A Study of the Book of Acts
Sermon # 18
“The Characteristics of an Effective Church”
Acts 9:31
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and (walking) in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. (NKJV)
Our text this morning is a very interesting verse of Scripture, one which I have discovered that most of the commentators quickly pass over. I am convinced that this passage holds some deep truth that we need to slow down and allow the Holy Spirit to apply in our lives.
Luke begins the sentence by saying, “THEN the churches enjoyed peace, were strengthened , they lived in fear of the Lord, they were encouraged by the Holy Spirit, and they grew in numbers.” We need to first remember what happened before the “then” of verse 31. If we look back we will remember that the church had been through many hard times back “then.” Remember that “then” the church had to chose a new disciple because of the defection of Judas. “Then” Peter and John were arrested and threatened. “Then” there was the death of Ananias and Sapphira for lying. “Then” there was opposition from the Pharisees and Sadducees. “Then” there tension in the church about the some of the widows being neglected. “Then” Stephen was killed. “Then” Christians were being driven from their homes. “Then” that madman Saul was hounding Christians from city to city arresting them and putting them in prison. Back “then” times were tough.
But you might say, “Weren’t there good times too?” Yes, Of Course there were. There was Jesus’ appearance to His follower is Acts 1:8. There was the Pentecost experience of the and Peter’s preaching and 5,000 giving their lives to Christ. There was the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch and Saul’s conversion. Now in the light of all that had happened back “then,” the church was to enjoy a time of peace. The question remained how they would use this time and how they used it gives us unique insight into the characteristics of an effective church.
1. THE CHURCH ENJOYED PEACE
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace”
The KJV translates this word as “rest.” But this was a time of peace not of rest. It was not a time of complacency because as we will see the church grew both spiritually and numerically. They did however seize the opportunity to strengthen and build up the church in preparation for whatever may come next.
The church should make use of times of calm and peace, bearing a stronger testimony than ever before. All to often times of peace and quiet, rest and comfort are too often used for reveling in the blessings of the fellowship, and the church becomes complacent and lethargic. This should not be the case. Calm and peace mean the gospel is now unhindered and unopposed. Therefore, opportunity for proclaiming the gospel freely should be used to the fullest.
2. THE CHURCH WAS EDIFIED
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified.” The word “edified” (oikodomeo) simply means “built up, to grow spiritually, to promote spiritually growth, to strengthen, to establish, to confirm in the faith.” Jesus used the same word when he said “On this rock I will build by church.” How does Jesus build? Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, (12) for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, (13) till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; (14) that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, (15) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—(16) from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (NKJV)
The church was using the time of peace to continue to grow spiritually. They were building up themselves and they were actively involved in building up each other. The church far to often seems to be actively involved in tearing each other down and in the process tearing the church apart. Gossip and character assassination are two of the negative ways, but we can be guilty even if we have not done these things if we are not doing anything to help ourselves and others grow.
3. THE CHURCH WAS WALKING IN FEAR OF THE LORD
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord.”
Scripture often uses the image of walking to describe the course of one’s life. Each person is walking to his eternal destination. The word “walk” as it is used here reveals but two ways, “walking in the fear of the Lord, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit,” or walking in rebellion and sin. The Lord clearly established in Matt 7:13-14 that there are only two spiritual paths where men may walk when he said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many that go in by it. (14) Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it.”
We must choose to walk in the “fear of the Lord.” Unfortunately, our mental image of the word fear is not very good! We see fear as a bad thing! The Greek word here is (phobos) the word that we get phobia’s from. But this fear is not a trembling, withdrawal from God. On the contrary, it means that a person stands in reverence and awe of Him, desiring to approach and to know Him.
The book of Proverbs has much to tell us about the importance of “fearing the Lord.”
The “fear of the Lord” is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7)
The “fear of the Lord” will cause one to hate evil
(Prov. 8:13)
The “fear of the Lord” will prolong life (Prov. 10:27)
The “fear of the Lord” provides strong confidence (Prov. 14:26-27)
The “fear of the Lord” prompts one to depart from evil.
( Prov. 16:6)
The “fear of the Lord” leads to a satisfying life (Prov. 19:23)
The “fear of the Lord” is the way to riches, honor and
life (Prov. 22:4)
Very simply, to live in the “fear of the Lord” is to live before Him in trust, reverence, awe, worship, and obedience. “The fear of the Lord” means that the church dreaded to do anything that might displease or offend the Lord. Fearing God means that I know that God cares what I do.
4. THE CHURCH WAS COMFORTED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and (walking) in the comfort of the Holy Spirit,”
The word in Greek translated “comfort” has two primary meanings. The first, is “comfort” like a mother gives to an injured child. “Comforter” is the name that Jesus gives us for the Holy Spirit when he says in John 14, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— (17) the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you…. (26) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (NKJV) The Holy is always present to give the believe comfort.
The second meaning of the word translated “comfort” is “counsel or exhortation.” In John 16:8, Jesus tells us, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” (NKJV) Yet another aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is that he is present to guide us.
The Holy Spirit was flooding their lives with a great sense of the Lord’s presence, and of the joy of their salvation.
5. THE CHURCH WAS MULTIPLIED
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and (walking) in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”
“When the members walk with the fear of the Lord before their eyes and with the Spirit’s encouraging voice in their hearts, the church will be strong and will also surely multiply.” [R.C.H. Lenski. The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. (Minneapolis: Augsburg Pub., 1961.) p. 381]
