Defending Doctrine: The First Church Council

Main Idea

We are all defenders of truth.

It’s probably no shock that throughout church history, the core doctrines of our faith have been attacked. And, when attacks come, the church responds. From 325 to 787, seven Ecumenical Councils were convened to review, discuss, and guard against heretical teachings working their way into the church. From these gatherings, creeds and statements were developed to communicate orthodox Christian doctrine clearly. Here are a few examples.

Council of Nicaea

Convened in 325 under the leadership of Constantine to discuss doctrine taught by a man named Arius, who was teaching that Jesus was created… that he was God's first creation and through whom everything was made, as Paul says in Colossians. This would make Jesus a created being who is lesser than The Father because, in his own words, “there was a time when the Son was not.” This, of course, has numerous theological errors, so to protect Jesus’ eternal nature and equality with the Father, they developed the Nicene Creed, which states:

The Lexham Bible Dictionary The Creed of 325

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God], Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made [both in heaven and on earth];

Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man;

He suffered, and the third day He rose again, ascended into heaven; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

And in the Holy Ghost.

[But those who say: “There was a time when he was not”; and “He was not before he was made”; and “He was made out of nothing,” or “He is of another substance” or “essence,” or “The Son of God is created,” or “changeable,” or “alterable”—they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.]

Council of Chalcedon

The fourth Council convened in 451 as almost a part-two from the previous council of Ephesus to clean up a doctrinal mess about Jesus’ nature, or more precisely, His two natures. Jesus was human and God, so He had a divine and human nature.

A man named Eutyches tried to combine these two natures, saying that Jesus’ human nature was “like a drop of wine in the sea...” absorbed his divine nature and therefore only had one nature. Jesus was effectively a fascinating hybrid of divinity and humanity.

This teaching was condemned, and the Chalcedonian Creed was developed to clarify and defend the two distinct natures of Jesus, what we would call the Hypostatic Union: that Jesus is 100% God and 100% man.

Following, then, the holy Fathers, we all unanimously teach that our Lord Jesus Christ is to us One and the same Son, the Self-same Perfect in Godhead, the Self-same Perfect in Manhood; truly God and truly Man; the Self-same of a rational soul and body; co-essential with the Father according to the Godhead, the Self-same co-essential with us according to the Manhood; like us in all things, sin apart; before the ages begotten of the Father as to the Godhead, but in the last days, the Self-same, for us and for our salvation (born) of Mary the Virgin Theotokos as to the Manhood; One and the Same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten; acknowledged in Two Natures unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the difference of the Natures being in no way removed because of the Union, but rather the properties of each Nature being preserved, and (both) concurring into One Person and One Hypostasis; not as though He were parted or divided into Two Persons, but One and the Self-same Son and Only-begotten God, Word, Lord, Jesus Christ; even as from the beginning the prophets have taught concerning Him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself hath taught us, and as the Symbol of the Fathers hath handed down to us.

While these seven church councils launched from Nicaea in 325, technically, it was not the first council that met. The very first meeting of church leaders to discuss false teaching happened in approximately 49 AD in Acts chapter 15.

Passage

Acts 15:1-21

Acts 15:1–21 ESV

1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” 12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’ 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

Outline

I - The Judaizers bring doctrinal error

II - Paul and Barnabas defend salvation in Christ alone

III - Peter defends salvation in Christ alone

IV - James defends salvation in Christ alone

I - The Judaizers bring doctrinal error

Who they are

The Judaizers are professing Jewish converts to Christianity, believing that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah. In the narrative, we have two groups talking:

a. Those who came from Judea

b. Those present at the Jerusalem Council

Both sets of Jewish converts are making the same claims, but before we get into that and start making rash assumptions, we need to step into their context.

a. They were faithful Jews who loved God’s word and statutes.

b. They defended thousands of years of Old Testament tradition.

c. At least at this early stage, I believe they had good intentions.

Salvation through the Law

However, I don’t think they realized how destructive their proposal was. As well-intentioned as they might have been, they were trying to add to the atoning work of Christ.

