The Antioch Church

For a number of years God has been showing me His desire for a different type of church to the one most of us have become accustomed to. If we were to study the book of Acts, we would find two church models that have particular significance for us today. The Jerusalem church and the Antioch church. The church in Jerusalem was a great and successful church and much can be learned from it, yet it missed the mark. Clearly it was God's original church of choice, yet by Acts chapter 11 it had ceased to be the front line church of its generation, and was no longer central to the main theme of the book of Acts. It was replaced in the central purposes of God by the vibrant church in Antioch, which did not even exist in the first ten chapters of Acts. This process has a real application for all Christians today. The marginalization of Jerusalem's role was not random or accidental, it was for a specific reason, that reason is equally applicable to us as we work with God in building His church. 

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”. (Acts 1:8) The mission given by Jesus to the church, is to reach out to a dying world with the good news of salvation. The Jerusalem church did that with real excellence and success locally. Unfortunately they had no desire to reach the world. Instead, they were content to care for Jerusalem and for the Jews only. It was only after the church in Jerusalem came under persecution that the gospel was taken to Judea and Samaria and to non Jews. Even then, it was unknown believers who carried the gospel, not the apostles. The first apostles had walked with Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, they had been equipped by Him, they had personally witnessed many of His post resurrection appearances, they had heard His command at first hand and they had been empowered by The Holy Spirit, yet they were still unwilling to be totally obedient to His commission. No wonder God had to raise up another man (Paul) and another church (Antioch) to take Jerusalem's place!



Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. (Acts 8:1,4)  It is a sobering thought that God will allow persecution to galvanise the church into action, should the church be unwilling to be obedient to His word. We can clearly see in Acts that it was only through persecution that the Jerusalem church began to fulfil Christ's mission by taking the gospel into Judea and Samaria. It is truly ironic, when we consider the instrument God used to bring about this persecution, Saul of Tarsus. Saul who was later renamed Paul was the very man God raised up to commence the final stage of the great commission. It is also interesting to note that it was not from Jerusalem that Paul set out on each of his missionary journeys to the rest of the world; it was from the church at Antioch!

The book of Acts teaches, as its central theme, that the church belongs to Jesus, not to us. We have to do what He wants, or He may have to bypass us to get the job done, calling other people and other churches, who will obey Him. God has always replaced those who are unwilling to follow His commands to the latter. For example; King Saul was replaced by King David, Moses was replaced by Joshua. Indeed, the entire nation of Israel, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, were replaced by the next generation. I am not implying any criticism of those who miss Gods mark, lest God judge me first! Remember that whilst Moses was not allowed to enter Canaan during his lifetime, He met with Jesus on the mountain in Canaan (Mathew 17:3). Likewise, the twelve apostles have been allotted a very special place of honour in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:14).

Christ would not allow anything, nor anyone, to prevent Him fulfilling His destiny on the cross (thankyou Lord) unpalatable though His destiny most certainly was. Each of us, who bear His name, has our own unique destiny under God. We each have our own cross to bear. This destiny carries with it enormous responsibility, but also tremendous blessing. If, for whatever reason, God choses to replace us, those blessings will be transferred to those He would call to replace us. God will still love us and will still continue to bless us, but those blessings will take on a different form. I pray to God 'that this generation and particularly the Australian church will not be replaced in Gods plans and purposes, missing out on His blessings because of our failure to heed His word'.

‘And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen’. (Mathew 28:18-20)

The key word here is GO, but the Jerusalem church did not go. As a result their influence waned. Antioch was raised up to replace them, or at least replace their influence on world history. This was not a capricious act of God. The mission of Christ, for the church is that we fulfill His great commission in its entirety. Through the church that was established in Antioch, God presents us with a clear promise. This promise is quite simple: 'God willingly promotes individuals, even entire communities to be significant in, and beyond their generation, providing those people are obedient to His call and His word'.

The introduction of Christianity to Antioch was an important step in the forward march of the church. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). Doubtless it was a term of reproach at that time. Since those days the title Christian has been revered and carried proudly by all who truly love The Lord Jesus Christ. Today many people revile Christians, yet many of these people, whilst they may not realize it, have important roles to play in the kingdom of God. Unless we, the church, reach out, baptize and teach these people, they are unlikely to fulfill their calling. Instead of the rich inheritance that awaits them in Christ, they are destined for a Christ-less eternity! If we don’t reach them, who will? If we don't go, who will God send in our place?

W. Joe Ingram

Return To Top Of Page