Acts15-16

I am going to give you Patricia's blog today, because she followed a really good commentary that would be great for you to read if you find the time.  It is in the comment section.

Acts 15-16

Posted November 23, 2010 by Patricia in Acts. 4 Comments

Circumcision goes all the way back to Genesis 17.  After Abraham was given the promise of the Messiah through the Covenant, then God instituted the Covenant of Circumcision.   God required His people to be circumcised as an obedience, as a sign of belonging to His covenant, and as  a sign of “cutting” off the old life of sin.  It was EXTREMELY important to the Jewish people to be circumcised.  

So we are about 20 years into the existence of the church and about 10 years since the Gentiles have been considered Christians.  So where does Jewish Law fit?  Well back in chapter 10 and 11 we confirmed the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised,  that Faith was all that was required.  So here we are having Paul dispute the debate at the Council in Jerusalem.  Do Gentiles have to adhere to the Law of Moses.  A unanimous decision was made that the Gentiles did not have to adhere to the Law of Moses .

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

 Take note to the fact that they started in Antioch and when they got to Lystra the direction changed, because Paul and Silas followed the Holy Spirit.  From Lystra it is assumed that they were originally headed for Ephesus but God detoured them to spread the Gospel even further!  I encourage you to look up some of the history of these towns. (Galatia is the Lystra,  Derbe,  Iconium area and Macedonia is the top left corner.  Philipi is where Paul and Silas were in prison (incredible story) and then through Athens  and Corinth (think about that…Athens, all that Greek philosophy and steeped in culture and art, must have been some tough preaching going on!) and then finally to Ephesus.  Aren’t you glad God detoured them, they had tons of converts along the way but at least we know about Lydia, the slave girl,  and the jailer and his whole family!  Amen.

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1. Posted by Nicolle on November 23, 2010 at 9:26 am

   I have two questions:

   1. Why did Paul circumcise Timothy in Acts 16:1-5 if they had just told everybody (via the letter of the Jewish elders/coucil) that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised? Was is so the Jews in that area would be more likely to believe if he followed Jewish law?

   2. Why would a spirit make the slave girl say that “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” (Acts 16: 17 & 18). I have assumed this was a demon b/c Paul made it leave her but that confuses me b/c of what the girl was saying. Also, I have always thought that only God knows the future; that not even satan or his demons were privy to that…so is it possible that this was a “good spirit”? Or are my assumptions wrong?
2. Posted by LJH on November 23, 2010 at 10:39 pm

   I found the commentary on Biblegateway to be very helpful in this passage….great questions too! check out the following for some interesting perspective.

   http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Acts/Witness-Philippi
3. Posted by Patricia on November 24, 2010 at 8:18 am

   Good question Nicolle. Look at the whole paragraph, his mother was a Jewess but his father was a Greek. What a mark in those days! Even though Paul knew Tim did not have to be circumised, he had him do it for acceptance. It would have been a huge barrier that would have led them to concentrate on that and not ever listened to what Tim had to say. I think this is a HUGE lesson that God wants to teach us. When we witness for the Lord are we so blind to others feelings that we think “Well, this is the Gospel and this is me and if they don’t like it….that is their problem”. No. Our number one concern is spreading the Gospel to the Lost and if we have to change some stuff about us that is not that important…than we should do it. Who in your life won’t listen to your words? What can we do differently?
4. Posted by Patricia on November 24, 2010 at 8:21 am

   Question 2. Yes it was a demon…all the demons immediately recognize the Spirit. See the demon was using it for profit in the woman. Like today, have you ever seen a pastor use pointing to God to line his pockets with money….good grief, turn on the TV (not all of them….but there are some.