It is not the will of God that these people should do everything.
So here you find problems arising. Where was the problem? Among the widows. They had many widows, and the Hellenistic widows were neglected in their daily supply.
Why? Because all these apostles were Hebrew believers. Now, even though the church in Jerusalem was Jewish, there were two different kinds of Jews: the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebrew Jews.
The Hellenistic Jews were those who had lived in foreign countries and had absorbed foreign culture. Then you had the Hebrew Jews. They were people who lived in the Promised Land.
Even among them, you find differences. Because the apostles were all Hebrew Jews, they did not know the conditions of the Hellenistic widows. So they were neglected—not purposely—and murmuring began to come forth.
Now, thank God, problems are good, because they are opportunities if they are solved in the right way. So do not be afraid of problems. As long as we live on earth, there will be problems. As long as there is a local church, there will be problems. But the question is how to solve them.
Here you find that these apostles were very sensitive before the Lord. When they heard the murmuring, immediately they went to the Lord, and they discovered that it was not the will of God for them to monopolize everything in the church. This is not possible.
They should devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of God’s Word. So they asked the brothers and sisters to come together and said, “Choose seven among you, full of the Holy Spirit and of good report, and we will let them serve the tables.”
And you know what? All seven who were chosen were Hellenistic Jews. One may question that.
You find in these brothers and sisters that there was no selfishness in them. Now, if the Hellenistic widows suffered, all right, they could have gone overboard and chosen all Hellenistic people to take care of the tables, so that they might be well taken care of, even if the Hebrew widows suffered a little bit. But there was no self there.
And the Word of God increased.
Brothers and sisters, these seven were never called deacons. You know, in the Bible it is always function first, not title first. Because if title comes first, it becomes a position, and that is very dangerous.
When you put people in a certain position, they think that they have certain authority in themselves. So you find in the Scriptures that there is no title there. It is just a function.
These seven had the function of deacons, serving the tables, but they were never called deacons.
And then, brothers and sisters, persecution came.
These brothers and sisters who were together were so happy together. They were so satisfied. They did not want to leave. They forgot the Great Commission:
Go to the nations.
Disciple all nations.
Starting from Jerusalem, to Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the world.
Be My witnesses.
Now, brothers and sisters, they were so happy in Jerusalem, and thank God they had such a glorious time together. Nobody wanted to leave, and they forgot the Great Commission. In other words, the church began to look within itself instead of being used as witnesses for the Lord.
So the Lord, in His marvelous way, sent persecution to the church, and all the believers were scattered. Strangely, not the apostles, but the believers were scattered. The apostles stayed behind to continue the work of the Lord there.
With all these scattered abroad, they went to Judea, they went to Samaria, and they even went to Gentile cities, and the gospel was spread abroad.
You might think that Jerusalem was now empty of believers. Not so. If you read the Book of Acts, you will find that even so, it seems as if the church in Jerusalem was not lacking in believers. It was still full of believers. That is the way it always works.
When you come to Acts 11, not until Acts 11, you find that Peter began to move out. The apostles began to move.
Then, when you come to Acts 11:30, you find that there was a famine. So the churches in the Gentile world began to send relief to the church in Judea—to the believers in Jerusalem.
Paul and Barnabas, with the contribution, came to Jerusalem to the elders in Jerusalem.
In the beginning, there were the twelve apostles. Then you find the seven functioning as deacons. Then you find the apostles, Peter beginning to move out. The Book of Acts, of course, does not record all the footsteps of the apostles, but we may believe that other apostles began to move out too.
As the apostles went out, God began to raise up, from the local assembly, some into leadership. So when you come to Acts 11:30, you find that there were elders in the church in Jerusalem.
Now, who were the elders? Of the twelve apostles, we know that only two also served as elders: Peter and John. The others never became elders in the local church.
So you find that the Lord, through the years, raised up some brothers who were of spiritual stature, who were able to take responsibility for the government in the local church in Jerusalem.
We were not told how they came about, but we were told that it was a fact. I think that is very, very beautiful.
You know, we always like to ask, “How did it come about?” Why? Because we always think of the method, the way, the technique. Brothers and sisters, you find that it is not technical. It is not a method. It is life. It is a manifestation of the life of the Holy Spirit.
Do not bother about the technical things. But the fact is, there were elders in Jerusalem.
Of course, you find that those who ran out because of persecution went to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. Some who were of Cypriot background began to preach to the Greeks, to the Gentiles too.
In the beginning, they preached only to the Jews in those cities. But now they began to preach to the Gentiles, and the Lord began to save many Gentiles in Antioch.
The news came to Jerusalem, and the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to go and visit them.
Now, brothers and sisters, we need to be very careful. The church in Jerusalem was not the mother church. It was not the center of all the churches.
The church in Antioch was not a branch church or a sister church. It was an independent church before God, distinct from Jerusalem.
But when the church in Jerusalem heard that the Lord had done something in Antioch, they wanted to have fellowship with them—not to go and control them or to pull them into their orbit. Not at all. They wanted to have fellowship with them.
If they had sent the apostles there, probably there would have been some suspicions. But they sent a brother there, and this brother had a Hellenistic background, so he understood.
He was a man of a big heart. He was called the son of consolation. You know, they sent the right person—not someone narrow-minded.
If they had sent somebody who was Judaistic, then when he went and saw these Gentiles, perhaps he would have said, “You need to be circumcised. You need to keep the law. You need to obey the church in Jerusalem.”
Brothers and sisters, no such thing. No such thing. They sent a brother there to make the connection—a spiritual affiliation, not an organizational connection.
Every local church is independent before God.
He went there. My time is up. I have to borrow some time, can I?
So he went there, and he saw what the Lord had done. Being a teacher, he exhorted them all to continue steadfastly in the Lord and strengthened them.
