Acts 15:22, commentary and pictures

With the agreement of the whole church, the apostles and elders chose Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief and leading men among the brethren, to go from Jerusalem to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas to carry the council's letter and explain its decision in person as well as by letter. The sending belonged to a dispute over whether Gentile believers had to be circumcised and keep the entire ceremonial law to be saved, which Paul and Barnabas opposed at Antioch, a large growing community of Jewish and Gentile believers and an important missionary center. The council agreed with Paul's position, recognized his divine commission to preach to the Gentiles, and left Gentile believers free from those obligations, requiring no circumcision or observance of the Jewish ceremonial law or Mosaic ordinances to join the church and share its privileges. The question was settled by the Holy Spirit, who gave the apostles wisdom and sound judgment to decide an issue crucial to the prosperity and continued existence of the Christian church, as they acted through enlightened judgment under the Spirit's guidance. The ruling brought consolation and joy to believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia and helped unite them in one heart and mind, even though false brethren murmured and some Jewish Christians zealous for the ceremonial law remained reluctant to accept it.

Setting and Decision

The verse belongs to the dispute over whether Gentile believers had to be circumcised and keep the entire ceremonial law in order to be saved, a teaching that Paul and Barnabas opposed. It is set at Antioch, a large and growing community of Jewish and Gentile believers and an important missionary center, where the believers had heard how God had opened the way of faith to the Gentiles. There and at Jerusalem Paul defended Christianity against the narrow restrictions of Judaism.

Years before Paul's last visit to Jerusalem he stood before the apostles and elders and related his conversion and the great work God had wrought through him among the Gentiles. The Spirit witnessed to his testimony, and under that influence the council yielded its prejudices against the Gentiles and expressed itself in harmony with Paul's position. The apostles and elders accepted his position, recognized his divine commission to preach to the Gentiles, and agreed to leave Gentile believers free from those obligations.

The council's decision was that Gentile believers were not required to observe the Jewish ceremonial law or Mosaic ordinances, including circumcision. They did not have to become Jews before joining the church and sharing its privileges, and teachers who still urged that requirement were disregarding the council's ruling. Jewish Christians could observe the Mosaic ordinances if they chose, but those ordinances were not to be made obligatory for Gentiles.

The brethren made recommendations about rites and customs, including circumcision, directing Gentile believers not to be burdened with circumcision or the ceremonial law but to abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled meat, and from fornication, and to live holy lives. With the agreement of the assembled church, the apostles and elders, with the whole church, chose Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief and leading men among the brethren, to go from Jerusalem to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They were sent to carry the council's letter and to declare and explain its decision in person as well as by letter.

The message commended Barnabas and Paul as worthy of every believer's confidence, as men who had risked their lives for the Lord. It made clear that those who had demanded circumcision of the Gentiles had no authorization from the apostles. It set out the requirements for Gentile believers and brought the controversy to an end as the authoritative ruling of the church's highest authority on earth.

How Council Decided

The decision was framed and issued by the apostles and elders, not by calling the whole body of Christians to vote on the question. The council gathered leaders from Jerusalem together with representatives from Antioch, and after the decision the whole church joined in agreeing to send the chosen men. That decree was generally accepted by the churches, though some disagreed and acted on their own responsibility, murmuring, finding fault, proposing new plans, criticizing the leaders, opposing the change away from Jewish ceremonies and traditions, and trying to undermine those appointed to teach the gospel. Such obstacles have troubled the church from its beginning and will continue until the end of time.

The disputed question was settled by the Holy Spirit, who gave the apostles wisdom and sound judgment to decide an issue crucial to the prosperity and continued existence of the Christian church. Years before Paul's last visit to Jerusalem, Paul stood before the apostles and elders and related his conversion and the great work God had wrought through him among the Gentiles, with the Spirit of the Lord witnessing to his word. Under that influence the council yielded its prejudices against the Gentiles and expressed itself in harmony with Paul's position, sending chosen men with an address to the churches stating that agreement. The decision followed the evidence that God had given the Holy Spirit to Gentile believers, and the leaders acted through enlightened judgment under the Spirit's guidance, without claiming infallibility.

The chapter sets forth simple church organization and order ordained by God for the unity and perfection of the church. Its pattern shows decisions and responsibilities shared among the apostles, elders, and the whole church. In addressing the dispute over circumcision and the law of Moses the apostles and elders acted as counselors, not as rulers commanding the Lord's laborers. Their way of deciding left room for the Holy Spirit to guide and judge, and it illustrates a way of settling church differences that fosters lasting unity, unlike decisions imposed by church authority alone.

Reception and Unity

The decree framed at Jerusalem was generally accepted by the churches, and its resolution brought consolation and joy to the believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. It helped unite the believers, and even some who had criticized the apostles' methods joined in the wise decisions, with Barnabas and Paul commended as worthy of every believer's confidence. The council included leaders from Jerusalem and representatives from Antioch, and the decision followed the evidence that God had given the Holy Spirit to Gentile believers, the leaders acting through enlightened judgment under the Spirit's guidance without claiming infallibility.

The decision also met resistance from those who acted on their own responsibility, murmuring, finding fault, proposing new plans, criticizing the leaders, and trying to undermine those appointed to teach the gospel. Some opposed the change away from Jewish ceremonies and traditions, with false brethren pursuing their own plans and faulting the experienced teachers. Among some Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, who remained zealous for the ceremonial law, there was reluctance to accept the ruling, and Paul was viewed unfavorably because his teaching about the Jewish law was considered too lax. Such obstacles have troubled the church from its beginning and will continue until the end of time.

After a short difference over whether uncircumcised Gentiles should be admitted to the church, the matter was soon settled through divine illumination and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. Through that influence the believers were perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment, all of one heart and one mind, believing and speaking the same things. They dwelt together with mutual confidence, peace and harmony, with one heart and one mouth glorifying God as one body under one supreme Head. Such close Christian fellowship and love exists only in proportion to illumination and sanctification, as fuller reception of the enlightenment of the living Spirit harmonizes understanding of truth and unites judgment, and it is the fruit always borne under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Such love and unity is an evidence to the world that God sent Jesus to save sinners and testifies with convicting power that the Word of God is the safe rule of life, unlike the differences now existing among Christians.

The earlier council's decision about Gentile converts and the ceremonial law remained valid, while the advice later given to Paul was not consistent with that decision and was not prompted by the Holy Spirit. The council's decisions acknowledged Paul's apostolic position, and Paul complied with those decisions in his work among the Gentiles. The settling of the difference as counselors rather than as rulers commanding the church left room for the Holy Spirit to guide and judge, and illustrates a way of settling church differences that fosters lasting unity, unlike decisions imposed by church authority alone.