Floyd & Sally McClung

By Floyd McClung

The Author and His Background

The author of the book of Acts is Luke, a Gentile physician and traveling companion to Paul. Paul calls him “the beloved physician…” (Colossians 4:14). The opening words of the Gospel Luke wrote gives insight into his personality: “…it seemed good…to write you an orderly account…” (Luke 1:3). He reminds the reader that this is the second of two accounts he is writing. When addressing his friend Theophilus (a Gentile as well) at the beginning of the book of Acts, he refers to the gospel he wrote as “…the former account…”(Acts 1:1). Luke is the only Gentile to contribute to the New Testament, or to the entire Bible.

Luke was an educated, cultured man. He possessed a remarkable literary and analytical skill. He had a keen sense of form and style, and was personally acquainted with Paul and other key figures he was writing about.

As a Gentile born in Antioch of Syria, he stood outside the unfolding drama of the church’s birth and growth in Jerusalem and Judea. Nevertheless, he was personally interested in how the Jews responded to the Gentiles. It was Luke that reported that Jesus commissioned his disciples to preach forgiveness of sins to “all nations” (Luke 24:44-47).

He was able to report the tensions between the Jews and the Gentiles from an non-Jewish perspective, recording the expansion of the Christian movement from being a Jewish sect to a truly inter cultural movement. Peter Wagner says Luke was a “world Christian” (Spreading the Fire, Regal Books, page 19). Luke shows how the walls between races broke down, and writes with a more missiological perspective than any other New Testament author. He mentions in great detail those Gentiles who played a role in the spread of the gospel. He is careful to include women and those normally looked down on by the Jews in his writings.

Luke was a missionary, and writes as one. He had been on the field; he participated in the spread of the Gospel and the planting of churches. There is no record that he was a convert of Paul, but he was with him on two of his missionary journeys (Acts 16:10-18, 20:5-21, and 27:1 - 28:16). Paul mentions that Luke was with him in his letters to the Colossians (4:14), to Philemon (v. 24), and to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:11). Luke had the benefit of first hand knowledge of how Paul surmounted cultural barriers to the Gospel and planted indigenous churches. No one in the early church was better suited to write this training manual for spreading the gospel to unbelievers.

Luke’s Purpose In Writing the Book of Acts

Luke wrote the book of Acts for several reasons. Firstly, he wanted to give an accurate account of the birth, growth and expansion of the church, especially amongst Gentiles. The book of Acts serves as a bridge between the life and ministry of Jesus, and the birth and growth of the church. In his first account, the Gospel, Luke states that he is giving a record of “…all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day he was taken up…” (Luke 1:1 ff). In writing the book of Acts, Luke follows on from where he left off in his gospel account, showing how Christians built on the foundation laid by Jesus. The Gospel of Luke ends and the book of Acts begins with the ascension of Jesus, thus providing a natural connection for the reader between his two works.

Because of the orderly fashion in which the book is written, and because of the missions and leadership principles Luke deals with, we may assume the book of Acts is intended to be a model for how the Kingdom of God would impact the lives of ordinary people empowered by the Holy Spirit. In fact, Luke emphasizes the Kingdom of God as the central thrust of both Jesus and Paul’s message. He tells us at the beginning and the end of the book of Acts ( 1:3 and 28:23) about the message both Jesus and Paul preached.

This leads me to conclude that the book of Acts was more than good history, that indeed it was intended to assist pastors and missionaries who were interested in spreading the Gospel of the kingdom and planting churches, especially across cultural barriers.

Interestingly, there is no small amount of resistance to doing missions the way Luke describes it being done in the book of Acts. Many people either do not recognize, or refuse to accept the Book of Acts as a guide for how to do missions. Perhaps if cross-cultural missionaries today spent their time doing what Paul did, the world would already have been evangelized several times over? And maybe the churches that would have been planted would have been born with multiplication in their genes.

Between 47 AD and 60 AD, Paul pioneered and planted 12 churches that we know about (Corinth, Athens, Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Antioch of Pisidia, Ephesians, Colossae) in four major provinces of the Roman Empire: Galatia, Asia, Macedonia and Achaia. this does not include churches that are not mentioned specifically that was no doubt begun as a result of Paul’s preaching in the towns and villages he passed through on his missionary journeys.

The churches that were established by Paul multiplied rapidly, whatever problems arose later in their spiritual history. Roland Allen comments on this astonishing contribution of the great apostle, emphasizing the importance of learning from Paul’s methodology:

“The churches really were established. Whatever disasters fell upon them in later years, whatever failure there was…that failure was not due to any insufficiency or lack of care and completeness in the Apostle’s teaching or organization. When he left them he left them because his work was fully accomplished.

This is truly an astonishing fact. That churches should be founded so rapidly, so securely, seems to us today, accustomed to the difficulties, the uncertainties, the failures, the disastrous relapses of our own missionary work, almost incredible…We have long forgotten that such things could be. We have long accustomed ourselves to accept it as an axiom of missionary work that converts in a new country must be submitted to a very long probation and training, extending over generations before they can be expected to stand alone. Today, if a man ventures to suggest that there may be something in the methods by which St. Paul attained such wonderful results worthy of our careful attention, and perhaps of our imitation, he is in danger of being accused of revolutionary tendencies.” page 4, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?, Roland Allen.

