Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles
7 - The True and Living God
We are following Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Already they have seen an encouraging response to the preaching of the gospel, but also very definite opposition from those who would not believe the message. Last time we left the Apostles in the city of Lystra in the region of Lycaonia - which is part of present day Turkey. There they had encountered a man lame from his birth who had listened intently to Paul as he was speaking. Paul had detected in this man faith to be healed and had commanded him to stand up on his feet. The result of this was that the man jumped up and began to walk. We noted last time that it was power in the name of Jesus that brought about this miracle of healing.
This was witnessed by the crowd of Gentile onlookers and it had a very unexpected effect. They began to shout in their own language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” And they named Barnabas and Paul after their heathen gods Zeus and Hermes. Zeus they regarded as the father of the gods and Hermes their messenger. Since the people were shouting in their own language the Apostles did not understand what they were saying. Luke’s account at Acts chapter 14 verse 13 goes on to say, “The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.” It was at the signs of sacrifice that Paul and Barnabas suddenly became aware of what was happening. Tearing their clothes, a Jewish sign of blasphemy, they rushed into the crowd shouting “Men why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.” Even after Paul’s declaration concerning the true God we are told that the Apostles had difficulty in keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
So far as we know this was Paul’s first sermon delivered to a wholly pagan group who knew nothing of the living God. We can perhaps compare this sermon of Paul’s to a later sermon to other pagan worshippers in Athens at the Areopagus on Mars hill. This is recorded for us in Acts chapter 17 verses 15 to 31. The content of this sermon at Lystra is well worth noting. Having exhorted his hearers to turn from their worthless idols, Paul went on to speak about the true God who made all things and who in the past let all nations - that is the Gentiles - go their own way. Yet, said Paul, he has not left Himself without a witness. He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.
The Bible teaches us, particularly in the Psalms, that there is a revelation of God in nature. His created world bears the marks of the Creator. David says in Psalm 19 verses 1 to 4, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world.” We must note, however, that this revelation in nature only tells us of God’s wisdom, power and providential care, it does not declare his love in redeeming sinful man. Nature tells us nothing about God’s will for our salvation. We only learn about this from the Word of God coming among us in the person of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ. It is only by his sinless life, his tireless work among men, his sacrificial death on the cross bearing the punishment for our sins and by his glorious resurrection from the dead, that we learn of God’s love for a lost world. This was the good news that the Apostles were bringing to the people of Lystra.
It is perhaps understandable that the heathen people of Lystra, seeing the remarkable healing which had been performed, thought that Paul and Barnabas were gods in human form. However, it had to be made plain that as Christians they were working to bring glory to the true and living God, not to themselves. This is a principle that should be observed by all who would be ambassadors for Christ.
Opponents of the gospel do not easily give up for we are told in Acts chapter 14 verse 19, “Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowd. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.” However, this was not God’s time for his servant to die. We read on, “But after the disciples had gathered round him, he got up and went back into the city.” Here was a truly courageous and dedicated servant of the Lord Jesus who was willing to put himself in danger for the sake of the gospel and those who had responded to it. After this, Paul and Barnabas left Lystra for the city of Derbe where they again preached the good news and won a large number of disciples for Christ.
From Derbe, Paul and Barnabas set off on a further mission which was aimed at revisiting Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. Their purpose was to strengthen the new disciples and encourage them to remain true to their new found faith. In this we see that Paul, as well as being an evangelist, along with Barnabas was an encourager. Here we observe also the pastoral role of these servants of the living Christ. It is important to note further that they reminded the believers that God’s servants would always be open to opposition and hardship as they themselves had experienced. In each local church that the Apostles visited they appointed elders who would be responsible for leading and caring for God’s people. They were to be the shepherds of God’s flock for that is one of the definitions of the term “elder”. Here was established the scriptural pattern for all local assemblies of the Lord’s people. An elder is also described as an “overseer” in Paul’s later description of the qualifications required of an elder in 1 Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 to 7 where he says: “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect….He must not be a recent convert or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgement as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.” We need to pray much for those who carry this responsibility in our own local churches.
Resuming their journey, the Apostles made their way back to the coast, passing through the city of Perga where they again preached the word; then on to Attalia from where they sailed back to Antioch in Syria where they had originally been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. Acts chapter 14 closes with a description of their report to their home church: “On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” We note that the returning missionaries did not boast or seek to give credit to themselves. They simply told all that God had done with them and through them. They had gone on their mission to Asia minor and God had gone before them. They had seen God performing his gracious acts of saving, of healing, of watching over his servants, and of advancing his redemptive purposes in his world. In particular he had opened the door of faith to Gentiles as well as Jews. The closing verse of Acts chapter 14 tells us that they stayed in Antioch a long time with the disciples.