And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
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Hallmarks Of A Great Church
Acts 2:42-47
Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Well, the Holy Spirit came upon them in Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, and they did receive power to be Christ’s witnesses. Peter stood up, representing the other 11 apostles, and boldly preached of Christ and His resurrection. He told them that they had crucified Jesus whom God had made both Lord and Christ. At that, they were pierced to heart, and cried out, “Brethren, what shall we do? Peter responded that they must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. And they did! Verse 41 tells us that day there were added about 3,000 souls!
Then in Acts 2:42-47, Luke gives us a description of the first Christian Church. What was it like? Was it like all the churches that we have ever experienced? I believe Luke describes this Church in Jerusalem, because it was a great church. It was a Spirit-filled church. This passage has served as a model for God’s church for over 2,000 years. There is much that we can learn from it. Brothers and sisters, I want The Bridge to be like the church we read about in Acts 2:42-47, don’t you? But be warned, it won’t come without cost and sacrifice. There are so many things competing for our time and attention – family, entertainment, work, hobbies, trips, etc. To make matters worse, we naturally are prone to be individualistic and self-centered. We think in terms of me, myself, and I. It is a foreign concept for us to think in terms of being part of a covenant community. That is the American spirit, but it is not Biblical. We need to think in terms of being part of something bigger and greater than myself. The most important thing is not me, but the community. When we think about church, we ask, “What’s in it for me?” If the return is not big enough, we’re not interested. We tend to be convenience-oriented. If being committed to my church is convenient, I’m all in, but if it is inconvenient or involves sacrifice, then forget it. God is calling us higher. He desires that we love the church, and show that love by sacrifice, dedication, commitment, and loyalty.
The Spirit of God did something special in the Acts 2 church. Let’s look at it together, and pray that God would do it again! I want to bring out 7 different hallmarks of this church.
1. Devotion
Continually Devoting: this phrase in the Greek means “to continue to do something with intense effort; staying in a fixed direction; to give unremitting care to something.” I think another word that would describe this church is Commitment. They were committed to certain things.
When were they devoted? Continually. This had become their new lifestyle. They weren’t devoted to church for an hour and a half on Sundays only. They were devoted to the Church 24/7. It had become a way of life. It was not just Sunday, but also Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
To what were they devoted? This is very important. Today, the church can be devoted to many things. Maybe it is finding a great preacher, or having an awesome worship band, or great programs for the kids, or having plenty of parking, or a comfortable building to meet in. The early church wasn’t devoted to any of those things. Let’s look at the list.
The Apostles’ Teaching. The apostles taught these new believers about Jesus. They had spent the last three years following Him, living with Him, hearing Him, learning from Him, and watching Him. Now, it was time for them to teach others all He had taught them. In our church we have no apostles. But we have their teachings recorded in this Book, the Bible. So, for us to be continually devoted to the apostles’ teaching translates into being continually devoted to the teaching of the Word of God. For those who teach the Word in our church, myself and Pastor Jerome, this means that we must be absolutely committed to bring you the Word of God every time we teach. We are not free to bring you our opinions or speculations. We are not free to spend the time entertaining you, amusing you, or trying to make you laugh. We are not free to waste your time with trivial matters. We must speak to you, what God has already said in His Word. We must bring the plain, natural meaning of Scripture to you, help you understand it, and then exhort you to live it out in your life. For those of you who do not teach, being continually devoted to the apostles’ teaching means you come eagerly and expectantly to listen whenever the Word is taught. You come with a spiritual hunger. You come wanting to learn, and be reminded, and be challenged. Here at The Bridge, we must value Truth. We must value Scripture. We must value hearing God’s voice, as we meditate on His Word.
Fellowship. The root meaning of fellowship is “to share together.” So, what did they share? Everything! 2:44-45. They had all things in common, and sold property and possessions and shared them with all, as anyone might have need. The believers loved each other and it showed. It could be seen in how they cared for each other. They also shared together in the things of Christ. When they met they shared what they had in Christ with one another.
Breaking of Bread. I take this expression to refer to the Lord’s Supper. They were devoted to remembering Christ. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Lk. 22:19). They continually devoted themselves to celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Verse 46 says, “breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together…” It appears that these early Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper very frequently. They did so in each other’s homes day by day. They were eager and excited to remember Christ in His sacrificial death.
Prayer. When these early Christians met together they were eager to pray with each other. Corporate prayer was taking place continually. Honestly, this is an area I think we need to be more diligent in. I think we have made a great start in the Men’s Meetings, as we have been praying through the book of James. But I think we should designate times where we meet for the sole purpose of prayer and seeking God.
