The Fellowship Of The Believers Series

ACTS 2: 42-47

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE BELIEVERS

After the birth of the church at Pentecost Luke describes the church by telling us what distinguished those who were saved by believing in who Jesus is and what He has done for their salvation from sin. The Spirit now brings believers together to form the local church. Its life was completely defined by the devotion to those spiritual responsibilities which make up the unique identity of the church. This section begins by recounting the character of the early Christian community’s worship, focusing on four key practices: devotion to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to communal meals, and to prayer. It also describes their life together as one of spiritual and material sharing among all.

In this brief picture of life in the Early Church three distinguishing dimensions emerge that enabled them to become a flourishing assembly. This community of believers were devoted to the Lord and His word, they were unified in mutual concern, and they experienced both spiritual and numeric growth.

Nothing outside the living Lord, the Spirit, and the Word define life for the early church. The local church of today will be effective in bringing sinners to Christ when it manifests the same key elements of spiritual responsibilities that marked this first fellowship. [MacArthur, Moody Press. Chicago.]

I. A DEVOTED COMMUNITY, 2:41-43.

II. A UNIFIED COMMUNITY, 2:44–45.

III. A GROWING COMMUNITY, 2:46-47.

Verse 41 tells of the Spirit’s work to begin His church though the preaching of the word and the saving and baptizing of a multitude of individuals. Those who [gladly] accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”

The result of the Spirit-filled preaching on Pentecost was truly amazing. Believers in Jesus grew from 120 to over 3,000 and the church was born. The work of the Spirit does not end there. Not only is evangelism evident here, but growth in the church is evident as well. Each one saved was then gathered together and nurtured in the faith.

Verse 42 is a compact description of Christian discipleship. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

We use the nomenclature “church” today to reference a building, but in the New Testament it indicates a local group of people. Not just any group, but a group that had certain characteristics. Those characteristics are listed here.

The new converts didn’t merely add Christianity to their already busy lives, but devoted themselves to their Christian experience. The verb translated “devoted” (proskartereo) connotes a steadfast and single-minded faithfulness to a course of action. Each one saved was nurtured in the faith to learn the doctrine of the apostles, to fellowship with the believers, to sit in equality at the Lord’s table, to pray and share his burdens with others of like precious faith.

First the distinct community gathered to listen to and follow the preaching and teaching of the apostles from—and based on—the Scriptures (compare Acts 2:14–41; Luke 24:27). The apostles’ teaching would have included Jesus’ earthly teaching plus what He taught the apostles in His 40 days of resurrection appearances. In due course this apostolic teaching took on written shape in the NT scriptures.

“The fellowship” (Gk. Te koinonia, “participation, sharing”) with the definite article implies that these were distinctive gatherings of the early believers. These gatherings provided the group(s) with a local and distinguishable identity.

The word “communion,” koinonía, means sharing or having in common. It also means fellowship. There is no true fellowship without Christ’s Spirit in us and between us. He is what we have in common. And that is greater than anything or anyone else. He draws us into oneness and loves each of us through each other. Sharing what we have is a natural result of this communion. [Ogilvie, L. J., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1983). Acts (Vol. 28, pp. 72–73). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.]

The fellowship included “the breaking bread.” This refers to participation in the Lord’s Supper, and most probably also to the sharing of other meals together, as in Acts 2:46 [the same language is used for each practice (e.g., Luke 22:19; Acts 20:7; 27:35; 1 Cor 10:16)].

There were prayers in the house meetings as well as in the temple and in their personal life. Prayers demonstrate dependence on God, hope in the future, and desire for the advancement of God’s work (e.g., Acts 1:24; 12:5; 14:23).

This pattern became normative for Christianity. People heard and received the word of God; they followed this with confession and public baptism; then they united in the fellowship of the church, continued in the apostles’ doctrine, remained in fellowship with the brethren, and frequently observed the Lord’s Supper and prayer as a part of responsible church life. Church membership was a privilege granted to those who had experienced genuine conversion followed by believer’s baptism. Such membership is indeed a privilege and responsibility, not a right.