Devotion to Life with God

Life with God

Acts 2:42–47 (NIV)

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The newly saved church gathered together regularly, daily even and they partook of four key elements of life together: devotion to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.

The evidence of God’s hand was still very present as the miraculous continued to be accomplished.

Everything in Common

Acts 2:44–47 (NIV)

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

They had everything in common speaks not to the fact that they had no differences or that they had no conflict but rather to the fact that in Christ, those differences and the conflicts did not divide them. In Christ, our uniqueness draws us to one another for the author of our differences is also the head that unites us.

1 Corinthians 12:12–14 (NIV)

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

The means by which the body remained united centered around our fellowship with God and with one another. The church engaged in a complete and fulfilled fellowship meal. The fellowship meal was the one of the offerings sacrificed to God that included the worshipper taking part in the consuming of the offering. It was to be a picture of sharing a meal together with the Lord.

God Added

Acts 2:46–47 (NIV)

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Our response must move from trying to accomplish the things of God in order to manipulate His favor to devoting ourselves to embracing the things of God that He might position us to be witnesses and proclaimers of His favor.