The First Church

INTRODUCTION

Jawanza Kunjufu, who has written a book concerning black churches in America, says that only 10 to 20% of churches are empowering people to be bold witnesses for Jesus Christ. According to him, the other 80-90% of American churches fall into the entertainment or containment categories, just keeping their doors open on Sunday. One reason for this is that in many churches, whether black or white, man-made opinions and traditions that have been handed down over the years are held in higher esteem than the Holy Scriptures handed down by God.

Did you know that the United States is the third largest unchurched nation in the world and that North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing? Add to that that more than 80 percent of all churches in the United States are plateauing or declining, and we have some monumental issues in the church in America.

We tend to equate successful churches with great churches, and that simply isn't the case. Having a lot of money, a lot of people, a good location, or a good marketing strategy is not going to make a church great. There are other elements involved.

Today, as we continue in our series More to Story, we look at the first church. This series examines the events that followed Jesus's Resurrection and Ascension. One of those events was the formation of the first church. The first church was a healthy church, a veritable model of what congregations can be in our day when they take seriously the biblical qualifications of what it means to be the church.

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

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.

SCRIPTURAL ANALYSIS

This section comprises the first extensive “summary” in Acts. How interesting that the actual word church does not appear in these verses, though Luke describes it precisely.

Verse 42

In verse 42, the believers are said to have “devoted themselves” to four practices in their new life together. First was the teaching of the apostles. Just as the apostles had been instructed by Jesus, so they passed along that instruction to the new Christians. The second activity to which they devoted themselves was “the fellowship.” The Greek word used here (koinōnia) is one Paul often employed, but it appears only here in all of Luke-Acts. Its basic meaning is “association, communion, fellowship, close relationship.” The meaning of the third element, “the breaking of bread,” was joined with fellowship, specifically participating in the Lord’s Supper. The fourth and final element of their life together, another expression of their fellowship, was “the prayers."

Verse 43

The longer summary gives a fuller description of the life of the entire Christian community. It begins in verse 43 by referring to the miracles performed by the apostles. The miracles are described with the characteristic combination of “signs” and “wonders.” Wonders and miraculous signs authenticated the apostles' veracity. One key understanding of miracles is that all biblical miracles have one of two purposes: to confirm a message or to confirm a messenger.

Verses 44-45

The selling of property and the common possession of the proceeds may imply that the early church expected the Lord to return soon and establish His kingdom. Holding everything in common was not socialism or communism because it was voluntary. Also, their goods were not evenly distributed but were given to meet needs as they arose. They sold their possessions and shared with those in need. Though definitely not communism, this system of mutual ownership might be called “commonism,” as sharing their things for a common purpose to help those in need. Note the difference: Commonism says, “What’s mine is yours,” while communism says, “What’s yours is mine.” What is described here is that when a need arose, the early Christians readily liquidated what assets they had to take care of their fellow believers’ needs. Holding everything in common was not socialism or communism because it was voluntary, and their goods were not evenly distributed but were given to meet needs as they arose. This was true caring for one’s fellow man as it was done out of conviction, not forced compulsion.

Verses 46-47

Here, it seems clear that breaking bread refers to eating regular meals and observing the Lord’s Supper. This reference has a dual meaning. The joy of their salvation overflowed into every detail of life, gilding the mundane with an aura of glory. Life became an anthem of praise and a psalm of thanksgiving for those who had been delivered from the power of darkness. The Christian fellowship grew by conversions each day. They also observed the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis so as to remember what Jesus had done for them. This observance reminded them of why they were now together as a new community. They met to break bread because the Lord’s Supper reminded them why they were together.

In this chapter, we have an account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter’s memorable address to the assembled Jews, the conversion of a great multitude, and a brief description of life among the early believers.

TODAY’S KEY TRUTH

The Church is to Focus on What and Who Matters

APPLICATION

How interesting that the actual word church does not appear in these verses, though Luke describes it precisely. We use the word church in at least four different ways to identify a building, a denomination, a local congregation, and the body of Christ.

We may say of the building in which we meet on Sunday mornings, “I’m going to the church Sunday Morning.” It may be Tuesday morning when we say that, and we understand that even when the body of Christ is not there, it's the building in which they meet. This usage works in casual conversation as long as we understand the Bible never applies the word to describe a building or a specific place of worship. The New Testament claims that God’s people do not have to worship in a specific place.

The word church does not appear in the Bible to describe a denomination. Today, we talk about the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, or the Church of God. We do no harm with such terminology as long as we understand that this human construct does not constitute theological truth. What we mean is that groups of congregations have come together to form a larger representation of the body of Christ, and so we use the word church.

In verse 42, Luke defines the priorities of the first church. He tells us what really mattered to them. Listen. (v. 42) And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

Let's look at how these apply to our church today.

a. The Apostles' Teaching. Remember, they didn't have the New Testament yet. Most of the New Testament books wouldn't have been written for a number of years, but they did have the teachings of the Apostles. These were men who had spent years at the feet of Jesus, learning all that he had to teach them. The apostles' teaching was authoritative; their teachings were the word of God for the men and women of the early church. Their teaching eventually found its way into the books of the New Testament, and this is our authority. We must devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching—the Word of God. If we want to be a great church, we need to be a church of the Word.

