What was the secret of the early church’s greatness?  Great grace, great fear, and great power!

Teaching Notes:

The Greatness Of The Early Church

Acts 4:32 – 5:16

Intro: Over the past several weeks, we have been examining the remarkable life of the early church. We have seen that the early church was continually devoted to Teaching, Worship, Fellowship, and Evangelism. Further, God was bearing witness to the apostles by doing signs and wonders through them, like Peter’s healing of the lame man in chapter 3. Moreover, their bold preaching and miracles were continually getting them in trouble with the spiritual authorities in Jerusalem. In spite of that, the disciples were full of faith and vibrant prayer. Instead of praying that God would stop the persecution, they prayed that they would continue to preach boldly, knowing it would lead to more persecution!  Well, this morning, we get to peer into another window showing us what this early church was like.

            In this section 3 things are referred to as Great:  great power (4:33); great grace (4:33), and great fear (5:5,11). The adjective “great” is mega  in the Greek. We get our words “megalomaniac” , “megaphone” and “megadose” from this Greek word. A megalomaniac is a mental illness which gives a person delusions of greatness, riches or power.  “Mega” means ‘extremely good, great, or successful.” Well, there were 3 marks of Greatness that the Early Church was known for spelled out in our text:  Grace, Fear, and Power.  If we want to be truly great in God’s sight, these are the marks that we should be longing for!

1.   Great Grace:  Acts 4:32-37

      Great power is mentioned in 4:33, but is not picked up and expanded on until 5:12-16. This first paragraph is about great grace. Notice vs.33-34 in the NASB “abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person…” Here is where the accuracy of the NASB is solid gold. The ESV leaves out “for”; but this little word is crucial. It tells us that this great grace was manifested in the sacrificial giving of the early believers.

A.   One Heart and Soul:  what do you think it means that these early believers were of “one heart and soul”? They longed for, craved, and loved the same things. They believed the same things. There was an intimate, close bond between them, the closest of all bonds. What did this deep spiritual unity result in?

B.   Sacrificial Giving:  no one claimed private possession of property. They were not content to go on living in comfort while another brother was in need. They put all their “stuff” in an open hand. People were more important than possessions. Some have tried to compare what was happening to communism. However, that comparison completely misses the mark.

Emphasis should be on “no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own.” 

Do we use people to win possessions; or do you use possessions to win people? 

There was not a needy person among them! God had said in Deut.15:4 “there will be no poor among you.”

Owners of lands or houses sold them:  this wasn’t donating used clothes to the Salvation Army! This was selling a piece of property or a house, and giving the money so a poor brother’s needs would be taken care of.

As any had need:  apparently these houses and lands were not sold until it become evident that someone in the church had great need. Then, others willingly and voluntarily sold something to take care of them.

Application for Stone Bridge:  Can we say that there is “great grace” here at Stone Bridge? When we are of one heart and soul and care more about each other than our possessions, and are willing to sell stuff to relieve one another’s needs, then we can say God has given us great grace! Look at Jesus’ example – 2 Cor. 8:9. Don’t you long for this kind of love to be manifested here? Let’s pray for that kind of love and grace to be in our midst! 

2.   Great Fear:  Acts 5:1-11. 

A.  Why does 5:1 begin with “But”:  5:1. The word “but” shows a contrast. What contrast is being made? The contrast between Barnabus and Ananias & Saphira. Barnabus, out of a good heart, sold a field, and brought all the money and laid it at the apostles feet.

B.   What Was Their Sin? Lying – vs.3,5. They were pretending to give all the money, when they were not. There was nothing wrong in withholding part of the sale money. Their property was their own before and after they sold it. They weren’t under any obligation to sell the land, or to give away any, let alone all, of the proceeds. That was not the sin. The sin was in their deliberate deception. They lied, saying they gave all, when they did not. Further, the Greek word for “kept back” in 5:2, means “to embezzle”. The same Greek word is used in the Septuagint of Achan’s theft of the gold. In its only other NT occurrence (Titus 2:10), the word means “to steal.” Thus, we must assume that Ananias and Saphira had previously entered into an agreement to give the church the total amount raised. When they brought some of the sale, they were guilty of embezzlement.

