Commentary on Acts 11:22-26

By Bob Myhan

²²Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.

The ears of the church, of course, are the ears of the members, especially the apostles and elders. It may be remembered the name, Barnabas, means “son of consolation” (KJV) or “Son of Encouragement” (NKJV), meaning that he was the epitome or essence of exhortation.

It may also be remembered that he was a great encouragement to Saul of Tarsus when the latter came back to Jerusalem three years after his baptism in Damascus. Thus, Barnabas was the ideal person for the job of encouraging the new disciples in Antioch.

It is truly unfortunate that in far too many cases encouragement is left undone. New converts are often expected to join classes which have been in progress for many months, with no thought given to whether or not they have the background for jumping in midstream, so to speak. It is one thing to be apt to teach and quite another to be apt to encourage and new Christians need to be encouraged at least as much as they need to be taught, if not more.

²³When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. ²⁴For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

To see the grace of God is to see the results of His grace. What Barnabas literally saw was the results of the evangelistic efforts of those from Cyprus and Cyrene (verses 20-21). These babes in Christ needed encouragement and he was just the man they needed. It is not sufficient to merely be baptized into Christ on a profession of one’s faith (Gal. 3:26-27); one must also “continue with the Lord” “with purpose of heart” (see Acts 14:21-22; Rev. 2:10).

Luke tells us that Barnabas was “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” What he means by “full of the Holy Spirit” is not exactly clear. It could be a reference to the possession of miraculous power or simply to the possession of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). In view of the fact that no miracles are attributed to Barnabas in Acts, it is probably the latter. He was also a man of great faith and one’s faith can only be seen in one’s actions (James 2:14-26)..

The encouragement of Barnabas seemed to spark an increase in evangelism so that “a great many people were added to the Lord,” that is to His spiritual body (compare with Acts 2:41-47). This indicates that more people believed, repented and were baptized.

²⁵Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.

The last time Luke mentioned Saul was in Acts 9:26-30, where it was recorded that Saul was sent to Tarsus because of the attempts on his life by the Grecian Jews who could not hold their own in their disputes with him. The Cyrenians and Cyprians probably having moved on, there is a need for a new “point man” in evangelism. Barnabas remembers the undaunted Saul of Tarsus who “had preached boldly in Damascus” (Acts 9:20-25) and in Jerusalem (Acts 9:29). So he sets out to find him.

²⁶And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Prior to this, Luke has not used the name “Christian,” choosing, apparently, to use it first at this particular pivotal moment in the history of the church when the name was first given. Everything written from 9:1 through 11:18 was to prepare the mind of the readers for this last ripple in the spread of the gospel. It will fall to Saul to be the first to take the gospel “to the ends of the earth,” at least as far as the book of Acts is concerned. He was well qualified for this due to his formal education, Roman citizenship and having seen the Lord on the road to Damascus.

Interestingly, the Greek word translated “called” is almost—if not quite—always used with reference to a divine calling. Notice how this word is used in the following verses.

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. (Matthew 2:12)

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. (Matthew 2:22)

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. (Luke 2:26)

And they said, "Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you." (Acts 10:22)

So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. (Romans 7:3)

For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; ⁵  who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." (Hebrews 8:4-5)

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, (Hebrews 12:25)

In every instance it is God or a messenger of God who did the warning, revealing, speaking, instructing or calling. There is only one that needs explaining. In Rom. 7:3, “she shall be called an adulteress” is contrasted with “she is no adulteress,” indicating she is what she is called. Thus, “she will be called an adulteress” by God.

Isaiah prophesied,

The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name. (Isaiah 62:2)

Surely, “Christian” is the “new name” that would be given by “the mouth of the Lord.”

(To be continued)

“Quench Not the Spirit”

By W. R. Jones

In I Thessalonians 5:19, Paul the apostle wrote, "Quench not the Spirit." Children of God are led by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit, Ephesians 6:17. Through this instrument, the Word, the Holy Spirit is eager to bear fruit in our lives, but we can forbid Him from having this good effect. Paul said, "Quench not the Spirit," which implies beyond a doubt that the Spirit can be quenched.

The expression "Quench not the Spirit," is no doubt an illusion to putting out a fire. There are three basic ways to put out a fire. (1) One can pour water on a fire and put it out. (2) He can put it out by smothering it with some covering material, and (3) one can put a fire out by neglecting to add any more fuel.

The Holy Spirit is here likened unto "fire" in the soul of a child of God. The Christian is a free moral agent, and he can either feed the fire and make the flame burn more brightly or he can put it out. If he wishes the flame to burn more intensely, then it must be nourished by devotion to the things of Christ. On the other hand, anything that will dampen our piety toward God will diminish the flame in our hearts. Anything that will chill our feelings and render us cold and lifeless in the service of God, is calculated to "quench" the Spirit in us. When we neglect to pray, when we give no time to study and meditation, when we are careless about faithful attendance to the assembly, and when we do not stand guard over the purity of our souls, we are withholding the fuel and starving out the flame in our hearts.

There are others who make a pretense at devotion and service to Christ, but they smother the Holy Spirit out with worldliness. They attempt to serve but they never enjoy any real spiritual maturity. Worldly ambition, pride, vanity, immodest attire, a puffed-up attitude toward sin, and a soul that is not "poor in spirit," are simply buckets of cold water poured on the flame.

A very great commentator, Albert Barnes, once wrote; "It is a great rule in religion that all the piety which there is in the soul is the fair result of culture. A man has no more religion than he intends to have; he has no graces of the Spirit which he does not seek; he has no deadness to the world which is not the object of his sincere desire, and which he does not aim to have. Anyone, if he will, may make elevated attainments in the divine life; or he may make his religion merely a religion of form, and know little of its power and its consolations."

How true, how true, are these fine thoughts. Consider this one again: "A man has no more religion than he intends to have." This explains why some members never grow. They never intend­ed to grow!

For years, I have been observing people in the church who have heard enough gospel to convert the world, but they never grow spiritually. They are present for every service, but still do not mature in Christ. It doesn't take a Solomon to detect the trouble. THEY ARE QUENCHING THE SPIRIT!!!! Brother, take a good look at your own life. Is this your trouble? If so, I beg you, quit smothering the flame, and start adding fuel to the fire. (Via the Westview Weekly, June 12, 1988) &