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By Robert C. Ewing
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12 Churches in Acts:
1. Jerusalem church, Acts chapters 1-7
Ephesians 1:1-23 “His Body.” This passage speaks about our position in Christ, the receiving of the Holy Spirit “since the beginning”, the power of His might, and the authority of the church in Jesus. The Jerusalem church pictures the church as His Body; many believers were added to that church but all of them were active, as a healthy body should be.
This church shows the expression of His body on earth; He wants to involve and commit every member of the local church in the expression of the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why he has gifts and a ministry for every believer. Do you know what your part is in it? Does the life of Christ the Head flow through you? Or, are you a paralyzed member of that body? It is time to acknowledge your position in Christ and be baptized with the Holy Spirit so that the power of His might can flow through you and with the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, you can put His enemies under your feet.
2. Samaria, Acts 8:1-25
Ephesians 2:1-10 “His Workmanship.” To those who were dead in sin and walked according to the “prince of the power of the air”, He gave life and seated them in heavenly places in Christ Jesus to ultimately become His masterpiece. No wonder He chooses the foolish, weak, base and despised of the world to create His masterpiece so that no flesh should glory in His presence. Being a “respecter of persons” could hinder your church from becoming a masterpiece in the hands of the Creator of all things.
3. Damascus, Acts 9:1-25
Ephesians 2:12, 19 “The Commonwealth of Israel, The Household of God.” Here is where Paul first learned of the grace of God, for while in his own works when he was persecuting the Christians and defending Judaism, the Lord saved him and worked through him to establish the New Israel of God, the Church of Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote to the Philippians telling them that his nationality and creed were not important at all anymore. Like Paul, we must consider ourselves citizens of heaven, which is the New Jerusalem, where Jesus is the King and where His kingdom rules forever. Paul boldly spoke of Jesus as the Messiah, confounding the Jews by proving that “This is the Christ.”
4. Caesarea, Acts 10
Ephesians 2:13-18 “The New Man.” The Jews and Gentiles constituted the two groups that contained all of mankind. In Christ, there came the new man. By His blood, Jesus broke down the wall of partition and the enmity that separated these two groups. Christ’s Church is the New Spiritual Being that gathers together people from every nation, race and tongue making no distinction. Peter hadn’t realized this truth when he received the vision of the sheet coming down from heaven. Later, when he accepted Cornelius’ invitation, he discovered that, every nation that fears Him is accepted by Him.
It is really amazing how both the Jews and Gentiles gained access “by one Spirit” to the Father (as evidenced by the baptism of the Holy Spirit with tongues).
5. Antioch, Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3; 14:26 -15:2; 15:30-41
Ephesians 2:19-22 “The Habitation of God through the Spirit.” Here we see the Christians of Antioch being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets: “Jesus Christ, the chief corner stone.” The church was growing unto “a holy temple in the Lord,” and was a “dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” This is seen in how the Holy Spirit directed them by making Antioch an apostolic church. One of the basic foundations for the church came when Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem with the matter of circumcision; the results being that the Gentiles were very much edified. What matter the most is to have God’s presence among us continually in our churches, the church must be above all things God’s dwelling place.
6. Philippi, Acts 16:9-40
Ephesians 3:1-7 “Partakers of Christ.” Paul was a prisoner of Christ in Philippi where he experienced being a joint-heir (Ro. 8:17) with Christ. He also partook of the sufferings of Christ for His church in the way they beat and humiliated him. By being a partaker of Christ’s sufferings, you qualify to be a partaker of His rewards. Here also Paul speaks about the inheritance the Philippians received in Christ and how the jailor and his entire household were partakers of the gospel of Christ.
7. Thessalonica and Berea, Acts 17:1- 14
Ephesians 3:8-21 “The Herald.” The church is to proclaim the manifold wisdom and glory of God. Here Paul wrote about his tribulations, proclaiming the Gospel in these twin cities, and that’s how these twin churches were born. These tribulations produced the glory that these Christians were awaiting at the coming of their Lord. The word glory is used 3 times in this passage indicating how precious in God’s sight are the tribulations that we go through when we announce the Gospel. The secret ingredient that will make this glory to be manifested in the church, is to be rooted and grounded in love for Him. There is no other way by which we can willingly pass through the tribulations and persecutions that may arise as we follow the Lord.
8. Corinth, Acts 18:1-18
Ephesians 4:1-16 “The Perfect Man.” The call to unity is one of the things that the church of Corinth needed very much, and here Paul is calling to different kinds of unity through humility, patience and love. The gifts of Christ (the 5-fold ministry) have the purpose of leading us from the childhood state of being tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, as the Corinthians were, to the state of maturity. Paul had to write two large letters to this church in order to help them grow up into Him in all things. There is a constant need in every church to have the 5-fold ministry in operation, so that we can really grow up into maturity. When there is a lack of anointed ministers who can contribute to the maturity of the local church, childish behavior is going to be experienced in the church. We need all five of them.
9. Ephesus, Acts 18:19 — 20:1; 17- 38
Ephesians 5:1-7 “Followers of God as Dear Children.” The Ephesian church learned to follow Paul; they first followed him in the synagogue, then in Tyrannus’ school for two years, and finally to Miletus where he warned them and commended them to the grace of God.
It is easy to see how dear those elders were to Paul as they all wept sore and kissed him as dear children when they know they wouldn’t see him again. Praise God, they continued to follow God, whom they were commended to. There is an important lesson here. Though they followed Paul for years, when he was absent, they didn’t cease to follow God. When children (natural and spiritual as well) are trained to follow in love and not by force, as they mature, will continue to walk in their father’s example of tenderness and loving care even if their fathers be absent for a season. The Spirit has to remind them of this first love in Revelation 2, so they may continue doing the first works.
10. Troas, Acts 20:4- 13
Ephesians 5:8-20 “Light in the Lord, The Children of Light.” The teaching here is not to walk anymore in the old man but to put on the new man and this is pictured by Eutychus in how he was raised from the dead. The secret to kill the old man is using the sword of the Spirit till he fall down dead, then, only the new man who walks in the light will prevail. We also find the exhortation to awake and to be filled with the Spirit; Paul preached all night at Troas because he was walking in the light and full of the Spirit of God. We need to follow the light lest we stumble. As we walk in that light we are going to rebuke the works of the darkness. Every work of darkness has to be rebuked, or else it will hide in the secret corners of the heart laying in wait for the temptation to come and from there to leap like a lion to steal, kill and destroy. Do not pamper the work of darkness, once it is manifested by the light, you need to show you hate it, by rebuking it ‘till it’s gone.
11. Tyre, Acts 21:3-7
Ephesians 5:21-33 “The Wife and Family.” Then comes the section where Paul speaks about the relationship between husband and wife relating it to the relationship between Christ and His glorious Church. It is interesting to note that the only church that mentions the wives and the children is the church in Tyre, the family is the basis for this kind of church where everybody is involved, and the ministry to every member of the family is part of this church’s activity.
12. Rome, Acts chapter 27 & 28
Ephesians 6:5-24 “God’s Army.” The theme we find here is spiritual warfare. The way Paul got to Rome was the way of fighting continually against the opposition of the Jews, the governors, the sea, death and the powers of the enemy. He was always clothed with the armor of God to resist and to overcome. The church has a call to subdue God’s enemies to put them under His feet. This task requires well-equipped saints, willing to wear God’s armor to really be successful in this war. Some people try to overcome the enemy without God’s armor and of course, the results are very disappointing. Paul closes his epistle to the Romans by telling them that the God of peace shall bruise Satan under their feet shortly. The victory is the Lord’s.
By Robert C. Ewing
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