PAUL THE APOSTLE ( Part 18) | THE INTRODUCTION OF SILAS

Pastor Christopher Choo

Lesson 3117

PAUL THE APOSTLE ( Part 18)

THE INTRODUCTION OF SILAS

After the momentous decision of the Jerusalem Council was given, it was committed in writing. And two Council members - Silas and another trusted representative- were instructed to bring the letter back to the church at Antioch and see that it was read out before the Gentile believers and ostensibly to note their reactions.

This introduction of Silas is noteworthy.

But who was he?

1. When we first meet Silas in scripture, he is a leader and teacher in the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:22, 32). After the Jerusalem Council, Silas was chosen to help communicate the council’s decision to Antioch, along with the apostle Paul. Soon afterward, Paul set out on his second missionary journey, and he chose Silas to accompany him (Acts 15:40-41).

2. Peter too saw his potential and called him a “faithful brother” (1 Peter 5:12). 

3. He was probably a Hellenistic Jew who, it seems, was also a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37). He is also referred to as “Silvanus” in Paul’s Epistles (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 1:1). His Roman citizenship would be a helpful passport in the Greco- Roman world.

ABBA FATHER, You foresaw a traveling companion in Silas to accompany Paul in their next missionary journey.

Silas is a great example of someone who used his gifts to serve You and others with all his heart. The apostles called him “faithful,” and he was known as one to “encourage and strengthen the brothers” (Acts 15:32). Multitudes in the early church were blessed by Silas, and Paul and Peter were heartened by his faithful companionship. Indeed Silas was “a brother . . . born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17) as we shall see.