Today’s passage: Acts 2:42-47
Helpful thoughts:
- A helpful reminder, what we read in Acts is descriptive, not necessarily prescriptive. If the first church in Jerusalem did something a certain way, it does not necessarily mandate that all other church do the same. However, it’s worth asking what they did and why. And, if another passage of Scripture does command the action, it is certainly instructive to see how the early church sought to obey the Lord.
- Teaching/learning, fellowship, breaking bread, prayers and sharing of resources were things everyone was part of. The miraculous signs were not for everyone. They authenticated the message of the Apostles as they laid the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20).
- We could also observe, there was no apparent push for social reform in the government, only in themselves. They knew who their King was.
- In the very beginning, the church was a family who loved those even outside the family and welcomed them in through their testimony and kindness.
Questions to consider:
- Was there a law or rule that said these Christians had to get together everyday? Why were they doing this? How can this encourage us in our walk and in our relationships?
- Does this passage ever say these first Christians ALL sold EVERYTHING they owned? Or, are we told they shared with all from their own possessions as needs arose through their own desire to give?
- Reading through this passage, what are some differences between the way these new Christians viewed their involvement with the church with the way many seem to view the church today? How would those differences have brought them closer together? How would those differences have aided the work of sharing the gospel with others, who were being added each day?