It appears that at least four different meetings were involved in this strategic conference: (1) a public welcome to Paul and his associates, Acts 15:4; (2) a private meeting of Paul and the key leaders, Galatians 2:2; (3) a second public meeting at which the Judaizers presented their case, Acts 15:5–6 and Galatians 2:3–5; and (4) the public discussion described in Acts 15:6ff. In this public discussion, four key leaders presented the case for keeping the doors of grace open to the lost Gentiles.
Peter reviewed the past (vv. 6–11). We get the impression that Peter sat patiently while the disputing (“questioning”) was going on, waiting for the Spirit to direct him. “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (Prov. 18: nkjv). Peter reminded the church of four important ministries that God had performed for the Gentiles, ministries in which he had played an important part.
First, God made a choice that Peter should preach the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 15:7). Jesus had given the keys of the kingdom to Peter (Matt. 16:19), and he had used them to open the door of faith to the Jews (Acts 2), the Samaritans (Acts 8:14–17), and the Gentiles (Acts 10). The apostles and brethren in Judea had censured Peter for visiting the Gentiles and eating with them, but he had satisfactorily defended himself (Acts 11:1–18). Note that Peter made it clear that Cornelius and his household were saved by hearing and believing, not by obeying the law of Moses.
Second, God gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles to bear witness that they truly were born again (Acts 15:8). Only God can see the human heart; so, if these people had not been saved, God would never have given them the Spirit (Rom. 8:9). But they did not receive the Spirit by keeping the law, but by believing God’s Word (Acts 10:43–46; see Gal. 3:2). Peter’s message was “whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10: nkjv), not “whoever believes and obeys the law of Moses.”
Third, God erased a difference (Acts 15:9, 11). For centuries, God had put a difference between Jews and Gentiles, and it was the task of the Jewish religious leaders to protect and maintain that difference (Lev. 10:10; Ezek. 22:26; 44:23). Jesus taught that the Jewish dietary laws had nothing to do with inner holiness (Mark 7:1–23), and Peter had learned that lesson again when he had that vision on the housetop in Joppa (Acts 10:1ff.).
Ever since the work of Christ on Calvary, God has made no difference between Jews and Gentiles as far as sin (Rom. 3:9, 22) or salvation (Rom. 10:9–13) are concerned. Sinners can have their hearts purified only by faith in Christ; salvation is not by keeping the law (Acts 15:9). We would expect Peter to conclude his defense by saying, “They [the Gentiles] shall be saved even as we Jews,” but he said just the reverse! “We [Jews] shall be saved, even as they!”
God’s fourth ministry—and this was Peter’s strongest statement—was the removing of the yoke of the law (Acts 15:10). The law was indeed a yoke that burdened the Jewish nation, but that yoke has been taken away by Jesus Christ (see Matt. 11:28–30; Gal. 5:1ff.; Col. 2:14–17). After all, the law was given to the Jewish nation to protect them from the evils of the Gentile world and prepare them to bring the Messiah into the world (Gal. 4:1–7). The law cannot purify the sinner’s heart (Gal. 2:21), impart the gift of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:2), or give eternal life (Gal. 3:21). What the law could not do, God did through His own Son (Rom. 8:1–4). Those who have trusted Christ have the righteousness of God’s law in their hearts and, through the Spirit, obey His will. They are not motivated by fear, but by love, for “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:8–10).
Paul and Barnabas reported on the present (v. 12). Peter’s witness made a great impact on the congregation because they sat in silence after he was finished. Then Paul and Barnabas stood up and told the group what God had done among the Gentiles through their witness. Dr. Luke devoted only one summary sentence to their report since he had already given it in detail in Acts 13—14. Paul and Barnabas were greatly respected by the church (see Acts 15:25–26), and their testimony carried a great deal of weight.
Their emphasis was on the miracles that God had enabled them to perform among the Gentiles. These miracles were proof that God was working with them (Mark 16:20; Acts 15:4) and that they were God’s chosen messengers (Rom. 15:18–19; Heb. 2:24). “Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?” (Gal. 3: niv). They had preached grace, not law, and God had honored this message.