2. Awe
Acts 2:43, “And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.” There was this awe. Why? Because God was doing such amazing things in their midst! He was performing miracles through the apostles. But that’s not all. Verse 47 says that the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. They were in awe of how the Lord was adding new believers to their number every day! How did this happen? Verse 47 says they were having favor with all the people. In other words, They were not spiritual recluses. They mixed with unbelievers. They didn’t cut off all relationship with lost people when God saved them and added them to the church. They continued in relationship with them, and as they did, God gave them favor with them. God gave them ears to hear what they told them about Christ. They told them they had found the Messiah, the Savior. That He had died for sins and risen from the dead. And instead of rejecting their testimony and brushing them off, God gave them a heart to hear their witness. Do we feel a sense of awe at how God is working in our midst?
3. Love
Acts 2:44, “And all those who had believed were together…” All were together. Why? Because they had to? Because it was a box they had to check off? Because there was no where else they could be? No! They were together because they wanted to be together! They loved one another. We have already seen this in how they sold property and gave as anyone had need. But it is seen further, in that they were always together. In fact, it appears that there were Christians meeting with one another either at the temple or in homes every day (2:46). They met at Solomon’s Portico at the temple. This was an outdoor covered porch area, where many hundred could meet at one time. So, my guess, is that they would go up to the temple to hear the apostles preach and teach, and would meet in homes to break bread, praise God and pray. But I don’t think these early Christians would have understood the concept of a Christian who doesn’t meet with other Christians.
Brothers and sisters, I know we all have our own jobs and families, but wouldn’t it be great if there were more fellowship and sharing together in between meetings? This might be folks getting together to share a meal, going shopping together, calling each other to encourage one another, watching each other’s kids, or even go on vacations together. This concept seems strange to American believers, because we tend to be very individualistic, but seeking the good of the community is very normal for many other cultures today. Wouldn’t it be great if we loved each other so much we could hardly talk about my life, but instead our life; not my time, but our time; not my future, but our future. We would truly see ourselves as knit together as one body, and one family.
4. Unity
Acts 2:46 says, “Day by day continuing with one mind…” The phrase “one mind” is speaking about their spiritual unity together. The 120 in the upper room “with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14). When the 3,000 were added, they were still in “one mind.” It’s easy to see why they possessed this beautiful unity. They were all continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. They all experienced an awe as they witnessed God’s mighty power doing miracles and saving the lost in their midst. They all had a deep and genuine love for one another that caused them to be together all the time, and even sell their possessions so that everyone would be taken care. Yes, I think all of that would contribute to a wonderful sense of unity amongst God’s people.
Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, for brothers to dwell together in unity!” It truly is good and pleasant. And when there is quarreling, arguing, division, and in-fighting, how band and how unpleasant it is! Paul said in Philippians 1:17, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
Brothers and sisters, do we enjoy a deep sense of spiritual unity together?
5. Joy
Acts 2:46 says these Christians were “taking their meals together with gladness…” Gladness speaks of joy. Joy was one of the hallmarks of this church. They were rejoicing in Christ! They knew He was risen and alive! They were rejoicing in God’s work in miracles and conversions. They were rejoicing in the changed lives of the people around them. Joy was a very natural fruit that exuded from their lives, because of the powerful work that the Spirit was doing in their midst.
Folks, do we experience the joy of the Lord when we gather together?
6. Sincerity
Acts 2:46 says they had sincere hearts. The word sincere means “free from pretense or deceit; proceeding from genuine feelings.” It is the opposite of being hypocritical. These Christians weren’t pretending or seeking to deceive one another. They were genuine. They could be themselves.
You know, it is easy to be insincere in the church. It is easy to put on airs, or pretend that we are more holy than we actually are. All of us want others to think well of us. But these believers were sincere in their love for Christ and devotion to one another. They weren’t perfect, but they were sincere. They did not have ulterior motives for their service to Christ and one another.
How about you? Are you sincere? Are you free from pretense or deceit?
7. Praise
Acts 2:47 says they were “praising God and having favor with all the people…” These new believers were filled not only with joy, but also with praise to God! They were so joyful and happy and excited about what God had done, and about what Christ had done for them, that it naturally expressed itself in praise.
A great church is a church of praise. A church were the Spirit is moving, will be a church that delights to give praise to God! Does that describe us?
Conclusion
I want to conclude by asking all of you to do something. I’m going to hand out Spiritual Inventory Sheets, and I’m going to ask you to fill it out anonymously. I’m going to ask you to identify how we as a church are doing in these 7 areas, and how you personally are doing in these 7 areas. We’ll take about 5 minutes, and then collect them. Let’s pray.
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