C.   Why would they pretend to give all? Probably because they saw the esteem and applause Barnabus received when he gave all. They wanted the credit and prestige that Barnabus had. What was their motive in giving? To relieve the sufferings of the poor? No. It was to receive praise from man! Satan had filled Ananias’ heart (5:3). What did he whisper? “You can bask in this same kind of glory! Go ahead and pretend to be as spiritual and holy as Barnabus!”  Ananias took the bait, and was hooked. 

D.   How Did God Respond To Their Sin? With swift, stern discipline. He killed both of them. Some Word of Faith teachers I have heard claim that they had heart attacks at hearing Peter’s words. However, they only come to those conclusions because they can’t believe in a God who would kill people. This isn’t the first time God has killed someone! He killed Nadab and Abihu be sending fire from heaven (Lev.10). He killed Uzzah for touching the ark (2Sam.6:7). He killed some of the Corinthian believers for their abuse of the Lord’s Supper (1Cor.11). Now, the Bible doesn’t tell us that Ananias and Saphira went to hell. It just says that they fell down dead. I believe that this was not a demonstration of God’s eternal condemnation, but of His Fatherly discipline and chastisement.

E.   Why Would God Do This? Evidently to protect the purity of the early church. It was to keep unbelievers from joining the church (5:13), and to keep the church holy. 

Application For Stone Bridge:  Notice where the phrase “great fear” appears. It is mentioned right after Ananias falls down dead, and then right after Saphira falls down dead. The great fear is in response to God’s swift and severe discipline. How does God feel about sin?  He hates it! He is grieved by it! He will not tolerate it in His children. Do you feel the same way about sin that God does? Are you as committed to puring your life of sin as God is?  And notice, the specific sin mentioned here is hypocrisy. Ananias and Saphira were trying to appear something that they weren’t. They wanted people to think they were as spiritual and generous as Barnabus. The Greek word for hypocrite means “a play actor.” It referred to someone who acted in the plays and wore a mask. Stone Bridge, let’s commit to not wearing masks here. Let’s not deliberately deceive others into thinking we are better or more righteous than we really are. Let’s strive to be honest with one another. That means when we have sinned, confess it. Your DNA group is a good place to seek to be honest and vulnerable with one another. 

3.   Great Power:  Acts 5:12-16

A.   How Was This Great Power Manifested?  Signs and wonders.

B.   Who Was Working these Signs and Wonders?  The apostles.

C.   How Frequent Did These Signs Take Place?  “regularly”; “many”.

D.   What was The Result of these Signs?  5:14 – great multitudes were being added to the Lord. As we have already said, miracles can’t save anyone, but they can get people’s attention so that they listen to the gospel. It is remarkable how often in the book of Acts, conversions are linked to miracles (Acts 9:32-35; 36-42; 19:11-20)

E.   What Did These Signs Look Like?  5:15-16. Healings and casting out of demons. Interestingly Jesus continually healed the sick and cast out demons. When He sent out the 12, He gave them the authority to do the same. When He sent out the 70, they did the same. When He commissioned the church after His resurrection, he told them to do the same (Mk.16:17-18).

F.   How Many Were Healed?  All!

Application For Stone Bridge:  If we are honest, we have to admit that what was taking place was unusual. There was an unusual anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. I don’t believe we are to expect God to do exactly the same thing in all ages of the church as He did here. However, I also don’t believe we should conclude that God does not do signs and wonders any more. Most of the miracles in Acts were done by Peter or Paul, but non-apostles like Philip and Stephen also did miracles. If God is truly sovereign, He is free to do whatever He wants whenever He wants. Oh, how we need the power of God in our lives and ministries! Consider this, the God who created the universe lives in me! If that is really true, then there ought to be displays of His supernatural power in my life and through me to others. Jeff Vandersteldt likes to say, “we need to live in such a way that our life requires a supernatural explanation.” I think that is very good advice!  Let’s believe and expect God to show up in power!

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