The first group said, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

The second group, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, said, “It is necessary to circumcise them [Gentiles] and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

In their minds, they were ignoring what God was doing in the present, adhering to the commands of the past, not realizing that God was fulfilling his promise to initiate a new covenant made through the blood of His Son… the one-time sacrifice that atoned for all the sins of his people. They were piling on additional requirements on top of Jesus’ sacrifice like a kid in an ice cream shop scooping all sorts of candies on top of the ice cream. The ice cream just isn’t as good without crumbled Oreos and gummy worms. In effect, that is what they were saying about Jesus’ sacrifice; it just wasn’t good enough. His blood is insufficient to remove our sins and needs supplementation.

These are the Arius’ and the Eutyches’ bringing their misguided doctrine to the church body. Now, the gathered assembly of leaders must wrestle with their claims and clarify their position, deciding what they believe concerning our relationship with the law and the blood of Christ.

We must be careful about what we claim as true, especially those of us who teach. Hopefully, none of us want to misguide other believers intentionally, but good intentions won’t safeguard sound doctrine. Careful study and submission to & guidance by the Spirit will. We need to take the time to understand what we believe and back it up with scripture and historical orthodox teaching. We all carry unnecessary traditions and misconceptions from our past. And, just as police officers specializing in counterfeit currency are trained to spot fake currency by studying the real thing, we need to know sound doctrine to be good defenders of doctrine, not destroyers of doctrine.

Now, with heresy creeping in, many church leaders stand guard to defend the truth.

II - Paul and Barnabas defend salvation in Christ alone

2 Corinthians 13:1 ESV

1 This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Paul made this statement in his second letter to the Corinthians, which came from God’s standard outlined in Deut. 17:6. So, it should be no surprise that he is one of our first defenders.

Outside Jerusalem

In Antioch, they passionately debated this claim with the first set of Judaizers who came from Judea. And once they had their say with the first group, they were sent by the Antiochian church to Jerusalem to the Jerusalem leadership to discuss this further. Evidently, they were pretty persuasive, and how could they not? They have just witnessed God’s hand at work throughout Asia Minor!

Wasting no opportunity, they spread the stories of how the Gentiles had come to the faith in Christ alone, from Antioch to the regions of Phoenicia and Samaria, all the way to Jerusalem in Judea.

Inside Jerusalem

Once Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem and the Council of Apostles and Elders was convened, they spoke twice:

1. First, at the beginning of the meeting during the meet-n-greet, declaring all God had done with them.

2. Then, after Peter finished speaking, they stood up and addressed the group again, telling the stories from their first missionary journey about the signs and wonders God had explicitly done among the Gentiles.

At the core of their defense was how God was moving among the Gentiles. The good news of Jesus was preached, and their message was authenticated through miraculous signs, proving beyond any doubt that God was indeed the one at work. The Gentiles were adopted by the Father to be legitimate sons and daughters.

And guess what they weren’t doing? That’s right. They didn’t have the Old Testament scriptures and were not circumcised. As they were being drawn into the kingdom, God was not mandating circumcision or that they begin studying the Mosaic Law so they could follow it to a T.

The power of your testimony should always be taken seriously. Luke doesn’t tell us that Paul and Barnabas quoted a bunch of scriptures, even though they did exactly that in the synagogues. Mind you, these were Pharisees. That could have been a good strategy. Instead, they gave their testimonies and pointed to what God has done through them in the past as the basis of their argument. If the Lord Jesus has saved you, then you have a story to tell, and that story might be what someone else needs to hear to believe and receive Jesus as Lord.

Two witnesses have raised their voices in the Council meeting. Two more will follow.

III - Peter defends salvation in Christ alone

Cornelius’s house

Once Paul and Barnabas sit, Peter stands to address the assembly. “By my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.” Peter reminds the Council about Cornelius and how the Spirit called him to bring the news of salvation in Jesus to a Gentile home. He likely reminded them about the vision that preceded the event and how God made it clear that the Gentiles were not to be viewed as unclean or unworthy of His grace. He might have even explained how, in that vision, God was retiring the dietary and ceremonial laws of the Old Testament because their purpose was to point to Jesus as the permanent atoning sacrifice and how we are set apart by faith in Him, not by the visible distinctions such as dietary laws, rules about wearing certain types of clothing, and haircuts. It’s not that these things weren’t ordained by God or unimportant. They were. The point is that those things have been fulfilled in Christ, so He is now the focal point. Neither Cornelius nor the people in his house had to reject bacon or get circumcised. God saved them without those things.

