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The Antioch Church
Introduction So often as we are caught up in motivating men and women to respond to the Lord's great commission, we are not overly concerned that we should be there to encourage them in prayer, and in emotional encouragement. We somehow think that as long as we put right all outstanding financial claims and responsibilities we have somehow fulfilled God's plan for the support of missionaries and we can now expect our missionaries to be all aglow with energy and expectation of further and more awesome duties. This is far from the truth. Missionaries are sent from a Church and the Church should take care of the Missionary through their support system. If we do not have a support system for a missionary apart from financial help, then our missionaries whom we sent out will be left in the lurch when they are in trouble.
The church of Antioch which we are going to study today was a very mission minded church. It was a Church that was instrumental in bringing the gospel to the European hinterland. It was a Church that was caring and loving to its Missionaries. How did a Church made up of immigrants and established in a few short years become the springboard for missions into the European continent and thence to the beyond? What did it have that made it such a dynamic mission minded Church? The answer is found in three areas.
The FORMATION or historic roots of the Antioch Church The foundation of the Antioch Church was one of the major factors in it becoming a mission minded Church. Studying the past and our roots helps us to regain the missionary zeal of our founding fathers. Secondly one outstanding FEATURE of the Antioch Church was its spiritual life. The Antioch Church was characterized by a strong and dynamic spiritual life that was based on the word. Thirdly, it had FORESIGHT or vision. Great movements of the past were always characterized by a common vision of the movers within that movement. What springs to mind are visionaries like William Carey and Hudson Taylor who with a vision of what God wanted them to do gave their lives so that God's Kingdom may truly be established upon the earth. We shall begin our study by looking at the FOUNDATION of the Antioch Church.
The geography of the Antioch church According to Matthew Henry, the site at which Antioch stood was the biblical site for Hamath or Riblah from which much of the middle eastern history was wrought. At the time when the books of Acts was being written, Antioch was a great city standing at the nexus of the great trade routes. Land and sea routes fanned out in all directions and in later years were responsible for the development of Eastern and Western Christianity (Church Alive, lasor, W.S.) Its sea port at Seleucia Pieria made access to all the ports of call at Mediterranean Sea. It was said that influence from Antioch even impinged on the great city of Rome. It is no wonder it became the springboard for the gospel into the remotest parts of the Roman empire. The city had command of the main arteries of communications in the empire itself.
The demography of the Antioch church Secondly, the population was very mixed. There were large numbers of Jews in the city enjoying full citizenship rights. There were peoples form Greece and from the interior. Swarthy peoples from the Asian peninsular of Asia minor and the lands beyond. Africans from the south with all their peculiarities. The city was a melting pot of languages and cultures and the arts. It had a reputation for energy, insolence and instability and yet its cultural refinements were praised by none other than the famous Roman historian Cicero. Into this mix of peoples the gospel came. Amidst the cultural barriers, the gospel penetrated first into the Jewish community and then into the gentile community. The Church founded in Antioch had a foretaste of the power of the gospel as it saw its power in changing lives of the different and numerous people in its midst. No one was exempted. Whichever people group came into contact with the gospel, it crossed cultural barriers and changed that people group. For example there was Simeon named Niger or the black (Acts 13:1) who scholars believed was an African. Tthere was also Nicolaus the gentile, probably a native of Antioch itself (Acts 6:5). Then there were the Jews of the Diaspora who were deported there since the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Hence when the gospel was made to leap into different peoples, there was this confidence based on experience that the gospel had the power to penetrate and change. The dynamic mixing of populations with their different cultures and tongues gave ample opportunities for the first evangelists, a foretaste of the power and the universality of the gospel. And this happened at Antioch.
The etymology of the Antioch church The Antioch Church began with mission minded founders. From its inception, the Lord sent to Antioch, Jewish and Gentile gospel preachers who were on fire for the Lord. We first hear of Antioch in Acts 6:.5...'This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor; Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas from Antioch a convert to Judaism.' In this passage of scriptures set right at the early time of the Jerusalem church, we hear of one Nicolaus from Antioch who abandoned Greek paganism and became a member of the Jewish synagogue at Antioch. Here he appears as one of the Seven deacons responsible for the ministry of the tables in Church at Jerusalem.
