Some refer to the day of Pentecost .... as the birthday of the church:
Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
To say that Acts 2 is the beginning of the church .... is to ignore the verse that shows God ‘added to the church’ that was already there:
Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ .... more precisely, ‘Acts-9ers’ .... believe ‘the church, the body of Christ’ (always with the antecedent) began in Acts chapter 9 with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.
You can ask them, "When did the church begin?"
They will answer, "The church, the body of Christ, began in Acts 9 with Paul."
In reality, read the entire chapter of Acts 9, searching for the beginning of a church. There is no verse, no mention, no hint, of a church starting in Acts 9.
Ask them, "What makes you think the church started in Acts 9 with Paul?"
They reply with, "He was the first ‘member’ of the church, the body of Christ," while they refer to a scripture that says absolutely nothing of the sort:
1 Tim 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
In reality, that verse does not say anything about Paul being the first member of a ‘new’ church called ‘the body of Christ.’
I have only heard it said that some ‘mid-Acts-ers’ are ‘Acts-11’ .... but I have never personally known any, nor have I ever heard one named:
Acts 11:21-26 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
‘Acts-13ers’ don’t consider Acts 11 relevant .... because, in their mind, ‘this grace’ is ‘a different grace’ than ‘Paul’s grace’ .... because they say it was ‘before Paul’s grace’ .... regardless of scripture that speaks of those 'in Christ before Paul' (Rom 16:7):
23 Who, when he (Barnabas) came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.
And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people.
If you want someone to be FIRST .... here’s an ‘Acts 11’ FIRST for you:
And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Some other ‘mid-Acts-ers’ believe the church started in Acts 13, when Saul was commissioned by the church. How foolish is that! In reality, how could we even be talking about ‘the church’ beginning in Acts 13 .... when it was ‘the church’ already there who sent out Saul and Barnabas? ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ teach that ‘the church at Antioch’ was ‘a different church,’ than ‘the church, the body of Christ’ which they think was ‘the church’ that Saul started with himself:
Acts 13:1-3 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
‘Acts-13ers’ maintain that ‘the church, the body of Christ’ originated in Acts 13 because Paul blinded a Jew, who tried to prevent the gospel from being preached to a Gentile:
Acts 13:6-12 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
These same ‘Acts-13ers’ also state that Saul’s name being changed to Paul indicates this is where ‘the church, the body of Christ’ began:
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
‘Acts-13ers’ say that Paul preached grace for the first time here:
Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
In reality, if someone wanted to find where ‘grace’ is first mentioned, then they would have to go back to Genesis 6.
But, to ‘mid-Acts-ers’ Noah’s grace is different from Paul’s grace’:
Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
.... or why not end the law, and start grace with Jesus Christ?
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (‘Mid-Acts-ers’ say that Jesus’ grace is not the same as ‘the dispensation of grace’ that Jesus gave Paul.)
Then there are the ‘Acts 28ers’ who say that a new church started after the end of the book of Acts, when Paul stopped ministering to Israel and focused solely on the Gentiles:
Acts 28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
In reality, if you want to see ‘a FIRST church’ in Acts, then look at ‘the wilderness church’:
Acts 7:38 This is he (Moses), that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
Hopefully, you have seen how these many attempts to start ‘a different church’ called ‘the church, the body of Christ’ are completely false. In reality, there are no verses in Acts (nor in any other book, nor in Paul’s epistles) that say anything at all about God beginning a new church.
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