The Acts of the Apostles (1911) — PDF Scan 181

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HERALDS OF THE GOSPEL 175 Jews elsewhere, wherever there was a favorable opportunity to gain a hearing. Later, in Thessalonica, in Corinth, in Ephesus, and in other important centers, Paul and his companions in labor preached the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. But their chief energies were henceforth directed toward the building up of the kingdom of God in heathen territory, among peoples who had but little or no knowledge of the true God and of His Son. The hearts of Paul and his associate workers were drawn out in behalf of those who were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. Through the untiring ministrations of the apostles to the Gentiles, the ^'strangers and foreigners/' who sometimes were far off,'' learned that they had been ^^made nigh by the blood of Christ," and that through faith in His atoning sacrifice, they might become ^'fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. ' ' ' Advancing in faith, Paul labored unceasingly for the upbuilding of God's kingdom among those who had been neglected by the teachers in Israel. Constantly he exalted Christ Jesus as ''the King of kings, and Lord of lords,"' and exhorted the believers to be "rooted and built up in Him, and stablislied in the faith. " " To those who believe, Christ is a sure foundation. Upon this living stone, Jews and Gentiles alike may build. It is broad enough for all, and strong enough to sustain the weight and burden of the whole world. « Eph. 2 : 12, 13, 19. « 1 Tim. 6 : 15. " Col. 2 : 7. 12 — Acts