the establishment of the local churches started with the one hundred twenty in Jerusalem, only typical Jews were involved. But according to the record in Acts 13:1, the prophets and teachers in the church in Antioch were from a number of different sources. Barnabas was a Levite, a Cyprian by birth (4:36). Niger, whose name means black and should denote a Negro, was probably of African origin. Lucius the Cyrenian was from Cyrene in North Africa. Manaen was the foster brother of Herod and was governmentally related to the Romans. Finally, there was Saul, a Jew born in Tarsus and taught by Gamaliel according to the law of Moses (22:3). The fact that the prophets and teachers here were composed of Jewish and Gentile peoples with different backgrounds, education, and status indicates that the church is composed of all races and classes of people regardless of their background, and that the spiritual gifts and functions given to the members of the Body of Christ are not based upon their natural status.
In 13:1 the Lord set up a pattern for the spreading of the churches. From Antioch the Lord’s move turned to reach the Gentile world, and in the Gentile world there were many different kinds of people, people of different cultures, races, and statuses. Therefore, at the very beginning of this turn, the pattern was established to indicate that the churches are composed of all races and classes of people.
The establishment of the churches spread to the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. In these two provinces of the Roman Empire churches were established. This is recorded in Acts 15:40 and 41. “Paul, having chosen Silas, went out, being commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers. And he passed through Syria and Cilicia, establishing the churches.”
After the churches were established in Syria and Cilicia, Paul and Silas were sent by the apostles from Jerusalem to strengthen them. Such a strengthening implies a confirmation, recognition, by the apostles.
Home | First | Prev | Next