Have you ever asked the question, "What is the purpose of the church?" Or, "Why is the church important?" Or maybe you have wondered: "What is my place in the church?" If you've asked any of these questions, Acts 2:42-47 is such an encouragement. 

Through this passage we see that when the Holy Spirit empowers God’s people, he forms a unique community unlike any other defined by God’s truth and love for others.

With that thought, two questions come to mind:

What defines this unique community?

What does this community produce in and through its people?

We see four things in verse 42 that they were devoted to that formed the foundation for this church: the Apostle’s teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. 

Apostles Teaching- A Ministry of the Word

For the early church, where the Spirit reigned, so did God’s Word. The same should be true for us. These believers saw learning the truth of Jesus as a way to better know the heart of God, to better care for others, to praise God more,-- not merely attaining knowledge.

God’s Word stands at the center of a healthy and flourishing church. This is why we see this one listed first. Because the early church wasn’t just learning about the teachings of Jesus, but in fact, a ministry of the Word. The Word of God, the content of scripture informs and drives this foundation we see in Acts 2:42. It is from the Word that we learn what it means to love each other well, and to worship our Lord in Spirit and Truth.

Author Jonathan Leeman uses a helpful term when describing the ministry of God’s Word- “Reverberation”. He says:

 “The ministry of the Word begins in the pulpit, but then it continues through the life of the church as members echo God’s Word back and forth to one another. The word reverberation as in an echo chamber. In a real echo chamber, sound reverberates off the walls. In the church, it’s the hearts of people that both absorb and project the sounds of His effectual Word.” 

So then, the Word doesn’t just come from the pulpit and fall flat, but reverberates across every part of our church as we grow closer to God and display Him to others. As we grow in Christ as a church, as we learn God’s truth, it changes our lives, and then God’s Word bounces around our lives like a metal ball in a pinball machine.

Commitment to True Fellowship

The kind of fellowship we see here did not exist before Acts 2, before the Spirit created this special community. This Greek word “Koinonia” is not even used in the gospels. This is the first time we see the word used here in this passage. 

Kent Hughes is helpful and rather convicting here:

“Fellowship cost something in the early church, in contrast to our word fellowship today. Fellowship is not just a sentimental feeling of oneness. It is not punch and cookies. It does not simply we gather in the church hallway. True fellowship costs!”

 It makes sense. The early church was so devoted to God it led them to love others well. They were imitating their Savior.

As we also see down in verse 47, this fellowship extended to those outside the church family. They longed that those who were far from Jesus, would come to know Him. This church had a heart for evangelism, for sharing the good news of Jesus to others. God blessed their efforts and honored their desire to display his truth and grace to the world around them.

The Breaking of Bread and Prayer- A Passionate Heart of Worship

I think “breaking bread” a couple of ideas in mind. First, this term is used throughout Acts to refer to the regular participation in the Lord’s Supper. This was a regular part of their worship. The Lord’s Supper was yet another way for them to celebration the finished work of Christ, his body and blood broken and shed for His people.

This breaking of bread also illustrates the unity believers have in Christ. Since there is one bread (one Christ), and we are one body, we partake of the one bread (one Christ) as we display the truth of salvation.

This breaking of bread is also refers to their meals together. Luke uses it in this way as well throughout Acts. Yet again, it shows us how these early believers cared for each other and longed for each other’s presence.

And we see “prayer” as well. The prayer is view here is not individual prayer, but prayer as a corporate body. This was and must continue to be the lifeblood of any church that honors God. Prayer provided their strength to serve God well.

What can God’s church produce?

• We marvel at God’s power and presence in our lives and around us.

A sense of awe came upon everyone as they saw God work. One writer tells us: “This awe was not terror, but something like the prophet Isaiah experienced when he saw the holiness of God and cried: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am frail, fallen being standing before the true God of love and righteousness.”

Awe before God gives us an overwhelming sense of optimism. (It doesn’t mean we don’t feel pain and lament during hard times—read the psalms.) However, it means that we have a settledness in our souls, and that God is powerful and working in our lives and in our world. Perhaps, awe is the proper antedote for bitterness and cynicism.

This means we realize that no one is too far gone that God can’t change them. And this also means an overwhelming faith in God to work, because we realize that only God can change a lost and hard heart. I can’t think of any more needed then a sense of awe before God. For believers and non-believers. An awe before God that would bring revival to our hearts and to those far from God.

