Acts 13:1-4

“Biblical Question: Why is it assumed in Acts 13:1-4 that this was a church wide gathering and not 5 men praying and fasting? It seems all the commentaries I read assume it was a corporate worship gathering. What say you?”

I’ve always read this passage assuming that it was just the five men. That seems to be the most natural reading. But, yes, most of the commentaries I have either just assume a congregation was involved or attempt to make that argument.

That argument is very flimsy in my estimation. They point to Acts 6:2-5 and 15:22 where the congregation chose ministers. The problem with that argument for me is that 1) there are other places where individuals choose ministers (14:23; 16:3) and 2) in 13:2 it is stated that it was specifically the Holy Spirit that did the choosing.

In the old Broadman Bible Commentary, T.C. Smith admits that it is very difficult to figure out if it is just the five or the whole congregation, but leans towards the whole. He does so because the word used for worshipping/ministering in verse 2 is leitourgein, which in Attic Greek meant to discharge some costly public duty. The Greek Old Testament used this word for priestly service in the Temple (see Hebrews 10:11). Smith believes that Luke is using this word to describe the patterns of worship that one would find in a Jewish synagogue on which the early local churches were based. The idea is that these five were in the midst of administering the worship service when the Spirit spoke through one of the prophets. This to me is the best argument for the idea that the whole congregation was involved. However, I am not convinced.

Even if these five were administering in some way related to the worship service (and we do not know what form this took), there is no indication in the text that the rest of the congregation was directly involved. The congregation is not mentioned here whatsoever. So if the congregation is sometimes involved in these matters (6:2-5; 15:22) and sometimes not (14:23; 16:3), their lack of mention here suggests that they were not involved. The entire focus is on the five.

And here is the thing: the congregation didn’t have to be involved. The Holy Spirit was the one who acted here. The prophets and teachers were there to recognize, communicate, and affirm what the Spirit was directing. All this makes me go for the natural reading that only the five were involved.

I hope this helps.