14:23
We see here structure in the church being established at an early stage. In society in general it was common for “elders” to oversee villages, to have a leadership role. So a similar system was adopted for the church. Some people object to the Pauline authorship of the pastoral epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus) on the grounds that the church government system is too well developed, such arguments are without foundation. They were commended to the Lord. The first duty of an elder in the church is to the Lord, only then will we faithfully fulfil our function.
14:24-26
Pisidia and Pamphylia were very close to each other. . They also passed through Perga and Attalia, preaching the word. Then they returned to Antioch where they had set out from. “They had been commended to the grace of God”. If we look at the journey we see that being under the grace of God does not mean an easy ride, for they faced opposition, were physically attacked. Yet in the midst of this they preached the word and a significant number of people believed and churches were set up. God works in the midst of our difficulties.
14:27,28
On arriving back they reported all that had happened. Mission was the mission of the church. So the things that Paul and his co-workers had done, the place they had been to and the people they had encountered, were not random events, or little asides in life, they were fundamental to what the gospel was all about. Notice the emphasis on what God had done with them, and the doors that He had opened. So often we look at mission as a man centered exercise, when it must be a God centered and God directed exercise. But they also remembered the local church, for they stayed there a long time.
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