A clean heart

God is after the heart. He knows the heart intimately and gave them the Holy Spirit after cleansing their hearts by faith. That’s it. Nada. Zilch. We know from the testimony of other scriptural passages that God:

• Removes a heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh that loves Him.

• Creates a clean heart with His people and renews a right spirit within them.

• Circumcises the heart by the Spirit.

• Writes his law on the hearts of the people.

That is what happened in Cornelius’ house. Physical circumcision isn’t what made them God’s people (Romans 2:25-29). The circumcision of the heart, turning it from stone to flesh, cleansing it through faith in Christ… that made them God’s people. God worked in a specific way in the Old Covenant, but now, there is a New Covenant, and we should recognize the new ways God is establishing it.

We are one people

There is no distinction between us and them. If this is true, the Jewish identity and culture no longer distinguish God’s people. Jesus said he would remove the dividing wall between His two sheep pens, thus making one flock. There is only one people of God, without exception or distinction. There should no longer be an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality in our thinking. Apart from the works of the law, God cleansed them, just like he did us. We are now one chosen race… one holy nation in Christ.

We will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. Peter admits that even as a Jew himself, he is saved through grace in Christ with no other qualifiers. Here again, we see the doctrine of faith in Christ alone through faith alone. That is the only way we have a restored, eternal relationship with the Father.

Remove all unnecessary burdens

Don’t test God by placing an impossible yoke on their necks. The imagery of a yoke is from farming. To plow a field, a farmer had to tie a plow to a yoke placed around an ox's neck. When it was fastened to him, the ox would have to pull against the yoke and pull the plow through the dirt. By using this imagery of an ox laboring under the weight of a large yoke, Peter expressed the burden of obeying all Mosaic laws. No one in Israel’s past could bear its weight and successfully plow the ground. No one could perfectly keep to Moses’ rules and regulations. God has not put that yoke on the Gentiles. He saved them without it, so why would you test God by harnessing His new sons and daughters with a yoke He doesn’t intend to use?

Three witnesses have defended the doctrine of faith in Jesus alone for salvation. Now, our final witness is none other than Jesus’ brother, James.

IV- James defends salvation in Christ alone

James has risen to be a prominent leader in the church by this time, and as the half-brother of Jesus, he carries significant authority. So, when he said, “Listen to me,” they listened.

He gives a quick hat-tip to Peter (whom he calls Simeon), and then he becomes the one to appeal to scripture… specifically the prophets Isaiah and Amos.

Amos & Isaiah

Amos 9:11–12 CSB

11 In that day I will restore the fallen shelter of David: I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, 12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name— this is the declaration of the Lord; he will do this.

Isaiah 45:21 ESV

21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

As Peter and Paul had done in previous chapters, James appeals to God’s promises to David and his household… that God would restore his line and the Messiah would come through him. In Christ, the gaps are filled, the ruins are restored, and David’s house is rebuilt. And our salvation comes through that man, and that man alone.

James’ conclusion

After the testimonies from Paul, Barnabas, Peter, Isaiah, and Amos, James concludes the discussion with these thoughts:

We won’t burden the gentile believers with unnecessary regulations

• They should stay away from things polluted by idols

• They should abstain from:

• strangled animals

• blood

• Sexual immorality

The first few are best practices for Gentile believers as they live in community with Jewish believers (and to safeguard them from backsliding), and the remark about sexual immorality rests squarely on God’s unchanging moral expectations for His people.

Conclusion

And so, with the testimony of two or three witnesses, the matter is established. The Spirit confirmed through Paul, Barnabas, Peter, and James that God is at work to establish a New Covenant. He will not impose the temporary elements of the Mosaic Laws (circumcision, ceremonial or dietary laws) on the Gentiles. They are saved by faith in Jesus as the sacrificial lamb slain in our place and whose blood atones for our sin.

The equation for our salvation is Jesus + nothing.

Peter tells us in his first letter that we are to give a reasonable defense for the faith that we have.

So, like these four men, we are all called to be defenders of truth and sound doctrine. Let’s all rise to that high and holy calling.