Those of us who are Western in our outlook will have an entirely different understanding in mind when we use the term church planting than our non-western counterparts. To quote Roland Allen, “…Paul’s method is not in harmony with the modern Western spirit. We modern teachers from the West are by nature and by training persons of… boundless self-confidence. We are accustomed to assume an attitude of superiority…We are accustomed by long usage to an elaborate system of church organization, and a peculiar code of morality. We cannot imagine any Christianity worthy of the name existing without the elaborate machinery which we have invented” (Missionary Methods: St Paul’s or Ours?, page. 6).

I have wondered at all that Luke left out in his narrative. I have traveled in many countries on missionary journeys, so I have questions about travel experiences, the types of food they ate, what sickness they experienced, team relationships; the things that make missionary work both fascinating and inspiring to supporters back home. But Luke doesn’t have time for these tantalizing details. He focuses instead on key steps in both the spread of the gospel westward and it’s penetration into the gentile world. He is concerned with helping the reader learn how churches were planted and established. And this, I believe, is what makes the book of Acts the important missions training manual that it is. This is a book for those who want to reach people with the gospel. It is a divine blueprint for how to build God’s church. In the words of the Apostle Paul, it is God’s truth for those who want to be”…wise master builders…”

A nagging question that deserves our attention is this: if Paul was so successful, as a cross cultural, church planting missionary, why would missionaries today resist doing missions the way he did it? If I am right in concluding that one of the primary reasons Luke wrote the book of Acts was to set out for the church of all ages an example to be followed in doing the work of missions, why would anyone interested in impacting people’s lives with the gospel not want to imitate the Pauline methodology? Do they think there is some sort of deficiency in Paul’s approach? That his methods could be improved upon or that Paul would have changed the way he did missions if he lived today? Maybe some people think that by changing Paul’s way of doing missions they can improve on the impact Paul had on people!!

The resistance to doing missions the way Paul did it is so strong that it has made me wonder if it is not a matter of spiritual warfare. Maybe the enemy resists those who attempt to focus their efforts on raising up indigenous churches that will be the dwelling place of God on earth?

Briefly, I want to outline some of the reasons I have heard people give for not following Paul’s principles and methods of reaching the lost. Hopefully this list will serve as a catalyst for discussion and reflection.

1. They don’t want to die. Paul’s methods are so radical that they guarantee fierce opposition, even persecution and death in some countries.
2. Intimidation. Most of us don’t think we are a “Paul.” Missionaries today excuse themselves by saying he was a “special person with a special anointing.”
3. Pride. On the other hand, some missionaries think they can improve on the way Paul did things. They think they can do better than Paul so they do not take his methods and principles seriously.
4. Unfocused Goals. They have unclear goals of what they want to accomplish. Sometimes that means they are simply undefined, it means their goals are mixed, and they end up doing things that are in conflict with each other(like mind molders and church planting).
5. Unbelief. For some, the challenge of faith to trust the Holy Spirit to break Satan’s strongholds and to do the signs and wonders that are necessary to break through in difficult places is too great.
6. Ignorance Concerning Paul’s Work Among The Poor. Some people believe Paul had no concern for the poor, thinking that if he did he would have changed his methods. Some even suggest that by planting churches Paul had not thought through the best way to care for the poor. Others suggest that Paul went to places that had few poor or needy people, and that the poverty factor we face in our modern world was foreign to his experience.
7. Confused Missiology. Another reason I see in the church for not following Paul’s method of church planting is that people have changed and added to and amended how Paul did missions so much that he now gets blamed for all the slip-shod, unfocused, ineffective activity that has been done for 2000 years in the name of “missions.” This is especially true for short-term missions activities, where so much more could be done if the leaders of these outreaches would apply the principles and practices of the apostle Paul. It should be pointed out that many of the churches Paul started were established on “short term” outreaches.
8. Poor Interpretation of Scripture. Still another reason the Pauline methodology has been neglected is the misunderstanding about what Jesus meant when he instructed his disciples to “…make disciples of all nations.” There is a grave mistake in the thinking of some that cross cultural missionaries are commissioned by God to reform the social, economic, educational and political structures that exist. “Discipling nations” has thus come to connote transforming a nation rather than spreading the gospel to all the nations of the earth. This approach to missions actually devalues the important ministry God has assigned to lay persons and the local church. Christians are to be salt and light in society, but that is not the “calling” of the cross-cultural missionary. When cross-cultural missionaries attempt to civilize rather than evangelize, they will colonize.
9. Inconsistent Application of Paul’s Principles. Another reason people resist the Pauline methodology, according to Roland Allen, is that they have “…adopted fragments of St. Paul’s method and have tried to incorporate them into alien systems…” Ibid., p. 5. The failure that has resulted from these hybrid methodologies has been used as an excuse to reject the apostle’s methods. To quote Allen again: “For example, people have baptized uninstructed converts and the converts have fallen away; but Paul did not baptize uninstructed converts apart from a system of mutual responsibility that insured their instruction.”
10. Disrespect for the Apostolic Office. The Pauline approach has lost it’s stature in the church in some circles because of the disrespect some people have brought to the Apostolic calling. So called apostles have borrowed the term to reinforce their position of authority or dominance over their followers. Others have wanted recognition or prestige in the Body of Christ. “We are apostles,” they claim, expecting that taking the title means they deserve the same respect those early apostles have who opposed the Roman empire, withstood the fierce persecution of the Jewish leaders and spread the gospel all over the world - at the cost of their lives. In modern day apostles were willing to push through into the strongholds of the 10/40 window, endure stonings and jail sentences and plant churches among the unreached, then maybe they would be held in great respect as well!
11. Placing Too Much Emphasis on the Role of National Workers. This line of reasoning says it is the role of nationals to reach their own country, or the unreached people groups within their nation. The primary reasons given for this approach to missions is twofold:
    1. It costs too much to send missionaries to Third World countries
    2. Nationals learn local languages and adapt to indigenous cultures better