God's Word is wisdom for those who need wisdom, it's power for those who are weak, it's encouragement for those who are discouraged, it is hope for those on the brink of despair, it is life for those who are facing death. There is power in the Word of God; if we want to be a great church, we must become a church of God's Word. We need to devote ourselves to it. We need to preach it from the pulpit, we need to teach it in our Sunday School classes, we need to sing it in our worship songs, we need to memorize and hide it in our hearts so that we might not sin against God, and we need to learn to live it every day of our lives. What matters? The apostles' teaching, the Word of God.

b. Fellowship . Being with one another is a priority. Fellowship. The fellowship (koinonia) means association and close relationships. This was more than just getting together, certainly more than just a religious meeting. It involved sharing goods, having meals together, and praying together. The time we spend together talking, and eating, and laughing, and playing matters. These are important. What matters? Fellowship.

c. The breaking of bread . Luke's reference here is to both fellowship and the Lord’s Supper. But let me focus on the reference, specifically the communion service. Communion was important to the early church because it kept them connected to the death of Christ; it kept them mindful of his sacrifice.

When we worship together, even on Sundays when we are not able to partake in the communion ritual, we need to remember the significance of Jesus' death. It is because of his death that we live, that we can know God's forgiveness, taste God's mercy, and experience God's power. The disciples were devoted to the breaking of bread so that they could remember the death of Jesus, and this matters to us, too.

A fourth priority of the early church was:

d. Prayer . Be still and know that I am God...(Psalm 46:10)

My challenge to the church today is that we get into the habit of devoting ourselves to prayer. Prayer connects us with God and our fellow believers. Prayer should be a priority for the church at all times.

The Word, fellowship, remembering the death of Jesus, spending time in prayer. These are things that take place on Sunday morning, or at least they should. These are, of course, seven-day-a-week priorities, and we need to be especially careful to implement them in each worship service. When we come together, we need to take time to open the Word of God and let it speak to us. We need to spend time in fellowship with one another, enjoying one another's company. We need to take time to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus, we do this not only when we take communion, but also when we sing hymns. And we need to take time to pray. Not long, drawn-out stained glass churchy prayers, but simple and earnest prayers about the needs of the church, the needs of one another, and our desire for God to move among us.

The Church is to Focus on What and Who Matters

CONCLUSION

If we want to be a great church, we need to define what matters and design our worship services around it. But we also need to focus on who matters.

(v. 44) And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing with them all, as anyone might have need.

These verses answer the question, "Who matters?" Do you know the answer? It's not you, and it's not me. It's we. We matter. The early church took community seriously. They spent time together in fellowship, in each other's homes, eating together, sharing with one another, sacrificing for one another, and taking care of each other. They understood the concept of community, and we have much to learn from their example.

This is where small churches today have an advantage. Everything we do, we do as a family. As our church grows, we must remember that we will never get past the community phase. We are permanently a community—a family. This will never change. We have to look out for each other.

Do you want to know something I like about this church? It's sometimes hard to get you quiet. It's time for the service to begin, and you're still chatting it up with one another. Do you know what else I like about this church? It's hard to get you out of here. Even 30 minutes after the service has ended, people are still hanging around talking, laughing, spending time with one another. I've been in churches where this wasn't the case. This happens when the church feels like home.

The Church is to Focus on What and Who Matters

People today are so individualistic that the biblical idea of community seems strange to them. We live private lives and do not want interference from others. We view privacy as some type of prized virtue. The idea of commitment to a community is alien in this culture, characterized by transient relationships and the elevation of “that’s my business.” That is radically and totally different than the people of Acts. These people in Acts could not get enough of each other. These people were always coming together. They came together every day. Regular life was seen as an interruption. Every aspect of their lives was an open book to each other so that they could help each other. There were no lone rangers or solo lives. They were together. They couldn’t be kept apart. That’s the reason why the word together is not so much something they did. It was something they were. That’s why it says they were together, not just that they came together, not just they met together, though they did come together, though they did meet together. They were together. They’ve become together. They were individuals; now they’ve become together. A church is together.

The early church spent time together. They worshiped together. They went from house to house, breaking bread and sharing meals with one another. And they also took care of each other. If we want to be a great church, then we need to nail down the question of who matters. We all matter. The community of believers here and the community out there matter. We're called to love one another, that's what a great church does. The body of Christ is incomplete without us, and we are incomplete without the body of Christ. Community life is not an option for a Christian. It is a direct command. The church is to be together. The church is to be a community. And that is when the church will feel like home.

The Church is to Focus on What and Who Matters

We become our best selves in the presence of others, and when we accept ourselves and each other, we encounter God’s love and heal. In this community of connections, we are informed, reformed, and equipped to walk out our purpose and destiny, individually and as a church. This engagement empowers and enables individuals to participate in meaningful service to others. The impact of an authentic community on the spiritual and emotional development of Christ's followers is profoundly deep and remarkable. This environment is the impetus for help, healing, and hope for those seeking to grow as disciples, and it is the place where true soul renovation can occur. We can inspire, encourage, strengthen, and help one another in this relationship. It is the place where identity is forged and purpose engaged. It impacts every part of our existence and enables the blessing of God to be released.

Christian community is the biblical prescription for the ailments of modern society and the impetus for human flourishing. In connection with each other, we have the opportunity to express God’s love best, empower each other to fulfill destiny and equip one another to withstand adversity. The church as a community is good armor against every enemy and good soil for transformative growth. This is the place where we and the world can be changed. The first church radically changed the world. And so can we.

The Church is to Focus on What and Who Matters