Acts 15:12-18

¹² The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. ¹³ When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. ¹⁴ Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. ¹⁵ The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: ¹⁶ “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, ¹⁷ that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—¹⁸ things known from long ago.

Gentile

It has been accepted that the word “Gentiles” refers to non-Hebrew people.  nThe word Gentiles comes from Latin Gentilis which means clan or tribe.

In the early Christianity, the Greek ethnos were translated as Gentiles.

Gentiles which implies non-Israelite has the same meaning with the Greek ethnos. The Latin Gentilis was translated from the Greek word ethnos where the English word ethnic was derived from; the English word ethnic pertains to distinctive clan, tribe, or nation sharing a common language, culture, or religion.

It’s interesting that Christ commanded all disciples to go and make disciples of all nations in Matthew 28:19, ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…

The English word “nations” translated from Greek word “ethne” is also translated Gentiles or non-Israelites or non-Hebrew people.

Did Christ command His disciples to make disciples particular of all nations or ethne or Gentiles and not minding the Israelites?

The Israelites were learning and practicing how to live and act as people of God. The only thing they were lacking was to have faith in Jesus and not on their effort.

Gentiles were not familiar on how to live and act as people of God. Gentiles need discipleship to learn how to put into practice their faith in Jesus. This is where the Old Testament becomes very significant to Christianity because the Old Testament serves as the weighing scale. When we put our faith in Christ into practicality and measure if it acceptable to God or not, we compare our actions to the commands of God.

We live by grace but God’s Laws are boundaries of God’s will to live a godly life. The Scripture is the prescription of the Lord on how to live as God’s people, not to earn eternal life but to check our life if we really are living by God’s grace.

Salvation is by grace but the Scripture, the word of God is the examiner if we whom God has preferred to be saved are really saved by grace.

1.   Preferred

¹² The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. ¹³ When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. ¹⁴ Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.

King Herod had James the brother of John, put to death with the sword [Acts 12:2].

James who addressed the Jerusalem Council, could possibly be James son of Alphaeus; however, Bible scholars suggest that this James was the son of Mary the woman who gave birth to Jesus and/or half-brother of Jesus. James was considered by theologians as the chairman of the Jerusalem Council.

The apostles and elders listened to James when he mentioned that what Paul and Barnabas reported had similarity to what Peter experienced. Interestingly, New Testament books provide great descriptions to the Gentiles’ conversion while Jewish people were portrayed as enemies of the gospel.

True to His command to go and make disciples of all nations or of all Gentiles, the Spirit of Christ led the disciples to the evangelization of Gentiles. God has inclusively preferred many Gentiles to be saved to bear His name.

Christ did not ignore Jewish people since the 12 Apostles were Israelites. Paul wrote in Galatians 2:8, ⁸For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles.

Israelites are God’s chosen people; by God’s grace, Gentiles are adopted children. Gentile believers are like wild olive shoots grafted into the olive tree.

Olive Orchard

The farmer prunes the olive branches that he deems are not bearing fruit. He cut branches that he does not like and grafts olive shoots that he choose.

Olive trees in an Olive Orchard have huge trunks but they don’t grow tall because the farmer trims or prunes them and grafts choice shoots around the trunk. As the farmer expects those grafted olive shoots to bear fruit in the right time, God who grafted us into Christ Jesus expects us to bear fruit.

If the grafted shoot does not bear fruit, the farmer would remove them and change them with new olive shoot, twig or scion. Christ expects us to bear fruit; anytime God will prune us to bear much fruit.

James reminded the Jerusalem Council that Gentiles coming to the Lord have been prophesied long time ago.

2.  Prophesied

¹⁵ The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: ¹⁶ “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, ¹⁷ that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—¹⁸ things known from long ago.

James explained that long time ago, it was prophesied that humans may seek God.

The Jerusalem Council has come into conclusion that what happened to the ministry of Paul and Barnabas where Gentiles became believers–that happened also to Peter’s ministry were God’s will. It is by no mistake that there are Gentiles preferred by the Lord to be saved.

Sometimes we are impatient that many churchgoers are not growing spiritually.

In 2 Peter 3:9, ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Not all people will be saved, although, God does not desire anyone to perish. Some people are so mean to others but we should not stop testifying to them. We keep on obeying the Lord’s instruction because it’s His design for joyful life.

Trust and Obey

Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

But we never can prove the delights of His love until all on the altar we lay–For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows, are for them who will trust and obey.

We love its music, memorize its lyrics but to its actualization–a different story. Have you ever proven in your life to be happy when you trust and obey Jesus?

Our rebellious human nature keeps us from continuous realization of the continuing happiness we could only found in Jesus.

Keep asking God to help you consistently asking to trust and obey Him.

><((‘> … ><(((‘> tmec\2021 <‘)))>< … <‘))><

 

If Jesus came to exemplify a satisfying kind of life in which He obeyed to His Father even to His death on the cross, when He instructed us to go and make disciples, it was actually a roadmap of satisfying life here on earth that would continue to life in eternity.

You will only discover and experience that reality when the Spirit of Christ is dwelling or in control of your life.