Re: The Early Christians: In Their Own Words

Paul’s witness – his proclamation of the cross, the resurrection, and the 
freedom and unity of the Spirit – powerfully influenced the church. His 
work spread over a large part of the known world. It was Paul who, under 
the leadership of the church in Jerusalem, instituted a standard of 
behavior that united both Jewish and Gentile Christians.1 The barring of 
sexual license, the rejection of idols as demonic, and the repudiation of 
blood in food constituted the practical unity between Jews and Gentiles; 
this unity was significant. It meant a powerful victory over the rule of 
demons, now struck to the core and exposed as impurity, idolatry, and 
blood-lust. The Acts of the Apostles contains the charter of this 
agreement.