The Acts 15 Council Meeting was the ‘Watershed Event.’

The ‘Kingdom gospel’ had been proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth during His earthly ministry to God’s earthly people of the Nation Israel. In Acts 15 Luke records an account of this important council meeting at Jerusalem in about ~51 A.D). This council meeting took place because of the conflict between Paul’s “gospel of the [100% pure] grace of God.” and the Messianic believing Jews in Jerusalem who were undermining the faith of Paul’s ‘grace believers’ in Galatia by trying to bring them under “the Law.”

“And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren [Paul’s Gentile converts], and said, Except [unless] ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1, KJV)

The Law teaching of these Jews was contrary to what Paul taught of ‘Salvation… by grace through faith alone in Christ alone.’ These Jews from Judea were going to Paul’s Gentile converts to subvert them, telling them they were not saved and they needed to ‘keep the Law of Moses.’ They taught that Paul’s gospel was fine so far as it went but that it was not enough… much as much of Christendom today teaches… adding to Paul’s gospel of “salvation by grace through faith.” They taught one could not be saved by believing Paul’s grace gospel alone; saying in order to be saved one had to be circumcised and keep the Law (Act 15:24). Luke records the discord and the call for a council meeting in Jerusalem.

“And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue” (Acts 15.2).

Many Jews from Jerusalem were creating a tremendous problem for those who were being saved through Paul’s ministry. Imagine the confusion! As a result, Paul with others (Gal. 2:1), agreed to go to Jerusalem to address this matter. While the Jerusalem Jewish Messianic church wanted Paul to come to Jerusalem, Paul declared the Lord Himself revealed to him that he should go saying, “I went up by revelation” (cf. Gal. 2:2). After Paul and his companions arrived, the Jews put forward their position succinctly and:

“… there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed [in Jesus as Messiah], saying, That it was needful to circumcise them [Paul’s Gentile converts], and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5).

Verses 1 and 5 of Acts 15 reveal the issue at stake.

• Those who opposed Paul were the Jewish believers of the Lord Jesus’s “little flock” (Luke 11:32), the remnant of Messianic Jewish believers who formed the Messianic Jerusalem Church. They had believed Jesus’ “the gospel of the kingdom,” and that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God and had taken John’s water baptism of repentance ‘in the name’ of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 16:13-16; Jn. 11:25-27; Acts 8:35-38).
• Their position was that Paul’s Gentile converts were not saved by simply believing Paul’s pure grace gospel, and that Salvation still required circumcision and the keeping of the Mosaic Law.

We know that Paul’s “My Gospel” was “the Gospel of the Grace of God” (Acts 20:24) from the time of Paul’s conversion. Paul here declares the “power” of his new gospel and the “Revelation of The Mystery [Gk. musterion, God’s formerly secret plan].”

“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my [Paul’s] gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the Revelation of The Mystery, which was Kept Secret since the world began,” (Romans 16:25 (KJV)

In Acts 15 and Galatians 2 we see how Paul explained his new gospel to the Jerusalem Messianic Church council (cf. Gal. 2:2). Some ask, why did Paul need to “explain” his gospel? Some would ask, didn’t the Jerusalem Messianic church leaders know Paul’s unique message of God’s pure grace and that faith alone is able to save? The answer is ‘YES, they did know what Paul taught’ and that is what precipitated the conflict. They knew exactly what Paul was teaching, but they did NOT UNDERSTAND or AGREE with Paul’s simple faith gospel. They didn’t understand why Paul taught what he did. Paul’s gospel was quite unlike that of “the Twelve” who received from Jesus of Nazareth “the gospel of the kingdom” for Israel as was preached during His earthly ministry and in the early-Acts period, before Paul.

Paul had received his ‘faith Gospel’ Directly from The Risen, Ascended, Celestial, Glorified, Lord Jesus Christ … for the Gentiles. Thus, Paul wrote;

“For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. ¹² For I neither received it [my gospel] from man, nor was I taught it, but I Received It Through a Revelation of [from] Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 1:11-12)

Paul had very little contact with Jesus’ “Twelve Apostles” to Israel (Gal. 1:15-23, 2:1, 8-9). After Paul’s conversion, instead of going back to Jerusalem right after his conversion, Paul went into Arabia. Only after about three years Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Jerusalem. While in Jerusalem the first time after his conversion, Paul stayed with Peter for fifteen days, but he saw no one else of “the Twelve.” The only other person he saw was James, the Lord’s half-brother (Gal. 1:15-19).

Paul explicitly declared that those in Judea did not know him (Gal. 1:22). The gospel that those Jews in Judea preached was Jesus’ “the gospel of the kingdom,” for Israel Only, not Paul’s “gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Jesus’ “gospel of the kingdom” was the gospel proclaimed during Jesus’ earthly ministry to Israel (cf. Matt. 15:24, Rom. 15:8).

The “gospel of the kingdom,” began with John the Baptist (Matt. 3:1-2; Mk. 1.4) and Jesus continued it in His earthly ministry (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15). The “gospel of the kingdom” was for Israel to focus upon the ‘identity’ of Jesus as ‘the Christ; as the “Messiah,” the “Son of God.” Thus, they were baptized ‘in His name.’ Recognizing Jesus’ identity as ‘the Christ (Messiah)’ was a key requirement for Israel’s genuine Messianic believers, before Paul came on the scene with his new gospel.

After the Lord’s resurrection, Peter on the day of Pentecost preached “the gospel of the kingdom” to “Ye men of Israel” (Act 2:22, 2:29-39; 3:12-26). The “gospel of the kingdom” for Israel then required these elements for salvation.

1. water baptism,  
2. repentance, (with evidence, Luke 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, …”)
3. believe in the Identify “Jesus of Nazareth” as “the Son of God,” the Messiah,
4. keep the Mosaic Law.

It was through this “gospel of the Kingdom” for Israel that Peter (Matt. 16:15-20) and Martha (John 11:23-27) were saved. Paul also was first saved under Jesus’ “gospel of the kingdom,” for no other gospel was yet revealed to be enacted.

Paul soon after preached Jesus’ Identity as “the Son of God” in the synagogues (cf. Acts 9:20). Paul didn’t yet preach ‘faith in Christ alone.’ But later, the ascended Christ ‘progressively’ revealed grace gospel and the Cross-work of Jesus to Paul (1 Tim. 1:11).

Paul’s gospel became fully revealed as an entirely ‘new gospel’ … that “Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead” (cf. 1 Cor. 15.1-4). It was this gospel that Paul then ‘explained’ before the Jews at the Jerusalem council meeting as seen in Acts 15.

Paul emphasized his “my gospel” of Rom. 2:16 and 16:25 which he says was the “gospel I preach among the Gentiles” (Gal. 2:2). The risen Christ had appointed Paul as “THE [one] apostle to the Gentiles” (Acts 9:15; Rom. 11:13; Eph. 3:1, 4:1). Jesus from heaven commissioned Paul to be the minister of “the gospel of grace” (Gal. 1:15-17) for the Gentile “body of Christ,” that consists of ALL lost men… including the lost Jews.