Will you please turn to the book of Acts, chapter 11? This is it. We will read from verse 19 through verse 30.
They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only to Jews.
But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number that believed turned unto the Lord.
And the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch:
Who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord:
For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
And he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul;
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Now in these days there came down prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great famine over all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius.
And the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren that dwelt in Judaea:
Which also they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
May we look to the Lord in prayer.
Dear heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that we can gather together in the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
We do thank Thee that, as we are in Thy presence, we can hear Thy voice. We ask Thee to speak to our hearts this morning, that we may really follow Thee all the way.
May Thy name be glorified. May Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Thank God for gathering us together this time. For the sake of those who were not here yesterday, probably we should make a little review to bring us to what we are going to share this morning.
We remember what our Lord Jesus once said: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” What is the work that the Father has been doing? And what is the work that our Lord Jesus works?
We mentioned that it is the work of the building of the church. It is building that city with foundations. We know that, even today, this is what the Holy Spirit is working, and we all are called to join in this work of God.
Now, in order to cooperate with God, we need to know what He really is doing, what He has done, and how He does it. We need such information.
And we do thank the Lord that, in the book of Acts, He has given us many examples of what He did in the first century. So He will also do in this twentieth century.
Even though He is a living God, He always works in a living way. The churches built throughout the ages are all different. Each local assembly has its peculiar features, and yet the principles underlying all the workings of God are one.
Therefore, by looking into these examples, we may learn some very precious lessons.
Now, yesterday morning we mentioned the church in Jerusalem, because the church in Jerusalem is the first church that God built on earth.
By the way, I should add a little word. God is building His church, but it is the church universal. Yet, in building the church universal, He builds through the local churches. So, in building these local churches, He is building the universal church.
For example, in the book of Revelation, you find in chapters 2 and 3 the seven churches in Asia. The risen Lord walks in the midst of the seven churches.
And yet, when you come to Revelation 21 and 22, you find the holy city, the New Jerusalem. It is the church universal. So, by building the local churches, He ends up with the universal church.
This is why we want to enter into all these examples of the local churches, because this is the way He builds. From them we can learn very precious lessons.
In the church in Jerusalem, we mentioned a few things. A church is born, not organized, because the church of God is an organism. It is not an organization.
We also mentioned a universal law: it is the law of travail. No travail, no birth. It is for the birth of the church that the Triune God travailed.
God the Father travailed in giving up His only begotten Son. God the Son travailed on the cross at Calvary. The Holy Spirit travailed on the day of Pentecost, because there was a heart-breathing over the one hundred twenty believers.
Through the travail of the Triune God, we find that the one hundred twenty believers responded with travail. They were there praying with one accord for ten days. This is travailing prayer.
And out of the travail of heaven and of earth, the church in Jerusalem was born. Now, this principle applies not only to the first church; it applies to the birth of every church of God on earth.
There will be some believers who travail in prayer, and then you will find a church.
Secondly, we mentioned the meaning of Pentecost, because on the day of Pentecost the church in Jerusalem was born.
When we think of Pentecost, we are usually attracted by the sound and the sight. But actually, Pentecost is more than that.
On the day of Pentecost, something that had never happened on earth before happened. It was the time when the body of Christ was born.
For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit.
— 1 Corinthians 12:13
The church is the body of Christ, and we are all members of that body.
Thirdly, we mentioned that the church in Jerusalem began, on the day of Pentecost, with one hundred twenty believers. But it ended with three thousand one hundred members of the body of Christ.
You find that every member in the body of Christ is an active member, whether the one hundred twenty mature believers or the three thousand newly born believers. They were all actively involved. There was no one who was passive. That shows how healthy this body of Christ was.
And if you come down and see their church life, they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. They were together. They were filled with love. That was the condition of the early church.
May the Lord make the church today the same.
Now, these are what we mentioned roughly yesterday. This morning we would like to share on the church in Antioch.
The church in Jerusalem was composed mainly of Jews, and it was located in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the center of Judaism. Therefore, you find that the church in Jerusalem was somehow affected by Judaism.
As a matter of fact, at that time people looked at the church as a sect in Judaism. We know that in Judaism you have the sect of the Pharisees, the sect of the Sadducees, and the sect of the Essenes. Now they considered these believers of Jesus as the sect of the Nazarenes.
So, in the church of Jerusalem, you find that it was somehow mixed with Judaism. It was under the influence of Judaism. It was not completely freed from Jewish tradition.
Furthermore, you find that the believers in the church of Jerusalem were so happy together. They were just staying in Jerusalem. They enjoyed the Lord, and they enjoyed one another.
