Cultivating Unity in the Church | Acts 11:1-30
Luke recounts three practices that cultivated unity in the early church: (1) celebrating God’s saving work; (2) encouraging devotion to the Lord; and (3) responding to one another’s needs. This sermon is part 4 of “Spreading the Faith,” Bryan Craddock’s verse-by-verse sermon series on Acts 8-20.
Good stories often have villains that send a shiver down your spine. We find a great example in the science fiction world of Star Trek. The writers imagined a group known as the Borg who conquer other races by implanting circuitry in them that forces them to function as a collective with a hive mind and no individuality. They chillingly introduce themselves by saying, “We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.”
So, I could not help but cringe the first time that I heard some church leaders use the same term--assimilation. They were talking about integrating newcomers into a local church congregation, but they made it sound mechanical, like an assembly line. Their ideas are not necessarily bad, but their approach can end up feeling impersonal, superficial, and sometimes even controlling. They fail to recognize that the biggest hindrances to unity in the church are often found in the hearts of those who are already part of it.
A unity that welcomes others into the church is an essential part of Jesus’ plan. We cannot fulfill our mission without it. John 17:20-21 tells us that Jesus prayed for it on the night before he was crucified. He said,
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Acts 8-20 tells us how the Christian faith began to spread around the world, and I have argued that Luke’s purpose is to equip us to carry on that work. So, it is not surprising that he talks a lot about unity. In chapter 10, we read of Peter’s journey toward accepting non-Jews as believers saved through the gospel of peace. But the rest of the church still needed to embrace that mindset.
So, in chapter 11 Luke recounts three practices that cultivated unity in the early church, practices that we must continue today. As we work through them, I encourage you to make them part of your life.
Celebrating God’s Saving Work
Astronomers tell us that the sun is four hundred times bigger than the moon. But since the moon is so much closer to us, it can totally eclipse the sun, leaving us in a shadow of darkness. If you do not know what is happening in an eclipse, you might panic. But it’s all a matter of perspective. The shadow quickly moves on, and you see the full light of the sun again.
Something similar can happen with God’s saving work. It is exponentially bigger and more important than anything else in a believer’s life. But if you hold tightly to some other concern, it can begin to eclipse the light of the gospel in your outlook, and it doesn’t move on like a solar eclipse. You stay in the shadow because you carry it with you. So, to maintain the right perspective, we must devote ourselves to the practice of celebrating God’s saving work.
We see this kind of spiritual eclipse at work in Acts 11:1-3. Luke says,
Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them."
One Bible translation simply refers to this group as Jewish believers. But at that point, most of the Christians in Jerusalem were probably Jewish. Luke identifies them as “those of the circumcision,” because they will end up becoming a divisive party in the church. They are not there yet, but here their concern for obeying the Mosaic law obscures the worldwide focus of Jesus’ gospel. Rather than celebrating the salvation of Gentiles, they resort to petty judgmental criticism.
Peter responds by explaining how the Lord led him to cross that cultural divide between Jew and Gentile. Verses 4-17 tell us,
But Peter began and explained it to them in order: "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But I said, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' But the voice answered a second time from heaven, 'What God has made clean, do not call common.' This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.' As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?"
Peter’s explanation here adds a few details that are not mentioned in the initial account in Acts 10. He notes that there were beasts of prey in his vision. There he tells the Lord that he had never eaten anything unclean. Here he says that nothing common or unclean has ever entered his mouth. Since the vision happened three times, he probably made both statements. He reveals here that when the men from Cornelius appeared, the Spirit told him to make no distinction. He adds that the angel told Cornelius that he and his household would be saved by Peter’s message. He also notes that he was reminded of what Jesus said about being baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Did his critics see the light and change their outlook? Not entirely. We will see in Acts 15 that their concern for the Law eclipses the light of the gospel in a different way. But for the moment, they respond well. Acts 11:18 tells us,
When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life."
The gospel shows us that we all deserve to be condemned for our sins. But in his amazing grace, God grants repentance. He opens blind eyes to see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6). As we come to believe in him, our sins are forgiven through his sacrificial death, and we receive the hope of eternal life by his resurrection power.
