Keeping up with the Spirit

How slow was the church in the beginning to grasp how big God's plan of redemption was? The early church struggled to comprehend the reality that the gift of repentance would be granted to the Gentiles. Keeping up with the Spirit would mean a radical change in their whole understanding of what it meant to be God's chosen people.
They were in uncharted territory without any idea how big the Mission to the Gentiles would become. Those who still relied on their Jewishness rather than wholly on Christ were quick to oppose what they thought was a threat. What encouragement were men like Barnabas and Saul (Paul), who didn't try to put out this new fire-front. Gladly recognizing the action of the grace of God in people very different from themselves they eagerly jumped on board with what the Spirit was doing.