The Fellowship of the
King
Acts 2:42-47
Introduction: Have
you ever tried to assemble a jig saw puzzle without having an example of what
the final picture should look like? Some
of you are builders. Usually, you would have some kind of design, or plan, for
a building before you would construct it.
The elevator required a small addition to our building, which the
building and grounds committee planned and discussed, and finally implemented.
(My dad liked to build “as needed,” and as our family grew, so did our house. It
started as a single story 50 by 20 army barracks, and eventually grew to over
5000 square feet!). This is the Lord’s church, and He has a plan.
As we continue in Fellowship with the King, it should be our desire to submit
ourselves to Him as we share in His mission.
As we seek to grow as a church, God has given us a “picture” of the New
Testament church in the Book of Acts to guide us.
The Big Idea: A church devoted to God, in Fellowship with the
King, is united in faith, and reaches upward in worship and outward in love.
I. They were
a Devoted Church, not Lukewarm (42). One
of the stern warning against complacency is found in the letter to the church
in Laodecia in Revelation 3:13-16, "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 15 "'I know your works: you
are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm,
and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Only 60 years
or so after the first Christian Pentecost, and they had lost focus, and grown
complacent in their faith. As
Luke describes the baby church in Acts, they were devoting themselves to the means
of grace God had given them. The verbal construction indicates that they were
continually devoting themselves to these activities, i.e, their new faith was
not a mere add on, it was at the center of their lives and of their church.
First
of all, they were devoted “To the
teaching of the Apostles…” i.e., to the authoritative Word of Christ. Peter later wrote, “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you
may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet 2:2). That’s the kind of hunger
for truth that is pictured here. The apostles were the uniquely chosen spokesmen
of Christ. They were His ambassadors called and commissioned to bring His Word
to the newborn church. It is the word
that we should long for and the Word that will transform us. Paul said to the
Romans, “Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what
the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom
12:2). Paul reminded Timothy, “...from childhood you have been acquainted with the
sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in
Christ Jesus. 16 All
Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every
good work” (2 Tim 3:15-17). The Hebrew Scriptures, our Old
Testament, was the Word of God written as the church was born. The apostles
spoke as the authorized representatives of Jesus, and eventually, as the church
began to expand and some of them began to be martyred, they began to write
letters to the churches. This is the
point: The God who is, our Creator and Redeemer, has revealed himself in
human language. He has given us His Word to reveal truth about His person,
and to show us the path to forgiveness, reconciliation, and life. How many of us, if we got a letter from a
loved one, would leave it unopened on our desk? The letter arrives in the mail, you see the
return address, and already we’re thinking of the one who sent it. We open it
with a smile, and begin to devour what is written, smiling, remembering,
laughing, crying, for a moment we’re back together, enjoying their presence
through their words. Do we approach the Bible like that? The early church was continually
devoted to the Word.
They
were also devoting themselves to [the]
fellowship - The basic meaning of koinonia
(fellowship) is “sharing.” We usually interpret that practically as “sharing
food,” but it goes far beyond that. They were sharing in each other’s lives,
bearing one another’s burdens, encouraging one another’s faith. Those who
receive Jesus Christ are “in Christ,” they are joined with Him and with all
other believers in a unique way. The old hymn says, “Blessed be the tie that
binds, our hearts in Christian love, the fellowship of kindred minds is like to
that above.”
John wrote, “…that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also
to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship
is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Fellowship wasn’t just eating together (though
as we’ll see below they certainly did that). It meant sharing in each other’s
lives on a daily basis. The implication
is that we watch out for one another, we seek to encourage one another. I just
read yesterday a report of a Baptist pastor in Iowa who committed suicide
behind the parsonage. Such desperation
yet it seems no one had a clue. No indication that there was anything wrong, he
had just been at an elders’ meeting the night before and reportedly everything
seemed fine. Obviously, whatever the burden was, he didn’t think he could share
it with anyone. What a shame. We all need relationships where we can be
transparent, where we can share our burdens, where we know we’ll find love and
encouragement. We need to be people that can be trusted, that will receive
someone and pray for them and encourage them. For those kinds of relationships
to develop we need to spend time with one another.
The writer to the Hebrews warns us, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to
love and good works, 25 not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb
10:24-25).
It’s
not by chance that the phrase “…one
another…” appears dozens of times in the New Testament. God designed us to
be interdependent, we need one
another. Here I pulled out just a few references…
Romans
12:10 “Love
one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Romans
12:16 “…Live
in harmony with one another…”
Romans
15:5-7 5 May
the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with
one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7
Therefore welcome one
another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Galatians
6:2 2 Bear one another's burdens,
and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
Ephesians
4:2-3 2 with
all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians
4:32 Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians
5:21 21 …submitting to one another
out of reverence for Christ.
1
Thessalonians 4:18 18
Therefore encourage one
another with these words.
1 Peter 4:9 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Do you get the idea? We are designed for community, we need each other.