So, we should rejoice and glorify God not just for our own salvation but whenever anyone turns to him. If we don’t, it suggests that we think that we either don’t care or that we consider ourselves more deserving than those other people are. The error of that mindset is fully exposed by the light of the gospel. But if we persist in it, it will push people away and divide the church.
Paul reflects the right mindset during his imprisonment. In Philippians 1:15-18, he says,
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
His joy could have easily been eclipsed by feelings of envy and rivalry. If he had allowed that to happen, it could have spread bitterness throughout the church. But he refused to live in that shadow. He kept celebrating God’s saving work during his suffering and set a powerful example for us to follow.
So, how are we doing? Are we living in the shadow of some other concern? It could be almost anything. Are we more concerned about money, pleasure, reputation, popularity, or politics? It could be as simple as being so busy that you never think about spiritual things. To spread the gospel and cultivate true unity in the church, we must keep celebrating God’s saving work. That focus leads directly to a second practice.
Encouraging Devotion to the Lord
Our solar system stretches across 178 billion miles. It contains eight very different planets, if you do not count Pluto. Some are hot while others are cold. Some are solid while others are gaseous. But despite those differences, they all move in the same plane and in the same direction. They are unified in orbiting the sun.
There are also hundreds of moons in our solar system. They make their way around the sun too, but they do so by orbiting one of the planets. Because of that, they spiral along through space, following a circuitous route and moving in different planes than the planets do.
To cultivate unity in the church, we need to be like a planet not a moon. We must encourage devotion to the Lord, rather than orbiting a particular leader, group, or movement. Paul addresses this problem in 1 Corinthians 1:10-12. He says,
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ."
This fractiousness is part of fallen human nature. We are always looking for some way to rise above other people. So, when we can’t brag about ourselves, we boast about a leader, a group, a team, or a party and put down those who are in a different camp. Taking sides this way might be okay with sports, but even there it can go too far. In the church, it undermines both our mission and our spiritual growth.
In the early church, this tendency could have easily divided Jews and Gentiles. The first large group of Gentile believers forms in a city called Antioch. Acts 11:19-21 says,
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
Antioch is over 300 miles north of Jerusalem. Today it falls just inside the southeast corner of Turkey. Prior to 64 BC, it had been the capital of the Seleucid Empire. In 167 BC, one of the Seleucid kings, Antiochus IV, responded to an uprising by outlawing Jewish rituals, extinguishing the lamp in the Temple, setting up an idol of Zeus, and sacrificing a pig on the altar. So, even though many Jews are living in Antioch by the time that the gospel spreads there, the city still has some very negative associations
With that background, Jewish Christians in Jerusalem might have been tempted to ignore what God was doing in Antioch. But instead, they send one of their best people, Barnabas, whose name means “son of encouragement.” Verses 22-24 say,
The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
Barnabas shows us how to celebrate God’s saving work. He sees the evidence of God’s grace and is glad. But he does not stop there. The Hellenists had turned to the Lord, and he exhorts them to remain faithful to him or the King James Version translates it as cleaving unto the Lord. The purpose of spiritual life is to know and walk with him. He is the sun around which we orbit. So, as more Gentiles come to believe, they are not just added to the church. They are added to the Lord.
Devotion to the Lord is the guiding purpose at the heart of spiritual life. It is the fundamental response to the gospel, the fruit of repentance and faith. But to grow in our devotion, we must change the way that we think. We must learn to understand and follow God’s word. So, verses 25-26 tell us,
So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
The name Christian may have first been coined as a put down. If so, it shows that outsiders understood what these people were all about. They were not followers of Peter or Barnabas or Saul. They were devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some people today avoid the term, Christian. They think that it has become too watered down, because many who call themselves Christians are not personally devoted to the Lord. They identify themselves as Christian out of devotion to their family or their cultural heritage. They refer to Jesus as Lord but do not really follow him. Matthew 7:21 tells us that Jesus himself warned,
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Are you devoted to the Lord? Do you seek to do his will? If not, then you may not grasp the gospel, and there is no point in calling yourself a Christian until you do.