Think about it. If we are confident that God is in control and he works and moves to bring those far from Him near, what’s stopping us from being a part of that mighty work?We serve a mighty God who moves in mighty ways, who has the power to change the hearts of those who seem miles away from Him. The question, do we trust that he can do it. Will we come along for the ride? This early church surely did.

• We care for the needs of others, even when it hurts.

Kent Hughes says this. This is important for us to hear:

“So many people never know the joys of Christian fellowship because they’ve never learned to give themselves away. They visit a church or attend for a while and go away saying: “There’s no fellowship here.” The truth is, he says, we will have fellowship only when we make it a practice to reach out to others and give something of ourselves.”

Think about that. True fellowship, true care for others costs us something.

The needs of others were not a mere after-thought for this early church. They clearly had others needs and good at the forefront of their minds. To this end, we are called to give sacrificially, of our time, talents, and treasures for the sake of our Lord and his people.

The passage says: "believers were together." It wasn’t about being in the same place for a church service. It’s a specific kind of culture in their midst. It wasn’t about just showing up at the temple to hear the apostles preach or showing up for a dinner if they had time, but it was a way of life. Being together as the body of Christ defined them, it was who they are more than what they did.

• We long to be together because the spiritual growth of others matters to us.

Every day they met together in the temple and ate meals together regularly.  But this is more than just a meal, but a means of discipleship, of growing in Christ together. The temple is where they read God’s Word together (remember they didn’t have personal copies of the Bible). And I’m sure their meetings in home were also ways to grow in their faith together as they encouraged each other.

This brings me to what we stand for as a church. Part of our mission statement reads: “Glory God by making disciples”

Discipleship happens when we invest in each other, when we put the time in. When we form lasting relationships so that we can grow in Christ together. We do this so that we can trust each other enough to call on a friends in hard times. We trust each other enough to ask the tough questions and to hold each other accountable in our marriages and in our walk with God. This takes trust. Building trust takes time and effort. The early church got this. We must get it too!

It all comes down to your investment. Our church will only grow and flourish in as much as we invest in our relationships with each other. And we see in Acts 2, look what God can do with that investment. We need each other to survive.

• We receive any and every gift by grace with humility.

The church was filled with gratitude and appreciation for what God and others were doing in their midst. There was no sense of entitlement or expectation from these people. You get the sense that culture here was that any and every good thing was seen as a gracious gift from the Lord.

Joy and contentment are a clear sign of the God’s work in your life, and clearly was a part of the early church. 

Regardless of the situation, they were filled with joy. They looked for the good in each situation, because at the end of the day they knew God cared deeply for them had their good in mind. Even in the midst of persecution and hard times, they saw every act of kindness as a blessing.

Do you feel an overwhelming sense of joy when you think about what God has done for you? When you think about the fact that God rescued us from sin and death and allows us to know Him and live a life of purpose and meaning and spend eternity with Him forever, it should lead you to rejoice.

• We show a devotion to God that’s contagious to those around us.

This church's love for God and for each other was evident to those around them. It was contagious, it was infectious. As much as we see the early church focus each other, they were not stuck in a bubble just taking care of their own. They connected, they interacted with others, focusing on those who didn’t know God.

A few years after Acts was written, a man named Aristides (a famous writer of the day) commented on the reasons for the spread of Christianity. He wrote the following to Emperor Hadrian in AD 125 about the culture of these early Christians. Hear these powerful words:

“Through love they persuade others to become Christians, and when they have done so, they call them brethren without qualification. They do not worship strange gods, and they go their way in all modesty and cheerfulness. Falsehood is not found among them; and they love one another, and from widows they do not turn away their esteem; and they deliver the orphan from him who treats him harshly. And he, who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother… And whenever one of their poor passes from the world, each one of them according to his ability gives heed to him and carefully sees to his burial. And if they hear that one of their number is imprisoned or afflicted on account of the name of their Messiah, all of them anxiously minister to his need, and if it is possible, to redeem him they set him free. And if there is among them any that is poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply to the needy their lack of food."

Does our love for each other get people’s attention? Does our love for those outside the church make people want to follow Jesus? It should. Because, as his children, we have the ultimate hope that overcomes fear. We have a community, a fellowship (when we realize what’s it all about) that is unmatched in this world. Others need that hope too!

What then, does it look like for you this week to be better invested in life of our church? Maybe it means you call those you haven’t seen in a while. Maybe you’ve been laying low during this whole time of separation and it’s time for you to reach out and connect with others.

I pray the Lord encourages you this week as we follow God and serve each other.

Pastor Sam