We like to think that we are independent and self-reliant and strong. But the
God who made us, the Designer of the Church, made us to be part of the body, to
complement one another. That implies
using our gifts for the encouragement and edification of others, and it also
implies that we need the gifts of others to encourage and edify us. The elders really believe that one context
that facilitates this kind of mutual encouragement is the small group. If you have not yet become part of a group
you need to consider why not? Too busy?
They were also devoting themselves to the
breaking of bread: i.e., worship through the ordinances. Now it is not clear if this phrase “breaking
of bread” is referring to sharing in a common meal or to the Lord’s Table.
Since communion was probably taken as part of a common meal it could be
both. Remember is says “The breaking of bread…” which
seems to refer to something in particular that the readers would recognize. The
idea of the Lord’s table, as an ordinance taken together as an act of worship
seems to fit well here. Interestingly we saw baptism referred to in Acts 2:38,
as the initiation of the life of a disciple. The second ordinance given to the
church seems to be referred to here. It was not a mere ritual, it was a time to
come together, to remember what Christ had accomplished, and to celebrate His
grace toward us. “Worship” means to “bow down,” to prostrate oneself in the
presence of Deity. And He is present everywhere, He is always with us and in
us, but in a special way He is present in the church as we gather together for
corporate worship. Do we come together
on the Lord’s Day with an attitude of expectation, with excitement that we are
about to meet with the King?
They were also continually devoting
themselves to [the] prayer(s). They were devoted to prayer, and the
context seems to imply corporate prayer. They saw value in praying together. We need times when we come together, not only
to pray for needs within the body, but for wisdom and discernment and
empowerment in carrying out the mission that has been entrusted to us. Please,
don’t misunderstand. Our prayer list is valid and important. But beyond the
crises and tribulations of day to day life, we need to pray for power, for the
anointing of the Spirit, for boldness to carry out our mission in this, our
Jerusalem (see Acts 1:8). After all, a
church devoted to God is united in faith, and reaches upward in worship and outward
in love.
II. They
were a Reverent church, not casual in their faith (43).
“Fear
[a sense of awe] came upon every soul…”
It may be that this is a general statement that includes at some level both the
believers and those outside (in contrast to v.44 when believers are
specifically in view). For the believers “awe” would be a better word,
describing a reverence, a sense of awe, recognizing the presence and the power
of God. For those on the outside, it would have been an unsettled “shock and awe”
that the supernatural was breaking into human history. We see the two groups,
believers and unbelievers, referred to more explicitly in Acts 5 after the
death of Ananias and Saphira: “And great fear came upon the whole church and
upon all who heard of these things.” There
may have been two responses among the unbelievers: one, “wonder” that would
attract them to the church, making them curious to learn more, or for others,
dread, a troubling feeling that something dreadful was coming. You recall
Herod’s response when he heard the report of the Magi coming in Matthew 2, “He
was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him…”
(Matt 2:3). Remember that we’ve seen the conviction of the Spirit having
such a dual effect, leading some to repentance and faith, and exposing the hardened
heart of unbelief in others.
Acts 2:43 also refers
to “…signs and wonders…” The awe and
wonder described in the first part of the verse was probably related to the
miracles that were being done at the hands of the apostles. Speaking of his ministry among the
Corinthians Paul spoke of the signs of a true apostle: “The signs of a true apostle were performed among
you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles…” (I Cor 12:12). The writer to the Hebrews spoke about the
unique ministry of the apostles, “After
it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those
who heard, 4 God also bearing
witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by
gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will…” (Heb 2:3,4). Let me take a little excursus here. Does God
still do miracles today? Yes, undoubtably! We’ve prayed for healing and seen God answer.
We’ve prayed of impossible situations and seen God intervene. Do we have
apostles doing the kinds of miracles they did, (for example healing everyone
who came to them) and speaking with the authority of Christ today?
Absolutely not. Though some people claim to use the title “apostle” today, they
are not apostles in the New Testament sense.
The
apostles in the Bible had a unique and foundational ministry in the early
Church. We read for example in Ephesians
2:19 – 22,
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of
God, 20 built on the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the
cornerstone, 21 in whom the
whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the
Lord. 22 In him you also are
being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Paul describes the church as a building, constructed on the foundation of
the apostles and prophets (of course Jesus himself is the ultimate
cornerstone!). The foundation is laid once, and the building is constructed
over it. The apostles were shaliach, “sent
ones,” commissioned by Jesus as His ambassadors. The miracles showed that God was present and
working through these men, and so validated their teaching as having the
authority of Christ. We’ll read in Acts 14:3, “So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who
bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by
their hands.” The works God did
through them showed they had authority to bring the Word of Christ. The early
believers were devoting themselves to the Apostles’ teaching, they were longing
for the Word of Christ. They wanted to
hear from God! A church devoted to God is united in faith, and
reaches upward in worship and outward in love.
