Thought #2

(Rebuilding the Tabernacle of David)
(Acts 15:13-17)

Text: Acts 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men [and] brethren, hearken unto me:
14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

Some Initial Remarks

Here our Brother James is about to present us with the true meaning of an Old Testament prophecy. To be completely honest we might misunderstand this Old Testament prophecy, but God in His great mercy interprets it for us! Knowing that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and that the entire council in Jerusalem accepted James exegesis of Amos 9:11, we must conclude James rightly explained the text. I know that many of by brothers and sisters may disagree, but in this case, you are disagreeing with the Bible not me. As last week I would again challenge us to be like those noble men and women in Berea and see if the things I say be so.

What is being talked about in context?

Men from Judea, professing Christians, were coming from Judea to Antioch (verse 1). The focus of the message from these men was that as Christians these Gentile converts had to be circumcised after the law of Moses to be saved (verse 1). Paul and Barnabus "had no small dissension with them" here is the bottom line the word translated dissension is the Greek word (stasis) it means insurrection, or strife, you see Paul and Barnabus strongly stood against what they were teaching. The Gentile church there in Antioch understanding the seriousness of the matter sent Paul and Barnabus to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders there. Not that they thought they might be wrong, but to get the apostles and elders in Jerusalem there to take a stand on this matter and make it clear that what Paul and Barnabus said was indeed the truth (verse 2). Paul and Barnabus make the trip and are received by the church in Jerusalem (verses 3-4). We see this sect waste no time in exposing itself or it's version of the gospel of God's grace. Jesus can save you if..... (verse 5). The apostles and elders come together to hear the matter (verse 6). Peter speaks first of all, explaining all that God did to Gentiles through him, how there is now no difference between Jew and Gentile, for both must have pure hearts, and that by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (verse 9). He warns about putting a man made yoke on God's gospel message (verse 10). Barnabus and Paul then declared all the wonderful things, and the mighty works God had been doing through their ministry to the Gentiles (verse 12). Then our brother James, of whom history says was the elder at the church in Jerusalem, rose up and begin to speak. (Whether or not he was now pastor of the church or if he was president of this council is not clear). In reality it does not matter for his exegesis on the scriptures is recorded in Holy Scripture and was excepted by all.

The Verses in Study

James, after Peter, Paul, and Barnabus had spoken stands and begins by asking everyone to listen to him (verse 13-14). He begins with agreeing with all that Peter said, but then James does what is most needful, if we are to understand any matter in the scriptures. WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD SAY? You see James says Peter told you what he experienced in sharing the gospel, but now we must look at his experience in light of the word of God, in this case we find that God had foretold this very thing in His Word (verse 15). James then quotes from Amos 9:11

"In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:"

James says simply this! The Gentiles coming into the church was foretold in the Old Testament, yet notice how it was foretold: God would raise up the tabernacle of David as it was before in all it's pomp, splendor, and grandeur. Yet this temple of God was to be not a physical building, or a tent as it was in David's day, but people, God's people. Men and women from all nations as God was "taking out a people unto His Great Name (verse 14). For it was God's plan all along that the temple and all it's glory was only a picture to serve until the time of reformation. Then what had been pictured would be exposed, the church of the Living God, glorious in His sight! No doubt had you polled the streets of Jerusalem that day you would not have found a devout Jew who agreed with James, nor would any today (For they are still waiting for a Savior, having crucified the One God sent). But all the Christians did! Does not the Bible teach that we are the temple of God? (I Cor 3:16, II Cor 6:16). We must realize that as James puts it, "known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (verse 18). We should equally realize that God reveals His truths throughout the Bible, thus the fact that Christians are the tabernacle of David, the temple of our God should not surprise us, but again prove the legitimacy of our faith, for it ws foretold by the prophets, preached by apostles, claimed and fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ!

Application

Many things could be said, and I have already gone longer than I wanted to but a few are needful!
1) Grace and anything, no matter what it is, is a false gospel. It is a man made yoke, that men and women cannot bear. True grace cannot be mingled with man's works of the flesh else they are no longer grace. You cannot mingle together Moses and Jesus. I read behind a man who said "through Jesus is salvation, through Moses is sanctification". I am sorry but that is the very thing that Paul and Barnabus so strongly withstood!

2) We are the temple of the Living God, called here in Acts as the Tabernacle of David. If you are a child of God you are part of His body, His temple, His bride. You are glorious and beautiful to Him for He sees only Jesus in you! We live in a day and age where much is spoken of man's self worth. I will say only this, you and I were worth nothing, yet God gave all heaven had to offer to save us. That alone makes our worth in the eyes of our God more than we can ever imagine.

3) There is a special plan for the nation of Israel, one by one, by faith, they can be added into the rebuilt temple of our God, the real temple of which the old ones were only pictures of. One by one, they can be grafted back into the vine of which we have been grafted into by faith in Jesus Christ.