THE LIVING CHURCH
Meditations in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 18:18-23

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IN THESE few verses we read of another important ministry of the Apostle Paul other than evangelism. We may pass it by very easily because it does not have the same prominence in Acts as Paul's ministry of evangelism, but in the rest of the New Testament it figures very large indeed, and is seen in all Paul's epistles. The ministry I am referring to is his ministry of nurture and building up of the church. This was an important ministry in Paul's life as his epistles testify. This ministry is referred to in verse 23.

Before we come to this there are two other things to particularly notice in these few verses before us.

The first is found in just one word, but a word that is very illuminating. The word is the word 'brothers'. In verse 18 we read "The he left the brothers and sailed to Syria". We need to notice this word because it tells us something important about the church in the Acts and in its life. It reveals to us the sense of family that existed in the church of the New Testament. The word 'brothers', although can refer to a group of men in the church, also is used in the New Testament in a generic sense, and refers to the whole family of the church, both male and female. What this word expresses is the close and loving fellowship that exists in the Church. When we believe we are brought into a family. It is the family of God. We are given the Spirit of adoption and find ourselves knowing God as our heavenly Father, and our prayers are addressed to God as our Father, and we find we are able to come to God in prayer in an intimate, though, reverent way. Jesus, too, we know as our elder brother. What is also true is that this family experience is such that all believers become our brothers and sisters, and in Christ love exists between us.

A church fellowship should be characterised by this sense and demonstration of family. In the church we find we belong and are nurtured and cared for. If this is not so then there is something wrong with the spiritual life of the fellowship. This sense of family should extend to caring for each other in all our needs. It means supporting and accepting instead of judging, ignoring or rejecting. This sense of family needs to be worked at and nurtured. This is the great experience and life within the church which is different to anything that you find in the world and its society.

The second thing I would draw your attention to is something we have noticed before in these meditations, but which I feel we need to return to. We read in verse 19 that Paul reasoned with the Jews. There is no real excuse for believers not to know their faith, and so be able not only to declare in witness, but be able to reason, so that the faith is explained and its truth and superiority revealed alongside other beliefs and philosophies. The Christian faith is the truth. There is nothing un-intellectual about our faith. It is simple and can be understood by everyone, but it is not intellectually untenable or childish. It is the truth of God. We must be prepared to reason with people, and to this end we must not shirk the study of the Bible, so that we may grow in depth and understanding of the faith.

So we reach the subject of nurture. We read in verse 23 that Paul travelled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Paul was giving much time and energy in caring for the churches which God had used him to form. He sought to establish them. He sought to build them up in their holy faith. He sought to strengthen them in the face of all the unbelief, idolatry and sin all around them. He desired that these disciples may be brought deeper into the knowledge of their salvation and the love of God for them. He desired to lead them into greater fellowship with Christ and joy in his presence. He sought to answer their questions, remove their doubts, increase their faith, and make them more able to reason with the unbelievers all around them.

Evangelism and nurture go together. In fact it is the business of every minister to so expound the Word of God to his or her congregation that souls are save and the believers are built up in their knowledge of the truth. If we are in any doubt of this we only have to turn to the epistles of the New Testament. If we want to learn how to minister let us read the epistles, and understand them, and then pass on that understanding in exposition of the Word in whatsoever ministry God has given us.