Strengthening the church in faith

Strengthening the church in faith…

, “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

My pastor friend in the ministry 39 years old, and wasn’t likely to live out the week. He asked me for prayer and as the morning dragged on, one of his parishioners came in to room and praying for my recovery. In was an older congregant, who seemed to have the true faith that God could do the impossible. This member was also faithful Timothy of this pastor’s ministry. “He said pastor, don’t forget , “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.”

My friend was taken aback by the power of that Psalm, only if God would apply that to his situation. He was suffering from leukemia and had just finished his last round of chemo. It looked like he was going to be okay. The oncologist was pleased with his latest test results. Then something crazy happened that made it all seemed reversed–his appendix burst. His white blood cells were depleted from the chemo–he couldn’t fight infection. His platelet count was low–his blood wouldn’t clot. In other words, surgery was not an option. And without it, the poison flooding his body would be fatal. The doctors inserted a tube into his abdomen, hoping to drain off some of the toxins. But this would only buy him hours, not the weeks he needed to build up the strength to survive an appendectomy. Many of his visitors murmured their prayers, said goodbye. Except his Timothy; he just kept reminding him of

, “But you O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head.” The nurses doped him up to keep me comfortable. I lost track of time. Soon, the sun had set again. His visitors left. His wife went home to look after the kids.

He had always believed that fear is not an emotion–it’s a spirit; during this time that evil spirit spoke even louder to him. But through the days of great discouragement, he countered that evil voice with the message from his Timothy, , “But you O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head.”

He said aloud. I repeated it over and over until he was able to sleep. He woke up the next day and saw the ceiling tiles; the day after that as well. His doctors and nurses knew of only one case where anyone with cancer like his survived a burst appendix for so long. Somehow, though, he made it several weeks. His platelet levels normalized. The surgeon prepared him for the operation. “I’m going to do an exploratory procedure,” he said. “We need to see what damage has been done.” Through the fog of anesthesia, I remembered those words; ‘You are a shield around me and my glory and the lifter of my head.’ When his eyes opened to the hospital ceiling tiles, his wife was squeezing his hand. The surgeon came in, holding some five-by-seven-inch glossy photos taken from inside my lower abdomen. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” the surgeon said. He held up one of the photos. It just looked like blobs to me. “Here is your appendix, well, what’s left of it,” he said, pointing with his pen. “But surrounding it...is a kind of tent, composed of adhesions.” He made a circle. “It’s the strongest kind of scar tissue there is. We normally see it only after someone has surgery.” “What does that mean?” I asked. The surgeon fumbled for the right words. “All the toxins were contained within this structure. These adhesions, they acted almost like...tiny shields, tightly packed together.”

My friend was overcome with emotion, the doctor attributed it to the successful surgery; but my friend attributed to his Lord.

My friend thought to himself all the years that he had invested in this Timothy in his ministry, now paid off in strengthening him in the time when he needed it the most. Simply by sharing the word of God with him as he had shared with him so many times.

, “But you O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head.”

This is the second part of a bridge passage that goes from Acts15:36–16:5 showing how Paul’s second missionary journey began with a visit to strengthen existing congregations in Syria and Cilicia (15:41), and then Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium in . Both of these sections last week and this week’s underscore the purposes and the places of continuing pastoral oversight in Luke’s understanding of evangelism.

There are two features of this particular narrative are of special importance.

First, there is the introduction of Timothy, who figures significantly in subsequent narratives as a member of Paul’s new team as his new spiritual son in the faith. Timothy’s circumcision by Paul is explained in terms of his family situation, because his father was a Greek and Paul’s concern to facilitate the team and the acceptance of the people in which he would minister in a Jewish context (16:1–3). Once more, Luke demonstrates Paul’s desire to keep the way open for the evangelization of Jews.

Second, there is the note about delivering the decisions reached by the Jerusalem Council, thus strengthening the churches (16:4–5). The impression is given that these predominantly Gentile congregations were sufficiently satisfied with the decisions from Paul and his team to move on and minister elsewhere. Luke illustrates again Paul’s concern to further the mission among the Gentiles while keeping the door open for further evangelization among Jews. With a summary verse in 16:5 reminiscent of 9:31, Luke signals the end of one panel of his work and the beginning of another. In this passage we see that Paul is strengthening the church in faith by adding a disciple named Timothy. And Paul is strengthening the church in faith by sharing the decisions reached by the apostles and elders.