If you will review the record of the first missionary journey (Acts 13—14), you will see that the emphasis is on what God did in response to men’s faith. See Acts 13:8, 12, 39, 41, 48; 14:1, 22–23, 27. Note also the emphasis on grace (Acts 13:43; 14:3, 26). God opened for the Gentiles “the door of faith,” not “the door of law.” For that matter the Antioch church, which commissioned Paul and Barnabas, was founded by people who “believed and turned unto the Lord” (Acts 11:21) and experienced the grace of God (Acts 11:23). They were saved the same way sinners are saved today, “by grace, through faith” (Eph. 2:8–9).
Both Peter and Paul received from God special visions directing them to go to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1ff.; 22:21). However, it was Paul whom God set apart as the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13; Gal. 2:6–10; Eph. 3:1–12). If Gentile sinners had to obey the law of Moses in order to be saved, then why did God give Paul the gospel of grace and send him off to the Gentiles? God could just as well have sent Peter!
Peter reviewed God’s ministries to the Gentiles in the past, and Paul and Barnabas reported on God’s work among the Gentiles in that present day. James was the final speaker, and he focused on the future.
James related it all to the future (vv. 13–18). James was a brother to Jesus (Matt. 13:55; Gal. 1:19) and the writer of the epistle of James. He and his brethren were not believers in Christ until after the resurrection (John 7:5; 1 Cor. 15:7; Acts 1:14). James had strong leanings toward the law (there are at least ten references to law in his epistle), so he was most acceptable to the legalistic party in the Jerusalem church.
The key idea in James’ speech is agreement. First, he expressed his full agreement with Peter that God was saving the Gentiles by grace. It must have startled the Judaizers when James called these saved Gentiles “a people for his [God’s] name,” because for centuries the Jews had carried that honorable title (see Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 28:10). Today, God is graciously calling out a people, the church, from both Jews and Gentiles. In fact, the Greek word for “church” (ekklesia) means “a called-out assembly” (kaleo = to call; ek = out). But if they are called out, then their salvation is all of grace and not through the keeping of the law!
The Judaizers did not understand how the Gentiles and the Jews related to each other in the church, or how the church fit into God’s promise to establish a kingdom for Israel. The Old Testament declared both the salvation of the Gentiles (Isa. 2:2; 11:10) and the future establishing of a glorious kingdom for Israel (Isa. 11—12; 35; 60), but it did not explain how they related to each other. The legalists in the church were jealous for both the future glory of Israel and the past glory of Moses and the law. It seemed to them that their acceptance of the Gentiles as “spiritual equals” jeopardized the future of Israel.
We today have a better grasp of this truth because Paul explained it in Ephesians 2—3 and Romans 9— 11. Saved Jews and Gentiles are both members of the same body and “one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). The truth about the church, the body of Christ, was a “mystery” (a sacred secret) hidden in past ages and revealed to the church by the Spirit. God’s “mystery program” for the church does not cancel His great “prophecy program” for Israel. Paul makes it clear in Romans 9—11 that there is a future for Israel and that God will keep His “kingdom promises” to His people.
James stated that the prophets also agreed with this conclusion, and he cited Amos 9:11–12 to prove his point. Note that he did not state that what Peter, Paul, and Barnabas had said was a fulfillment of this prophecy. He said that what Amos wrote agreed with their testimony. A careful reading of Amos 9:8–15 reveals that the prophet is describing events in the end times, when God will regather His people Israel to their land and bless them abundantly. If we “spiritualize” these promises, we rob them of their plain meaning and James’ argument falls apart.
Amos also prophesied that the fallen house (“tent”) of David would be raised up and God would fulfill His covenant with David that a king would sit on his throne (see 2 Sam. 7:25–29). This future King, of course, will be Jesus Christ the Son of David (2 Sam. 7:13, 16; Isa. 9:6–7; Luke 1:32), who will reign over Israel during the kingdom. In fact, the only Jew alive today who can prove His genealogy and defend His kingship is Jesus Christ!
God revealed these truths gradually to His people, but His plan had been settled from the beginning. Neither the cross nor the church were afterthoughts with God (Acts 2:23; 4:27–28; Eph. 1:4). The Judaizers thought that Israel had to “rise” in her glorious kingdom before the Gentiles could be saved, but God revealed that it was through Israel’s “fall” that the Gentiles would find salvation (Rom. 11:11–16). At the time of the Jerusalem Conference, David’s house and throne indeed were fallen, but they would be restored one day and the kingdom established.