At this time as far as we know there was no church in Antioch. However the Lord was already appointing a man from Antioch as a deacon showing the way for the church in Jerusalem that this was the direction to take. However the Gospel did not become established in Antioch until after the death of Stephen. From Acts 11:19-21 we read...'those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch telling the message only to Jews.' Some of them however men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord Here we see two groups of people used by God to bring the Gospel to Antioch. There was the unnamed Diaspora of Jewish believers after Stephen's martyrdom who were tellers of the good news of Jesus. These tellers of the good news were instrumental in laying the foundation of the Church. Another input were that of the Gentiles. These unnamed believers from Cyprus and Cyrene were also responsible for bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles. These Gentile believers were experienced in proclaiming the word to other gentiles and probably had been able to tailor the message of Christ in their own gentile ways. At least one had a personal encounter with Christ. We are told that Cyrene was a port in North Africa form which Simon the cross bearer came (Mk 15:21). Disciples from Cyrene were probably present at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2: 10 as were those who came from Cyprus. Barnabas, a very mission minded individual was also from Cyprus.
So, from the Jewish input Jewish believers were mission minded tellers of the good news. The Gentile input was also mission minded and supremely we see this in Barnabas who would stamp his character and his convictions onto the Antioch Church itself.
The FEATURES of the Antioch Church Three defining features marked the Antioch Church as something new and exciting. Firstly, it was a grace-full Church. Grace abounded in a number of individuals who set the spiritual tone of the Church. And when the Church as a congregation came together, the whole Church abounded in grace. Secondly it was a discipling Church. Antioch was made up of disciplers and reproducers of the life of Christ. And thirdly it was a generous Church. It was generous in material resources as well as human resources. Perhaps as we look at the Church in Antioch may the Lord teach us and motivate us into building Churches for Him that are models of the Antioch Church.
It was a grace-full church Firstly for any church to be a sending church it must be a dynamic church full of God's grace and where there is constant exhortation to be faithful to God with all their hearts. In Acts 11 :22 we read...'News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.' Hence what Barnabas saw was not a Church struggling to maintain a precarious toe-hold in a Gentile area. What he saw was a vibrant Church filled with the grace of God.
A church full of grace. What are the characteristics of a Church filled with the grace of God? Elsewhere in the New Testament we know the meaning of a grace-full Church. It was a church characterized by a number of graces. There was the grace of forgiveness, salvation, regeneration, repentance and love of God. There was the grace of mercy, kindness and goodness. There was the grace of faith, of hope and of love. And people who dwelt in the church understood the true meaning of grace. They were there in God's kingdom because of what the Lord did for them although they did not deserve it.
A man full of grace Then there was Barnabas who we are told was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (verse 24). Barnabas as described in scripture was also one who had the grace of giving. In Acts 4:36 we read...'Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus whom the apostle called Barnabas (which means Son of encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostle's feet.' Here was a man who had given all his possessions to devote himself fully to the Lord's work. When Barnabas came to Antioch he exhorted them to continue in the faith and in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
In order for a church to be a sending church it must first be characterized by these qualities. the qualities where the richness of the word is fully understood. It has to be a church who has understood within itself the grace of forgiveness, salvation, regeneration, repentance and love of God. And not only should these be inherently present within the life of the church, it must be faithfully practiced in all spheres of their lives. The church in Antioch was faithful to the Lord and to His purposes. The church experienced these graces and then was ready to share these graces with the others by sending missionaries to them. And it is only when these graces are present can missionaries who are out there come in to be recharged with love and understanding and sent out again revitalized to serve Him faithfully. May the Lord help us to build our church life centered on Him and His graces.
It was a discipling church Secondly it was a discipling Church. A Church filled with disciples who would reproduce other disciples of Christ.
A Church full of disciplers In Acts 11 :26b we read... So for the whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christian at Antioch. Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught them. And the result of that effort was such that the disciples were called Christians. As someone has rightly put it, "Converts consume and consume but disciples or followers of Christ disciple others to follow Christ." Barnabas and Saul made disciples and not converts.
In order for a Church to significantly make an impact in society and in the world, it must be a Church of disciplers. A Church made up of converts would be content to maintain the status quo of introspective living. The Antioch Church was always outward looking because the power of discipling, thrust the people out to consider the whole world as their mission field.
A church full of reproducers It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. Here the words 'were called Christians' literally meant people who transacted business because they were followers of Christ. Here were men and women so filled with the grace of God that they began to live lives of great impact. Some scholars believe that the name Christians was a name given to the believers perhaps as a mark of respect or possibly as a mocking term. However it is used, the disciples lived such holy lives that they immediately made an impact to the society around them.