Let us pray…

Paul is strengthening the church in faith by adding a disciple named Timothy.

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where congregations had been established on the first missionary journey with Barnabas we see this in . But now he is coming with Silas from the east on this occasion, traveling from Syria to Cilicia (15:41), and then crossing the Taurus range by the Cilician gates, to visit Derbe before Lystra. So the text tells us that, “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there named Timothy…” There Paul met Timothy, who would play such an important role in his subsequent life and ministry Timothy is described as a disciple (mathētēs), meaning a Christian in this context, a student who adheres to and travel with a teacher in a pedagogical relationship; especially in the care and training of a spiritual leader. highlights such a person, “Now there was in Joppa a disiciple named Tabitha, which translated means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.”

Now this disciple, “…Timothy was the son of a Jewish woman who was believer, now this is an important distinction.

Here the text builds a case for Timothy’s spiritual credibility, because a believer, his mother had raised him. The word here is the Greek text is “pistos” which means believer. Well pastor, what is a believer? A believer is something that is faithful, reliable, trustworthy, truthful, and a person who is characterized as someone who has total reliance upon Jesus Christ for their salvation. Can you say this morning without a doubt that you too are a believer? Are you faithful, reliable, trustworthy, truthful, and a person who is characterized as someone who has total reliance upon Jesus Christ for their salvation?

How do we know what Timothy’s upbringing was like? Look at what Paul said later in , “I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Paul here gives us a small hint concerning spiritual heritage in the faith that has always engirdled, encircled, and encompass this young man’s life. And all of this has happen despite what the text tells us next, which is this, “but his father was a Greek.” Timothy’s father was not a believer; he was a Greek, a Hellen, a Gentile, a polytheist, a Greco-Roman, and a non-Jew. Each one of these descriptions carried with them their own negative connotations. But most importantly there are carry with them the understanding of having no relationship with the true and living God. Yet, Timothy, the text tells us enjoyed with a good reputation in the churches of the region. Verse 2 says, “He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lysta and Iconium.” He though was, however, of mixed parentage, having a Jewish mother and a Greek father. His mother, who had the Greek name Eunice, was Jewish and a believer and Timothy was ‘the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer’). But the text tells clearly that his father was not a believer. It simply describes him as a Greek, the form of the sentence implying that he was neither a Jew nor a believer. Maybe this is why Timothy had not been circumcised? Timothy’s father could had possibly objected to his son’s circumcision on the eighth day after birth for he possibly saw no reason to follow this mandate. As the Holy Spirit pressed upon Paul heart to engaged this young man in his missionary effort; he quickly understood what would be the foremost objection to Timothy’s ministry. says this, “Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him…” Paul’s motivation for having Timothy circumcised as an adult is first described in positive terms: he wanted to take him along on the journey, suggesting a practical need in relation to the mission. In negative terms, he circumcised him “… because of the Jews who were in those places, for they knew that his father was a Greek.” (the imperfect tense of the verb hypērchen probably implies that his father was now dead). As an uncircumcised son of a mixed marriage, Timothy would have been regarded by Jews in the region as ‘technically an apostate Jew’.

As a male who’s mother was Jewish and father was Greek in the Jewish faith he was consider a Jew, but not being circumcise who as placed a dim light in that understanding. Here Paul does the right thing considering the circumstances and threads the needle without compromise, capitulation, or concession. Paul would later say, , “For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”

Many argue that Paul was bound to circumcise Timothy if he wanted to have him as a colleague; otherwise ‘he would have supported apostasy and would no longer have been allowed to appear in any synagogue’. Luke’s record at this point has been regarded with skepticism by some commentators. But proves that circumcision was not required of Gentile believers, but Timothy was Jewish and it made sense not to place another stone in the way of his ministry. Knowing full well that circumcision was a connection to his Jewish heritage and not a requirement to become a Christian; in this case circumcision was truly cultural and not Christian. But Pastor what about Titus? Well, what about Titus, there is no contradiction here!

We know from that Paul resisted attempts to have his Greek colleague Titus circumcised.

, “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”

Titus was a Gentile, so some have seen this as Paul issuing a challenge to the Jerusalem leaders. This interpretation is unnecessary, but Titus was certainly a “test case”

Those who seemed influential probably include James, Peter, and John. Paul is not seriously imagining that he has actually been preaching a false gospel, but he would regard his work as in vain if it were to result in a divided church—a Gentile half and a Jewish half. For that had to be one in Christ Jesus our Lord. So here is the agreement: Titus—and so by implication all Gentiles—do not need to be circumcised. This is the same decree given a Jerusalem in Acts that Gentiles need not become Jews before that can become Christians.

