Acts 2.42-47
I don’t know how you feel after hearing those striking words describing the life of the early church, but my reaction is ‘wow – I want some of that’. The early church was devoted to God, they were devoted to each other and the result was beautiful, and it attracted others in.
When we look back even just a chapter ago, Jesus’ followers were huddled together in an upper room. Jesus had just ascended to heaven and they were, understandably, terrified that the Roman authorities would be after them next. Jesus had told them to wait for the Holy Spirit and so they waited, and boy did the Spirit turn up!
And so in today’s passage we see the amazing difference the Holy Spirit makes to the church, in fact, the Spirit makes all the difference. Now, the early church is, well it’s a church. We see the church functioning as Christ’s body, we see their devotion to the Father and the powerful equipping of the Holy Spirit.
But reading between the lines as well, I get such a sense of the joy, fulfilment and satisfaction which comes with a life lived like this. This way of life is how the church is meant to function, it’s how we were designed to live and so it’s good for us both individually and corporately when we do.
Ok, let’s dive in! Let’s look first at the ways that the early church was devoted to God. So we read that they were dedicated to the Apostles’ teaching, they prayed and spent much time together in the temple. It’s easy to imagine the early church bustling about here and there, a hive of activity. But first they stopped, first they took time to learn and digest the apostles’ teaching. They spent time with God in the temple, they broke bread together and they had prayerful, worshipful hearts. They devoted themselves to God. And God also empowered them, He filled them with the Holy Spirit and performed signs and wonders through the Apostles.
Secondly, the early church was devoted to each other. What we read in these verses is a picture of radical generosity. They were together, they had all things in common, they shared meals together, and they sold their possessions and gave money to all who had need. They were functioning as a family. What was your reaction when you heard that read? I know that a small sceptical voice in my head said ‘surely that’s too good to be true.’ But it is true. This is the picture of God’s people fuelled by the Holy Spirit and overflowing with love which comes only from God. This love is practical, selfless and dedicated.
But we can only love each other in this way when we have first received this love from God. So often we try to skip a step. We try to love selflessly on our own. Sure, we might be able to do it for a little while, putting on pretences, forcing a smile, screwing up our fists, but eventually we’ll run out of our own supplies. We first need to devote ourselves to God, receive his love, and then we’ll be able to devote ourselves to others.
If you stopped reading before the last sentence of this passage, you could be forgiven for thinking that this church community sounds pretty insular. But the thing is that when the church functions like this, it is contagious! People get curious, they’re attracted to this strangely beautiful community, they’re welcomed into the fellowship. And, in today’s passage, the result was that each day many were saved.
It is missional to live in this way. The church, when it is first devoted to God and secondly devoted to each other, is attractive. We have to assume the believers in the early church were still sharing the good news with those they met, but that sharing bubbled out of an overflow of God’s love, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
How could our life together, as God’s people, even better reflect this picture of unity in the early church? Maybe a specific thing has already caught your attention – maybe it’s the radical generosity, the shared fellowship, the signs and wonders, or simply how attractive it was.
But before we get whisked away in wanting more of that visible, measurable fruit, let’s take a step back, and first keep devoting ourselves to God and receive again His abundant love for us through the Holy Spirit. Because then, and only then, we will be empowered and emboldened to live generously, love selflessly and share this gloriously good news we’ve received with those around us.
Let’s pray:
Father God, thank you for your abundant, everlasting love for us. Fill us afresh with the knowledge of this love and pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, that we might love others out of the same love which we first receive from you. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.