The First Church
Acts 2:42-47
It is the expressed goal of those of us in the restoration movement to restore the church as it was in the first century. In terms of doctrine I feel we have, for the most part, reached that goal. But have we restored the spirit of the first century church? That is another question entirely. In the New Testament we see a variety of pictures of the church. We see immorality in Corinth, division in Ephesus, lethargy in Laodicea, and so on. Surely these are not the examples we should emulate. Which New Testament church example should we try to restore?
If we are going to truly restore the church as it was in the beginning, we need to go ALL THE WAY BACK to the beginning of the church. We need to look at the FIRST CHURCH. Where do we find that church? We find it in Acts 2:42-47 in the exciting days following Pentecost when the church began.
In this passage we will see three aspects to the church. We will see the public worship of the church, the spiritual life of the Christians and the effect the church had on the community.
I. Public Worship
In Texas history we have the “old 300.” This refers to that group of people that comprised Stephen F. Austin’s first settlement in Texas. These people in Jerusalem were the “old 3000.” They were the first ones baptized following Peter’s sermon. They were all brand new Christians and they were excited! Vs. 42 tells us that they were continuously devoted. Their dedication and commitment to the church were constant and intense. This phrase gave me a lot of trouble when I first read it because it seems to imply that the activities mentioned were continuous. However, I now understand it to mean that their devotion was continuous. The phrase refers not so much to the frequency of the events as it does to the intensity and consistency of their devotion.
So to what were they continuously devoted?
A. To the apostles’ teaching.
They were all newborn babes . . . new Christians . . . and they wanted to know more about this new life they were living. They did what Peter later admonished others to do in I Pet. 2:2, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation.” They knew the only way they were going to grow is if they fed on the word EVERY DAY and the primary source of the Word of God at this point was the apostles. They did not want to miss one word that fell from the lips of these great men of God.
They were new Christians. They had very little knowledge of this new religion. They had an intense desire to follow the admonition of Peter as he would write years later in II Pet. 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” They understood that they MUST grow if they were to remain faithful to the Lord. They wanted to “understand what the will of the Lord is” as Paul encouraged the Ephesian brethren to do in Eph. 5:17. (Illustration: little boy that fell out of bed. When asked why, he answered, "I stayed to close to where I got in.")
B. To fellowship. The word “fellowship” means, to have in common.
They understood that their relationship with God through Jesus Christ was not an isolated relationship but through their common relationship with Him, they were automatically in a relationship with one another. They completely understood what John was talking about in I John 1:3, “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.”
In the New Testament, the word fellowship is frequently associated with a contribution. In II Cor. 9, Paul is admonishing the Corinthian brethren to be cheerful givers. In vs. 13 he says, “they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others.” The word “contribution” in this verse is the same word that is translated “fellowship” in Acts 2:42.
C. To the breaking of bread.
The phrase “breaking of bread” is used in two ways in the New Testament. It can refer to the Lord’s Supper or Communion, but it can also refer to a common meal. Its meaning must be determined by the context in which it is used. In Acts 2:46 it will refer to the common meal. Here in verse 42 it refers to communion.
These new Christians saw communion as the central and most important part of their worship to God. Later in Acts 20:7 we read, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread . . .” The clear implication in this passage is that the principal reason for the brethren to gather was to break bread or have communion. In that same passage we are told that Paul preached until midnight . . . and you thought I was long winded. But the main reason they gathered was not to hear Paul preach but to share the Lord’s Supper.
D. To Prayer.
They were devoted to prayer. Later Paul will write to the Roman brethren, in Rom. 12:12, “be constant in prayer.” Paul also wrote to the brethren in Colossae in Col. 4:2, “Continue steadfastly in prayer.” These new Christians understood completely the importance of prayer to the maintenance of their relationship with God and their growth as Christians.
They would allow NOTHING to interfere with their prayer life. They were following the example of the apostles. In Acts. 6:1-4, a dispute arose concerning some of the brethren who were being neglected. The apostles responded to this complaint by appointing seven men to take care of that task while the apostles took care of much more important matters. They said in vs. 4, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
So in terms of the public worship of the church, we find that the brethren are continuously devoted to the apostle’s teaching, fellowship (which probably included the contribution), the breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. I cannot emphasize strongly enough that they were CONTINUOUSLY DEVOTED to these things. If at all possible, they NEVER missed a gathering of the church.
II Daily life.