Paul, James, Peter, and John all agree on this. There is, however, a group of false brothers who continue to disagree. Paul regards the imposition of circumcision on Gentile Christians as a slavery producing betrayal of the freedom Christ has given. The presence of these “false brothers” within the church in Jerusalem shows that churches will sometimes have unbelievers in their midst who seek to harm the church. So we must always be on the watch, there are always weeds in the wheat.

, [24] “He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, [25] but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. [27] And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ [28] He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ [29] But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. [30] Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

This word weeds is the Greek word, zizanion, and is only used here in the NT. This is probably darnel, a weedy rye grass with poisonous black seeds that resembles wheat in its early growth but is easily distinguished from it at maturity.

Jesus is telling us that any attempt to gather the weeds would only endanger the wheat, because the roots of the weeds would be intertwined with those of the wheat.

Jesus says let both grow together. God allows both believers and unbelievers to live in the world until the Day of Judgment then God will make the final determination; now this does not negate church disciple. This is what Paul is dealing with these false brothers in the church; they are weeds and not wheat.

They are trying to influence and impact the growth, strength, and faithfulness of the church. Paul’s response to the false brothers was of huge importance, because if he had yielded, Gentiles such as the Galatians would not have been brought the true gospel. As an apostle, Paul was in no way inferior to Peter. The setup discussed here was merely a division of labor, with Paul assigned to evangelize the uncircumcised (Gentiles) while Peter was sent to the circumcised (Jews). What Paul wants to establish for the Galatians, however, is that his own apostleship is just as genuine as Peter’s, and therefore the Galatians should not view themselves as inferior to any other group of believers.

If the church is God’s temple as it says in

“in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”

Then Peter, James, and John the pillars of the church in this age. Significantly, these “pillars” had given the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and Paul, signifying that they approved the message of the gospel as preached by Paul as well as his ministry to the Gentiles. Thus they validated Paul’s apostleship by putting him on an equal footing with these other apostles in Jerusalem. This is significant, because it shows that neither Paul nor the Jerusalem apostles had to change their gospel message, but they were fully in agreement, and this “right hand of fellowship” gave clear expression to that agreement.

Paul resisted the circumcision of Titus because it was being urged upon him by certain false believers who had ‘infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves’ (). But there was no such pressure in the case of Timothy. Furthermore, the issue here was the voluntary circumcision of a Jewish believer, to ‘make an honest Jew of him’. If Paul himself became like a Jew to the Jews in order to win Jews (), why should not Timothy also be circumcised to win the circumcised, although as a Christian Jew he was free from the law like Paul himself? Both Luke and Paul give evidence of their flexibility in such matters that should not be dismissed as inconsistent or unhistorical.

From a narrative perspective, this story has three functions. First, it clarifies what was decided at the Jerusalem Council: which is this ‘by opening a door of freedom to Gentile Christians, the Church did not close the door to Jewish Christians; everything appropriate to that tradition could still be practiced, so long as it was understood to have cultural rather than soteriological significance’ {soteriology is the study of how salvation works}. Second, Luke is concerned to show that Paul’s mission to the Gentiles is ‘not in any way an abandonment of his commitment to reach out to those still in Judaism’. Third, Luke prepares for the charge brought against Paul in

, “And they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.” Luke was making it clear in advance that ‘there was no basis for the complaint that Paul was insisting that Jews forsake Moses, in particular that they not circumcise their children’.

The addition to Timothy to the missionary team would bring great benefits for years to come; it was surely worth the sacrifice to a cultural norm to ensure Christian normalcy through salvation by faith alone.

Paul is strengthening the church in faith by sharing the decisions reached by the apostles and elders.

, “As they went on their way through the cities they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders. The letter containing those decisions was addressed only to ‘the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia’ (15:23), but Paul and Silas saw the need to make it more widely known to those in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium. One reason for this must have been the disturbance caused by those who were preaching the necessity of circumcision for Gentile believers in the South Galatian churches.

, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

[ In verse 1 and 2, the Galatians may have thought that requiring circumcision would not make much difference, but Paul knows that if they require obedience to any one part of the Mosaic law for justification, then they are committed to obeying all of it perfectly for their justification (v. 3), something none of them can do (cf. 3:10–11, 21). Therefore he says, if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.]

