“And when they were come, and had gathered the Church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how He had opened the door of faith onto the Gentiles.”—Acts xiv. 27.
There are few institutions of greater antiquity than the missionary meeting. It is truly apostolic in its origin. The first such meeting of which we read was held at Antioch after the return of St. Paul from his first missionary journey. It was from Antioch he set off, having been commended by the brethren to the grace of God; and it was at Antioch, after his return, that he gathered together the Church and rehearsed to them all that God had done with them in his journey. This is the great subject of his address, and will suggest three subjects of inquiry for ourselves.
I. What had been done?
In the first place, the door of faith had been opened to the Gentiles. Surely by “the door of faith” we must understand that “new and living way” of which we read in Hebrews. [71] And what is that way? Is not this explained by the previous verse, “Having, therefore, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” It is the free access to the throne of Grace through the finished, final propitiation, there described as “the blood of Jesus.” When He died, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the mercy-seat was laid open to the sinner drawing near in faith, and the invitation was proclaimed to all. The throne of righteousness became the throne of mercy, and the throne of judgment became approachable even to the sinner, for it was transformed into a throne of grace.
This is the door of faith that had been opened to the Gentiles, and it is very difficult for us to realize all that was involved in such a fact. There was a middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile which kept them as wide asunder as if there had been no common Saviour. But now St. Paul reported that the middle wall had been broken down. [72a] Every stone of it had been swept away, and, according to the covenant of God, all were invited as one flock around one Shepherd.
But this was not all that had been done. The great work of that missionary journey was the turning of the hearts of both Jews and Gentiles to enter in by that open door. It is one thing to set a door open before a person, but often a much more difficult thing to induce him to enter in. Now the great result of this journey was that many precious souls were brought in through the open door, and in Christ Jesus were saved. This was the work of which St. Paul gave an account on his return to Antioch. If he mentioned individuals he doubtless told them of Sergius Paulus, the Roman pro-consul at Paphos, that “prudent man,” [72b] one of the first converts given to the Apostle. Then, again, he doubtless told them of the great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks in Iconium who believed. [72c] And if he were asked as to the reality of the work in their souls, he doubtless told them of the beautiful character of the Christians in the other Antioch, Antioch of Pisidia, of whom it is said, “the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.” [73]
They had, indeed, entered in by the open door. They had tasted the joy of the living way, they had been brought under the shadow of the mercy-seat. They had sat down under His shadow with great delight, and had found the fruit sweet to their taste. So marvellous had been the change that the very men who before this memorable journey had been living, some in Jewish hostility, and some in heathen abomination, were now happy, holy, thankful believers, and were actually filled with the Holy Ghost. We see, then, what had been done. The next question is—
II. Who was the Doer?
St. Paul and St. Barnabas were the principal agents, and of these St. Paul was the chief speaker, but it was not he who changed the hearts or filled the disciples with joy and with the Holy Ghost. So he did not tell what he had done, but what God had done. The drawing of the sinner, whether Jew or Gentile, into the new or living way was a Divine act. To open the heart required a Divine power as much as to open the door. It is important for us clearly to bear in mind this principle, that the power to enter in is of itself the gift of God—that we must trust Him not only to save us when we have entered in, but to enable us to enter in; not only to show mercy on us when we have come near to Him, but to draw us near by His own Spirit.
III. In what Way did the Lord make use of Human Agency?
There are two expressions employed which throw great light on the subject. In this verse we read of the things which God had done with them, and the same expression occurs in Acts xv. 4. But if we pass on to Acts xv., we find it stated that “God had wrought upon the Gentiles by them.” [74a] The one expression implies companionship, the other instrumentality. Consider them separately.
(1) “With.”
The idea is that throughout the journey our Lord was literally fulfilling His promise. “I am with you alway.” [74b] They went out to preach in His name and He went with them, as their constant, never-failing, though invisible, companion and friend. Thus, while they were acting, He was acting also. The two were acting together, and so fulfilling the one purpose of God. The action of the Lord was giving effect to the action of the preacher, though in some cases it was quite independent of it. Take the case of Lydia as an illustration. [74c] St. Paul preached to that little company assembled at the place of prayer by the riverside at Phillipi. There was the action of the preacher. But now look at the action of the Lord working with him. By His fore-seeing providence He had brought Lydia from her home at Thyatira, and by His guiding Spirit had brought St. Paul from his work in Asia Minor. It was He that brought them both to the same spot on that Sabbath morning. Then, again, while St. Paul was preaching the Lord was acting, for He was acting with His servant, first by the preparatory leading of His providence, and afterwards by the heart-opening movement of the Holy Ghost
(2) And this leads me to the other expression, “by.” This expresses something different to companionship, for it teaches that in thus drawing sinners to Himself He makes use of men as instruments. In the case of Lydia the Lord opened her heart, but the things which were spoken by St. Paul were the instrument which God employed to lead her to the faith. It was not without instrumentality, but by it, that God acted. It is important to bear this in mind—that human instrumentality is not in antagonism to faith. We must remember the “by” as well as the “with,” and that when God has given means, we do not honour Him by neglecting or ignoring them. St. Paul was most anxious to urge on the Corinthians that it was God alone who gave the increase, but while he did so he was not deterred from adding that he had planted and Apollos watered. [75] We know that God is a Sovereign, and that He, if He pleased, could gather in the whole company of His elect without the use of any one man to work for Him; but we know also that “by us” the preaching is to be fully known, and we are fully persuaded that if we are to look for a harvest we must both plant and water.
