Acts 2:42-47

Passage

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.

43 Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.

Study Questions

Acts 2:42-47

• According to this passage, what were the essential ingredients of the early church?

  From the first verse of today’s passage, 42, it states that devotion to the apostle’s teaching, fellowship with another, meal sharing, and prayers were the ingredients of the early church. Through these things, “the Lord added to them those who were being saved.” (v.47)

• What are some concrete actions that must take place for such a community to form today?

  We need to gather together so that we can study the Word of God, have fellowship with one another, share meals with another, and pray for another as well as for the church. As Scripture says, we need to be close to another to the point where we need to sell what we have to be able to support each other.

  It is so easy to attend church when we are comfortable. It is so easy to be part of a group when things are going well. It is so easy to become friends with another when there is a sense of “happiness” in the group. However, when things get rough, do we still attend church? Do we maintain friendships when one member is hurt or going through pain and suffering? That is a question we all need to ask ourselves. When a church is suffering and going through changes that require us to grow, do we stick around and faithfully do our best to grow in the opportunity that God has presented?

  Growing is definitely not easy. It is hard to get out of our comfort zone and go towards someone that you may not have been close to. It is hard to let someone know that he or she can take advantage of you. This feeling of going the extra mile to the point where it hurts was the common goal of the early church. They were willing to sacrifice what they had in order to take care of another fellow brother or sister. Why is it that when we have so much wealth in the United States that it becomes much harder to do so?

  We live in a world where we encourage each other to focus in ourselves and our own riches. However, isn’t this what Satan tempted Jesus with when He was in the wilderness after fasting for 40 days and nights? Why was Jesus tempted with food, riches, and power? These things are what we crave and desire. When we are hungry, can we say no to food? When we are feeling weak, can we say no to comfort from family or friends to do the will of God? When we are poor, can we let go of the monetary needs to follow Christ and take up our cross? Can we give up the promises of the world for Christ? When we are in a place of power, can we give this up for Christ? When we have the power in a relationship that can be toxic for the other or for one’s self, is this so easily given up for Jesus?

  These are the hard questions we must face in order to give up what we have and take up the cross. The rich young ruler who was faced with these options is not so different from you and I. When we are at the top, can we give everything up for Jesus and follow Him? People think that it is easier to give something up when we have more but this is not the case. When we have the wealth, it becomes harder to give back. It becomes so much harder because there is a sense of entitlement that comes from having what we have. If you worked for what you have, you would know the cost and time that went in and would do everything to prevent it from being a waste. When we realize the value of the things that we have, we become slaves to it and forget what Christ has asked of us.

  I admire the early church simply because they were willing to give sacrificially. When I look at Paul, I see someone who gave up his entire life for the sake of the Gospel. Can I do that? It is something that I must wrestle with each and every moment.

  To those who say being a Christian is easy, please think again. The cost of following Christ is so much bigger than what we can imagine. However, when we give up our old lives to follow Jesus, we find fulfillment and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit which outside of what the world can provide. Let’s continue to remind ourselves of what had happened throughout Acts so we can learn to grow and continuously be challenged to give up everything for the cross.

• If I were actually in a church like this, what adjustments would I need to make?

  I need to think about what I have that is holding me back from fully devoting myself to Jesus and the church. Just as “the body” is filled with different parts, as an individual, I need to repent and continuously think about what God has provided in my life. I need to look towards the cross and carry it each day.

• What do I find most inspiring about this picture of the first church?

  As described earlier above, I see that the early church was filled with the Holy Spirit and was able to share everything with another. This image was not just to share for the sake of sharing but done in order to provide for another in a sacrificial way.

Free Thought

How did Christianity become like this? Looking at the early church, it is so simple to see what the function of church was. It was a way to come together as a body of believers to encourage, share, pray, eat with each other. Now, there are different denominations caused by dissent. The church has fallen to the temptations provided by Satan: food/fleshly desires, wealth and power. We all need to ask God for forgiveness and use the early church as a role model to heal.

The word fear caught my eye in verse 43 and wondered about why the word had been translated to that. Upon looking at other versions of Scripture, I realized some would translate it to awe. There was a sermon by Dr. Hymers that caught my eye in trying to understand why fear was used and please take a look as it provided a lot of insight and invoked thought!