Council of Jerusalem

Text and Summary

The event is recorded in Acts 15:1-35.

• Occasion: Certain men who came from Judea to Antioch taught that unless a person was circumcised, he could not be saved. Paul and Barnabas had a sharp dispute with them, and the church at Antioch sent the two men to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
• Meeting: Believers from the party of the Pharisees insisted on circumcision and observance of the law. Peter pointed to the Holy Spirit's coming upon the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius and said, "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they" (Acts 15:11). Barnabas and Paul then reported the signs that had taken place among the Gentiles.
• Decision: James cited Amos 9:11-12 and made a proposal: that the Gentiles be required only to abstain from pollutions of idols, from fornication, from things strangled, and from blood.
• Communication: The church set down this decision in a letter and sent it by Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas. The letter announces the decision with the words "it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us" (Acts 15:28).

Background

As the gospel spread among the Gentiles, questions arose about how Jewish and Gentile believers could share fellowship and meals within one church. Since the Abrahamic covenant, circumcision had been the sign of the covenant people. The meeting is generally dated to the mid-first century, after Paul's first missionary journey, though scholars differ on the exact year. The term "council" is a later designation; the text says only that the apostles and elders "came together" (Acts 15:6).

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The meeting confirmed the principle that Gentiles could become members of the church without first becoming Jews. This principle is closely connected with Paul's understanding of justification and of law and gospel as set out in Galatians and Romans. Within the narrative of Acts, the meeting is read as a turning point at which the gospel moves decisively into the Gentile world.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• Relationship to Galatians 2: Some hold that Galatians 2:1-10 refers to this meeting, while others hold that it refers to the Jerusalem visit of Acts 11:30.
• Nature of the four prohibitions: One view connects them with the regulations in Leviticus 17-18 concerning Gentiles living among Israel. On this reading, the prohibitions are an accommodation that made shared meals and fellowship with Jewish believers possible. Another view reads them as enduring moral norms. Some ancient manuscripts omit "things strangled." Most churches do not observe the prohibition of blood as a literal dietary rule, whereas Jehovah's Witnesses are known to cite this passage as one of the grounds for refusing blood transfusions.
• Precedent for church government: Presbyterians cite this passage as a proof text for the chapter on synods and councils in the Westminster Confession of Faith and regard it as a biblical precedent for deliberative bodies such as the presbytery and the general assembly. Congregationalists and Baptists emphasize that "the whole church" (Acts 15:22) took part in the decision. The Catholic Church regards the meeting as the prototype of church councils and gives weight to Peter's speech, while Protestant interpreters often draw attention to the role of James, who proposed the resolution.