Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #25 - 15:1-35)
XVI. 15:1-35 METHOD OF SOLVING EARLY CHURCH PROBLEMS
A. 15:1-5 PROBLEM OF JUDAIZERS BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM
1. 15:1-2 A CHURCH ACTS TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
a. 15:1 MEMBERS FROM JUDEA UPSET GENTILE CHURCHES
KAI ti-nes ka-telTHONtes [2718] aPO tes IouDAIas eDIda-skon [1321]
And certain men coming down from :Judea were teaching
tous a-delPHOUS [HOti], E-AN mepe-rit-meTHEte [4059] toEthei to Mo-uSEos, ou DUnas-the soTHEnai.
the brethren [that], Except you are circumcised after the custom :of Moses, you cannot be saved.
b. 15:2 DELEGATES APPOINTED TO HAVE JERUSALEM SETTLE IT
ge-noMEnes de STAse-os [4714]kai zeTEse-os [2203]ouk oLIges toPAUlo kai toBarNAba
And when :Paul and :Barnabas had no small dissension
pros auTOUS, Eta-xan [5021] a-naBAInein [305] PAUlon kai BarNAban,
and questionings with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas,
KAI ti-nas ALlous ex auTON, pros tous a-poSTOlous kai pres-buTErous [4205]
and certain other of them, to go up to Jerusalem
eis Ie-rou-saLEM peRI tou zeTEma-tos [2213]TOUtou.
unto the apostles and elders about this :question.
2. 15:3-5 PRESENTATION OF PROBLEM: DEADLOCK
a. 15:3 DELEGATES PREACH ON WAY TO JERUSALEM
Hoi men oun, pro-pemphTHENtes [4311] huPO tes ek-kleSIas,
They therefore, being brought on their wayby the church,
diERchon-to [1330]ten te PhoiNIken kai SaMAri-an, ek-di-eGOUme-noi [1555]ten e-pi-stroPHEN ton ethNON:
passed through both :Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the nations:
kai ePOIoun chaRAN meGAlen PAsi tois a-delPHOIS.
and they caused great joy to all the brethren.
b. 15:4 DELEGATES REPORT TO JERUSALEM GOD'S DOINGS AMONG GENTILES
pa-ra-geNOme-noi [3854] de eis Ie-roSOlu-ma,
And when they came to Jerusalem,
pa-reDECHthe-san [3858]aPO tes ek-kleSIas kai ton a-poSTOlon kai ton pres-buTEron,
they were received of the church and the apostles and the elders,
aNEGgeiLAN [312]te HOsa ho TheOS ePOIe-sen met' auTON.
and they rehearsed what things:God had done with them.
c. 15:5 JUDAIZERS INSIST ON MOSES FOR GENTILES
e-xaNEste-san [1817]DE ti-nes ton aPO tes haiREse-os [139]ton Pha-riSAIon [5330]pe-pi-steuKOtes,
But certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed,
LEgon-tes, HOti dei pe-riTEMnein [4059] auTOUS,
rose up saying, that it is needful to circumcise them,
pa-ragGELlein [3853] te teREIN [5083]ton NOmon [3551]Mo-uSEos.
and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.
B. 15:6-29 DECISION: STOP JUDAIZING AMONG GENTILES
1. 15:6-21 SCRIPTURAL ORDER TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
a. 15:6 And the apostles and the elders were gathered together to see about this :matter.
SuNECHthe-san [4863]te hoi aPOsto-loi kai hoi presBUte-roi iDEIN peRI tou LOgou TOUtou.
b. 15:7 PETER RECOUNTS GENTILE RECEPTION OF WORD BY HIM
polLES de zeTEse-os [2603]ge-noMEnes,
And when there had been much questioning,
a-naSTAS PEtros, EIpen pros auTOUS, ANdres a-delPHOI,
Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men andbrethren,
huMEIS ePIstas-the [1987] HOti aph' he-meRON arCHAIon [744]en huMIN e-xeLExa-to [1586]ho TheOS,
YOU know that a good while ago :God made choice among you,
diA tou STOmaTOS mou aKOUsai ta ETHne ton LOgon tou eu-ag-geLIou, kai piSTEUsai.
that by my :mouth the nations should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
c. 15:8-9 GOD BY HOLY SPIRIT, ACCEPTED GENTILES AS JEWS
kai ho kar-di-ogNOstes [2589]TheOS, e-marTUre-sen [3140],
And :God, who knows theheart, bore witness,
auTOIS dous [1325] to PNEUma to HAgi-on, kaTHOS kai heMIN;
giving them the Holy Spirit, even as to us;
kai ouTHEN diEkri-nen [1252] me-taXU heMON te kai auTON, tePIstei ka-thaRIsas tas karDIas auTON.