III. They
were a Generous Church, not in love with the world (44,45). “And all who believed were together and had all
things in common. 45 And they
were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to
all, as any had need.” The
church was radically generous. I try to stay “uninformed” about how much any one
person or family gives, because I don’t want to be influenced into giving
preferential treatment to anyone. That is a shame in a way since giving is one
barometer of where we are spiritually. The problem is that I can easily become
a respecter of persons. What is it that makes it hard for us to be “cheerful
givers”? I think it’s that we fall in
love with things, or we desire a certain standard of living or we want to have
a sense of security about our future. It’s
easy to fall in love with the world. Remember the question at the funeral of a
rich man, “How much did he leave?” The
answer, “All of it!” Life on this planet is short, is that what we want to live
for? The early church had a different
perspective.
First
we see radical sharing, the believers were “together” and had “all things in
common.” The attitude was: what is mine,
is yours. A couple of things: on the one hand, this was a unique, historical
situation. We know that what is being described are the days following
Pentecost. I don’t think this advocating “Christian communism” or even communal
living. The church had just been born, Jesus had promised His return, and it
seems likely that many were hesitant to leave Jerusalem and go home. God put it on the hearts of his people to
provide for one another in a radical way as the church is launched. If
everything belongs to God, and we are brothers and sisters, shouldn’t we watch
out for one another?
Is
that our attitude? I can say that though I don’t know about individual giving, it
is evident that we have “cheerful givers” in our church. You know if you are
one of them, and so does God. I’ve seen it in how we respond to needs in the
church when they become known to us – meals and giving rides to doctor’s
appointments and financial help to those going through difficulty. I’ve
seen it in the projects, costing many tens of thousands of dollars that have been
accomplished one after another even since we’ve been here: the new parsonage,
the church renovation, a new boiler, the elevator (which is finished, awaiting
inspection!). We aren’t a large church by any means yet God has provided
through his people. Where your heart is,
your treasure will follow! A church
devoted to God is united in faith, and reaches upward in worship and outward in
love.
IV. They
were a United Church, not petty or divisive (46-47a). “And
day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes,
they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor
with all the people.”
They were united in their worship,
“…attending the temple together…”,
not just once a week, but “day by day.” They sought out opportunities to come
together to study, to worship, to pray, and to witness. And it wasn’t only in the Temple, buy they
spent time together in each other’s homes, taking meals together with glad and
generous hearts.
This unity spilled over in their
testimony in the community, “having favor
with all the people…” People will
take notice when they see a community of faith that reaches outward, motivated
by the love of Christ. Jesus said that by our love for one another people will
know that we are His disciples (John 13:34,35). A church devoted to God is united in faith, and reaches upward in
worship and outward in love.
V. They were
a Missionary Church, not stagnant (47b).
“…And the Lord added to their
number day by day those who were being saved.” 47a set the stage
for this part of the verse. Their testimony of unity shone so brightly people
took notice. This is the kind of church God uses. Much as Jesus had said, “By this men will know you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another…” But notice that the mission was
empowered by God and the results were accomplished by Him.
“The
Lord added to their number daily…” Pentecost was a day of harvest, 3000
came to Jesus in repentance and faith. What a day that was! Remember that Jesus
had said that his disciples would do greater works than He had done? Could it
be that He had in mind this very thing, the conversion of souls? That after the
Comforter was sent to indwell and empower His followers, there would be
explosive growth? Now there are a couple of provisos
we should take note of. First of all, this was the very beginning a new stage
in redemptive history. There was a faithful remnant, prepared by God, ready to
receive and respond to the truth. But it wasn’t programs or presentations or
argumentation that brought them in, The
Lord added to their number, it was a supernatural work of God.
It was also ongoing, “The Lord added to their number daily…” Jesus is building his
church in the book of Acts, and He continues to build His church today. Jump ahead from a moment to Acts 29… There
are only 28 chapters! It ends suddenly,
with Paul having been a prisoner for two full years in Rome, “…proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching
about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” The abrupt
end of Acts implies something: we are
Acts 29! The story continues, and by
grace we have been included in the cast!
What is God
saying to me in this passage?
A church in fellowship with the King, is devoted to God and united in faith. It
reaches upward in worship and outward in love.
What would
God have me to do in response to this passage? Is our church a reflection of the community of faith
we see in the book of Acts? We see there a church that recognizes and embraces the
empowering presence of God. They came together for worship, aware of His
awesome presence. It was a celebration of
his Majesty. They had a vertical awareness of their dependence upon God. They
also reached out to one another in love, recognizing that they were designed
and created to be part of the family of faith. Likewise, they looked outward to
the community, aware of their calling to be His witnesses. It all starts in our hearts. A heart to seek
God, to value Him above everything, to celebrate His amazing grace, and look
for every opportunity to give a reason for the hope that is in us. By his grace
we are moving in that direction, by His grace, we can excel still more. AMEN.
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