    If this is true, it means all missions done by those from the West should come to an end. This would be cheaper financially, and it may be true that they learn languages and adapt to cultures better, but it lacks a Scriptural basis. Jesus commanded the whole church to go into the whole world. It is more cost effective to support national workers, but the price we would pay in lost vision and spiritual vitality for not having a burden for the whole world would be far higher. The task of reaching every creature and every people group is a big enough one for every believer and every church to have its part.

12. We Don’t take the Bible Seriously. God inspired the Scriptures to be the standard for faith and conduct. By failing to study the book of Acts, and not applying the principles and methods used by those first missionaries, we presume on God. If we do not apply God’s word to guide our church and missions policies today, we rely on our own wisdom instead. This failure calls for repentance and radical changes in how we do missions.

Key Verse in the book of Acts

Acts 1:8: “ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Major Themes

Two themes are introduced in the key verse that are developed by the author throughout the book:

1. The spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles: “you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth…”
2. The power of the Spirit and its role in the spread of the gospel: “you shall receive power…”

Outline of the Book of Acts

Acts 1:8 is Luke’s outline for the entire 28 chapters. He systematically records the growth of the church from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth, developing the two themes mentioned above as he tells the story of the growth of the church:

• Jerusalem and Judea - chapters 1-7
• Samaria - chapter 8
• The ends of the earth - chapters 9-28

Peter is the central figure in chapters 1-12, and Paul is the leading person from chapters 13-28.

Timeline of the Book of Acts

All dates are A.D.:

• 30 Ascension of Jesus, Day of Pentecost
• 31 Persecution from Jews becomes severe
• 32 Philip evangelizes Samaria
• 33 Paul is converted
• 34-36 Paul in Damascus, Arabia, Jerusalem
           Peter evangelizes in Judea
• 37-45 Paul is in Tarsus and Antioch
           Peter is continuing to lead the church in Judea
           Laymen fleeing persecution begin Church in Antioch
• 40 Peter goes to Cornelius house - Acts 10
• 46 Barnabas brings Paul to Antioch
      James is leading in the church in Jerusalem
• 47-48 Paul’s first missionary journey
• 49 Paul is back in Antioch
      Jerusalem Council
• 50-52 Paul’s second missionary journey
• 52-53 Paul is back in Jerusalem and Antioch
• 53-57 Paul’s third missionary journey
• 57 Paul returns, is arrested in Jerusalem
• 58-61 Paul in Rome
• 61-62 Paul’s possible release
• 63-64 Paul’s final arrest, death

The Setting for the Book of Acts

The cultural and political setting of Acts is fascinating. The Roman Empire was the dominant political reality. The central government of Rome controlled over 30 provinces, stretching from Southern Europe all the way around into North Africa. Each province had its own language and culture. The Christian faith began as an insignificant “sect” in one of those provinces and within 70 years it became a powerful force to be reckoned with. Three centuries later it was declared the official religion of the Roman Empire!

It is estimated that the Jews comprised 8%, or approximately 7 out of the 90 million people that comprised the total population of the Roman Empire at that time. In the thirty-year span covered by the book of Acts, the church grew from 120 believers to over 100,000 Jewish believers alone. That does not include Gentile converts, estimated to be twice that number!

From the time of Jesus ascension it took fifteen years for the Jewish believers to start reaching out to the Gentiles in a deliberate fashion, and then it took persecution and signs and wonders to push them out of their ethnocentricity (see Acts 11: 20 where missionaries from Cyprus and Cyrene traveled to Antioch of Syria to preach the Gospel). Paul and Barnabas reached out to the Gentiles, without insisting they convert to Judaism to become followers of Christ, but this so controversial among Jewish leaders in Jerusalem that they had to have a church council to discuss the matter! (see chapter 15).

Key Individuals in the Book of Acts

The key people in the book of Acts include Peter, Paul, James the brother of Jesus, Cornelius, Barnabas, the apostles and deacons in Jerusalem, Timothy, Lydia, Silas, Titus, John Mark, Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla, Agabus, Ananias, Felix, Herod, Festus.