They forgot what the Lord had commanded them. The Lord said, “Ye shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
But these believers were so happy with one another. They were so happy in the Lord in Jerusalem that they refused to go out to Judaea, Samaria, and the end of the earth.
So, after a number of years, the Lord sent persecution to the church in Jerusalem. I believe you remember that in the book of Acts it started with a man called Saul. Persecution came upon the church in Jerusalem, and because of that, the believers began to scatter abroad.
As a matter of fact, God sent persecution to the church in Jerusalem in order to send them out. As these believers began to scatter, they carried the gospel of Jesus Christ with them wherever they went.
So the gospel began to spread to Judaea and Samaria. In Acts 11, it says that some of them passed through the country of Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. Wherever they went, they announced the glad tidings of the Lord Jesus.
But those Jewish believers, when they went to all these different places, were still bound by their Judaistic tradition. So they spoke only to the Jews who lived in those countries. They did not speak to the Gentiles.
But some of the Cyrenians and Cypriots probably were Gentiles. So when they went to Antioch, they began to speak to the Greeks, to the Gentiles.
And the Bible says, “The hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”
So here you find the Holy Spirit made a new move. The first move was in Jerusalem, but it seemed as if the church in Jerusalem had become static. It was not moving on. It was being bound by Judaism.
So the Holy Spirit made a new move in Antioch. Here you find something very different from the church in Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, the believers were all Jews. But in Antioch, you find that most of the believers were Gentiles.
Now, you remember: what is the body of Christ? The Bible says, “In one Spirit were we all baptized into one body,” whether Jews or Gentiles.
The church is not a Jewish church, nor is it merely a Gentile church. It is the church of the Jews and the Gentiles, because it is the will of God to bring all into the church.
If the church is composed only of Jews, it is not the typical church that God wants. If it is composed only of Gentiles, it is not typical either. In the church in Antioch, you find Jews and Gentiles together.
In studying the Bible, we often say that the church in Antioch is a typical church, because this is what the Lord really is after.
The glorious thing is that, even though the church is composed of Jews and Gentiles, when they come into the church, when they come into the body of Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile. This is a mystery.
When we were in the world, we had all these racial distinctions and many other distinctions: educational background, social background, cultural background, language background, and all kinds of distinctions. Because of these distinctions, we were separated.
The Jews would have nothing to do with the Gentiles. They could not even eat with a Gentile. They considered the Gentiles unclean. And the Gentiles looked down upon the Jews. So there was no communication and no fellowship between Jews and Gentiles.
But a glorious thing happens. When a Jew enters into the church, he is no longer a Jew; he is a Christian. When a Gentile enters the church, he is no longer a Gentile; he is a Christian.
In the body of Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither freeman nor bondman, neither barbarian nor Scythian, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision. In Christ, we are all one.
So, brothers and sisters, there you find in the church in Antioch that it was composed of Jews and Gentiles, and yet spiritually speaking, there was neither Jew nor Gentile. They were all one in Christ Jesus.
This was true in the church in Antioch, and it is true of every church of God on earth.
So, brothers and sisters, when we are gathering together as the church, as the body of Christ, let us forget our past differences and remember that we are all one in Christ. There is neither Chinese nor American. We are all one in Christ.
Another thing to be noticed is that the church in Jerusalem began with the apostles, but in the church in Antioch, you find it began differently.
In fact, there are two ways that a church is formed. Either God sends out His servants to preach the gospel, and a number of people are gathered; that is how the church starts. Or He sends out His saints, and as they scatter to different places, they are witnesses of the Lord. People are gathered together, and that is how a church is formed.
So either a church is formed by the work of the apostles, or it can be the result of the scattering of the saints.
No apostle was sent to Antioch to start the church there. The church in Antioch was started by the believers.
Now, some people say that if there is no apostle, there can be no church. No, no, no. This is not true, because the church in Antioch was not started by an apostle. As a matter of fact, it produced apostles. It was started by the believers.
So wherever the Lord sends us, whether we are scattered because of persecution, because of our profession, or for any other reason, remember: we have a mission. Wherever we are, we are the witnesses of the Lord.
And the Lord can use us to start a testimony.
Now, the hand of the Lord was with the church in Antioch, and many believed and turned to the Lord. The report came to Jerusalem.
Now notice what the church in Jerusalem did. When they heard that many Gentiles had turned to the Lord in Antioch, they decided to send someone there to look. But whom did they send?
You notice that they did not send an apostle or apostles. They did not send Peter and John. Instead, they sent Barnabas.
Brothers and sisters, this is very, very important. The church in Jerusalem was the first church, and now you find the church in Antioch coming forth. When the news came to Jerusalem, how would they respond?
