Fellowship and unity

Like wrote a historical narrative about the birth of the church and the new ministry of the Holy Spirit for Theophilus. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jerusalem Council to meet with Peter, James, and the elders because some men from Jerusalem were teaching the Gentile believers in Antioch that they must be circumcised in addition to believing in Jesus to be saved. The Council agreed with Paul and Barnabas that circumcision was not a requirement. They sent a letter with Judas and Silas to the Antiochan believers to let them know that the teachers advising circumcision were unauthorized to teach that. Instead, they recommended to them as brothers (15:23) in the faith to abstain from 4 ritual and purity issues so that fellowship could be maintained between the Gentile and Jewish believers.

The inclusion that they apostles and elders thought of the Gentiles as equals and brothers was critical in bringing reconciliation to Jerusalem and Antioch because of the circumcision party's disruption. Paul would battle them again in his letter to the churches in Galatia.[1]

Unity was important in Jesus' church. Because of our sinful nature, we tend to argue and divide within the church. We are one universal church with Jesus as our head. We are to be unified in spite if our differences. We are to not engage in behaviors that cause others to stumble. Nor are we to engage in divisive behavior. There are absolutes, such as the oneness of God, faith alone for salvation, the divinity of Jesus, etc. but for the nonessentials, we should be gracious and charitable to other views. The Jerusalem Council sought to maintain this unity while correcting bad teaching. They sent the 4 purity/ceremonial instructions as suggestions, not commands. When we love each other, we show the world that Jesus is real.
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[1]John R. W. Stott, The Message of Acts: To the ends of the Earth, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 247-52.

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