Chapter Themes

Chapter One:

• The Disciples Commissioned by Jesus
• His Ascension Into Heaven
• New Apostles Chosen

Chapter Two:

• The Holy Spirit Empowers the Disciples and Apostles on the Day of Pentecost
• They Speak in the Tongues of All the Major People Groups in the Mediterranean
• Peter Preaches to the Onlookers
• Those Who Receive the Gospel Gather as a Church For Prayer, Worship and Fellowship

Chapter Three:

• A Beggar is Healed by the Temple
• Peter Seizes the Opportunity to Preach

Chapter Four:

• Peter and John Taken Before the Council
• Believers Are Strengthened as They See Answers to Their Prayers
• The Building is Shaken Where They Are Gathered
• Believers Share All Things in Common

Chapter Five:

• Ananias and Sapphira Lie to God and the Believers
• The Apostles Preach and Heal
• Believers Meet Regularly To Worship in Solomon’s Portico in the Temple
• The High Priest Persecutes the Apostles - Then an Angel Sets Them Free
• In and Out Before the Counci

Chapter Six:

• Believers Experience Discontent Over Food
• Deacons Are Chosen so the Apostles Can Focus on Their Primary Calling
• Stephen is Arrested
• The Number of Believers Greatly Increases In Spite of Persecution

Chapter Seven:

• Stephen Addresses the Council of Jewish Leaders
• Stephen Stoned to Death as Saul Watches

Chapter Eight:

• Persecution Increases - Believers Are Scattered
• Saul Devastates the Church
• Phillip Goes to Samaria
• Believers Scatter and Preach to the Gentiles
• Phillip Goes to Gaza - Meets an African From Ethiopia

Chapter Nine:

• Saul Converted on Road to Damascus
• Saul in Damascus, Jerusalem
• Church Has A Period of Peace, Grows, Experience His Comfort
• Peter Heals Aeneas, Raises Dorcas(Tabitha)
• Peter Travels to Visit Believers Where They Have Been Reached by Scattered Saints
• Peter Stays in Joppa a Long Time

Chapter Ten:

• Cornelius Receives Angelic Visitation
• Peter Also Has a Vision - Visits Cornelius
• Peter Concludes Gentiles Are To Receive the Gospel
• Spirit Falls on Gentiles

Chapter 11:

• Peter Confronted By Jewish Believers in Jerusalem
• Peter Explains And Defends the Spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles
• Church in Antioch Grows
• Barnabas Sent to Antioch - Stays There
• Barnabas Goes to Tarsus to Find and Saul/Paul and Bring Him to Antioch
• Barnabas and Paul Go to Jerusalem to Bring Gifts to the Saints

Chapter 12:

• James the Brother of John is Killed
• Peter is Imprisoned and Escapes
• Death of Herod Agrippa

Chapters 13 and 14:

• Church in Antioch Worships and Fasts
• Spirit Tells Believers to Send Paul and Barnabas to Spread the Gospel
• They Depart For Their First Missionary Journey

Chapter 15:

• Some Jewish Believers From Jerusalem Came To Antioch to Tell the Gentile Christians They Have to Obey The Law of Moses
• Paul and Barnabas Sent to Jerusalem to Sort Out This Problem
• The Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem Meet and Decide They Should Not Make It Difficult for Gentiles to Turn to God
  • James quotes a prophet who said that Gentiles will also bear His name; though this is inclusive, it still misses the point of God’s covenant with Abraham being for the very sake of the Gentiles.
  • This council indicates a great breakthrough in Jewish Christian thinking, but it is still not representative of God’s heart for all the nations of the earth. Paul demonstrates later in Acts that he understands this difference when he refers to God’s command to Adam and Eve that they should multiply and fill the whole earth (Acts 17:26).
• Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

Chapters 16:1-18:22:

• Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

Chapter 19:

• Paul’s Third Missionary Journey - 18:23 -

Chapter 22:

• Paul Returns to Jerusalem, Observes a Vow at the Suggestion of the Church Leaders, and Jews From _______ Recognize Him and Start a Riot
• Paul Speaks Boldly to the Mob
• Paul Declares His Roman Citizenship to Escape A Beating
• Paul Taken Before the Priests and High Council of Jewish Leaders

Chapter 23:

• Paul Addresses the High Council
• Plot to Kill Paul Revealed by Paul’s Nephew
• Paul Taken to Caesarea - Meets With Felix

Chapter 24:

• Paul Appears Before Felix, Ananias So They Can Bring Accusations Against Him
• Paul Makes His Defense
• Paul Spends Two Years in Prison Waiting For Trial

Chapter 25:

• Paul Appears Before Festus, the New Governor
• Paul Appeals to Caesar
• Paul Speaks to Agrippa

Chapter 26:

• Paul Before Agrippa
• Paul Sails for Rome
• Storm and Shipwreck

Chapter 28:

• Shipwrecked on Malta
• Paul Arrives in Rome
• Paul Lives in a House, With a Soldier to Guard Him
• Paul Teaches About Jesus and the Kingdom of God

Paul’s Missionary Journey’s

I. Paul’s First Journey

The setting for Paul and Barnabas to be sent out is the city of Antioch. It is a city of about 500,000 people! The Jews lived in a ghetto of about 25,000 people. The church had no central location in whcih to meet, so they were in a sense house churches scattered around the city.

We are introduced to the concept of the local assembly and the missionary band, both equally part of the church. The two were no doubt based on the Jewish model of the synagogue and the proselytizing bands. So in the church you have both those who were in the local assemblies and who are set aside for the work, in this case the missionary band.

Antioch of Pisidia is in Galatia, and it was about a year after his first journey that Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians (48 or 49 AD). See Galatians 4:13.

