'The Disciples Were Called Christians'

Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and 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 Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. with...: Or, in the Church And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. - Acts 11:19-30

    Acts 11 is a turning-point in the history of the early church. The church at Antioch, established under the ministry of Barnabas (11:22-24), was the first gospel church to be established among the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas worked together in Antioch for about a year. During that time the church grew enormously. The church at Jerusalem was no longer the centre of evangelism. When that church was on the decline, when the time had come for the gospel to be carried to the Gentile world, God raised up this church at Antioch. It took up the banner of gospel truth and held it high for five hundred years until the entire city was destroyed by an earthquake in 526. It was this church which sent out the first missionaries (Paul and Barnabas-Acts 13) to proclaim the gospel to the world. Before they were done, these men carried the gospel to the entire civilized world. The events at Antioch recorded in these verses and the lessons here taught and illustrated by the Spirit of God may be summarized by four statements.

    1. By the arrangement of his wise and good providence God graciously caused his elect to hear the gospel at the time he had appointed when he would save them

    God has a purpose in everything he does, and his purpose is always good. The Lord God sent persecution to his church at Jerusalem so that he might be gracious to his chosen among the Gentiles (cf. Acts 8:1-4; 11:19; Rom. 8:28). At the time of love God will cause his chosen ones to hear the gospel and believe (Ezek. 16:8; Ps. 65:4). These believers who were greatly afflicted by God's hand of providence were yet obedient to him. Though they were persecuted, they went everywhere 'preaching the Lord Jesus' (11:20). In the midst of trouble and sorrow they were faithful witnesses. Though they could not have understood the purpose of God in their trials, they did understand their responsibility and faithfully performed it. 'And the hand of the Lord was with them' (11:21). God never forsakes his own (Isa. 41:10-14). Our heavenly Father does not always tell us what he is doing, but he assures us that all he is doing is for our good, the good of his elect in general and his own glory. As the result of the persecution at Jerusalem the gospel was preached at Antioch, 'And a great number believed and turned unto the Lord.'

    2. The Lord gave his church at Antioch pastors according to his heart, who fed the saints with knowledge and understanding (11:22-26; Jer. 3:15)

    First, he sent Barnabas to them, 'a good man,' generous, charitable and kind, 'full of the Holy Ghost' (Eph. 4:18-21) and 'full ... of faith'. He believed God and had proved himself faithful to God. Barnabas served the church of God wherever he was needed, with everything he had, long before he was sent out to preach the gospel. He was not a novice, but a man of proven faithfulness. Let no man be sent into the work of the gospel ministry who has not been proved to be a faithful man (1 Tim. 3:1-6; Titus 1:6-9). This faithful pastor rejoiced in the grace of God upon his people and 'exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord' (11:23). Then Barnabas went to Tarsus and persuaded Paul to come to Antioch to help him in the work. As stated before, they worked together as a pastoral team at Antioch for a full year (11:25-26).

    3. Through the faithful ministry of these two gospel preachers God saved many, as it pleased him (11:21,24,26)

    This is God’s method of grace(Rom.10: 17; 1Cor.1:2l;James 1:18; 1Peter 1:23-25). God has a people in this world whom he will save: his elect, his redeemed! At the time appointed, God will cause his chosen ones to hear the gospel. And he will give them life, faith and repentance through the preaching of the gospel, by the power of his Holy Spirit.

    4. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (11:26-30)

    Until this time the Christian religion had been looked upon as a sect of Judaism, like the Pharisees and Sadducees. The early believers were Jews. They were circumcised. They lived among the Jews. They kept the Mosaic feasts, holy days, rituals and ceremonies and worshipped in the temple and in synagogues. The trappings of legal worship were not dropped, or destroyed all at once (Heb. 8:13). But something new, something totally different happened at Antioch. These converts were not Jews, but Gentiles. They had no back ground in Judaism and no relationship to the Mosaic law. They had lived as pagans, idolaters, who engaged in the most godless, vile lifestyles imaginable. Among these people God was pleased to raise up a church. Vile Gentiles had been given repentance and faith in Christ. They became followers of Christ. And their pagan neighbours invented a new name to describe this strange group of people. They called them 'Christians'.

    What does that name mean? A Christian is a person, like Christ, anointed by God (1 John 2:27). As an Augustinian is one who follows Augustine, so a Christian is one who follows Christ. As a baker is one whose business is baking, so a Christian is one whose business is Christ. A Christian is a voluntary slave to Christ in his household.

    There was something about the believers at Antioch which caused their neighbours and relatives to look upon them with scorn, and say with contempt and derision, 'They are Christians!' What was it? What made these people so unique, so different? It was not their dress, their speech, their diet, or even their social life that made them peculiar. If we carefully study the usage of this word 'Christian' here and the other two places where it is found in the Bible (Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4: 16), six things will become obvious:

    1. A Christian is a person who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ as he is revealed in the gospel (11 20-21; Acts 26:28). Believing the gospel message, we trust ourselves to the hands of Christ. We believe the gospel; but we trust Christ alone for salvation, eternal life and everlasting acceptance with God.

    2. A Christian bows to Christ as his Lord and King (11:21). Faith surrenders to the claims of Christ as Lord and willingly resigns to his rule (Luke 14:25-33).

    3. A Christian is one who with purpose of heart cleaves unto the Lord (11:23). Believers persevere in faith. They cling to Christ, saying, 'Lord, to whom shall we go' (John 6:68). We have no other hope.

    4. A Christian is one who assembles with God’s people in the name of Christ (11:26). Sheep are social creatures. Goats roam alone! Believers identify themselves with Christ and one another in baptism (Rom. 6:4-6), gather together in worship (Heb. 10:25), break bread in sweet communion (1 Car. 11:24-28) and are united in the cause of Christ.

    5. A Christian is one who walks in love with his brethren (11:27-30). God's people love each other. 'He that loveth not knoweth not God' (1 John 4:8; 5:1).

    6. A Christian is one who patiently bears suffering and reproach for the glory of God (1 Peter 4: 16). They follow the example of Christ even in the things they suffer (1 Peter 2:21).