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

[ In verse 3 and 4, it speaks of being “severed from Christ” and “fallen away from grace.” Paul is not discussing here the question of whether a genuine believer can lose his or her salvation. He is only saying that people, who may once have made a profession of faith, if they now are truly seeking to be justified by the law, must not really have a relationship with Christ and have fallen away from the grace that was offered and available to them.]

For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

[ Here in verse 5, We … wait for the hope of righteousness means that Christians do not attempt to produce perfect righteousness in their lives by their own efforts (as Paul’s opponents were futilely trying to do), for their hope is not in themselves; instead, they wait for God to complete righteousness in them—either when they die and are with the Lord () or at Christ’s return (; cf. ). An alternative explanation is that “the hope of righteousness” refers to the believer’s hope and expectation that God will declare that the believer is in fact going to be judged righteous at the final judgment.]

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

[ In verse 6, Paul is not opposed to circumcision in and of itself but only if it is required for salvation. True faith is a living and active thing and produces love.]

This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

[ Here in verses 7-11, Paul asks that if he was still preaching that people had to be circumcised, then the offense of the cross would be removed because human pride in human effort would return. In other words, there would be no “offense” to humble us by declaring that no work of ours can make us righteous before God.]

I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”

[ Lastly in verse 12-15, Far from the Christian life being enslaving, it is the only way to resist the various slaveries offered by the world. But this does not mean that Christians can do whatever they feel like doing (which itself is just another form of slavery). Rather, serving and loving others is the route to escaping bondage and fulfilling the ultimate content of the law.]

‘Since the decisions explicitly relieved the Gentile Christians from taking the step of circumcision, the mention of them here underlines the fact that Timothy was being treated as a Jew, and that his experience was no precedent for what Gentiles should do.’ So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.” Once again, Luke makes the important point that resolution of doctrinal and practical issues in the churches promoted the work of the gospel and led to rapid growth. , “ And the word of God continued to increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”

, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” The construction hai men oun ekklēsiai (‘the churches then’) clearly links the strengthening and growth of the churches to the ministry described in 16:4. There is a singular form of the same construction in 9:31. Both summary verses signify the progress of the word of God in terms of church growth. When the church of Jesus Christ comes to one accord concerning the gospel and the will of God, the church is strengthen and when the church is strengthened the church grows. Look at , As Paul prayed for them, we read in verse 12, May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

Paul knows that God is the source of love. Notice that Paul doesn’t simply tell them to be more loving. Paul prays his requests to God, because he knows that what he is asking is something which God is certainly able to do, and is something which God has said that he desires. After all, it is God who has both given us the example of love and gives us the power to follow that example. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God,” ().

We Christians love then, because God first loved us–both in the sense that he has given us an example of love; but also in the sense that He empowers us to love. And so, if we need to grow in love, what should we do? Well, at least one thing we can do about it is to pray about it. The way to grow, is to pray.

Paul presumes that they are loving (that’s clear from down in 4:9), but wants their love to increase, even overflow – to overflow its banks, to break out of its bounds! Christians should always be growing. It’s good to pray for this for those we know. And for ourselves–that we would more and more have love for each other, and for everyone else.

We also read in v. 13, that Paul prayed for holiness. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

Again, note the source of their strength. Paul prays that God will strengthen the very core of their beings–their personality, their will, that place where the goals and ambitions of life are stored–their hearts. And he tells them why he wants their hearts to be strengthened: so that they will be blameless and holy. Paul prays negatively that there will be no sin that can be laid against their charge, that they will be blameless. But he also prays positively that they would be holy, that their lives would reflect the purely good character of God. Paul wants them to put off the old, and put on the new. Paul emphasizes that this is not simple blamelessness in the eyes of the watching world, but rather blamelessness “in the presence of our God and Father” at that time when a final assessment will be made, as all books are opened when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. This theme of the END runs throughout this letter.

Isn’t it interesting what Paul didn’t tell them he had prayed for—their physical health & prosperity, the end of their persecutions—the very things which we probably would most naturally tell someone we were praying for them. Oh, I’m not saying that Paul never prayed these things for them. But that’s not what he shares with them here. Paul seems mainly concerned to pray not for their physical or material prosperity, but for their spiritual prosperity. This is how you strengthened the church in faith.