9and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their :hearts by :faith.
d. 15:10 THE CEREMONIAL LAW ABROGATED FOR GENTILES
nun oun ti peiRAze-te [3985] ton TheON, e-piTHEInai [2007] zuGON ePI ton TRAche-lon ton ma-theTON
Now therefore why do you make trial of :God, by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples
hon OUte hoi paTEres heMON OUte heMEIS iSCHUsa-men [2480]baSTAsai [941]?
which neither our :fathers nor WE were able to bear?
e. 15:11 But we believe we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they.
alLA diA tes CHAri-tos tou KuRIou IeSOU piSTEUo-men soTHEnai, kath' hon TROpon [5158] ka' 'KEInoi.
f. 15:12 BARNABAS AND PAUL RECOUNT SIGNS AMONG GENTILES
E-SIgesen [4601] de pan to PLEthos, kai Ekou-on BarNAba kai PAUlon e-xe-gouMEnon HOsa ePOIe-sen
And all the multitude kept silent, and heard Barnabas and Paul rehearsing what signs and wonders
ho TheOS seMEIa [4592] kai TEra-ta [5059] en tois ETHne-sin di' auTON.
:God had wrought among the nations through them.
g. 15:13-14 JAMES REMINDS THAT PETER FIRST WON GENTILES
meTA de to siGEsai [4601] auTOUS, a-peKRIthe 'IAko-bos, LEgon, ANdres a-delPHOI, aKOUsaTE mou:
And after they kept silent, James answered, saying, Men andbrethren, listen to me:
Su-meON e-xeGEsa-to [1834] kaTHOS PROton ho TheOS e-peSKEpsa-to [1980],
14Symeon has rehearsed how first :God visited the nations,
laBEIN ex ethNON laON to oNOma-ti auTOU.
to take out a people for his :name.
h. 15:15-18 OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES CONFIRM SALVATION OF GENTILES
kai TOUto sum-phoNOUsin [4856] hoi LOgoi ton pro-pheTON [4396]; kaTHOS GEgrap-tai,
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as itis written,
MeTA TAUta a-naSTREpso [390],
16After these thingsI will return,
kai a-noi-ko-doMEso [456] ten skeNEN [4633] DauID ten pep-toKUIan [4098];
And will build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen;
kai ta ka-te-stramMEna [2679] auTES a-noi-ko-doMEso, kai a-norTHOso [461] auTEN:
And I will build again the ruins of it, And I will set it up:
HOpos an ek-zeTEso-sin [1567] hoi kaTAloi-poi [2645] ton anTHROpon ton KUri-on,
17That the residue of :men may seek after the Lord,
kai PANta ta ETHne eph' hous e-piKEkle-tai [1941] to OnoMA mou [ep' auTOUS],
And all the nations upon whom my :name is called [upon them],
LEgei KUri-os, poiON TAUta gnoSTA [1110] ap' aiOnos.
18 Says theLord, who makes these thingsknown from theage.
i. 15:19-20 CONCLUSION: BIND GENTILES WITH FOUR POINTS ONLY
di' HO eGO KRIno, me pa-re-noCHLEIN [3926] tois aPO ton ethNON e-piSTREphou-sin ePI ton TheON;
Wherefore MY judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the nations turn to :God;
all' e-piSTEIlai [1989] auTOIS, tou aPEches-thai [567] ton a-lis-geMAton [234] ton eiDOlon [1497]
20but that we enjoin them, to abstain from the pollutions of the idols
kai tes porNEIas [4202] kai pnikTOU [4156] kai tou HAIma-tos [129].
and :fornication and whatis strangled and :blood.
j. 15:21 SYNAGOGUES IN EVERY CITY ALWAYS HAVE MOSES
Mo-uSES gar ek ge-neON arCHAIon [744] kaTA POlin tous keRUSson-tas [2784] auTON Echei,
For Moses from generations of old has in every city them that preach him,
en tais su-na-goGAIS kaTA pan SABba-ton a-na-gi-noSKOme-nos [314].
being read in the synagogues every sabbath.
2. 15:22-29 SCRIPTURAL ACTION FOLLOWING A DECISION
a. 15:22-26 DELEGATES SENT WITH THIS CONCLUSION
TOte Edo-xe tois a-poSTOlois kai tois pres-buTErois, sun HOlete ek-kleSIa, e-kle-xaMEnous ANdras ex auTON,
Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men out from them,
PEMpsai eis An-tiOchei-an sun to PAUlo kai BarNAba: IOUdan ton kaLOUme-non Bar-sabBAN, kai SIlan,
andsend themto Antioch with :Paul and Barnabas: Judas :called Basabbas, and Silas,
ANdras he-gouMEnous {2233] en tois a-delPHOIS: GRApsan-tes [1125] diA cheiROS auTON,
chief men among the brethren: 23andthey wrote by their hand,
Hoi aPOsto-loi kai hoi presBUte-roi a-delPHOI tois
The apostles and the elder brethren to the brethren
kaTA ten An-tiOchei-an kai SuRIan kai Ki-liKIan a-delPHOIS tois ex ethNON, CHAIrein [5463]:
who areof the nations in :Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting:
E-peiDE eKOUsa-men HOti tiNES ex heMON
24Forasmuch as we have heard that certain from amongus
eTAra-xan [5015] huMAS LOgois, e-na-skeuAzon-tes [384] tas psuCHAS huMON;
have troubled you with words, subverting your :souls;
hois ou di-e-steiLAme-tha [1291]; Edo-xen heMIN, ge-noMEnois ho-mo-thu-maDON [3661],
to whom we gave no commandment; 25it seemed good to us, having come to one accord,
e-kle-xaMEnois [1586] ANdras PEMpsai pros huMAS sun tois a-ga-peTOIS [27] heMON BarNAba kai PAUlo,
to choose out men andsend themunto you with our :beloved Barnabas and Paul,
anTHROpois pa-ra-de-doKOsi [3860] tas psuCHAS auTON
26men that have hazarded their :lives
huPER tou oNOma-tos tou KuRIou heMON IeSOU ChrisTOU.
