After the church scattered because of the persecution that began with Stephen, those who traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch shared the gospel only with Jewish people. But there were a few who were from Cyprus and Cyrene who preached the gospel of Jesus to the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) in Antioch. The evidence of God being with them as they preached was that many who heard believed and turned to the Lord. When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When the apostles heard about Philip’s ministry in Samaria, they sent Peter and John. Now the church was growing and others, non-apostles, were being used to minister to the church. When Barnabas arrived in Antioch he saw the evidence of God genuinely at work and was glad. True to his name (Acts 4:36), he encouraged the new believers to remain faithful to the Lord with devoted hearts. Some teach that perseverance in our faith is an automatic result of belief in Jesus or even that it is evidence of genuine faith. But here we see Barnabas seeing genuine faith and then encouraging the new believers to be devoted to the Lord and persevere in their faith. God promises that everyone who believes in Jesus is saved forever from the moment of belief (John 5:24; 6:47). But the Christian life requires a continual choice to lay down one’s life (Luke 9:23; Rom 12:1-2) and to develop an abiding relationship with Jesus (John 15:5). This is done through the enablement of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:16-26), the Word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17), and the encouragement of other believers walking alongside you (Heb 10:24-25).

Nonbelievers need a message to believe. Believers need encouragement to continue in the faith and cultivate their relationship to Christ in the context of the Church.

Valdés, A.S

Because of Barnabas’s work, many people were added to the Lord. Because of the growth of the church at Antioch, Barnabas went to Tarsus to fetch Saul and brought him to Antioch where they spent a year teaching the church. It was in Antioch that the disciples, the believers, were first called Christians. “—ians” means “belonging to ”, as Christians we identify with Jesus. The word Christian was not something believers initially used to refer to themselves. They preferred disciples, believers, or brothers. This term was used by others who recognised the distinction of this new group from Judaism.

In those days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. One named Agabus prophesied, by the Spirit, about a great famine that would affect the world (which happened during the reign of Claudius Caesar in about 46-48 A.D.). Just as Jesus’ ministry focussed on the needy, the believers each made a decision based on their own ability to send relief to the brothers in Judea. This gesture would have contributed to the unity of the growing body of the church now spreading abroad. They sent their gift to the elders in Jerusalem by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

How are you doing in your devotion to the Lord? Hopefully, the fact that you’re reading this is an indication of your commitment to spending time in God’s word. What about encouraging other believers to do the same? Are you regularly meeting with other believers, encouraging and being encouraged in your walk with Jesus?