by Tim Green
Its not about us and what we have done, its all about Him and what He did for us on the cross.
The cup of blessing, of the wine at the Lord's Table upon which we ask God's blessing, does it not mean that in drinking it, we participate in and share a fellowship in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, does it not mean that in eating it, we participate in and share a fellowship in the body of Christ? For we being many are One loaf of bread, and therefore one body. For we are all partakers of that One bread, Christ. We all share a fellowship in what the His blood and broken body accomplished for us upon the cross when He died. His blood has washed and cleansed us from all our sins, atoning for them with His blood upon the cross. His broken body was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. By the stripes upon His back we are healed.
I was sick when I first preached the Good News in the Province of Galatia. They did not mistreat me nor despise and reject me, even though my condition tempted them to do so. I was taken in and cared for as though I were an angel sent from God. I was received as if they were receiving Jesus Christ Himself. I stood in faith believing for the healing of my body. I bore on my body the scars that show I belong to Christ.
What Jesus had accomplished for us through His body and His blood upon the cross has qualified us. Making us worthy to receive eternal life. He died for all humanity, making all of us worthy to receive the free gift of salvation. God's free gift is never to be compared to the trespasses of our sin, not at all. One must focus on the grace given at the Lord's Table and not on their sins and transgressions. This is how to eat and drink worthily.
As one man's trespasses led to condemnation and judgement for all men. So one Man's act of righteousness leads to aquittal and right standing with God, to receive eternal life. For by one man's disobedience, Adam many were made sinners, so also by the obedience of One, Jesus Christ shall many be made righteous and deemed worthy. For if by one man's trespass death reigned because of that one man, Adam. How much more shall those which receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness. Shall they not reign as kings in life by that One man, Jesus Christ. Therefore as sin has reigned leading unto death, even so grace must now reign leading to newness of life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Barnabas and I stayed on in the city of Iconium for a long time, speaking freely with a fearless boldness in the Lord. For God had not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power, love and self control in our minds. We continued to bear testimony to the word of His grace, performing with our hands signs and wonders. But the residents of the city continued to be divided into two parties. Some siding with the Jews, and some with us, the apostles. There was an attempt from both the unbelieving Jews and the Gentiles, together with their rulers, to mistreat and abuse Barnabas and I. They even wanted to stone us. We became aware of their evil schemes and fled together, escaping to Lystra and Derbe, cities of the Province of Lycaonia in the region of Asia Minor. There we preached the Gospel, the glad tidings of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. We spoke freely and boldly in all the neighbouring districts and regions.
There was a man living in the city of Lystra who couldn't use his feet. He had never walked, as he was a cripple from birth. This man listened to me speaking and looking at him, I saw that he had faith to be healed. In a loud voice I proclaimed to him, "Stand up on your feet." He jumped up and began to walked. When the people saw what I had done, they lifted up their voices, and began to shout in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in the form of men." They began calling Barnabas, Zeus while they called me, Hermes, the god of heralds or speech because I was the chief speaker. The Greeks called him Hermes while the Romans called him Mercury. Zeus was the Sky-god whom they believed to control the weather. They believed that Zeus was the ruler over all other gods, the god of gods and that he also ruled over all men. He was known as Zeus to the Greeks and Jupiter to the Romans.
I had to convince these people that Barnabas and I were not gods. Things quickly spiralled out of control. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, intending to offer a sacrifice to us with the people. When Barnabas and I, heard this we tore our clothes and ran into the crowd, shouting, "Men! Why are you doing this? We're just men, human like you! We are announcing Good News to you, turn from these worthless things to the living God who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them! In times past, He allowed all peoples to walk in their own ways. Yet He did not leave Himself without evidence of His nature, because He does good things. Giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons, filling you with food and your hearts with happiness!" Even in the light of these words and me saying these things, we had difficulty in preventing these people from offering a sacrifice to us.
Some of the unbelieving Jews arrived from Antioch of Pisidia and from the city of Iconium. They persuaded the people again and won them over against us. They stoned me and dragged my body out of the town, thinking that I was dead. But the brothers, the disciples formed a circle around my helpless body protecting me. Once again I found myself lifeless and in the dust. It was a reminder that I must not walk as a mere man upon the earth, forming an alliance with the dust. But that I must walk by faith and not by sight, detaching myself from dusty earthly things. I got up, dusted myself off and went straight back into the city. My body ached to the core as I was badly bruised from the stoning. So the next day I departed and went on with Barnabas to Derby, a city on the frontier of Galatia.
After we had preached and proclaimed the Gospel to that city and making many people into disciples, we returned again to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. We strengthened the hearts and souls of the "Disciples of the Way" and encouraged them to continue and stand firm in the faith. We Reminded them that it is through many hardships and much tribulation that we must enter into the kingdom of God. After we had prayed and faster, we ordained and appointed elders there in every church that we had established. We committed them to the Lord in Whom they had come to believe.
We then departed on our journey and went through the Province of Pisidia, and arrived at the Province of Pamphylia. We preached the word in the city of Perga, then we went down to Attalia, a maritime city. From there we sailed back by ship to Antioch of Syria, from where our journey had begun. I was home. Antioch of Syria felt like home to me. It was the place where the believers had entrusted us to the grace of God for the work of the ministry which we had now completed. I was so grateful that Barnabas had found me in Tarsus and had brought me back to Antioch with him. We assembled with the church there and we rehearsed and gave testimony concerning all that God had done for us on our first missionary journey. I told them how God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. We stayed there for some time with the disciples in Antioch of Syria.
I told them about how I had a great heaviness and a continual sorrow in my heart for the unbelieving Jews. I had a bitter grief and an incessant anguish in my heart for them. My wish was that I myself were under God's curse and banished from Christ, the Messiah if it would help my brothers, my own flesh and blood, my kinsmen, my fellow countrymen, the Jews. For they are Israelites, and to them belong God's adoption as a nation. To them belong the glorious presence and the special covenants that were made. To them was the Law given, the temple worship revealed and God's own promises were announced. To them the patriarchs were given and as far as His natural descent is concerned, from them is the Christ, Who is exalted and supreme over all. To them God's blessing is forever! Amen, so let it be.
I told them how my heart's deepest desire and goodwill for Israel was for them to receive salvation. How I long and pray to God that they may be saved. I told them how there is no difference between the Jews and the Greeks. The same Lord is Lord over all of us and He generously bestows His riches unto all that call upon Him in faith. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I asked them, "Has God cast away his people, totally rejecting and disowning them? Never, of
course not, heaven forbid! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not cast away His people, rejecting and disowning them. He has appointed and foreknown their destiny from the beginning. At this present time there is a remnant, selected and chosen by Gods grace to fulfil His purposes."
So I continued to ask, "Have the Jews stumbled so as to fall to their utter spiritual ruin, irretrievably? God forbid, by no means! But through their false step and transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to arouse Israel and provoke them to jealousy. Now if their stumbling has so enriched the world at large, and if Israel's failure means such riches for the Gentiles. Think what an enrichment and greater advantage will follow their full reinstatement, when they come into Christ, believing on the Messiah!"
It was my intention to bring this duel between the Jews and the Gentiles to an end. So I spoke openly to the Gentiles, as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, saying, "Remember, that