A. They were united spiritually.
Vs. 44 tells us that “ALL who believed were together . . .” Jesus had prayed in John 17: 20-21, “I do not ask for these only , but also for those who will believe in me through their word that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Nothing speaks stronger to the world of Christian faith than Christian unity. How can Christians ever hope to convince the world that they all serve the One God when they are so divided against one another?
Paul reminded the Corinthian brethren in I Cor. 12:12, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” The brethren in Jerusalem understood that they were all a part of one another spiritually and were completely united in their faith.
They maintained their unity through worshiping together. Verse 46 says that “day by day, (they were) attending the Temple TOGETHER.” At this time, the Temple was the only place of worship which could accommodate such large crowds. If at all possible, the brethren in Jerusalem NEVER MISSED an assembly of God’s people.
B. They were united materially.
Vs. 44-45 tells us that they were “together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Remember that at this time there were thousands of new Christians in Jerusalem that came from other parts of the world. It was vitally important that the Christians share what they had with one another for sheer survival. The Christians banded together as one and shared all they had with those who had need.
C. They shared their meals together.
Vs. 46 says that they were “breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” Here, “breaking bread” refers to the common meal.
They ate together with “glad and generous hearts.” Their fellowship with one another extended far beyond the formal gatherings of the church. They spent as much time together as they could and through their meals together shared their common joy in the Lord.
D. They were praising God.
They were filled with the joy of one who was condemned but is now free, of one who was enslaved but has now been redeemed, of one who was lost but is now saved. They could not help but heap praise upon praise to God for everything he had done for them through Jesus Christ.
3. The effect on the community.
A. The community was awe struck.
Verse 43 tells us, “And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” The people of Jerusalem looked at this group of people and they could not believe what they were seeing. As the apostles continued to perform many wonders and signs and the numbers of Christians increased, the people of Jerusalem could only stand by in amazement. Everyone in Jerusalem was talking about these people who called themselves Christians.
B. The community loved the Christians.
Vs. 47 tells us that the Christians were, “having favor with all the people.” In these early days of the church there was no organized opposition by the Jewish leadership. The people saw the wonderful things that were happening among the Christians and could not help but love them.
C. The church was experiencing daily additions.
Vs. 47 concluded, “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
The church began in spectacular fashion on the day of Pentecost when 3000 were baptized. By the time Peter and John are called before the council in Acts 4, we are told in verse four that “many of those who had heard the word believed and the number of the men came to about 5000. This is not even counting the number of women who had believed. In Acts 5:14, “and more than ever, believers were added to the lord, multitudes of both men and women.” The number in the Lord’s church in Jerusalem had climbed so high, they had stopped counting. Then in Acts 6:7 in probably one of the great understatements in the bible, we are told that, “the word of God continued to increase and the number of the disciples MULTIPLIED GREATLY in Jerusalem.”
How was this possible? Surely the apostles could not have taught all of those people. That’s right! They didn’t. In Acts 8 when the first great persecution of the church began, the Christians were all scattered abroad from Jerusalem. However this persecution only served to spread the kingdom ever further and even faster for we are told in vs. 4 that, “those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” The reason the church grew so rapidly was that EVERYONE was an evangelist. EVERYONE went about preaching the good news of Jesus to anyone who would listen.
By the time we get to Acts 17, Paul and Silas are in Thessalonica when the Jews in that city stirred up a mob and dragged Jason and some other Christians before the city authorities and shouted, “These men . . . have turn the world upside down.”
The church continued to increase until Paul was able to say in Rom. 10:18, “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” Now whether we take that statement literally or rhetorically, that is an incredible declaration of the growth of the church. Keep in mind that all this growth took place in a period of less that 30 years after the establishment of the church.
Conclusion:
The church that began in Jerusalem on that Pentecost day was a dynamic witness to the power of God in the lives of men. Why did the church grow so rapidly in those first exciting years? ALL the people were devoted to the worship of God, to the fellowship of one another and to the spreading of the gospel of Christ.
Which New Testament church do I want to restore? That’s the church. How can we do that?
1. We need to be completely committed to the worship of the Lord. When at all possible we all need to attend and be involved in every opportunity to worship together and every opportunity to study God’s word.
2. We need to be more involved in the lives of one another and share whatever we have so that no one in the church will be in need.
3. We must ALL become evangelists. We must not depend on a select few to reach out to those around us. Everyone will be reached only if everyone is involved in the spreading of the gospel.
Impossible you say? Not if we all commit ourselves to the task and trust in the Lord to strengthen and guide us. Where does it begin? It begins in the heart of each of us.