for the name of our :Lord Jesus Christ.
b. 15:27 JUDAS AND SILAS ALSO AMONG THESE DELEGATES
a-peSTALka-men [649] oun IOUdan kai SIlan, kai auTOUS
We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also
diA LOgou a-pagGELlon-tas [518] ta auTA.
shall tell you the same thingsby word of mouth.
c. 15:28-29a HOLY SPIRIT AND CHURCH AGREE ON FOUR POINTS FOR GENTILES
Edo-xen [1380] gar to PNEUma-ti to HaGIo, kai heMIN,
For it seemed good to the Holy :Spirit, and to us,
meDEN PLEon e-piTIthes-thai [2007] huMIN BAros [922] plen TOUton ton aPAnag-kes [1876]:
to lay upon you no greater burden than these :necessary things:
aPEches-thai [567] ei-do-loTHUton [1494] kai HAIma-tos [129],
29ato abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood,
kai pnikTON[4156], kai porNEIas [4702]; ex hon di-a-teROUNtes [1301] he-auTOUS, eu PRAxe-te [4238].
and from thingsstrangled, and from fornication; from which if you keep yourselves, you shall do well.
d. 15:29b Fare well. ERros-the [4517].
C. 15:30-35 FOLLOW THROUGH: RESULTS SHARED
1. 15:30-33 ANTIOCH JOYFULLY RECEIVED THIS REPORT
a. 15:30 THE EPISTLE READ AT CHURCH OF ANTIOCH
Hoi men oun a-po-luTHENtes [630], kaTELthon [2064] eis An-tiOchei-an;
They therefore whendismissed, came down to Antioch;
kai su-na-gaGONtes [4863] to PLEthos, ePEdokan [1929] ten e-pi-stoLEN [1992].
and having gathered the multitude, delivered the epistle.
b. 15:31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation.
a-nagNONtes [314]de, eCHAresan [5463]ePI tepa-raKLEsei [3874].
c. 15:32 JUDAS AND SILAS GIVE ADDITIONAL MINISTRY
IOUdas te kai SIlas, kai auTOI proPHEtai ONtes,
And Judas and Silas, being themselves also prophets,
diA LOgou polLOU pa-reKAle-san [3870] tous a-delPHOUS kai e-peSTEri-xan [1991].
exhorted and confirmed the brethren with many words.
d. 15:33 ANTIOCH DISMISSES DELEGATES BACK TO JERUSALEM
poiEsan-tes [4160] de CHROnon,
And after they had spent sometime there,
a-peLUthe-san [630] met' eiREnes aPO ton a-delPHON pros tous a-poSTEIlan-tas [652] auTOUS.
they were dismissed in peace from the brethren unto those that had sent them forth.
(e. 15:34 Omitted by ASV 1901, and Bible Numerics)
2. 15:35 CONTINUED MINISTRY OF PAUL AND BARNABAS
PAUlos de kai BarNAbas diEtri-bon [1304] en An-ti-oCHEIa,
But Paul and Barnabas tarried in Antioch,
diDAskon-tes [1321] kai eu-ag-ge-liZOme-noi [2097], meTA kai heTEron polLON, ton LOgon tou KuRIou.
teaching and preaching the gospel of the word of the Lord, with many others also.
NOTE: Acts 15, in my estimation, is one of the key chapters of the NT. In God's Visitation to North Battleford, Saskatchewan in February 1948, the “Presbytery Concept” was the first of several “Restoration Truths” that He restored to the church at that time. However, it was only “one” aspect of this truth that He emphasized then: namely, the laying on of hands and prophecy according to 1 Timothy 1:18 and 4:14, whereby an individual is then equipped to “war a good warfare”!
But the NT Presbytery had far moreto offer than this aspect only. The chapter before us here, shows that the Presbytery of Jerusalem, composed of apostles and elders, was able to solve a most difficult controversy - namely - do Gentile converts have to become Jews to be fully acceptable to God? The answer? according to this chapter, is a resounding No! Now, non-Jewish nations - Gentiles - do notneed to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be acceptable to God! What a relief and blessing. No wonder Gentiles of that dayrejoiced!
Acts 13:1-3 shows another aspect of the function of Presbytery - namely the ordaining and sending forth of missionaries. In Acts 6, the apostles used it for the ordaining of the first 7 deacons.
In the book of Ruth of the OT, the Eldership or Presbytery of Bethlehem solved the problem for Boaz in inheriting the land of Elimelech - and marrying Ruth.
See what other functions of Presbytery or Eldership you can discover. J.A.W.
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