If you are devoted to the Lord, is it channeled through some leader or group? God uses gifted people to help us grow, and we will return to that thought in a moment. But relating to someone as if they are on a higher spiritual plane will only hinder your growth and divide you from those who exalt some other leader or group. It may also repel new believers who perceive such devotion as cultish. So, let’s keep encouraging one another to be fully devoted to the Lord. That leads us to a third practice.
Responding to One Another’s Needs
Engineers keep trying to copy the human body. People talk about the progress of robotics and artificial intelligence. But God’s design is still too complex for anyone to fully understand. Ironically, the more we rely on technology that mimics life, the less human we become as we isolate ourselves from other people.
The Lord has designed the church to function as a body in which the members are intimately connected and mutually dependent. He wants us to cultivate unity by responding to one another’s needs. Paul uses this body analogy in Romans 12:3-8. He says,
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
For the church body to function properly, every member must use their gifts, abilities, and resources to meet the needs of the other members. Some people spend a lot of time trying to figure out what their gifts are and what role they should fill. But if you focus instead on simply responding to the needs that you see, others will begin to recognize how God works through you. The role you need to play may not have a title or a job description, but that does not minimize its importance.
Acts 11 has already given us two examples of gifted members meeting needs. The Lord worked through Barnabas to bring the encouragement and affirmation that the Christians in Antioch needed. Then Barnabas enlisted Saul to provide the solid biblical teaching that they needed to grow in their faith and devotion.
In verses 27-28, the tables are turned. The church of Antioch learns of a serious need that will come upon the Christians back in Judea. Luke tells us,
Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).
We are not told much about Agabus, but the Lord works through him to deliver this prophecy. The note about Claudius seems to have been added by Luke. Claudius was the Roman emperor from AD 41 to 54, and two ancient historians, Josephus and Suetonius, spoke of a long drought that caused famine between AD 44 and 48. So, the Christians in Antioch respond. In verses 29-30, Luke says,
So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
The disciples in Antioch give according to their ability. Perhaps the drought did not hit their area as hard. Some of them may have been wealthy. Either way, their generous response strengthens the unity of the church. The Jewish believers of Judea come to see how much they need the Gentile believers of Antioch.
It is also worth noting that they send their funds to the elders. Earlier in Acts donations were given to the apostles (4:37). The only elders mentioned prior to this were those on the Jewish council, but the elders here are apparently leading the church. So, other men besides the apostles are using their gifts and taking on the responsibility for overseeing the churches in Judea.
Responding to one another’s needs has two powerful effects. First, we grow more connected so that our unity is deepened. Then, secondly, those outside the church witness that bond. John 13:35 tells us that Jesus said,
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
How do you respond to the needs of other believers? Are you helping others according to your ability? Are you using your gifts? Are you generous? Or are you just waiting to be served? If you are giving and serving, are you willing to accept help? We must learn to care for one another as the body of Christ.
__________
To spread the faith, the church must be unified. To cultivate unity, we must commit ourselves to these three practices: celebrating God’s saving work, encouraging devotion to the Lord, and responding to one another’s needs.
Don’t you find this vision of a unified church compelling? Even the best congregations fall short in some ways. Others stray far from it and end up pushing people away from the faith. But those situations should not keep us from pursuing the biblical vision of a unified church. It all starts with turning to the Lord. If you have never done so, repent and believe in the saving work of Jesus. Make him the center of your universe. If you want to learn more about his plan for the church, you could read his prayer in John 17.
If you are walking with the Lord, do you need to grow in one of these practices? I encourage you to pick one and focus on it this week. Review some of the verses we’ve considered and identify some practical steps that you could take in response. It may be as simple as reaching out to someone. Hear their story. Celebrate what God has done. Encourage their devotion and seek to meet needs.
May the grace of Christ flow through every part of his body!
Reflect
What examples have you seen of others in the church following these practices?
Which of these practices are strongest in your life? Why?
In which of these practices do you most need to grow? How could you do so?