- Revision
What I have been trying to do over the last three weeks … is talk about some crucial understandings about the Christian life. From Romans chapter 5 we saw that one of the central features of being Christian is being forgiven. We come humbly before the ‘throne of grace’ and find mercy there. Because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, and through his resurrection, we enter a new experience of life as forgiven people. This changes everything, because we need … no longer … to live under guilt and shame, but rather in freedom. This is the freedom that we model in community – which becomes a distinguishing feature that others may also want to discover.
This experience is described, in John chapter 3, as being “born again” or “born anew”. From this moment, we enter what John calls “eternal life”, which means life in all it fullness – life as it was meant to be – or life with solid purpose. This means that we can bring the light of Jesus into any dark places that we encounter. There are so many people living in darkness, through what has been done to them, or because of some poor choices they have made, or just because this is where life has led them. As we have responded to Jesus and begun to follow him, we become lights to the world.
In the book of James, where the rubber really hits the road, we are confronted with the need to come under the discipline of the Word of God. This doesn’t just mean reading it or hearing it, but also applying it, into every facet of life – or in the words of James, being “doers of the Word”. So, for instance, those things that Jesus was concerned about, we will be concerned about. Where Jesus calls us to be witnesses (to him), we will be witnesses (to him). Where Jesus teaches us to love our neighbour, we will love our neighbour. Where Jesus exhibits love and compassion to the “least of these”, we will offer love and compassion to the “least of these”.
- Introduction
So … to this week’s text. Those who have been forgiven, and are walking in their salvation, and seeking to be disciples of Jesus – will want to gather together in the church. The Holy Spirit that came at Pentecost is available to us – to group us, to make us effective, to give us gifts of ministry to be shared for the common good, and to help us make Jesus present in our communities. We have read today from Acts chapter 2, the brilliant response to Peter’s powerful preaching following the Pentecost experience.
Those who were already ‘believers’, together with those that responded to Peter’s message that day, began to come together regularly in their homes – seen by them as ‘house churches’ – to practice their new found faith. We see the strong impact of their new faith in verses 42-47. How they now shaped their lives, was both as a response to the Gospel that they themselves received, and as a commitment to sharing that same Gospel with others (refer verse 41 and verse 47)!!! [As most people know, this is my singular goal in life – that people get the opportunity to come to know Jesus.]
- The Coming of the Spirit
When Jesus left his first disciples with the great commission of making disciples (and teaching and baptising them) – this was a scary challenge. Even believing in the reality of Jesus’ resurrection … was not enough for his first disciples to fully go forward with confidence. But Jesus had said, ‘Wait, and the Holy Spirit will come upon you’. Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit!! When this happened, of course, we know, there was no holding them back. The results were remarkable – this changed everything! That same Holy Spirit is given to us – making the great commission possible!
- New Life Experiences
As we have seen in our Acts 2 reading, coming to know Jesus was life-changing for the new ‘believers’. The way they did life completely changed. The biggest change I think is this – instead of pleasing themselves, they wanted to please God. Instead of having their own desires met, they wanted to serve others. Instead of just going to the temple once a week on the ‘sabbath’, they met regularly with their brothers and sisters (in the faith) in one another’s homes. And when they met in these homes, this was not just idle chit-chat, this was worship. They saw this as the necessary preparation for what God wanted to do (in the world) through them.
- Being Together
When they joined together, verse 42 indicates what their priorities were. There were much broader activities and shared experiences … that we see in this passage and later through Acts – “wonders and signs”, shared meals, generosity to the poor, common possessions – but I would argue that these broader blessings came out of their solid foundational intentions expressed in verse 42. I’ll come back to each of the four areas mentioned here, but I just wanted to mention how these ‘believers’ were viewed in their community. When the normal (sad to admit) cultural preference … for … one’s own needs to be met first, is broken through with acts of outrageous or random generosity, people DO take notice!
- Community Perspectives
There was opposition … to this belief in Jesus … from certain quarters, mainly, as it was for Jesus, within the religious and political leadership. There will always, it seems, be opposition to transformative faith … from those who it threatens (without any personal desire to change). Yet, we should examine how such faith, when it is lived out with such credibility, is generally seen around the community. Verse 47a – “… having the goodwill of all the people”!!! And why not?! However the principles of this faith in a ‘crucified prophet having been raised from the dead’ were viewed around the café conversations of Palestine and beyond – the outcome of these people’s faith was kindness – and NOT only to the ‘insiders’, but to everybody!! And this was impressive!
These ‘believers’ in Jesus had a reputation for going the extra mile in acts of compassion (right across the society of the time). Ancient writings, like those of Emperor Julian (4th century), revealed that the early Christians had a high reputation for caring for the poor, widows and orphans, as well as visits to those in prison or condemned to the living death of labouring in the mines. Early Christians provided graves and burial services for those whose bodies would otherwise have been left to the wild animals and birds.
We can use the term “overlap” to describe how our life in the church can transfer into everyday service in the community! Our lives in church, and in community should, “overlap”. In chapter 4 verse 32, we read that, “the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul” – now that is always impressive wherever it is seen and experienced! And this seemed to open a path for the Gospel to be shared and spread; for we read in the next verse, “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (v 33). In other words, because of their witness to Jesus, ‘grace’ became clearly evident around them.