He found that he was not able to do more than he could do. So he was such a broad-minded person, a big-hearted man. You know, Barnabas had a big heart. He went to find Saul of Tarsus, in Cilicia.
He was the one who introduced Saul, after Saul was converted, to the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, because everybody was suspicious of him. They would not touch him, but Barnabas, with his big heart, introduced him.
Now he went to find Saul because he knew that Saul was raised up by God, and he felt that he could help. You know, there was no selfishness there.
Brothers and sisters, sometimes you find, “This is my place. Now I am here, and do not come. If anybody comes and wants to take over, well, this is my church.”
No, no. It is the church of God. Whatever is good for the church of God, Barnabas says, “Come, come, Paul. Come and help.”
So these two ministered to the brothers, to the many, for a whole year—every day, every day. That church was really strengthened.
The Bible says that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Brothers and sisters, you know, before that time, the world thought that these people were only a sect of Judaism. In the eyes of the Roman Empire, they were a sect of Judaism, because in the beginning they were all Jews—mostly Jews.
Now there were more Gentiles than Jews, so that description did not fit anymore. But what should they call them?
The Bible sometimes calls them “the Way”—a way of life. Their way of life was different from the world, but people did not know how to define them.
It was in Antioch that people called these people Christians. In the beginning, the word Christian was not an honorable name; it was a nickname. They could not find out who these people were.
They said, “Well, who are these people? They are Christ-men.” That is Christian. They are Christ-men, because with them Christ is everything. Christ is their life. Christ is their everything. You know, so they are Christians.
The church in Antioch was not started by apostles. It was started by believers who were scattered through persecution.
As a matter of fact, the church in Antioch produced apostles. Today we think that first there is an apostle, and then comes the church. If there is no apostle, there is no church. Brothers and sisters, not so.
It is the church that produces the apostles. Because in Acts 13 you find five prophets and teachers ministering unto the Lord, and the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Paul and Barnabas for the work to which I have called them.” They were sent out as apostles.
Strangely again, brothers and sisters, you never find in the Book of Acts that there were elders in the church in Antioch. If you find it, let me know.
The Bible always says, “the Christians,” “the brethren,” but strangely, I cannot find the elders in the church in Antioch. Does it mean that there were no elders there, no government there? I do not think so.
I think it tells us one thing. It tells us that when brothers and sisters are really holding fast the Head, and are really loving one another, and are really walking in the Spirit, and are really functioning as they should, government is hidden.
It is not manifested. It is there, but it is as if it is nothing. Whenever government becomes too evident, the government is dead. But when it is spiritual, it is as if it is not there.
Brothers and sisters, that is the spiritual principle. So I think probably that is the reason why you find the elders never mentioned there. But you find the government is there; everything is in order.
But we know there must have been elders there. How do we know? Because when Barnabas and Paul were sent out by the Holy Spirit to do the work, they traveled from place to place.
They went to Galatia, and they visited Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and all these places. When they preached the gospel, a number of people were saved.
When they were saved, brothers and sisters, what did these two apostles do? Did they stay there with them? No.
After the people were saved—actually, even if they had wanted to stay, they could not, because they were persecuted and cast out—the apostles left.
They left them with hope. They left them with the Holy Spirit, with the Head, with God. Then they went to another place to preach.
These people just loved one another. They just helped one another. They just cared for one another. But the apostles were away.
After some time, the apostles came back. In Acts 14, when they came back, you find that they continued to exhort them to persevere, knowing that we must suffer in order to enter into the kingdom of God.
Then they chose elders in every church. So that shows there must be elders in Antioch. They chose elders as the governing body of the church.
Outwardly, the apostles chose them. Actually, the Holy Spirit appointed them. In Acts 20, Paul told the elders in Ephesus, “The Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers to shepherd the flock of God, the church of God, which He purchased with His blood.”
So, brothers and sisters, during the intervening time, these brothers and sisters were together. It is evident that some care, some order, and some responsibility had to be taken.
Eventually, you find that some brothers began to show responsibility. They sought the Lord more earnestly than the others, and they seemed to grow a little further. The Holy Spirit manifested them as fit to be overseers.
Then the apostles, when they came back, simply recognized them. So actually, it is the Holy Spirit who appoints them, not the apostles.
This is the way that government in the local assembly comes about.
Again, you find that in the beginning many assemblies began in houses, in homes.
You find that in Ephesus, it began in the house of Aquila and Priscilla. You find that in Colossae, it began in the house of Philemon. You find that in Laodicea, it began in the house of Nympha. You find in Rome, again, it began in the house of Aquila and Priscilla.
I think it is very natural. In the beginning, you find that it began with a few brothers and sisters, and they just came together in a house, in a home, like a family.
When you are meeting in a home, there is not much government that is needed. Probably, naturally, the host of that house will bear most of the responsibility.
But as they begin to increase, then you find there is a need for eldership. There is a need for government. So that is how it gradually develops. It is, I would say, supernaturally natural development.
Now, I hope I have given you the history of how government in the local church comes about. And, God willing, tomorrow we would like to deal with what local government is and how you exercise it.
If you have time, and you have not read them, well, at least read 1 Timothy and Titus. I hope that you will try to read them.
You know, I am not reading the Scriptures. It does not mean that I am speaking outside of the Scriptures, but I just suppose that you have all read them, so we do not need to read them here. Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, even though we are touching something that is on earth, yet we know that it does have its effect in heaven.
So we just pray that Thou wilt enable us to approach these things not with an external, mechanical, or technical concept, but that we may really approach them in a living way.
Lord, we do pray that Thou wilt show us that Thou art God, the Governor of the universe, and Thou dost set up Thy government in the church.
Show us Thy government, that we may know how to behave in Thy house. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.