Important Relationships In The Church (Part 2) Series

Important Relationships In The Church

(Part 2)

Acts 4:32-37

(Antioch Baptist Church: Wednesday, October 8th, 2025)

Some of the most important relationships in my life have been cultivated inside the local church. My greatest friends, confidants, mentors, and encouragers are people that I am connected with through the local church. While that is true, in over forty years of involvement in church life, some of the most disloyal, deceitful, destructive, and despicable acts I have ever witnessed have occurred withing the context of the local church.

Tragically, the actions and attitudes of many “professing Christians” does great harm to the cause of Christ. Blaming the actions of others will not be a justifiable excuse for those unbelievers who stand before Christ at the Great White Throne. However, we must live in such a way that we point people to Jesus rather than pushing them away.

In part one of this study we saw that our relationship with the Lord is the most important relationship that we will ever possess. Those who have been born again: belong to the Lord, they love Him, worship Him, serve Him, tell others about Him, and abide in Him. These attributes are essential to having a right relationship with God and they lead to a right relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

There was an amazing spirit of unity, compassion, benevolence, encouragement, and love among those in the early Church. I would like for us to examine their example as we conclude our study of “Important Relationships In The Church”.

- We have examined in great detail “Our Relationship With The Lord”, as we move further into the text I would like for us to consider:

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS

This short passage shows us that when it comes to our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ: we must be unified, selfless, evangelistic, compassionate, benevolent, and loving. Let’s begin with the fact that:

WE MUST BE UNIFIED

v32 says that the Believers “were of one heart and one soul”

You will find the phrase “in one accord” eleven times in the Book of Acts. This phrase is made up of two words that mean “same” and “mind.” Here, Luke says that the Saints “were of one heart and one soul”; this does not mean that they thought and felt the same way about everything, however, they were able to aside their personal feelings and differences and commit themselves to one task; that task was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Unity was an important part of the success of the early church and it is vital to the success of the church today. Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!” God is pleased when the members of a church are unified, furthermore, this is something that He expects from His people.

If we are to be successful in Christian ministry, we must possess unity. Unity within the Church is something that the Enemy is constantly seeking to destroy. If Satan can sow seeds of discord within this assembly, he certainly will. When we become distracted from our true purpose and become focused on our own wants, desires, and pet projects trouble is imminent. Like the Apostles and the other Christians in the early church, we must make certain the Jesus Christ is our only focus.

- If there is to be unity in the church, selflessness is essential. The members of the early church show us that:

WE MUST BE SELFLESS

v32 neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

The members of the early Church were so overwhelmed by the love of God and their new life in Christ that they were not focused on themselves. Moreover, they were not concerned with attaining or retaining material possessions or earthly wealth. They were focused on the spiritual and physical well-being of their fellow Saints. There was a beautiful attitude of self-sacrifice that was prevalent in the early church.

- Intertwined with the selflessness of the early Christians was compassion; their actions and attitudes show us that:

WE MUST BE COMPASSIONATE

v34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked;

In modern English, “compassion” is defined as “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. However, compassion is more than feeling pity or concern for the circumstances or situations of others; it is being motivated enough to do something about it. Simply put, compassion is love in action! Genuine faith is expressed through good works, and sharing resources is a way to demonstrate that faith in practical ways.

God is compassionate and gracious, and as His followers, we are to mirror His character by showing compassion and mercy to others. 1 John 3:17 asks, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” James said, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (James 2:15-16) When we possess genuine compassion for our brothers and sisters we will respond with benevolence.