The Jerusalem Council was held roughly 20 years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. This would be a defining moment for the Church. The council was called because of conflicts that arose over how the Gentiles and specifically those who were being saved in Antioch were to be included in the New Testament Church. Acts 15 explains the conflict clearly:
Acts 15:1-2 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.
Paul and Barnabas set out to Jerusalem to share the testimony of how God had moved in power among the Gentiles and that they were being welcomed into the faith just as the first century Jews had been. We find in Acts 15:4 that they were received by the church and leadership at Jerusalem and “reported all things that God had done with them.” Undoubtedly this included the way they were functioning at Antioch and how the Lord sent them from Antioch to Gentile cities, identified in Acts 13 and 14, to preach the gospel and plant churches among the Gentiles as they had in Antioch.
Their testimony caused “much dispute” and resulted in the elders and apostles in Jerusalem all gathered to consider the issues. In Acts 15:7-11 Peter reminded the leaders how the Lord had poured out His Spirit on the Gentiles in Caesarea at Cornelius’ house. After Peter’s testimony, Paul and Barnabas again stood up and testified about the work that God had accomplished among the Gentiles through their ministry.
Upon hearing Peter speak and Paul and Barnabas’ testimony of everything God had done through them among the Gentiles James offered the following commentary:
Acts 15:15-18 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘AFTER THIS I WILL RETURN AND WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID, WHICH HAS FALLEN DOWN; I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL SET IT UP; 17 SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, EVEN ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, SAYS THE LORD WHO DOES ALL THESE THINGS.
James used Amos’ prophecy as an apologetic to explain why the Gentiles were getting saved through Paul and Barnabas’ ministry. In doing so, he linked the ministry activity of Paul and Barnabas in Antioch and their church plants in Iconium, Lystra, and Pisidian Antioch, to the re-establishment of the Tabernacle of David.
There can be no doubt that James identified the re-establishment of the Tabernacle of David as being at least partially fulfilled in the New Testament era before the Lord’s return
The single most outstanding feature of the Tabernacle of David was the fact that worship continued ceaselessly night and day before the ark of the covenant. It is incredibly instructive and important that James would use this passage to describe the activity of Paul and Barnabas’ ministry to the Gentiles. If James wanted to give an Old Testament prophecy that declared that Gentiles would become a part of the Kingdom of God, he had literally dozens to choose from. Instead, he chose a clear prophecy predicting the rebuilding of David’s Tabernacle and tied it to the expansion of the church among Gentiles. When we consider Paul’s letters to these very churches and His emphasis on continual worship and prayer in those communities (as we identified in our previous blog in this series) It becomes clear that James and the apostles saw the New Testament Church’s expansion among the Gentiles as resembling the rebuilding of David’s tabernacle.
Taken altogether, the practice at Antioch of ministering to the Lord, Paul’s admonitions to continue in prayer and worship, his continual usage of temple symbology to explain the New Testament Church, and the apostle’s agreement with James’ assessment of Paul and Barnabas’ ministry (Acts 15:22) it becomes evident that the Church in the New Testament resembled the practices of Tabernacle of David, specifically that the church was based in continuous worship and prayer. How does this impact the way that you think of church now and specifically the way our churches are organized and conducted?
If you’re like me, when I began to see these truths in the Scripture, I asked myself, “Where do we go from here?” We will address this question in our next blog. If you’re a pastor or church leader, I encourage you to prayerfully consider what I’ve written and ask the Lord what this means for you and your congregation.
