The Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15)

1. The Council of Jerusalem Was One of the Most Important Events in Church History

• The Council of Jerusalem was the first major doctrinal council held by the Christian Church after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and it became one of the most decisive moments in defining the identity of Christianity as a faith for all nations rather than a movement restricted mainly to Jewish believers.
• The council took place in Jerusalem around AD 48–50 during the apostolic age, while many eyewitnesses of Jesus were still alive, which makes the discussions especially important historically and theologically because the apostles themselves personally addressed the issue.
• The events of the council mainly appear in Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15, while important background information is also found in:
  • Galatians chapters 1–2.
  • Acts chapters 10–14.
  • Romans.
  • Various early Church writings.
• The council dealt with a crisis that threatened to divide the Church into two groups:
  • Jewish Christians who continued to observe the Mosaic Law.
  • Gentile Christians who came directly from pagan backgrounds.
• The main theological question discussed at the council was not a small cultural disagreement but a foundational salvation issue:
  • Must Gentiles become Jews and obey the Law of Moses, including circumcision, to be saved through Christ?
• The answer given by the council shaped the future of Christianity permanently because it clarified publicly that salvation comes through the grace of Jesus Christ and not through the works of the Mosaic Law.

Acts 15:1–2 (NIV)

“Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.”

2. The Historical Situation Before the Council

The Early Christian Church Began Entirely Within Judaism

• Jesus Himself was born as a Jew under the Mosaic Law and lived within Jewish society, worship, and religious life.

Galatians 4:4 (NIV)

“God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”

• All the apostles were Jewish men who:
  • Worshipped at the Temple.
  • Observed Jewish feasts.
  • Read the Hebrew Scriptures.
  • Continued many Jewish customs after believing in Christ.
• The first Christians initially saw Christianity as the fulfilment of Israel’s hope rather than as a separate religion disconnected from Judaism.
• Because of this background, many Jewish believers naturally assumed that Gentiles who wished to follow the Jewish Messiah should also accept Jewish identity markers such as the following:
  • Circumcision.
  • Dietary laws.
  • Ritual purity laws.
  • Sabbath regulations.
• The earliest Christian community in Jerusalem still participated actively in Temple worship after Pentecost.

Acts 2:46 (NIV)

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.”

Acts 3:1 (NIV)

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer.”

• This historical reality explains why the question about circumcision later became such a serious controversy, because for many Jewish believers circumcision was not merely a tradition but a covenant sign given by God to Abraham himself.

Genesis 17:10–11 (NIV)

“Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.”

3. God Begins Opening the Church to the Gentiles

The Conversion of Cornelius Changed the Situation Dramatically

• One of the major turning points before the Council of Jerusalem occurred through the ministry of Saint Peter in Acts, chapter 10.
• Peter received a vision from God in which God presented animals considered “unclean” under Jewish law to him and declared them clean.

Acts 10:15 (NIV)

“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

• Immediately after this vision, Peter was invited to preach in the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion and Gentile.
• Peter entered the home of Gentiles despite Jewish customs discouraging such association.

Acts 10:28 (NIV)

“You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.”

• While Peter preached the Gospel, the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles before they were circumcised or brought under the Mosaic Law.

Acts 10:44–45 (NIV)

“The Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished.”

• This event became one of Peter’s strongest arguments later at the Council of Jerusalem because it demonstrated clearly that God Himself accepted Gentile believers directly through faith in Christ.
• Peter later explained that God made no distinction between Jewish and Gentile believers because both were cleansed through faith.

Acts 15:8–9 (NIV)

“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.”

4. Paul’s Missionary Journeys Intensified the Crisis

Large Numbers of Gentiles Became Christians

• Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas travelled throughout the following:
  • Antioch.
  • Cyprus.
  • Pisidian Antioch.
  • Iconium.
  • Lystra.
  • Derbe.
• During these missionary journeys, large numbers of Gentiles believed in Jesus Christ without first becoming Jews.

Acts 13:48 (NIV)

“When the Gentiles heard the message, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord.”

