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“Genuine followers of Christ experience glad and sincere hearts.” This headline never would appear in today’s secular media. Yet many tortured by sin, guilt and grief long for such wholesome things as peace, harmony and a gladness that wells up from within. These nonworldly qualities are featured in this week’s passages.
Two passages feature snapshots of life within the first Christian community. Real life realities were no milder then than in today’s world. Lives were defaced carelessly and irreparably scarred. Yet the Christian community, with its life-transforming message of Jesus, lived out a remarkable restored reality. Lives once lost in worldly quagmires were cleansed and restored by the powerful Lord of the universe. The results not only were compelling for those who experienced this new life, but also were irresistibly attractive to outsiders who saw something greater than worldly living.
Acts 2:42 describes the four-fold devotion of the first Christians. Foremost, they focused on learning and applying the apostles’ teaching. Much apostolic teaching has been preserved in the Bible. Believers today must likewise commit to the study and application of the Bible.
Believers also were committed to fellowship. This refers to building a community centered upon the Christian pursuit of life. The early Christian community cared for individuals on a need basis. Some individuals were completely destitute. Others had more stable situations. The entire fellowship was committed to caring for each believer to demonstrate the life-transforming power of the gospel.
The “breaking of bread” in verse 42, within the context of congregational activities, suggests the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Prayer also was emphasized and dominated the activity of the early church community. Believers prayed together in Acts 1, keeping themselves prepared for the events of the coming Day of Pentecost.
Verse 43 refers to the awe of the Christians regarding God’s impressive work in the lives of so many. Some of the Lord’s activity included miracles and wonders. The word “wonder” refers generally to God’s work. Believers meditate on God’s activities and sense an overwhelming realization of God’s greatness. Miracles are wonders that communicate God’s greatness through undeniable outpourings of his power.
Verses 44 and 45 describe the height of fellowship attained in the early church with the phrase, “had everything in common.” The word “common” is the core of the meaning of the Greek word translated “fellowship.” The word could have been translated “community” which has “common” at its root, but “community” has a different meaning in English. So the word “fellowship” carries the day. Still it is best to understand commonness of all things and all people as the core meaning of the biblical word “fellowship.”
Verses 46 and 47 list five activities the early Christian fellowship included: common worship, “breaking bread,” eating together in gladness, praising God and enjoying each other’s favor. “Breaking bread” appears here again. It is distinguished from eating together. The likely meaning is the observance of the Lord’s Supper in homes because such could not be done in the temple.
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These Christian activities led to the Lord blessing the fellowship with more believers. One of the authentic tests of true Christian community is the internal sentiments of favor and the addition of others to the fellowship.
Acts 4:32 adds similar details. The Christian community was known for its unity of thought and purpose. The goodwill of the fellowship was seen in the attitude of the believers regarding personal possessions. If such items were needed by the community, they were shared so all could benefit. The result was all needs were fulfilled. This is quite a statement and is due to the spirit of unity in the fellowship.
The church’s greater need was for income. The Christian community had many members who had been excommunicated from their homes and businesses because of their decision to follow Jesus. The burden to care for these people while they got on their feet was tremendous. A substantial portion of church income must have been for benevolent assistance.
Verse 33 indicates the great result of the early church’s attention to the needs of its people: The gospel message was communicated with great power. This shows the great importance of a strong community culture in a church. Proclaiming the gospel is described here as testifying to the resurrection of Jesus. This message was tremendously compelling because outsiders could see what the transformation of Jesus was doing in the lives of the Christians who operated by grace, unity and compassion toward one another.
The observation of grace being upon them all showed that what God began as a gift of grace in the sacrificial act of Jesus continued as acts of grace in the Christian community. Thus believers applied and practiced God’s graceful approach to humanity through their own actions among people.
Verses 34-35 describe a generous way the church gained benevolence funds. Certain wealthy members would liquidate land holdings and donate the proceeds to the church. This practice is described with two examples, one positive and one negative. The positive example introduces Barnabas, who donated land proceeds to the early church. Chapter 5 will follow with the negative example of Ananias and Sapphira who misrepresented their gift to the church.
Thus from gladness to generosity, the early church impacted the lives of countless people across the ages by living out their transformed lives in light of God’s great work of grace.
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