The Living Church Series

They did not at any point sell everything and pool the proceeds into a common pot. Such a principle for Christian living would have obviated the responsibility of each believer to give in response to the Spirit’s prompting (cf. 1 Cor. 16:1–2). They stressed the joy of voluntary giving. Thus Paul wrote, “Let each man give just what he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (II Cor. 9:7 (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 17: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles. New Testament Commentary (115). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House).

Further, it is clear from verse 46 that individuals still owned homes. What actually happened was that personal property was sold as any had need. Their goods were not evenly distributed but were given to meet needs as they arose (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Ac 2:44–45). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.).

Of first consideration was that of the needs from among the congregation. That is why Paul stressed in Galatians “Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the household of the [Christian] faith” (Gal. 6:10) (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 17: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles. New Testament Commentary (115). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)

When we talk about our participation in God, we are talking about a “sharing in.” But this “sharing in” also results in a “sharing out.” In other words, these Christians, who enjoyed their close fellowship, inevitably shared what they had with one another. Recall, "Fellowship" (koinonia) is based on the idea of having things in “common,” “participating in something together,” or “sharing.” Koinonia has a variant closely related to it, koinonikos, which means “generous.”

Those who share in God share in God’s nature, which includes generosity, and they are generous with those around them (Boice, J. M. (1997). Acts : An expositional commentary (59). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.).

Sharing was not limited to material things but included spiritual benefits and ministry as well. In Acts 2:46, Luke notes that day by day they continued with one mind to meet in the temple. They went to the Temple for the hours of prayer (cf. 3:1). They had every right to continue to use the Temple, since Jesus had claimed it as His Father’s house. They are still found going to the Temple in Acts 21:26 and probably continued until it was destroyed in A.D. 70.

The Christian presence in the temple testifies not only to their remaining faithful to their Jewish heritage but also evidences their zeal for witness. In Jerusalem the temple was the primary place where crowds would be found, and there the Christians went to bear their witness (3:11–12; 5:21, 42).

• One of the challenges of a Christian community is to actually spend time among non-Christians. This Christian community did not wait for non-Christians to come to them, but went to where the non-Christians were, at this time, the temple.