- The Apostles’ Teaching (verse 42)
The leaders amongst the ‘believers’ – initially probably the disciples that travelled with Jesus – and who were active in setting up the house churches – provided teaching. They would have needed to share the basics about Jesus … if these ‘believers’ were to go on with their faith. They would have recalled and shared the teaching of Jesus, and told about how his ministry reached out to people in a variety of transformative ways and contexts. They would have taught about the centrality of the cross and resurrection. As these memories and reflections were shared and passed on – the oral tradition (as it’s called), this would have formed some of the basis for the Gospel narratives (MMLJ) as we have them now.
These teachers would have also looked back to the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures), and how these reflected God’s seeking out of humanity toward redemption – and particularly how all this pointed to the coming of Jesus. This would have been familiar territory for Jewish converts, but new material for many ‘gentile’ converts to Christianity. We read that there was a devotion (“they devoted themselves” – v. 42a) toward being taught like this (as well as participating in these other areas of worship in verse 42). To be “devoted” means to be ‘whole-hearted’!
As already mentioned, we spoke last week about the importance of coming under the teaching of God’s Word – to come under its discipline, so that we too can truly be disciples of Jesus. We need to continually ask this question: ‘What does it mean in real everyday life … to be a follower of Jesus’? This is what I am compelled to continually address. The early church were able to have such a remarkable success in their mission, because they were so devoted to being well-taught – and then they, as a result, became true ‘doers’ of the ‘Word of Truth’.
- Fellowship
At the same time there was a commitment to growing together in friendship and human solidarity – the word that is often used is “fellowship” – i.e. getting together and sharing time and conversation and hospitality with others. The Greek word “koinonia” translated “fellowship” … refers to deep sharing, close relationship and real caring. This would become more and more natural and spontaneous over time.
Sometimes there would be great experiences held in common that could be shared with one another – the really deep burdens and joys of life … even times of suffering that could be explored for one another’s encouragement or strengthening. Sometimes, differing viewpoints could be shared, for the mutual enrichment of all. Sometimes, certain differences would have to be put aside, for the sake of the harmony of the ‘body of Christ’ (and their witness to the general community).
- The Breaking of Bread
Most commentators believe that the “breaking of bread” in verse 42 … refers mainly to communion – to the remembrance of what Jesus shared with his disciples at the ‘Last Supper’. [The sharing of normal meals is what is referred to in verse 46, although the two were totally connected in the early expressions of church within homes.] This “breaking of bread” showed a real obedience to what Jesus had requested of those disciples present that ‘Passover’ night. Whenever they gathered and shared hospitality, they took up the bread … and the cup … in remembrance of what Jesus had done for them. In this way, their gatherings were totally focussed on Jesus.
Although communion can still happen in homes and in small group meetings – over the centuries, communion (in its various forms and the various ways it is referred to) has been transplanted into the formal worship service of the church. And communion DOES sit well here. For when we are together, we must remember why we are here, and what binds us together. We are here because of the grace of the cross. On a weekly basis, this centres us on Jesus. Many other things happen as expressions of faith, but the cross is where it starts, and our communion focusses us there.
- The Prayers
We need the Word of God to guide us, so that we don’t lack direction. We need fellowship – that very human touch – so that we don’t lack encouragement. We need communion – the breaking of bread and drinking the cup – to continually remind us that the church is NOT a club, but rather a spiritual movement. AND WE NEED PRAYER – to build our relationship with God and each other, as we seek the Spirit to guide us in our particular ministry into the world. The Bible gives us the timeless truths; but it is the Spirit, through our participation TOGETHER in prayer, that brings the necessary and life-changing applications into our daily situations … and the activities of our church … in 2019 and beyond.
This will be our theme in two weeks-time. But for now, I just wanted to highlight, that this reference to prayer in verse 42, is particularly about engagement with “the prayers” of the church body. This is NOT so much about our personal praying (crucial as it is), nor, so much about praying FOR the church (crucial as that is) – but rather praying WITH the church … for the church’s engagement with the world.
This is joining together in solidarity around all the prayer needs of church and community (while also being able to celebrate the great outcomes brought about through God’s faithfulness to us). Praying together in good numbers … before God – opens significant opportunities to understand God’s will and purposes, while releasing God’s blessing upon ourselves and our community. So hold that thought for two weeks-time! Imagine what it would mean to be praying TOGETHER for this community and this church’s mission!! Have a look in advance at Acts chapter 19.
- Conclusion
Acts 2:42, in the context of the verses around it, provides a great pattern for our life of worship together. We are committed together to God, and devoted to our worship of Him. In this, we need good teaching around God’s Word, the encouragement of sharing real life in all its turmoil and joy, and the regular reminder that the cross is central to our experience of salvation and new life. Praying together binds all this together, and points it outwards towards all who need to hear the good news.
All this is part of a vibrant relationship with God. When this is all happening with Spirit-led fluency, we will certainly be, “praising God” in full and vibrant worship, as we read in verse 47. Also, I reckon, just like in the days of the early church, we can “have the goodwill of all the people”, in such a way … that they come and join with us. Amen!
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