244
The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 3
with them. The heathen might well call them Christians, since they
preached of Christ, and addressed their prayers to God through him.
Paul found, in the populous city of Antioch, an excellent field of
labor, where his great learning, wisdom, and zeal, combined, wielded
[347]
a powerful influence over the inhabitants and frequenters of that city
of culture.
Meanwhile the work of the apostles was centered at Jerusalem,
where Jews of all tongues and countries came to worship at the temple
during the stated festivals. At such times the apostles preached Christ
with unflinching courage, though they knew that in so doing their lives
were in constant jeopardy. Many converts to the faith were made,
and these, scattering to their homes in different parts of the country,
dispersed the seeds of truth throughout all nations, and among all
classes of society.
Peter, James, and John felt confident that God had appointed them
to preach Christ among their own countrymen at home. But Paul had
received his commission from God, while praying in the temple, and
his broad missionary field had been presented before him with remark-
able distinctness. To prepare him for his extensive and important work,
God had brought him into close connection with himself, and had
opened before his enraptured vision a glimpse of the beauty and glory
of Heaven.
God communicated with the devout prophets and teachers in the
church at Antioch. “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the
Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work where-
unto I have called them.” These apostles were therefore dedicated to
God in a most solemn manner by fasting and prayer and the laying
on of hands; and they were sent forth to their field of labor among the
Gentiles.
Both Paul and Barnabas had been laboring as ministers of Christ,
and God had abundantly blessed their efforts; but neither of them had
[348]
previously been formally ordained to the gospel ministry by prayer
and the laying on of hands. They were now authorized by the church,
not only to teach the truth, but to baptize, and to organize churches,
being invested with full ecclesiastical authority. This was an important
era for the church. Though the middle wall of partition between Jew
and Gentile had been broken down by the death of Christ, letting the
Gentiles into the full privileges of the gospel, yet the vail had not yet