• Paul intentionally preached salvation through faith in Christ rather than requiring Gentiles to keep the Mosaic ceremonial system.
• His approach created major tension because some Jewish Christians believed Paul’s teaching endangered the following:
  • The authority of Moses.
  • Jewish identity.
  • Covenant obedience.
  • Traditional religious boundaries.
• The issue became especially explosive in Antioch because Jewish and Gentile believers were eating together as one Church family.
• For many conservative Jewish believers, shared meals with uncircumcised Gentiles were deeply controversial.

5. The Judaizers and Their Teaching

The False Teaching Threatening the Church

• A group commonly called the "Judaisers" began teaching that faith in Christ alone was insufficient for salvation.
• They argued that Gentile believers must:
  • Be circumcised.
  • Keep the Law of Moses.
  • Adopt Jewish covenant practices fully.

Acts 15:5 (NIV)

“The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

• Their teaching appeared religious and biblical because circumcision truly had been commanded by God in the Old Testament.
• However, the more profound problem was that this teaching added human works to salvation through Christ.
• Paul recognised immediately that this teaching threatened the very heart of the Gospel.

Galatians 5:2–4 (NIV)

“If you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.”

• Paul understood that if righteousness could come through the Law, then Christ’s death would become unnecessary.

Galatians 2:21 (NIV)

“If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

6. Paul’s Theology of Salvation by Grace

Paul Defended the Gospel of grace.

• Paul consistently taught that human beings cannot achieve righteousness before God through obedience to the Mosaic Law because all people are sinners.

Romans 3:23 (NIV)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

• Paul taught that salvation is a gift given through Jesus Christ rather than something earned through ritual observance.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NIV)

“For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith.”

• Paul argued that Abraham himself was justified by faith before circumcision was given.

Romans 4:9–10 (NIV)

“Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised or before? It was not after, but before!”

• This argument was extremely important because it indicated that faith preceded circumcision even in the life of Abraham.
• Paul therefore viewed Gentile inclusion through faith as consistent with God’s original covenant purposes.

7. The Church Sends Delegates to Jerusalem

The Antioch Church Seeks Apostolic Judgment

• Because the controversy became extremely serious, the Church in Antioch decided to discuss the matter directly with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

Acts 15:2 (NIV)

“Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem.”

• This reveals several important features of the early Church:
  • The Church valued unity.
  • Doctrinal disputes were handled collectively.
  • Apostolic authority mattered greatly.
  • Church leadership worked in council rather than isolated independence.
• The journey itself likely included many discussions about:
  • Gentile salvation.
  • Covenant theology.
  • Jewish identity.
  • The fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy.

Acts 15:3 (NIV)

“They travelled through Phoenicia and Samaria. They told how the Gentiles had been converted.”

8. The Council Begins Its Discussions

Serious Debate Took Place

• The meeting involved:
  • Apostles.
  • Elders.
  • Church representatives.
  • Strong disagreements.

Acts 15:6–7 (NIV)

“The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion…”

• The phrase “after much discussion” demonstrates the following:
  • The issue was not treated superficially.
  • The apostles carefully examined theological truth.
  • The Church did not avoid difficult doctrinal problems.
• Christianity from the beginning involved:
  • Careful theological reasoning.
  • Scriptural interpretation.
  • Spiritual discernment under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

9. Peter’s Speech at the Council

Peter Defends Gentile Believers

• Saint Peter reminded the council about God’s actions among the Gentiles through Cornelius.

Acts 15:7 (NIV)

“God chose you so that the Gentiles might hear the gospel from my lips and believe.”

• Peter argued that God Himself already demonstrated acceptance of Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit apart from circumcision.
• Peter declared that placing the Mosaic Law upon Gentiles would place an unbearable burden upon them.

Acts 15:10 (NIV)

“Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?”

• Peter’s statement was remarkable because he admitted openly that even Israel historically failed to keep the Law perfectly.
• Peter concluded with one of the clearest declarations of salvation by grace in the New Testament.

Acts 15:11 (NIV)

“We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved.”

Endnotes and References

1. The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV).
2. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts.
3. Craig S. Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary.
4. John Stott, The Message of Acts.
5. Richard Bauckham, James: Wisdom of James, Disciple of Jesus the Sage.
6. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History.
7. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Acts.
8. Irenaeus, Against Heresies.
9. Augustine, Letters.
10. Henry Chadwick, The Early Church.