Dwell in the Word: Acts 2:42-47

Consider these questions as you dwell in Acts 2:42-47:

1. In Acts 2, what are the key elements of the early Christian community's devotion and practices as described by Luke? How did their devotion to the Apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers contribute to the growth of the church?

2. Why did the early believers in Jerusalem engage in the practice of selling their possessions and distributing the proceeds to those in need? Is this practice intended as a universal model for Christian communities, or does it reflect a specific historical context in the early days of the church?

3. How does Luke emphasize the role of the Lord in the growth of the early church in Acts 2:47? What does this reveal about the sovereignty of God in the expansion of the Christian community, and how does it inform our approach to evangelism and sharing the gospel today?

Transcript:

 So, we finish out chapter 2 of Acts by looking at what the result was of Peter's teaching at Pentecost. And so, what happened with those who remained around Jerusalem? Well, they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching. So, they were listening to what the Apostles had to say. Remember, they were with Jesus, and they were going to be proclaiming that message that Peter had.

At Pentecost about Jesus dying for their sins him being the one who was promised looking back to the prophets So that was one of the first things that we see that they were doing here They also devoted themselves to the fellowship. They were caring for each other They were devoted to the breaking of bread and the prayers They were together.

And so not only were they listening to the teaching, they were praying together. They were breaking bread together. They were living together as a Christian community. And we see here that awe came upon every soul. And many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. Now, the idea here is that the apostles are now the ones who are preaching and proclaiming this new thing that is being done.

Remember, there is a change in the economy, right? And the way that God is interacting with his people. We saw that with Peter's Sermon at Pentecost. Remember, all those who call upon the name, anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. It isn't just the Hebrew people anymore. God has now saved his people through the work of Jesus.

And so, things are happening in a different way. And so, we're seeing that the Apostles have the authority to teach, the Apostles have the authority to set up the church this way, because God is working through them. That's what the signs are. They weren't They weren't just signs for signs sake, and back when we were in Mark, we sort of talked about this with Jesus too.

The signs aren't just signs to be signs.  They are there to show the authority of the one who is giving them. That when they teach, it is not just their ideas that are going forth, but it is God who is working through them. They're seeing that these signs are meaning that they have the authority to determine  What the doctrine is, how the church functions, all these things that will be happening.

And we see something interesting here. I didn't, I didn't highlight it, but it's important for it to be brought up. Notice in verse 45, And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. Now, Sometimes you get from this an idea that the best way to be the church is to sell everything and live in a commune.

But, this is the only place where we see this happening. We don't have a command to do this anywhere else in the New Testament. We don't see this anywhere else. This was something that they felt necessary to do at this time. In the history at the beginning of the church. This is what they were doing Now this doesn't mean we can't sell some of our possessions and help out our brothers and sisters in Christ but to take this passage and say that we somehow we need to live in some sort of commune and put all pool all our stuff together and distribute it to everybody equally, that's not what's being, um, this isn't commanded here, I guess you could say.

And we know that, again, because it's not mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament, and it's not commanded by anything that Paul said. And Jesus didn't command this either, right? So, they must have been doing it for a particular reason, and it's the beginning of the church. Uh, things are happening in such a way that their, their lives are uncertain. They may be thinking that perhaps persecution is coming. There's all kinds of reasons that we could speculate with, but, but we won't know. But this is what happened here. And it was important, especially, we know it's important because Luke mentions it, right? Luke is saying, telling them about, telling us about this.

And so, notice what else they did. Day by day, they went to the temple, they broke bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, and they praised God. They were worshiping together. And notice this last line. And the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved.

It is the Lord that is doing this work. People are hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they are coming to faith, and God is adding them to this early church. That is how this works. They are proclaiming.  And in the case of the Apostles, they were doing these wonders to show that they had the authority to teach.

And God used the proclamation of this Gospel of Jesus Christ to bring people to faith. That they might be a part of the family of God that was meeting here. That was what was happening. God was adding them to their number. And we're going to see that more and more throughout the book of Acts. That this is how this is happening.

God is the one that is doing the work. So once again, for us, as we head into the weekend, there's an application for us. Trust the Word. Don't think that somehow, we need to have fancy ways of evangelizing people, that we need a method or a methodology. We need to trust the Word. We need to trust that the Word that we proclaim to our children, that God is going to use that Word that is proclaimed, to bring them to faith.

If we share the word of God or we proclaim the gospel to somebody, we don't need to worry about it being fancy. Now, we shouldn't be sloppy with it and just, um, do it poorly.  But we don't need to think that somehow, we need to have some sort of fancy way of doing it or method to do it. Instead, we just proclaim the word and trust that it is sufficient.

That God the Holy Spirit will use our proclamation of that pure gospel of Christ in him crucified, crucified, to bring people to faith. So may we look for opportunities to do that today. How can we remind one another of the gospel, to build each other up other.  Build up one another in faith. How else can we proclaim the gospel to those who have never heard and not thinking that we have to have some method to convince them, but instead trust that the Holy Spirit can bring them to life if we faithfully proclaim that good news.

So, may we look for those opportunities and trust that God will be at work as he wills.