Let's Talk About It: What is the Church? (Part 2)

Acts 2:42-47

[42] And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [43] And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. [44] And all who believed were together and had all things in common. [45] And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [46] And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, [47] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

We have here a snap shot of the first church in history.  The example of this church helps us to see what the church should be in some fundamental aspects, giving us a foundational framework for our own churches today.  If we follow this blue-print of a healthy church, it will produce health in our churches, but if we reject the applications here, it will only lead to spiritual sickness within our congregations.

Now, I just want to give a little bit of background information so we can understand the context this church was in. They were in first century Jerusalem, which meant three key things. One, they were under the rule of the Roman empire who were ruthlessly against Christianity (hence they crucified Jesus). Two, Jerusalem was a major city for the Jewish population who were also blatantly against Christianity (their leaders were the ones who plotted to kill Jesus). Third, Jerusalem was a city that attracted a very diverse population. If you read earlier in Acts 2, it describes Jerusalem as being a place where “Jews and devout men from every nation under heaven” were living (Acts 2:5). So this church was located in a place where hostile opposition was everywhere, while an abundance of potential cultural and social barriers among the church threatened any attempts to grow a unified people group.

However, if we were to read through Acts together we would see that the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, defied all the odds, overcame all the barriers and the Church (capital “C” meaning all Christians everywhere) grew by miraculous proportions.  But, in the midst of this incredible underdog story, what did the church do? What were the key contributors to their healthy growth.  Well, there are four traits that I want to highlight from the passage.

• They devoted themselves (vs.42)

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, they were “dedicated and loyal” to their cause. They committed their lives to what they were doing. This goes completely against the low-commitment stereotype of American church-membership today. The early church was a people who were sold out to following Jesus and being part of His church. This devotion expressed itself in three specific ways which are listed in verse forty-two.

1) They were devoted to the “Apostles’ teaching. They were committed to listen, study and apply the truth of God that was being taught through the Apostles’. For us today that would equate to committing ourselves to the study and application of the Bible, which includes the scriptures the Apostles’ used in their teaching (the old testament) and the scriptures they wrote as inspired by God (the new testament).  To have devoted pursuit of deepening our understanding and conforming our lives to the Word of God that we today have abundant access to.

2) They were devoted to the fellowship. The community of the followers of Christ was something that demanded their loyalty and commitment. The church was never meant to be something where a bunch of individuals occasionally congregate, but actually live quite separated lives. The early church shows us that followers of Christ are to be a collective people with a common aim, devoted to living as one with each other.  This did not come naturally for this people who had to deal with cultural, social, economic, and even language barriers for crying out loud. And I know it doesn’t come naturally for us today. They had to commit themselves to be a people living in community, and so do we. There’s no such thing as healthy loner in the church.

3) They devoted themselves to Christ commanded practices. There were two things in particular: the breaking of bread (a.k.a. Communion) and prayer.  As Jesus commanded His disciples to do in Luke 22:14-20, the church was to continue that tradition of remembering Christ’s body broken and blood shed for us. And so they did, and so we continue to do that today, lest we forget the great sacrifice of our Lord and Savior. Also, the church was meant to be a people of prayer. Jesus was a man of prayer, He instructs us how to pray in His Word and so we should seek to follow His example and teaching. If we call ourselves Christ-followers and yet don’t follow Christ’s example and instructions concerning prayer, we are missing a huge component of what a healthy Christian and a church does.

• There was a common sense of awe (vs. 43)

The power of God was evident and the people of God were awe-inspired witnesses. Now, I know for some of us today we look back and see how there were great signs and wonders being done there and think that if we don’t have a sense of awe today its because God isn’t doing all the amazing works He used to do. So if anything, it’s God’s fault we aren’t in awe and wonder. The more I study God’s Word and spend time seeking God’s presence in my life, the more I’ve come to realize that God’s still in the “wonders business”. It may not be water turning into wine. It may not be miraculous healing or dead people coming to life, etc. No, it would seem like most of God’s works today are less flashy, but we must understand that does NOT mean they’re less amazing. Every time the Word of God rings true in our lives, every time the Spirit enables us to do what we otherwise would not (forgive, place others before ourselves, flee temptation, etc.), every time He provides (shelter, food, clothes, and breath in our lungs), God performs a miraculous work.  The question is: do we acknowledge that and have an appropriate sense of awe in response to who God is and what He does?

Devotion and awe. There’s enough there for us to stop and digest for at least a week (more like the rest of our lives). But join me next week when we’ll talk about the last two foundational aspects of the healthy church, exemplified by the first-century church of Jerusalem.