Everywhere Paul established churches there was:

1. a Roman garrison or center of administration - Paul used the security of a strong Roman administration and presence. He found in the Roman centers a greater openness and toleration for his message, and material influence and wealth to support his work. There were certain ideas in the Roman mindset that were similar to the gospel Paul preached: a worldwide kingdom, rule of law, peace for all, inclusive citizenship, citizenship of common people.
2. centers of Greek civilization. Meant there was higher standard of education. Paul used the advantage of a common language and expected his followers and disciple[les to use it to their advantage. Roman administration was built on Greek education. One language was as important as one government.
   

   From the beginning, Christians were learners. They searched the Scriptures and were not afraid to examine what was taught them. Believers were expected to give a reason for the hope within them.

3. all the places Paul preached were centers of Jewish influence. Under the roman authority, Jews enjoyed protection of the law. When Paul went to the synagogues, he enjoyed a distinct advantage: he had an audience that understood the underlying principles of his message, and they were familiar with the texts he quoted to prove that Christ was the Messiah.
4. Paul established churches sin places that were centers of international commerce. The cities he focused on were in positions of leadership within the provinces. They were foremost in shaping policy and law, and thought.

The Itinerary of Paul’s First Missionary Journey:

(chapters 13:1 to 14:28)

Seleucia - seaport of Antioch

Cyprus - Salamis and Paphos, many small towns in between; Barnabas was from Cyprus. Sail to Asia

Perga - in region of Pamphylia, did not stop to preach or plant a church (does the same in 17:1)

Antioch - in region of Pisidia. About a 100 mile walk from Perga through rugged mountains on foot. A region known to infested with bandits (2 Cor. 11:26 “perils of robbers”). Paul came from Tarsus about 250 miles East of Antioch of Pisidia on the same trade route.

Iconium - stayed a long time, in Turkey, called Konya today. About 80 miles east of Antioch of Pisidia. About a weeks journey on foot.

Lystra- About a day’s journey from Iconium on foot. Where Paul later links up with Timothy, so there must have been Jews there. (see 14:6-8). Paul stoned and left for dead in Lystra.

Derbe - 60 miles from Lystra. 3 days journey.

Return through Lystra, Iconium, Antioch and Perga. Going back to enemy territory!

Attalia

Set sail for Antioch of Syria

Antioch - home again

Missionary methods and principles learned from Paul’s first missionary journey:

• They (Paul and Barnabas) went to lots of towns and villages to preach (13:6), but only stayed when there was a response to the gospel(13:42)
• They visited places of worship (13:5 - Salamis, 14:1- Iconium) and then spent time with those who responded to their preaching. Occasionally they were given opportunities to speak by local religious leaders.
• In the synagogue there were Jews, proselytizes, and God-fearers (gentiles who had not yet converted - see 13:16,26).
• They preached a contextualized message, building on the religious views and understanding of the people (13:17 - to the Jews, 14:16 ff - Gentiles). They quoted the religious scriptures of their listeners which showed that the gospel was the fulfillment of their religious hopes (13:33,47). Paul believed that God placed a witness to Himself within the culture and religion of the gentiles, just as He had done for the Jews (14:16-17).
• They experienced persecution and attacks of various kinds where there was a response to the gospel (13: 45, 50, 14:3, 14:19).
• Paul gathered those who became believers. This insured a system of mutual accountability and instruction into which new converts could be baptized. In other words, he did not baptize uninstructed converts apart from a system of mutual accountability, worship and instruction. In that sense, he did not just gather congregations, he planted churches with leadership, teaching and discipline. On their return visit to these new churches, about 6-9 months later, they appointed elders (with fasting and prayer - 14:23). They turned these new believers over to the care of the lord. It is not stated here, but I think Luke assumes the reader knows that Paul and Barnabas would have baptized their new believers, as they were commanded to do by Jesus (Matthew 28:19).
• They went to key places, (Perga, a port city, and Iconium, an important commercial center on the trade route between Asia and Syria)
• They did signs and wonders in response to circumstances (13:9 12 -Paphos, 14:8 - Lystra), and as a proof that their message was true (14:3)
• They carried on with their journey even though one of their team members, a trainee, left them (John Mark - 13:5,13). It is notable they were not hesitant to take a trainee with them on their missionary journey, and even though he did not do well then, later he went on to preach the gospel.
• They went back to visit and strengthen those who became believers (14:21).
• They taught new believers they would face persecution and suffering (14:22), and that this was the way to enter the Kingdom of God.
• They did not seek out contact with the enemy, nor were they concerned about what the devil was doing, but when they ran into spiritual opposition they did not back down from it. In fact, they confronted it aggressively (13:8-12 - Paphos).
• They reported back to those who sent them out and stayed with them a “long time” (14:27).
• They worked as a team (13: 6 = “they”, 13:13 = “those with him”).

Paul’s Strategy.