The moral climate of Antioch was low. About 5 miles south of the city were the pleasure gardens of Daphne with groves of laurel and a sanctuary to Apollo that included ritual prostitution and orgiastic rites. As someone would put it, 'the moral climate of Antioch stank as the sewers of the city that ran alongside the great river Orontes'. And yet out of such a morass of filth and degeneration, the Gospel was able to turn it around. In a few short years Antioch became known for its Christian witness. Later commentators would point to the city as a centre of biblical interpretations and theology. Two of the most well- know martyrs were from the leaders of the church in Antioch. These were Ignatius and Chrysostom.
Perhaps in our day and age where the surrounding mores of our society is no different from that of Antioch, are we also known as 'people who transacted business as followers of Christ'? Is our church so full of the grace of God and so full of disciples that we make an impact to the society at large? Is our Church so filled with disciplers and the discipled that there is a continual thrust towards missions and evangelism?
It was a generous church Thirdly and finally, Antioch was a sending church characterized by generosity. It is only through the attitude of being stewards of what God has given us and of holding our wealth loosely in our hands for His glory can a church become a sending church
A church generous in material resources The church in Antioch was a church generous in material things. Acts 11 :27 -30. ..During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman World. The disciples each according to his ability, decide to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gifts to the elders by Barnabas and Saul Here we see the church, generous in their provision of relief. The reign of Claudius AD 41-54 was marked by drought and famine. Josephus reports a famine in Judea during this time when Queen Helena of Adiabene distributed grain and dried figs in Jerusalem.
The famine gave an opportunity for the church to demonstrate its generosity and love for the church in Jerusalem. We read that the disciples each according to his ability provided and gave to the Jerusalem Church. The disciples of Antioch were the Christians of verse 26 in the same chapter. It meant that everyone gave according to his ability. What a wonderful picture of generosity. Perhaps their giving was modeled on Barnabas who was himself a generous man.
A church generous in human resources While the Church gave of their monetary possessions they also gave of their human resources. In Acts 13:2 we read...While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Here we see the Church setting apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which they were called. We note that Barnabas and Saul were not the unknown and untried believers who were suddenly called to go into the mission field. Rather these two persons were known leaders, mature and full of experience. Their sending to the mission field would certainly cost the Church the counsel and wisdom of experienced leaders who were present at the inception of the Church itself. Yet we see the Church joyfully setting them apart and sending them to do His will. The church was generous not only of its material wealth but that it was also generous of its human resources. They gave of their best and not just according to their ability. May we be challenged by Antioch church to do the same.
The FORESIGHT of the Antioch Church Two areas distinguished the Antioch Church as one that had tremendous foresight. The first is in their willingness to send the best. Here in this area, the Church recognized that Barnabas and Saul were their best men. While scripture is silent on the calling of Barnabas we know the consequences of that call when 'he sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostle's fee (Acts 4:36). Saul was a called individual. We see this in Acts 9:15 where we read of God's command to Ananias..."Go, this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel." The Church had the foresight to let them go even when they were their most effective workers. These men were specially set apart for his work. These men were sent off with no strings attached. They were sent off because they recognized it was the Lord who were sending them off.
The second area is in their willingness to minister. They had the foresight to understand the rigors of missionary work and when these missionaries came home for rest they treated them as if they were part of the family. Being family meant that the ministry was personal and loving.
The willingness to send the best The first area that characterized the Church as one with foresight was their willingness to send the best. In Acts 13:1 we read as follows...ln the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off".
The best 'set apart '. A once for all command to separate for service. Barnabas and Saul were recognized to be leaders. They were mightily used by God in the raising of the Antioch church. They were faithful men who were entrusted with the collection for the Jerusalem church. They had gifts suited for the further growth of the church. And yet they were sent. Although Barnabas and Saul were the best that they had got in the ministry, they were willing to set them apart because it was God's command.
The word 'set apart' in the original language has the meaning of a command that is operative only once. Barnabas and Saul were called to go and that was that. There was no turning back for them. He who has put his hand on the plough and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of heaven.
The best being 'called' .A past action operative for now and future. The Church's willingness to send the best also meant that the Church recognized that these men were called men. The word 'I have called them' in the original language has the meaning that Barnabas and Saul were already called in the past and the calling is still valid in the present and in the future. The Church had the foresight of recognizing that these men were called by God to do His work not just in the local area but also for Missions. If the leadership had confined their calling to the Church at Antioch, the history of the Church would have been different now. However, the Antioch Church recognized that these men were called to a larger area of ministry and they gave their blessing.
