Paul's letter to the church at Corinth is the earliest written summary of the Christian faith. Paul mentions that he received no direct revelation concerning the facts pertaining to the life of Jesus and their significance for the Christian faith, but he is passing on to the members of that church what has been related to him by others. From this statement, we can infer that the essential beliefs of the Christian community about Jesus were already formulated and were included in the preaching that took place prior to that time. The first section of the Book of Acts reports several different sermons that give us definite information about these beliefs. These sermons constitute the kerygma, or the primitive gospel that was proclaimed by early Christians before any written records were made. For example, we are told of Peter's sermon to a group of about one hundred and twenty people, another sermon that he delivered on the day of Pentecost, and a third one that he preached in Jerusalem, standing on Solomon's porch in front of the Temple. Stephen's sermon at the time of his stoning is reported at considerable length, and we are told of Philip's instruction to the eunuch whom he baptized and again of Peter's discourse with Cornelius and his report to the Christian leaders at Jerusalem. In the last section of Acts, a number of Paul's sermons are recorded in considerable detail. From these records, it is possible to reconstruct with a fair degree of accuracy the main contents of the kerygma, or earliest preaching of the Christian church.
The story of the stoning of Stephen throws some light on those factors in Paul's experience that led to his conversion on the road to Damascus. From Chapter 13 to the end of the book, we have a somewhat detailed account of Paul's missionary journeys and his experiences with different churches. In Chapter 15, we have a report concerning the Jerusalem council in which the issue concerning circumcision was discussed. The account that Luke gives with reference to the results of this meeting does not agree in all details with the account of the same meeting given in Paul's Epistle to the Galatians. Since Paul was a participant in the council and Luke was giving what might be called a secondhand account, the preference must be given to the one in the Galatian letter. Luke was a strong believer in Christian unity, and in this instance, as well as in others that might be mentioned, he was anxious to minimize the differences between conflicting views. To him, the question had to be settled in a manner that was satisfactory to everyone.
