Contents
1. The activity of God and the challenge of Satan
The Acts of the Apostles is sometimes spoken of as ‘the book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit.’ This is a good title, for it is a record of some of God’s workings as he began and established churches in the first thirty years after the ascent of his Son Jesus to sit at his right hand in glory and the outpouring of his Spirit. Looking carefully we can also see some of the ways in which the churches were challenged by the devil. God brought the light and the truth of his gospel into a town or a city and this was always opposed by error and confusion in some form or another. By the time we come to Acts chapter fifteen the church is about fifteen years old. Paul the apostle along with his companion Barnabas had returned to the church from which they had been sent out at Antioch. The end of chapter 14 verse 28 says that, “Paul and Barnabas remained no little time with the disciples;” they had gone out with God’s gospel, commissioned by the Holy Spirit and the encouragement of their home church; made a circular journey, starting in Cyprus the birthplace of Barnabas; now they were back, their journey over, and they spent time with their brothers and sisters in the Lord, reporting to them all that had happened in their missionary travels. Their journey had taken them through the island of Cyprus from north to south and at each place they preached the good news of Christ. Their ministry bore fruit, there were those who believed and were formed into small, local churches. Having gone through the island they set sail from the southern port of Paphos northward to the coastal area of the country nowadays known as Turkey. Here again they went from town to town in a comparatively small area. God worked through them and small churches were formed, but not without serious opposition. After their initial pioneering tour they returned systematically through the towns encouraging the young believers and helping establish a simple leadership of elders in each church gathering. This accomplished, they took ship and made their way back to Antioch, their sending place. Never before had the gospel been taught openly to non-Jewish people; these people had a pagan background, they had no previous knowledge of the True God, and were not like the Jews who had a history of God’s workings in their nation. The pagan peoples lived in the dark concerning the things of God, they groped towards light, nothing more; but when Paul and Barnabas came and ministered the things of God to them, God worked and opened their eyes and confirmed his word to them. Acts chapter fourteen verse twenty-seven contains a very beautiful descriptive phrase when it says that: ‘they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.’ Here is a record of God’s grace; he had opened the hearts of these outcast peoples, bringing the Eternal Light of God to them.