The best 'sent off' a once for all action with no strings attached The Church's foresight in sending the best also meant that they were free from any obligations. The word 'sent off in the original language has the meaning of being sent away with no obligation of turning back. The church recognized that the two were sent from the church for good and that there were no strings attached for future service for them to come back and serve them again.
When the Lord calls for the church to set apart his missionary for service, we must be willing to send our best. The spiritual principle of giving the best was taught very clearly in the Old Testament.
The best as a sacrifice in the Old Testament concept We read Leviticus 1 that the sacrifice must be without blemish that is it must be a perfect and good sacrifice to the Lord. Again we read in Deut 15.19-21 ...Set apart for the Lord your God every first born male of your herds and flocks...if an animal has a defect and is lame, blind or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord. The spiritual principle is clear. When we set apart a sacrifice for the Lord, it must be the best. Here the Antioch church set apart the best that they had.
While they gave their best, God gave them back in equal measure. Someone has voiced his concern that by giving God the best for mission, then the Church will be left with no one to tend the flock. Well here in this passage we see Gods' wisdom and provision. A check on the leaders left behind shows us an interesting observation. Of the five who were leaders in the church, the three left behind were Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen. All of these were teachers. So when Paul the teacher was taken away, he had the three replacing him. What about Barnabas? Barnabas was an encourager, one who comforts and encourages. Who is to replace him? The answer is Manaen. Manaen is the Hebrew word for Manahem meaning 'comforter' .Manaen had the gift not only of teaching but also comforting and encouraging. God will replace and continue to help the church to grow in his word if the church is faithful to her missionary calling.
The willingness to be family The second area distinguishing the Church with foresight was its willingness to take on the duties of the family. What this meant was that it was willing to be personally part of the on-going ministry of the sent one. Apart from giving them financial help, so often churches send out missionaries without bothering to know much of the work the missionaries are doing out there and less still when they return. They see it as something out there completely out of the responsibility of the work that the church is doing down here! The Antioch church was not like that. Act 14:27-28 describes Paul and Barnabas first furlough from their missionary enterprise. ..On arriving there they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Ministering to missionaries as a family involves caring in three vital areas.
Family means listening The first is in the ministry of listening. The Antioch Church was willing to listen to the missionaries as they shared their ministry and concerns. Verse 27...On arriving they gathered the Church together and reported... to the Church. Paul and Barnabas shared all that the Lord had done through them to the gathered Church. Here we see the process of what we term in missionary circles as 'debriefing' or listening and sharing of the concerns of the ministry. There will no doubt be prayer and fasting for the work. What a picture of a caring church. They came as one to support the ministry. They listened and prayed. They rejoiced with the missionaries.
Family means resting Second being family meant resting with the Church. Verse 28...And they stayed there a long time with the disciples. The stay in Antioch involved resting as well as healing of physical, mental, spiritual and emotional hurts. Barnabas and Saul had gone through much trials and they needed time for resting and personal prayer. May we be challenged to care for our missionaries in the same way.
Family means ministering Thirdly family means ministering together within the Church. Missionaries must be given a ministry in the church so that they can once again be fully involved into the life of the church. While inactivity usually results in depression, creative involvement and work recharges and revitalizes people. Even as Barnabas and Paul rested, it can be safely assumed that they engaged in teaching and the counseling of new disciples.
The final time we hear of Antioch in the books of Acts is in chapter 18. Here Paul in his second missionary journey comes back to Antioch and stays for a while. Why do missionaries come back again and again? The answer is that as the church in Antioch has sent them out so they come back to report and to encourage the church. But there is more to this. Antioch was a church to which Paul began his missionary career with Barnabas. As Matthew Henry puts it, 'He went down to Antioch to refresh himself with the sight and conversation of the ministers there; and a very good refreshment it is to a faithful minister, to have for a while the society of his brethren; for as iron sharpens iron so does one man sharpens another. Paul's coming to Antioch would bring to remembrance the former days which would furnish him with matter for fresh thanksgiving.
From Antioch the Church broke out of its Jewish mould. From then on, history will record the tremendous surge of Christianity as it began moving out in ever increasing ripples to the very ends of the earth. Perhaps as we come to the end of the study, we may pause for awhile to give thanks to God for this Church in Antioch on the Orontes who did simple things for their first missionaries and in those simple actions unleashed the Gospel to the furthest corners of the earth. |