If they had sent John and Peter there, it would have been as if they were telling the church in Antioch, “Now the church in Jerusalem is the mother church, and you are going to be a daughter church. We come to gather you under our wing.” That would have been the result.
But the church in Jerusalem did not do that. They were fully conscious that each local church is independent. There is no such thing as mother church and daughter church. There is no such thing as a headquarters with all these stations around it.
So instead of sending apostles there, they sent Barnabas.
Now, who was this Barnabas? In Acts 4:36–37, we read:
And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of exhortation), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race,
Having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Here you find Barnabas. He was a Jew; he was a Levite. But he was a Hellenistic Jew, not a Hebrew Jew.
I do not know whether you know the difference. A Hebrew Jew is a Jew who is born and reared in Judaea. A Hellenistic Jew is a Jew who is born and reared in a Gentile country.
So you find that this man Barnabas was a Hellenistic Jew. In other words, he received Greek influence because he was born in Cyprus.
And he was called Barnabas, a son of consolation. He was full of love and sympathy. So you find the church in Jerusalem sending such a man to visit Antioch.
It shows that they had no idea of trying to bring Antioch under their control. They sent someone there who could be a comfort to them. It was a matter of fellowship, not a matter of control.
So here you find this man Barnabas going to Antioch. I think this is another lesson we need to learn: every local assembly is independent. It looks to the Lord directly. It is not under the control of any other church.
And yet, there is fellowship between assemblies: caring for one another and helping to build up one another.
Now Barnabas came to Antioch, and when he saw what the Lord had done, he was filled with joy.
There are times when, if the Lord does something through you, you rejoice. But if the Lord uses somebody else to do something, you are not too happy. Probably you would even be jealous.
But not Barnabas. When he saw what the Lord had done in Antioch, he rejoiced. He just opened himself completely at their disposal.
He encouraged them and exhorted them that, with purpose of heart, they should abide with the Lord.
These people had believed and turned to the Lord Jesus. But not only should they believe in the Lord; they should abide with the Lord, persevere, and continue in the Lord.
And many more people were added to the church.
Then Barnabas realized one thing: it was a work more than he could take care of. He knew his own limitation.
So he went to seek out Saul. He brought Saul to Antioch, and together they met with the believers and instructed them. They taught them for a whole year.
Here is another lesson for us to learn: we need to know our limitation. No matter who you are, you are limited. You need the help of others.
Barnabas was a humble man. He knew his limitation. So he asked Saul to come and help him, and for a whole year they taught the people there.
By the way, I think of one thing. In 1942, the Lord brought me to India, and I met a group of people. They had been meeting together for just one year.
It was a work started by Brother Bak Singh. When he first started the work in Madras, two brothers from England were with the believers for a whole year.
They gathered with them twice a day for a whole year. Before people went to work, they came together and received instruction. After work, they came together, and they were taught.
When I went there, it had been just a year. So you can see what a firm foundation was built.
The church in Antioch was built on a very firm foundation. It was rooted and grounded in the Word of God.
This was the condition of the church in Antioch: many were gathered together, they turned to the Lord, they abided with the Lord with purpose of heart, and they were deeply taught in the Word of God.
And do you know what happened? The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. That was the result.
They were called Christians by the world. Now today we call ourselves Christians, but in the beginning there was no such name.
If you read the book of Acts before chapter 11, you find that those believers were called disciples. They were the disciples of the Lord Jesus. They were called people of the Way, because there was a way of life different from any other way of life.
They were also called believers, because at that time they were considered a sect of Judaism. But now the situation was different. Those believers were mainly Gentiles, and yet you could not consider them a sect of Judaism.
So the world looked at these people and said, “Now who are you?” You know, the world always tries to figure out who you are. They want to identify you.
They looked at these believers, these disciples of the Lord, and finally they came out with a nickname. They said, “Well, these are Christians.”
Now, what is a Christian? A Christian is a Christ-man. In the beginning, “Christian” was a nickname.
And now we call ourselves Christians. But, brothers and sisters, the question is: do we deserve that nickname? When the world looks at us, can they really call us Christians—Christ-men?
In the whole Bible, there are only three mentions of the word Christian. Of course, one is Acts 11:26: the disciples of the Lord Jesus in Antioch were first called Christians.
Now, why did the world call these believers Christians? Because they found that these people were obsessed with Christ.
You know, obsession is not a good word. We should not be obsessed with any other thing. But it is a good thing to be obsessed with Christ.
Now, what do you mean by being obsessed with Christ? They looked at these people and found that whenever they spoke, they talked about Jesus. Whenever they gathered, they gathered in the name of Jesus. Whenever they prayed, they prayed in the name of Jesus. And they lived for Jesus.
