How did the early Church decide whether Gentile converts had to keep the Jewish law, and why was the Council of Jerusalem so important?
The admission of the Gentiles and the Council of Jerusalem: Cornelius and Peter, the dispute over circumcision and the law, the decision of the Council of Jerusalem, and its significance for the Church's identity.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to the admission of the Gentiles and the Council of Jerusalem. Covers the conversion of Cornelius and Peter's vision, the dispute over whether Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the law, the decision of the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, and its significance for the identity of the Church.
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What this dot point is asking
You need to explain how the early Church resolved whether Gentile converts had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses: the conversion of Cornelius and Peter's vision, the dispute that arose, the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) and its decision, and then evaluate the council's significance. This is one of the most important developments in AS 4, because it determined whether Christianity would remain a Jewish movement or become a universal faith.
Cornelius and Peter's vision
The dispute over circumcision and the law
The Council of Jerusalem and its decision
The significance of the council
The decision was momentous. It freed the gospel from the law, established that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, not by keeping the law of Moses, and opened the Church fully to the Gentiles. It thereby ensured that Christianity would become a universal faith rather than a sect within Judaism, and it modelled a way of resolving disputes by shared deliberation of leaders under the guidance of the Spirit.
Evaluating the council's importance
A model evaluation paragraph might run: "The Council of Jerusalem has a strong claim to be the most important moment in the development of the early Church, because the question it settled, whether Gentile converts must become Jews, was nothing less than the question of what Christianity is: by deciding that Gentiles need not be circumcised or keep the law, the council freed the gospel from the Jewish law, established salvation by grace through faith, and made the Church a universal community rather than a Jewish sect. Yet it would be too much to call it the single most important moment, since it stands among several turning points: Pentecost gave the Church its life and mission, the conversion of Paul gave it its great missionary to the Gentiles, the Cornelius episode had already shown God's acceptance of Gentiles, and the later Council of Nicaea settled the Church's central doctrine. The judgement, therefore, is that the Council of Jerusalem was decisive for the universal identity of the Church, arguably the decisive moment for that question, while being one of a series of foundational turning points rather than the only one."
Try this
Q1. What did Peter learn from his vision of the sheet of animals? [2 marks]
- Cue. Not to call impure what God has made clean, leading him to accept and baptise the Gentile Cornelius.
Q2. Explain the decision reached at the Council of Jerusalem. [6 marks]
- Cue. Gentiles need not be circumcised or keep the law of Moses, but should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, blood, strangled meat and sexual immorality.
Q3. "The Council of Jerusalem was the most important moment in the development of the early Church." Discuss. [12 marks]
- Cue. Weigh the council's role in freeing the gospel from the law and making the Church universal against other turning points such as Pentecost, Paul's conversion and Nicaea. Reach a judgement.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA AS 4 201912 marksExplain the decision reached at the Council of Jerusalem and how it was reached.Show worked answer →
An AO1 question, so reward accurate exposition of the dispute, the
arguments and the decision.
The dispute. Explain that some insisted Gentile converts must be circumcised
and keep the law of Moses, while Paul and Barnabas disagreed, so the matter
was referred to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
The arguments and decision. A strong answer covers Peter's appeal to
Cornelius (God gave the Gentiles the Spirit without the law), Paul and
Barnabas's testimony, and James's judgement from scripture, leading to the
decision that Gentiles need not be circumcised but should abstain from a few
things (food offered to idols, blood, strangled meat and sexual immorality).
Accurate detail of process and outcome reaches the top band.
CCEA AS 4 202112 marksComment on the view that the Council of Jerusalem was the most important moment in the development of the early Church.Show worked answer →
An AO2 evaluation question, so argue both sides and judge.
Supporting the claim. The decision freed the gospel from the requirement of
the Jewish law, opened the Church fully to the Gentiles, and made
Christianity a universal faith rather than a sect of Judaism.
Challenging the claim. Other moments were also decisive: Pentecost, Paul's
conversion, and later the Council of Nicaea; and the Cornelius episode
already pointed the way.
A judgement that the Council was decisive for the Church's universal
identity while being one of several turning points reaches the higher bands.
Related dot points
- Pentecost and the birth of the Church: the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter's sermon, the response and baptisms, and the life of the earliest Jerusalem community.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to Pentecost and the birth of the Church. Covers the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter's sermon and its use of scripture, the response and the first baptisms, and the shared life of the earliest Jerusalem community described in Acts.
- The spread of the gospel: the witness of the apostles, the work of Stephen and Philip, the conversion of Paul, and Paul's missionary journeys taking the gospel to the Gentile world.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to the spread of the gospel. Covers the witness of the apostles in Jerusalem, the work of Stephen and Philip, the conversion of Paul on the Damascus road, and Paul's missionary journeys that carried the gospel into the Gentile world, fulfilling the pattern of Acts 1:8.
- Persecution and martyrdom: the reasons for persecution, Jewish and Roman opposition, the major persecutions, the place of the martyrs, and the effect of persecution on the Church to AD 325.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to persecution and martyrdom in the early Church. Covers the reasons for persecution, Jewish and Roman opposition, the major imperial persecutions, the place and example of the martyrs, and the effect of persecution on the Church up to AD 325 and the Edict of Milan.
- The development of the Church to AD 325: the growth of ministry and leadership, the formation of the canon and creeds, the Arian controversy, and the Council of Nicaea.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to the development of the Church to AD 325. Covers the growth of ministry and leadership (bishops, presbyters and deacons), the formation of the canon of scripture and the early creeds, the Arian controversy over the person of Christ, and the Council of Nicaea and its creed.
Sources & how we know this
- CCEA GCE Religious Studies (2016) specification — CCEA (2016)