Pentecost! A new age had dawned - the ascended Saviour poured out his Spirit upon his people, empowered the preaching of Peter and the witness of the disciples and 3000 people were saved. This was a glorious day in the experience of the early church; it must have been a great encouragement to the believers to see God at work in such a powerful way.
But the impact of the Spirit's work in the hearts and lives of those who preached and those who heard was not limited to what happens up to v.41. In the following verses, Luke records for us something of the life of the early church and in doing so gives an account of what the church can and should be in every age under the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
A New Devotion
The first group of believers were now joined by those who had been converted on the day of Pentecost and Luke tells us that their lives were marked by a new devotion. That word means "a steadfast and single-minded fidelity to a certain course of action". It is not speaking of a flash-in-the-pan experience but shows that their lives had been decisively changed.
Clearly, their devotion was to the Lord himself; he is always to be the very heart of our Christian faith and life. But devotion to the Lord will show itself in certain ways. Luke lists 4 key things here in v.42 that we are meant to take note of:
i) The Apostles' teaching - They had a real enthusiasm for, and commitment to, what the apostles taught. And that teaching centred upon God and his plan to save a fallen world through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. These early believers wanted to learn as much as they could; they saw it as a vital part of their experience as Christians; indeed, they would not grow in their relationship with the Lord if they neglected his word.
It's clear in the verses that follow that they made this a priority in their lives. They met at the temple each day, which would have given an opportunity for the apostles to teach them and no doubt they talked over what they heard as they met together in their homes.
One of the marks of the Spirit's work in us is a genuine hunger for teaching about the Lord. Many could perhaps testify that this was their experience when they first trusted the Lord but it shouldn't stop there. We are to go on learning and so we should go on having a hunger for the word of God. We are blessed with so many opportunities, far more than some believers in other parts of the world - do we take them?
Some object to an emphasis on teaching, feeling it shows we are simply intellectual in our faith. Of course, that is possible but it need not so. There is no tension between the Spirit who gave the Word and the Word itself! As we study his word, we do so in dependence on him and with the desire to know the Lord better and to love him more.
We must devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching too.
ii) The Fellowship - Here is an important NT word but it only occurs here in Acts. What does it mean? At its heart, 'fellowship' means a sharing together in something which is held in common. Having believed and been given new life in the Lord, the early church shared in it together, with all that entailed.
A clear example of the way they lived out their common life is given is vv.45,46 where we see the early church caring for each other. As needs arose, property or possessions would be sold or shared in order to meet them.
Here is an impressive demonstration of how they shared their lives together! "Christian fellowship is Christian caring and Christian caring is Christian sharing"; they exemplified that in how they lived.
How this is worked out in detail is not really the point. It's what they did that's so impressive: being united together in Christ, they demonstrated it in their lives by caring for each other. Their example is one that calls to us across the centuries with real power and challenge.
iii) The breaking of bread - Although the Lord's Supper had not yet become a formalised part of church life, the reality of it was something that the early church lived out to the full. They devoted themselves to breaking bread together and did so in their homes in smaller gatherings too.
What this shows us is that they were devoted to the gospel and to took every opportunity to remember the Lord Jesus and his saving death for them. They were from the first a truly gospel church.
In terms of how and when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, scripture gives us freedom ("whenever you do this..."). What is not open for negotiation is that we should ever be a truly evangelical church, with the evangel, the gospel, at the heart of all we do. Our emphasis must be on Christ and him crucified and the outworking of that in lives of service and holiness.
iv) The prayer(s) - The plural may mean set Jewish prayers or may indicate intensity. Whichever it is, prayer was clearly a vital aspect of the life of the early church. Both in public and private, they gave themselves to seeking God. They clearly took seriously the fact that they were utterly dependent on the Lord for everything and so they sought him with real diligence.
I can't comment on our private praying but if we're honest, our church prayer life could be better. We need to ask the Lord to help us to seek him, to repent of our prayerlessness and to be more devoted to prayer.
In all these ways, the early church is a great example and encouragement to us. If we ask, How can these things be true for us, some might say that it was only true for them because they were living in a time of revival. Leaving aside the fact that this wasn't strictly speaking revival (it was a unique occasion), we can't let it rest at that.
Of course these things will be more true of us if revival comes but what the church did here with great devotion, the rest of the NT encourages us to do at all times! Devotion to God, expressing itself in a love for his word, his people, the gospel and prayer is something we are ever to pursue, asking his Spirit to help us manifest his fruit.
Two other features of the life of the early church cry out for comment here:
* New Joy - Their simple yet profound joy in the Lord is clear for all to see here. It wasn't put on nor was it formal and only for public gatherings. It was the fruit of the Spirit at work in them and no doubt deepened as they devoted themselves to the Lord in the ways we have seen.
* New Joiners - They were a growing community. As the Lord worked among them, authenticating the ministry of the apostles by sings and wonders, awe fell upon the people, the church enjoyed their favour and "the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved". We need to believe that this can be so with ourselves too.
The early church in its new life in the Spirit was winsome in its witness. May we be so too. Amen.
