Remembering The First Called Christians
A Memorial Day reflection for people of the Church from the book of Acts
Memorial Day invites us to pause for remembrance. We remember the men and women who laid down their lives in the service of their country. Their courage, sacrifice, and quiet faithfulness are the kind of things we should not only recall but also respond to. But for followers of Christ, Memorial Day can also be a sacred time to remember those who came before us in faith. The apostles, the unnamed evangelists, the quiet encouragers—all were used by the Holy Spirit to plant and grow the early Church, often at great personal cost.
Their legacy wasn’t carved in marble. It was etched in hearts, shaped by obedience, and sustained by the Spirit of God. And it still speaks.
Scattered, but not silent
In the book of Acts, we find a surprising pattern—persecution does not extinguish the flame of the Gospel; it spreads it. After the martyrdom of Stephen, believers fled Jerusalem in fear for their lives. But they carried something with them. The Word.
They scattered across Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch—major cities of the eastern Mediterranean world (Acts 11:1-9). Archaeology confirms that these cities were vibrant cultural hubs, teeming with both Jewish communities and Hellenistic populations.
And it was in Antioch, a city layered with Greco-Roman, Semitic, and Persian influence, that the Gospel found fresh soil. Some faithful believers from Cyprus and Cyrene, emboldened by the Spirit, spoke not just to Jews, but to Gentiles—“proclaiming the Lord Jesus.” And Scripture says, “the hand of the Lord was with them” (Acts 11:20-21). The result? A great number believed and turned to the Lord.
These weren’t trained apostles. They were ordinary men and women scattered by hardship but compelled by hope.
Barnabas and the grace of God
When news of this Spirit-driven growth in Antioch reached Jerusalem, the church responded with discernment. They sent Barnabas. The text tells us that Barnabas was “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” He arrived not with suspicion or skepticism, but with joy. “He saw the grace of God and rejoiced” (Acts 11:22–24).
In a time when factions could have divided this young movement, Barnabas chose encouragement. He exhorted them to remain faithful with steadfast hearts. Then, seeing the need for deeper discipleship, he made a journey of his own—to Tarsus, to find a man named Saul. We know him now as Paul.
Together, Barnabas and Saul taught the believers in Antioch for an entire year, grounding them in the truth of the Gospel and shaping a new kind of community. And it was there, in that bustling city filled with a blend of cultures and languages, that the disciples were first called “Christians.” Not by their own naming, but by the watching world—because something about them was unmistakably Christlike.
As Martin Luther once said, “Now the Church is not wood and stone, but the company of believing people; one must hold to them, and see how they believe, live and teach.” What the people of Antioch saw was more than a movement—it was the Church, alive and visible in the lives of those who bore Christ’s name.
A Spirit-led legacy
This wasn’t the first time the Spirit had worked through a host of many nations. Back in Jerusalem, at Pentecost, the Spirit had fallen on the disciples, and people from all over the known world—“Parthians, Medes, Elamites… residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia”—had heard the Gospel in their own tongues. Many believed, and many returned home. Seeds were sown (Acts 2:5–11).
Years later, the Spirit’s guidance was still evident. When Paul and his companions sought to move north in Asia, the Spirit “forbade” them. They tried to go into Bithynia, but “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” Instead, in a vision, Paul was called to Macedonia. The mission moved west—not by human strategy, but by divine command (Acts 16:9–10).
The Spirit was not only empowering the early church. He was directing it—deciding where the Gospel would take root next, when the soil was ready, and which servants would be sent.
“True spiritual maturity is living in the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.” — Sinclair B. Ferguson, Devoted to God, p. 58.
That maturity was evident in the lives of believers who didn’t just respond to circumstances—they followed the Spirit’s leading, even when it meant uncertainty, change, or risk. The early Church grew not by strength of planning, but by the strength of presence—God’s presence among His people.
Where they were first called Christians
That small phrase—“first called Christians”—captures a defining moment in the life of the early Church. In Antioch, a bustling and culturally diverse city, the followers of Jesus began to be publicly recognized not for what they claimed, but for how they lived. The name “Christian” didn’t come from within the church; it came from observers who saw something different—something unmistakably Christlike.
The believers in Antioch had been taught, encouraged, and discipled by Barnabas and Paul for a full year. In that time, their daily lives began to reflect the character of the one they followed. Their speech, their conduct, their love for one another, and their devotion to the Lord revealed a deep inner transformation. The name they were given was not an organizational label. It was a recognition of lived holiness.
John Calvin captured this truth well when he wrote, “The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.” - The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life.
The Gospel had shaped them from the inside out. What they had learned took root in their hearts and bore fruit in their actions. And because of that visible witness, they became known as Christians. That same calling remains for us today—not to impress the world with our words, but to bear the marks of Christ in how we walk, serve, and live under the guidance of the Spirit.
A call to remember—and respond
On this Memorial Day, we honor the memory of those who gave everything in the service of others. We rightly cherish their courage, selflessness, and steadfast devotion. But let us also remember another cloud of witnesses—the ones who were scattered but not silent, persecuted but not paralyzed, unknown but never forgotten.
Let us remember Barnabas, who saw grace where others might have seen risk. Let us remember the believers from Cyprus and Cyrene, who crossed cultural lines because Christ was too good to keep to themselves. Let us remember the Spirit, who led the Church not just where it was safe, but where it was needed.
And then let us ask: Will we be part of that legacy?
The Church today is still being formed—not by fame or force, but by faith. The same Spirit who moved in Antioch is moving now, calling us to be Christians not just in name, but in witness, courage, and devotion.
We honor their memory best not by looking back, but by stepping forward—in the same Spirit, with the same Gospel, and toward the same hope.
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