In the first chapters of Acts we see that the Lord used Peter very much. Although Peter was good, the Roman Catholic Church was wrong to exalt him so highly. In chapter six of Acts Peter is silent, and there is no mention of him in chapter seven. In chapter eight, of course, Peter and John went down to Samaria to confirm the believers there as part of the Body. Then in chapter nine Saul, a chosen vessel, is raised up. We have seen that in this chapter we are even told that not long after he was saved Saul had disciples. However, the New Testament never speaks of Peter’s disciples.
According to the record in Acts 9, Saul became very prominent in Damascus. But in His sovereignty the Lord brought this prominent one to Jerusalem, where he became a nobody. The believers there would not even recognize him as a disciple. If we had been Saul, we might have said, “In Damascus I was very prominent, and I had a number of disciples. Now I come to you in Jerusalem, and you will not recognize me. I don’t want to have anything to do with you. I shall go back to Damascus and start a new work there.” This is the practice of many of today’s Christians.
Saul surely received mercy from the Lord. Not only did he become a nobody in Jerusalem; the Lord did not allow him to preach in Jerusalem for a long period of time. If Saul had remained in Jerusalem to preach for a long time, he would no doubt have surpassed Peter. Then the saints in Jerusalem might have said, “We are not of Peter of Galilee—we are of Saul of Tarsus.” If we had been there at the time, we might have said, “I am for Saul. Peter helped me in an elementary way, but now I am receiving an advanced education from Saul.” This is the attitude among many believers today.
In Jerusalem Saul was not highly respected or regarded. Furthermore, the Lord raised up an environment that made it necessary for him to leave Jerusalem. Eventually, the Lord’s sovereign hand used Barnabas to find Saul in Tarsus and bring him to Antioch.
After the account of Saul’s prevailing preaching in chapter nine, the record comes back to Peter and his ministry. The record indicates that Peter was still powerful. Peter gave messages in chapters two, three, and four, as well as a brief word in chapter five. When the record returns to Peter’s ministry in chapter nine, two miracles are described— the healing of Aeneas and the healing, or quickening, of Dorcas. Peter was still in the ministry; the Lord was not through with him. In chapter nine Peter was not in Jerusalem, but was stepping out toward Caesarea, where he would use the second key given him by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 16 to open the door for the Gentiles to come into the kingdom of God. On the one hand, we see the Lord preparing the way to produce a vessel for the Gentile world. On the other hand, we see what the Lord did with Peter to unlock the door for the Gentiles.
As we shall see, in Acts 12 Luke’s record again returns to Peter. However, the record does not return to Peter’s ministry but speaks of his imprisonment. The account of his imprisonment indicates that his ministry will be set aside from the spreading of the gospel to the Gentile world. In chapter thirteen we see that the vessel for the Gentile world is fully prepared, and the door to the Gentile world is altogether open. In other words, both the vessel and the environment are ready. In Acts 13 the ministry to the Gentile world begins in a full way. After chapter twelve there is no further record concerning Peter.
We have seen that Barnabas, a believer from Jerusalem, helped in the producing of Saul. Barnabas and Saul went on a journey of ministry together. As they were about to take a second journey, there was a contention between them concerning Mark (15:35-39), and Barnabas separated from Saul. Following that, there is no further record concerning Barnabas. This is a further indication that Saul certainly was the chosen vessel for the Gentile world.
According to the picture in the book of Acts, the Lord has only one stream, the stream that started from Jerusalem, and He did not begin another stream with Saul. The Lord did everything sovereignly and wisely to withhold Peter’s ministry from the Gentile world and to raise up Saul’s ministry for it. May we all see what is portrayed in this picture.
In Acts we see the activity of the Lord’s unique Body. This activity, the flowing of the stream, began in Jerusalem, passed through Samaria, and reached Antioch. From Antioch the stream turned to the Gentile world. In the current of this one stream the oneness of the Body was preserved.
When we come to chapter fifteen we shall see that certain Judaizers from Jerusalem caused trouble in Antioch. This made it necessary for Paul and Barnabas to go to Jerusalem. By going to Jerusalem the oneness was preserved and even strengthened.
It is crucial that we all see the oneness portrayed in Acts and learn to keep this oneness. Otherwise, eventually among us in the Lord’s recovery there may be some new starts, and these new starts will cause divisions. Therefore, we need to see that in Acts the Lord sovereignly kept all the ministries in one ministry and in one current for the one Body in order to keep the oneness of the Body.