This week I read Acts 9. In this chapter we see Saul travel Damascus to persecute Christians. On the way he has an encounter with Jesus and is saved. Ananias is sent to him and baptises him (Acts 9:1-19a). Saul starts preaching in the synagogues, and when his life is threatened, he escapes to Jerusalem (Acts 9:19b-25). In Jerusalem, the believers are concerned about Saul, but Barnabas vouches for him. He is accepted into the church. He debates the Greek speaking Jews there, and again his life is threatened. He is sent to Tarsus for safety (Acts 9:26-31). Peter starts traveling around visiting different cities where there are believers. He goes to Lydda, where he heals Aeneas. He is then called to Joppa, where he raises Tabitha/Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:32-43).
Now let us look at what we can learn from this chapter about the church, and other interesting thoughts.
- Paul believes in Jesus. Based on his story, I get the idea he already knew about Jesus, and probably was persecuting the church so hard because he was resisting.
- Pauls conversion is slightly different to others we have seen. Till now when someone believes, they are baptised, and then filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit before his baptism. This shows baptism is not essential for salvation, otherwise the Holy Spirit would not have filled Saul.
- Ananias is the first instance of a filling of the Holy Spirit by a disciple, who is not an apostle. So, all disciples can do this.
- Something important to note, when we read, it seems that Saul started preaching immediately and very quickly went to Jerusalem. But when we look at history, we see that Saul had spent 3 years in Damascus. We can assume that he was discipled there. And the threat on his life slowly grew as the years went by. The idea of just going to a place and preaching, then leaving is not Biblical. If you genuinely want to reach someone, there is a discipleship needed. I do not support going into a location, telling people how to be a believer, then leaving them to discover it on there own as the way to reach people. There are organisations doing this at the moment. They love telling about miracle happening, but they then leave the new believers to look for Christians in their area and no longer reach out to them again.
- When Saul goes to Jerusalem, it is Barnabas who vouches for him. Both studied under Gamaliel, who during the first years defended the new movement. I cannot help but wonder if Gamaliel was a secret believer.
- When Saul debates the Greek speaking Jews, his life is again under threat. He is sent to Tarsus for safety. Being from Tarsus, it makes sense for him to go there. It seems to be the trend, go back to your origins, and preach there. However this is not always the case as you can read in my last article about Philip.
- Peter starts traveling around to see different communities of believers.
- Dorcus (Tabitha) is a disciple. Both men and women can take on this role, and therefore I conclude that both can do all they were taught by the apostles.
- Dorcus took care of the widows, making them clothes.
- It is interesting that Peter is called to heal Dorcus, instead of the disciples there doing this. Perhaps they tried without success. Peter was known as an apostle and would be considered to have more power. We have seen disciples doing the same as the apostles, so this should not have been an issue.
- During the healing Peter sends everyone outside. Not all healings are meant to be done in front of people. When Jesus healed in public, it was never done as a show. It was done out of compassion. I think we should pray for healing when asked. But putting in a show and advertising healing should not be done.
What is a church? Answer:
Believers in Jesus, who are dedicated (aligned) to Jesus. To be a believer you must be saved by the name of Jesus. This is done by belief in Jesus as the Saviour, that Jesus is the Son of God, and that Jesus is God. This is essential for the Christian faith. The trinity is therefore a core doctrine. This includes the Holy Spirit as God.
What do believers do?
- Get baptised, as soon as possible. This is done in obedience to God. It is an outward sign of a believer’s dedication to Jesus. It does not save the believer.
- Be filled with Holy Spirit. The order of these 2 events is not important, they can be swapped. Both are required is would seem though.
- Pray. They prayed together as a habit, but also in times of adversity
- Praise God.
- Study the scriptures.
- They also went to the temple together, daily, for pray. This is no longer possible for us since (1) the temple is destroyed and (2) not all believers are Jews. However, meeting as a group is a part of the believers’ life. This can be in a large setting as in Solomon’s Porch, or a smaller setting at individual houses. Also, men and women met together. There was no separation as in Judaism, or other religions. At the meetings there is teaching and miracles.
- As a believer grows, he gets discipled. He may start preaching and doing miracles as the Apostles did (e.g. Stephen, Ananias). Success in healing is not guaranteed (Dorcus was not healed until Peter came). Disciples can also baptise others and fill them with the Holy Spirit (Ananias).
They also had fellowship which entails the following:
- They eat together, as a community but also in separate homes.
- All things are shared in common, with those having, selling their goods to provide for those without. This is voluntary, and believers can do with their possessions as they see fit. Historical context here is that a lot of the early converts were far from home and had nothing. Also, these funds were not shared with non-believers.
- Widows (and those in need) are taken care of. Examples are the Seven who serve the tables and Dorcus who made the widows clothes.
Positions in the church:
- Apostles: a special position with the criteria that they were with Jesus from His baptism till His resurrection. Based on historical context, this position is no longer applicable for today, as no one alive can meet this criterion. They taught the new believers, did miracles, and testified of Jesus’ resurrection. They pass on the Holy Spirit by laying on of hands. They also handle disputes at the top level.
- Ministers, that is, servers. These are men assigned to look after the widows and their provisions. The criteria for this position are: (1) men of good repute, (2) men full of the Spirit and (3) men of wisdom.
- Disciples: Believers learning to do all that the apostles did. Can be male or female. There is no difference in Christianity, unlike other religions.
- Unofficial leader/spokesperson: Peter. It appears Peter has naturally taken a leadership role. This is not an elected position, or one that was chosen with prayer or the leading od the Holy Spirit (at least the scriptures do not imply it). He did not make decisions for the group but pled in preaching or debating the Jewish leaders. He also travels to see how other communities are doing (possible that more apostles did this). Peter was clearly not the leader in Jerusalem, otherwise he would not be able to leave.
- Evangelists. They preach, do miracles, and baptise new believers. (e.g. Philip)
What is the church not supposed to be doing?
- Healing crusades. Healing is done under 2 circumstances. The first is in private. Jesus and Peter have been seen sending people away to heal in private. The second is as an act of compassion. We see public healings being done, but not with the purpose of healing. They are done because Jesus and others are moved with compassion. Signs and wonders follow the preaching to confirm them. They are not a tool for advertising.
- In and out evangelism. Discipleship is a part the great commission and takes time. If you are going to make disciples, take time to teach them properly. Arriving in a city, giving a few messages, and leaving new believers to fend for themselves is not going to keep them in the kingdom. Also, when trying to teach older believers, the in and out approach again will leave them to fend for themselves. This is not an effective way of teaching.