Beautiful Gospel-Diversity
Good morning Immanuel. The gospel creates a beautiful diversity to the glory of God in Christ!
“Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” (Acts 13:1)
God’s plan has always been to bring people of all nations, cultures, and ethnic groups together as one united family in Christ for his glory and our joy. In Acts 13, we see that reality unfolding through the church of Antioch.
The church of Antioch played such a significant role in early Christianity that disciples there were first called “Christians.” At the time of the early church, Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman empire in both size and importance, making it a strategic base of operation for Paul and Barnabas to begin their first missionary journey.
Luke tells us that among the church leaders in Antioch was a man named Simeon, who was known as Niger. Niger, in Latin, means “black.” John Stott believed that Simeon “was a black African, and possibly none other than Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross for Jesus” (Stott, The Message of Acts, 216). Luke’s inclusion of this detail about Simeon’s nickname is a powerful testament to the gospel’s power to create a new, multi-ethnic family in Christ. As Christianity spread across the world, God was using a group of unlikely partners, diverse in background but united by faith in the risen Jesus.
Let the church today follow in the footsteps of the saints before us and imitate their faith. Let us celebrate the rich gospel heritage of the church. Let us come together and rejoice in God’s wisdom, proclaim His gospel, and welcome one another for the glory of Christ.
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