Everything was Jesus. Nothing else was important anymore. Jesus was everything. “Oh,” they said, “you are obsessed with Jesus. You are Christians.”
Brothers and sisters, are we obsessed with Christ? Or are we occupied with many other things, and Christ is only a little part of our lives?
We would rather be obsessed with the world, with fame, with position, with whatever else. But those believers were so obsessed with Christ that they gave their lives to Christ. He was everything.
The world today looks at Christians and says they do not look like Christ. They are not obsessed with Christ. Where is our testimony?
So a Christian is a person who is obsessed with Christ. May we be worthy of it.
Now, the second mention of the word Christian is in Acts 26:28. You remember Paul was defending his faith before Agrippa. He was given a chance to defend himself, but instead of defending himself, he was defending Christ.
Festus the governor said, “Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad.”
Paul was defending Christ instead of defending himself, and he did it so well that Festus said, “You are mad.” You are given a chance to defend yourself, but you do not take that opportunity. Instead, you defend Christ. You are a madman.
But Paul said, “No, I am not mad. I am very sober, and I am telling the truth.” He tried to persuade King Agrippa. He said, “I know that thou believest the prophets.” In other words, he tried to bring Agrippa to Christ.
And what did King Agrippa say in verse 28?
With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.
— Acts 26:28
You know, a Christian is a name that is despised. To the world, a Christian is a madman, because they do not love themselves; they love the Lord. They are willing to deny themselves and follow the Lord.
Now, brothers and sisters, are we mad enough? I am afraid we are too clever, too sober. We consider ourselves too much. We love ourselves too much. We count our cost very carefully, and sometimes we feel that it is too costly to follow the Lord.
We are not mad enough for Christ. Are we willing to be considered by the world as mad? That is a Christian.
Thirdly, the third place where the word is mentioned is in 1 Peter 4:16. Peter is speaking about suffering.
But if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name.
— 1 Peter 4:16
A Christian is one who is willing to suffer for Christ’s sake. Nobody loves to suffer. If we can avoid suffering, we avoid it.
But there is a suffering to which God has called us. We are to have fellowship with the sufferings of Christ.
Of course, we cannot have fellowship with His vicarious suffering. Now I am using some theological terms. On the cross, He suffered for our sins in order to atone for us. That suffering was vicarious. We cannot have fellowship with that, because He trod the winepress alone. By His sufferings, we are atoned.
But there are other sufferings of Christ in which we are called to have fellowship with Him. We are called to suffer for righteousness’ sake. We are called to suffer for the name of Christ. We are called to suffer as Christians.
Other people can do certain things, but we cannot. We are to suffer for that. If we suffer with Christ, we shall reign.
So there is a sense of suffering in being a Christian. There must be a willingness to suffer.
Brothers and sisters, do you have a willingness to suffer? Are you willing to suffer for Christ’s sake? Are you willing to give up something for Christ? Are you willing to be misunderstood because you are a Christian? Are you willing to let go of something because you are a Christian?
Brothers and sisters, that is a question. In the eyes of the world, Christians are fools. It is a fool who is willing to suffer. But Christians are God’s fools. Are you willing to do that?
Thank God. This is what a Christian is. So you find the church in Antioch: these disciples were called Christians. What a testimony that must have been.
And, brothers and sisters, what about us? We take the name Christian so casually, but actually that name is a name of worthiness. May God be merciful to us.
There are many other things about the church in Antioch that we can share, but I think that is enough.
Heavenly Father, we want to thank Thee for putting before us the church in Antioch, that which Thou hast built in the first century. How we praise and thank Thee for their good testimony.
We thank Thee that Thou hast made them worthy of the name Christian. Lord, we come to Thee this morning and ask that Thou wilt be gracious and merciful to us, that we too may be made worthy of being Christians.
May we be so occupied with Christ that the world may consider us an obsessed people. Lord, may we really be so much for Thee, forgetting ourselves, that the world may even consider us mad.
May we be willing to suffer for Thy name’s sake. Let the world consider us fools. O Lord, we do pray that we may be worthy of being Christians, and may Thy name be glorified.
In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.
God has really spoken clearly through His servant to us. May the Holy Spirit reveal the Lord’s heart and desires more clearly, so that the remaining days of our lives can be a good witness for Him, and that we may really know what it means to be a Christian.
May we really live out the witness of being obsessed with Christ.
Let us sing hymn 535.
After we have sung through this hymn, we will ask those brothers and sisters who have the burden to lead us in prayer, and we will say amen to your prayer together.