There is no internal evidence to suggest that Paul had a plan of attack worked out in advance as to where they would go or what they would do on their journey. On the other hand Paul did think strategically. In terms of their methodology, it is quite clear that Paul and Barnabas assumed that they would preach and plant churches. Paul thought strategically, but he was not bound by a strategic plan. In fact, it seems clear that Paul had several strategic objectives in mind as he set out on this his first missionary journey:

1. They should reach provinces, not just cities. Luke speaks of provinces almost more than he does cities in giving his account, and I think it is safe to assume that he picks up this view from his association with Paul (e.g., places where Luke refers to regions, not just cities: 13:4, 13,14, 49, 14:6, 24).
2. They would confine their work primarily within the confines of Roman administration. Paul used to his advantage the Roman system of transportation, and thought in terms of the Roman administrative system. On his first missionary journey Paul sticks to the Roman PlaceType w:st=”on”>province of South Galatia, which borders his own native PlaceType w:st=”on”>province of Cilicia (where Tarsus is located).
3. Third, Paul did not think in terms of reaching every village within a province, but rather he intended to reach key cities or towns and that from there the gospel would spread. This is important because it indicates that Paul was not just interested in planting individual churches, but in starting multiplying church planting movements. He intended to plant churches that had missions and multiplication in their genetic code. He said to the Roman Christians ten years from the start of his first missionary journey, that he had “…fully preached the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem and around from Illyricum…” (Romans 15:23).
4. The first missionary journey was closer to home base than following trips.

Summary: They visited one Island, three Roman districts, nine cities and many small towns. They planted four churches we know of (Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe). They were chased out of Antioch, Iconium and Lystra; Paul was stoned and left for dead in Lystra (14:20). They appointed elders on the return visits where there were believers (14:23). They took three boat rides, walked many miles (Lystra was twenty-five miles from Antioch, and it was a further metricconverter w:st=”on” ProductID=”50 miles”>50 miles from Lystra to Derbe), including treks across mountains. They were gone about one to one and one-half years. Most of Paul’s first missionary trip took place in what is today the nation of Turkey.

Paul planted churches that were not dependent upon outside resources for sustenance. He trusted the Holy Spirit to sustain the work that was begun. He appointed leaders that were brand new converts. He stayed long enough to see a work up and going, and not longer.

Luke shows how God broke through the ethnocentrism of the Jews. God was so committed to His people embracing all the peoples of the earth. He gave visions, dreams, angelic visitations, tongues, and even persecution to break the Jewish believers out of their self-centeredness. Lessons we learn from this: change comes hard to the religious. Spiritual leaders often have to fight upstream while people change.

II. Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

The Itinerary for Paul’s Second Missionary Journey:

Syria - a Roman province, or administrative region

Cilicia - a Roman province, or administrative region

Derbe

Lystra - from Lystra, he took Timothy with him and went from town to town preaching

Phyrgia - a Roman district, or sub- region of a province

Galatia - a Roman administrative region; they were kept by the Holy Spirit from going deep into “Asia”, so they skirted along the Northern border of this region

Border of Mysia, Bithynia - spirit of Jesus would not let them enter these provinces

Troas - Macedonian vision

Macedonia - another administrative province for Rome (in modern day Greece)

Samothrace

Neapolis

Philippi - a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia

Thessalonica - and from Thessalonica. they passed through Amphipolis and Appolonia

Berea

Athens

Corinth - sailed from there for Syria

Cenchrea

Ephesus

Caesarea

Jerusalem

Antioch

Missionary Methods and Principles We Learn From Paul’s Second Missionary Journey:

