Acts 4:32-37 - Barnabas

Acts 4:32–37 KJV 1900

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Chapter 4 concludes by sharing one of the effects of a church on the same page.

In vs. 32, they were unified with their brothers and sisters in Christ.

They were of one heart and soul.

There was no division, no schism within the church at this moment.

They were just as susceptible to divisions as we are.

What are some areas where they might have been divided?

Pre-Ascension members vs. Post-Ascension members.

Tribal divisions.

How about some of the same divisions we deal with in 2023?

Economic

Educational

Occupational

None of these things prevented the people of this first church from forming connections and working with the new family.

This was helped by the fact that they were not possessive.

The specific statement refers to their material possessions.

Usually, people are the most possessive of their stuff.

A person who is selfless with the materials is usually selfless in other areas too.

There were no borders and kingdoms within this church.

There were no issues of this is mine; keep your hands off.

We will see in a second the kind of impact that mentality had.

Now, we will most definitely see problems pop up in the future for this church.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t pause momentarily and appreciate the conditions we see in this passage.

Times of peace and unity should be treasured, not discounted.

A church without divisions and mini-kingdoms is rare and primed for effective ministry.

Effective ministry must include outward gospel proclamation.

It must also include inward care for the saints.

That’s precisely what we see in verse 33; unity enabled them to execute their mission effectively.

Their witness was characterized by power.

Their message remained focused on the resurrection.

They were embued with great grace from God.

In verses 34-35, we see that unity enabled them to provide selfless care for others.

Nobody lacked anything within this church that now numbered in the high thousands.

Some, not all, of the people were selling their goods and donating to the church.

They did so without strings.

They laid it at the apostles’ feet and made distribution as people needed.

When someone gives with the right heart, it is a tremendous blessing to the giver and the one who receives it.

To illustrate their generosity, Luke recounts the actions of a man who demonstrates this selfless giving.

This was a man who had been given a new name.

His given name was Joses or Joseph.

The apostles had given him the name of Barnabas, which means the “son of consolation.”

Barnabas was of the tribe of Levi and had returned to Jerusalem from the diaspora of Jews.

His country of birth was Cyprus, which will play a part in his story later.

It is also relevant to the story here.

As a diaspora Jew, Barnabas would have stood out from the Judean-born Jews.

Had there not been unity within the Church, Barnabas may have been subjected to prejudicial behavior.

Which may have made verse 37 impossible.

Barnabas sold land, brought the money to the church, and gave it to be used wherever needed.

Had Barnabas been looked down on, how would things have been different?

Would the young church have benefitted from his consolation?

Would he have made the generous gift that we read about?

Would he have gone on to become the pastor of the church at Antioch?

Would he have gone on to lead the first missionary journey to his home country of Cyprus?

We don’t know.

Thankfully we don’t have to wonder because…

The church's unity and God's grace made them effective in their ministry to those without and within.

To those without, that ministry was manifested in powerful witness; we’ve seen that before.

To those within the church, an effective ministry was primarily evidenced by liberal, selfless giving.

This passage points out their material giving.

I think it’s safe to say that material giving was also accompanied by immaterial giving.

A giving life should characterize the Christian life and the church experience.

Do we want our church to be described the way that this church was?

We are recipients of His grace.

Just like they were.

If you came to God as a hopeless sinner and received total forgiveness for your sins, then you have received His grace upon your life.

Recipients of grace should manifest some indisputable signs.

Powerful witness

Giving spirit.

Do we want our church to be characterized by a powerful witness?

To have our message focused on the resurrection and all its implications?

Jesus is alive so that we can be alive.

Jesus is alive, so it matters how we live.

Jesus is alive, and He is always in control.

We’ve talked a lot about this recently.

Of course, that’s what we want to be known for.

It doesn’t just happen…

What about giving?

Do we want our church to be a place characterized by liberal, selfless giving?

I can’t help but think of the many folks that liberally and selflessly gave their time to distribute the food boxes back in 2020.

They came out every week in the heat and passed food to people who came by.

They used their gas to take food and deliver it to the people in our church that couldn’t get out.

We don’t know what kind of impact that may have had.

How can we be liberal with our giving?

It is bringing a meal to someone that has been sick or is recovering from a procedure.

Not just to your family or the people you like in the church.

Liberally and selflessly to all simply because they are your brother or sister.

Take someone to lunch or invite their family over to your house.

Donations to the benevolence fund at church.

Occasionally, we have people within our congregation that are in a jam or need.

If there is one place people can turn to for help, it should be their church.

For that to happen, someone has to be liberal with their giving.

Give to the general fund.

So that when a kid wants to participate in an activity but doesn’t have the money, we can help them.

Give our ministry leaders the freedom to help those who are struggling financially.

Give to missions.

Give to take care of the facilities where you come to worship.

Show appreciation for your kid’s Sunday School teacher, Jr Church worker, or youth pastor by giving them a gift.

Our church is a place where much giving should occur.

In the offering plates, yes.

But also from individual to individual.

Liberally and selflessly.

This doesn’t just happen, however…

As recipients of God’s grace, our witness and giving will depend significantly upon our unity.

Nothing will kill our witness and shut off the giving, like if we allow discord and dysfunction to characterize our church.

Our lips were made to praise him and share the gospel.

Gossipping, grumbling, and arguing detract from our ability to speak the truth of the resurrection.

It makes our witness weak.

When we aren’t unified, we hesitate to give when others are in need.

We give to our clan, our tribe, and our team, and we withhold from those to whom we have shut ourselves off.

For example, they gave selflessly and liberally so that no man among them lacked anything.

I so desperately want these things for our church.

I want a powerful witness in the world for the gospel.

I want us to be a great church that gives liberally and selflessly.

I know that it requires us to be unified.

That means giving up some of our preferences.

That means putting your needs before my own.

That means forgiving someone even if they never ask for it.

Is the effectiveness of our ministry to those within and without worth it for me to seek unity?

YES!