You will remember that Peter went out to Caesarea and returned to Jerusalem. Then Peter went to Samaria (because the work of God was in Samaria) and then returned to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the center, whereas Samaria was a city in that region of work. The co-workers gathered in Jerusalem. They went out and came back, came back and went out.
Having a worker rule over a church in a locality is a Protestant thought; it is not the thought of the Scriptures.
Only God can make the decision as to which locality should be taken as the center for the work. Only God knows how and where to start; only the Holy Spirit knows how to initiate the work. Man’s decision is of no use. We cannot decide which locality is “Jerusalem” through our own discussion, because God wants to do that Himself. This matter is in the hands of the Holy Spirit. Only the Jerusalem appointed by the Holy Spirit is Jerusalem.
In the first part of Acts, we see Peter going out and coming back to Jerusalem. Later, we see Paul going out and coming back to Antioch. They never remained in a locality but always came back. We must see that the work has an area as well as a center.
Whether we call it a region, an area, or a center, these are but terms. We need to emphasize the essential thing behind the terms. In the work in Jerusalem there was something essential. It matters not whether we call it an area, a center, or a region. The same is true with Antioch. Since the Lord measures a portion to a work, it is right to call it the measure of the work. One group of workers dwells in one area, region, or center, while another group of workers dwells in another.
Elders are not assigned to certain places from other places. In the case of Peter, he was not simply an apostle, and he was not simply an elder. He was both an apostle and an elder. Therefore, brothers, when you, as a co-worker, reside in a locality, you are there as both an apostle and an elder. Taking this path in such a way is correct. It is right that some of our brothers go out to help, but they must come back. It is not right for them to stay and not return. Either they go out and travel a large circuit and then return like Paul, or they go out and immediately return like Peter-both are right. Coming back is a must. If men blame Peter for not going out, they have to blame Paul for returning as well. Peter returned to Jerusalem, and Paul to Antioch. This is God’s Word; nothing can be clearer than His Word.
Now we will see the third matter, that is, how the work of God is carried forward and how the gospel is preached. Here we have two ways. As the work of Jerusalem is different from that of Antioch, so we have two different ways of preaching the gospel and two different ways of establishing churches.
First, it can be done according to Antioch’s way. Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Timothy, or Paul and Silas went to one place after another to preach the gospel and then returned to Antioch. It was the apostles who went out to preach the gospel and the apostles who went out to establish churches. This is one way.
The second way is Jerusalem’s way. In this way all the believers migrated. They preached the gospel in every place. This migration resulted in the gospel spreading everywhere (Acts 8:4). Whether a migration is done peacefully or as a result of persecution, a migration is still a migration. The way of Jerusalem is to migrate. The only thing special was that they went out because of persecution.
I think that the Lord has left very clear footprints here. We should never think that the first half of Acts is of little significance. Acts, like Genesis, is a record of God’s way. When we see how God worked at the beginning, we can do the same today.
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