• Paul returned to churches started on his first missionary journey to strengthen them (15:41)
• He recruited new team members from previous church plants (16:1).
• He sought references from other believers (16:2)
• He reported the decision from the Jerusalem council to the churches (16:4). He respected spiritual authority, but there is no place in the Scriptures that the apostles and elders in Jerusalem actually directed the work in the field.
• Paul and his team allowed their itinerary to develop spontaneously, as they were led by the Holy Spirit (16:6,7, 10). This allowed them to be open to new developments and to respond quickly to God’s leading, something that would not have been possible had they been under instructions from the leaders back in Jerusalem or Antioch. They were field based, and Paul was certainly “field driven” in his vision.
• Paul ministered to a business woman, led her to the Lord, and then stayed in her home. This shows his openness to women, and demonstrates that the Philippian church was started in the home of a woman (16:1-15; also see 17:4b, 17:12, and 17:34 - Luke would not have mentioned all these women unless he was trying to make a point). Verse 15 indicates Lydia had to persuade Paul to overcome some cultural hesitancy to stay in the home of a woman. This was a cross-cultural situation of the first order. When Paul got out of prison it was to Lydia’s home that he went back to report to the believers. Lydia was obviously a leader in the church or it would not have met in her home. So the first European church was started in the home of a woman and led by a woman!
• The Philippian jailer and his household were saved (16: 31) . This shows the validity of household conversions; it does say that they spoke directly to all the members of the household directly, so the communication of the gospel was not left to the jailer(v. 32).
• Paul baptized people immediately upon their confession of faith in Christ (16: 15, 33). This happened to both Lydia and the jailer in Philippi. Paul evidently saw some efficacious benefit to immediate baptism, and did not insist on public witness for sake of a testimony or witness to Jesus. Luke does not record such baptisms in the first journey of Paul, but neither was he with them on that first journey. ( Luke has joined Paul’s team, most likely in Troas, for it is at this point in the narrative that he changes the description of the team from “they” to “we.” 16:11).
• Even though Paul endured beatings and imprisonment at the hands of magistrates, he was never cowered by these men. He kept his dignity and refused to be treated as a common criminal. He stood up to them so he could conduct his ministry in a manner consistent with the law (16: 34-40). This allowed Paul to operate openly and it established the legality of the church. It was not just his own reputation that he was thinking about. Paul’s Roman citizenship served his church planting efforts well.
• Wherever possible Paul used the religious practices and beliefs of those who believed in God to be a starting point to preach the gospel (17:23). It was his custom to go to the synagogue when he arrived in a town. Whether with Jews or gentiles, he built on the people’s understanding of God that already existed. (17:1-2,10).
• Paul stayed only a short period of time in some places, like Thessalonica (17:2,10 - he preached in the synagogue three Sabbaths in a row, then the riots started). Staying a short period of time was not a principle of operation, but in some places, a necessity. He stayed as long as possible to get the church up and going, but he did not feel a need to stay for years with a new congregation. He trusted the Holy Spirit to guide and mature His people. Paul was an “untiller.” He stayed until the church was gathered and on it’s way to being established.
• We should allow the needs of a place to effect our hearts, no matter how short a time we are there. Paul was “deeply troubled” (“greatly distressed” = NIV) by the idolatry he saw in Athens.
• Paul preached in the public square in Athens. Open air preaching is an appropriate means of spreading the gospel. (see 17: 17). His public proclamation of the gospel led to a church being started in Athens. The church included a member of the Athenian Council of Philosophers, referred to in some translations as the Areopagus, and a lady named Damaris (17:34).
• Paul linked up with Aquila and Priscilla, who were in exile in Corinth because Claudius had kicked all the Jews out of Rome(18:1-3). He was not hesitant to link up with other believers as long as it did not deter him from his goal of preaching and winning converts.
• Paul was a focused man. (18: 5). This kind of focus in necessary if we are to achieve results when seeking to reach the unreached.
• His focus was on reaching unevangelized Jews in the beginning, but when they rejected Paul, he “shook his clothes in protest” and told them their blood was on their own hands. This freed Paul from a sense of responsibility (18: 6) to preach to the Jews (which may explain why he always visited synagogues when he came into a town). From then on in Corinth he went to the Gentiles.
• But he did not go far. He went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a “worshipper of God” (18:7). Crispus, the synagogue ruler, was also converted, along with a great many other Corinthians. Paul baptized them and thus a church was born. The fact that Paul was meeting with these new saints in the house of Titius Justus says that it was not a congregation in the hundreds(18:7).
• Even though a church was planted, God gave Paul specific instructions to stay in the city and not to be afraid because no one was going to harm or attack him(18:10).The fact that he received this kind of word indicates he must have been “looking over his shoulder,” which is understandable when you remember how many times the guy was stoned and beaten. God also told him, “I have many people in this city…”(18:10). In response to this word, Paul stayed one and one half years in Corinth (18:11).
• Paul sailed via Ephesus for home, visiting churches on the way. He left Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus. He went to Antioch via Jerusalem, where it says he “greeted the church” (18:22). Paul paid a lot of attention to relationships, visiting and encouraging the churches wherever he could. This was no small matter in those days where travel took so much time.

Summary:

Paul traveled in 6 Roman administrative regions or provinces, visited 17 cities that we know about, and spread the Gospel westward to Europe. He planted four churches on this journey that we know about, and visited and strengthened many of the churches planted on his first journey. He communicated the decision made at the Jerusalem council about obeying Jewish rites and laws to the churches in Galatia.

Paul’s method was to start churches. This had become a pattern for him, and he obviously sees it as a key for reaching whole regions or provinces with the gospel (see 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8). He did not spend a long time with the churches, normally due to persecution. The longest time he stayed with any church was one and one half years in Corinth, and that was in obedience to a vision he received from the Lord instructing him to keep on speaking and not to be afraid.

I would estimate that this journey took three years total. He traveled a great deal by foot through Macedonia, Achaia and Galatia and around the border of Asia. He took a short boat trip from Troas to Macedonia and a long one from the Corinthian port of Cenchrea to Caesarea, the port for Jerusalem.

While Paul was obviously concerned about the poor (evidenced by his commitment to go out of his way to take an offering to the saints in Jerusalem during the famine in spite of his calling and desire to push further in to regions beyond the provinces of Achaia and Macedonia), he kept his focus PersonName w:st=”on” ProductID=”on church”>on church planting. Paul was a singled minded man. I wonder what this methodology says to us about mercy ministries, community development and other holistic programs? These approaches to ministry are obviously important, but I wonder what would happen if missionaries ran the risk of just reaching and teaching believers and empowered the indigenous believers to take on the task of caring for their own poor? Maybe the ultimate form of unbelief for a missionary is not to trust the Holy Spirit in a PersonName w:st=”on” ProductID=”new church”>new church to lead them to do works of mercy?!

Without the focus of church planting much of the ministries to the poor I have observed in third world countries have become unfocused social programs that hold visa security and donor development in idolatrous reverence.

I am jumping ahead, but in the ten-year period in which Paul conducted his three missionary journeys, He did more than most missionaries do in ten lifetimes. I am beginning to suspect from this study it is not because they are not powerfully anointed like Paul. If there is a reluctance to do what Paul did, like he did it, maybe it is because of pride, idealism, or unbelief, not a lack of willingness on the part of the Spirit to touch the heart of people.

III. Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

The Itinerary for Paul’s Third Missionary Journey (18:23 - 21:17):

Galatia – he visited the saints to encourage them and help them grow in the Lord
Phrygia – ditto
Ephesus - stayed two years and three months
Macedonia -
Greece
Macedonia
Philippi
Troas
Asos
Mitylene
Miletus (sailed passed the islands of Kios and Samos) - met the Ephesian elders
Cos (Rhodes)
Patara
Tyre, Syria - in the province of Phoenicia - stayed with believers a week
Ptolemais - stayed with believers one day
Caesarea - stayed in home of Phillip the evangelist - Agabus prophesied he should not go to Jerusalem
Jerusalem - stayed in home of Mnason (an early disciple from Cyprus)

In Jerusalem:

Stayed in home of Mnason - 17:16
Warmly received by all the believers - 21:17
Met with James and all the elders - 21:19
Urged to join four men in purification ceremony (fear of Jews?)- 21:24
Seven days later a riot breaks out when some Jews from Asia see Paul in the temple - 21:27 ff
Paul is beaten, then rescued by Roman soldiers - 21: 32
Commander gives Paul opportunity to speak to the mob! -21:39-40

Principles Learned From Paul’s Third Missionary Journey:

• Paul returned yet again to strengthen the disciples in churches he had planted in Galatia and Phyrgia; Paul was committed to visit and strengthen new believers - 18:23, 20:1-2, 21:4, 7, 8
• God raises up others besides Paul to spread the gospel and teach new disciples; it is God’s work and He will carry it on (Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos) - 18: 24-28
• In 19:1-7 Luke describes an incident in Ephesus where Paul made sure new disciples received the Holy Spirit when they believed. The point Luke is making is not about charismatic theology, but to show that Paul and the others saw the infilling of the Holy Spirit as God’s validation on the Gentiles coming to Him. In fact, we know this to be the case because Paul re-baptizes the Gentile converts in Jesus name, taking time to explain the difference to them between the two baptisms.
• Paul taught the kingdom of God - 19:8
• Paul did not keep trying to reach those who were resistant, obstinate and who spoke against his efforts - 19:9
• Paul preached in one place but was interested in the spread of the gospel throughout the province; he practiced both penetration and saturation evangelism, the wide spread saturation came through strategic means - 19:10

Paul used a public hall to preach the gospel - 19:9

• God did miracles through Paul, and the result was that great fear came on many people, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in great honor - 19:17
• The word of the Lord spread widely as people confessed their sins publicly and turned from sorcery and other evil deeds - 19:18-20
• He used emissaries to help prepare his trips and represent him to the churches - 19:21-22
• Luke gives a lot of space to the riot in Ephesus, primarily to show the impact of the Gospel on society. It was the preaching and miracles that brought the transformation to Ephesian society, not overt attempts to transform society. In fact, this is one occasion where Paul is not directly involved in responding to interacting the rioters 19:23-41
• Most of this chapter is dedicated to reporting the impact of the Kingdom of God when power encounters take place; we learn that the proclamation of the Kingdom of God provokes the powers, and that it is the invasion of key cities and people groups like those in Ephesus that exemplifies how power encounters took place in Paul’s ministry - 19:1-41
• Paul did not always feel it necessary to confront those opposing him; he avoids the Jews seeking to kill him because of his desire to get to Jerusalem before Passover - 20:3
• Paul ministered with others, always traveling with new converts or team members that were assisting him - 20:4-5
• Paul observed Jewish feasts and practiced new worship forms, i.e., communion of the first day of the week, Sunday - 20:6-7
• Paul’s speech to the Ephesian elders gives insight into his core values (20:17-36).Paul, as a leader:

? Lead By Association - v. 18 “…you know how I lived…”

? Lead For the Lord’s Glory - v. 19 “I served the Lord…”

? Lead in Humility and Brokenness - v. 19 “…I served the Lord with humility and tears…”

? Lead in Endurance and Suffering - v. 19, 23 “…I was severely tested…prison and hardships await me…”

? Lead With Compassion For the Lost - v. 19 “I served …with tears…”

? Lead in Boldness - v. 20, 27 “…I have not hesitated to preach…”

? Lead Strategically - v. 20 “…both publicly and from house to house…”

? Lead in Truth - v. 21 “…turn to God in repentance…and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”

? Lead Inclusively - v. 21 “…both Jews and Greeks…”

? Lead in the Spirit - v. 22 “…compelled by the spirit…not knowing what will happen to me…”

? Lead By Principle - v. 22-24 “However…”

? Lead By Laying Down His Rights - v. 24, 21:13

? Lead With Clear Focus - v. 24 “…if only I may finish the race…”

? Lead With Vision - v. 24 “…complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me…”

? Lead As a Debtor - v. 26 “…I am innocent of the blood…”

? Lead With a Pastoral Heart - v. 28, 35 “Keep watch over the flock…be shepherds…”

? Lead With Discernment - v. 29 “Even from your own number men will arise distort the truth…”

? Lead With Faith - v. 32 “I commit you to God…”

? Lead With Pure Motives, Integrity - v. 33 “I have not coveted…”

? Lead Without Creating Dependence - v. 34 “…these hands have supplied my own needs…”

? Lead By Hard Work - v. 34-35 “…by this kind of hard work…”

? Lead With Generosity - v. 35 “It is more blessed to give…”

? Lead With Affection and Tenderness, Emotional Availability - v. 36-37, 19 “…they all wept…”