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Acts 9 shows God's choosing of Saul (later Paul), which is against the human concept; our narrow, erroneous human concept needs to be broken and shattered through the spreading of the church; we must believe that a person can be persecuting the church one hour and preaching the gospel the next hour (vv. 10-22).
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Acts 10 indicates that the Lord's evangelistic move on earth is under His administration on the throne in heaven and that the gospel needs to be spread to the four corners of the inhabited earth to collect all kinds of unclean (sinful) people, cleansing them with the redeeming blood of Christ and washing them with the renewing Holy Spirit (vv. 11-12, 15, 28; cf. Heb. 8:1; Acts 7:56).
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Acts 13 reveals that in the church in Antioch, the five prophets and teachers who were ministering to the Lord were composed of Jews and Gentiles, each having a different background, education, and status; this indicates that the church is composed of all races and classes of people regardless of their background and that the spiritual gifts and functions given to the members of the Body are not based on their natural status (v. 1; 4:36; Rom. 16:21; Luke 9:7-9; Acts 22:3):
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Through these five faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ, the Lord took a great step to set apart Barnabas and Saul for His work and move to spread the gospel of the kingdom to the Gentile world.
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It was absolutely a move by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and with the Spirit through the coordination of the faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ on earth with the Head in the heavens (13:1-4).
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On the apostle Paul's first trip to spread the gospel, he went to Cyprus and then to Asia Minor to establish many local churches (v. 1—14:28; Rev. 1:4).
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After Paul separated from Barnabas, he went out on his second ministry journey to Europe (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and returning through Ephesus back to Antioch) (Acts 15:35-40; 16:6—18:22).
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Paul's third journey was from Antioch to Galatia, Phrygia, Ephesus, Macedonia, and Greece to Jerusalem (v. 23—21:17).
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Paul's fourth journey was from Caesarea to Rome (27:1—28:31).
Morning Nourishment
Acts 9:20-22 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, that this One is the Son of God. And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is this not the one who ravaged those who call upon this name in Jerusalem and came here for this, that he might bring them bound before the chief priests? But Saul was all the more empowered, and he confounded the Jews dwelling in Damascus by proving that this One is the Christ.Acts 9 shows God's choosing of Paul, who was called Saul at that time. He did not choose someone who was sympathetic to Christians and a believer in Christ; on the contrary, He chose a person who persecuted Christians and opposed the Lord...and inflicted harm on Christians.
Ananias could not understand why the gospel should be preached to Saul. This is the human concept; therefore, God did something to shatter this concept. Our narrow, erroneous human concept needs to be broken and shattered through the spreading of the church.
We must believe that a person can be persecuting the church one hour and preaching the gospel the next hour. God is able to do this because He wants to spread. (Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, pp. 29-30)
Today's Reading
[Acts 10 indicates] that the Lord's evangelistic move on earth is under His administration on the throne in heaven (cf. Heb. 8:1; Acts 7:56). All the apostles and evangelists were and still are carrying out the heavenly commission on earth for the spreading of the gospel of the kingdom of God. (Acts 10:11, footnote 1)The gospel [is] spreading to the four corners of the inhabited earth to collect all kinds of unclean (sinful) people (Luke 13:29). (Acts 10:11, footnote 2)
In Matthew 16 the Lord said that He would give the keys of the kingdom of the heavens to Peter (v. 19)....On the day of Pentecost he opened the door for the Jews; however, in the house of Cornelius he opened the door for the Gentiles....At this time the Holy Spirit officially spread the church to the Gentiles and broke down the wall.
The church in Antioch was also part of the story of the church's spreading (Acts 13:1). (Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, pp. 32-33)
The five prophets and teachers recorded [in Acts 13] were composed of Jews and Gentiles, each having a different background, education, and status. This indicates that the church is composed of all races and classes of people regardless of their background, and that the spiritual gifts and functions given to the members of the Body of Christ are not based on their natural status. (Acts 13:1, footnote 9)
The good situation in Antioch, however, was still not enough, so the Holy Spirit came and sent forth Barnabas and Paul to the work; their goal was the spreading of the church (Acts 13:2-12).
On the apostle Paul's first trip to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and to establish churches among them, he went to Cyprus. He did not stay there long before continuing on to Asia Minor, which is modern-day Turkey. In Asia Minor he established many local churches, which represents a further step in the spread of the church (Acts 13—14).
On his second ministry journey, Paul originally thought that he would work in the region of Asia Minor, but the Holy Spirit gave him a vision and wanted him to go to Macedonia, which is in Europe.
The first church that Paul established in Macedonia was in Philippi (16:12)....After Thessalonica, the apostle Paul went on to Berea (17:10), to Athens (v. 15), and then to Corinth (18:1)....Paul then passed through Ephesus (v. 19) on his way back to Antioch (v. 22). (Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, pp. 34-36)
Further Reading: Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church, ch. 2