The Early Church

They kept at it. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (2:42). Continued steadfastly means they kept on doing these things and did not give up. The apostles' doctrine. Doctrine means teaching. The apostles taught what Jesus had taught them. Today we have that teaching in the Bible. Fellowship. Fellowship means sharing life with other believers. Nobody was a Christian all alone. They belonged to a family. The breaking of bread. They ate meals together. They also shared the Lord's Supper, just as Jesus said: “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). Prayers. They talked to God together, often and on purpose. Prayer showed they needed God for everything. Fear came. “Then fear came upon every soul” (2:43). This fear was deep respect, the kind you feel when you see how great and holy God is. Wonders and signs. God did “many wonders and signs” through the apostles (2:43). They showed that Jesus was alive and still at work. What we learn. Trusting Jesus is a beginning, not the finish line. These four things still help God's people grow close to Him today.

Proskartereo (2:42). “Continued steadfastly” translates proskartereo (say: pros-kar-ter-EH-oh), to hold on firmly and keep at something. The same word describes the disciples praying together before Pentecost (Acts 1:14). The new believers did not cool off after one big day. The apostles' teaching. “The apostles’ doctrine” means what the apostles taught about Jesus. He had sent the apostles out, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Their teaching is written down for us in the New Testament. Fellowship (2:42). Fellowship is koinonia (say: koy-noh-NEE-ah), a shared life, holding something in common. It starts with God: “we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The breaking of bread. This meant shared meals and the Lord's Supper. Paul explains what the Supper does: “you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). The prayers. These included the Temple's set hours of prayer (Acts 3:1) and the church's own prayer meetings, like the one in Acts 4:24-31. Holy fear (2:43). The “fear” that came on every soul was awe, a deep sense that the holy God was present among them. Signs pointed to Jesus. The wonders were done “through the apostles”: God was the one working. Peter had already told the crowd, “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (2:32). The signs backed up that message. Why it matters. None of these four things is a ladder up to God. They are what life in God's family looks like after grace has brought us in.

On the day Peter preached, about three thousand people believed. They did not just believe and then go home. They kept going with Jesus. They kept learning what the apostles taught about Him. They spent time with other believers. They ate together and remembered Jesus at the Lord's Supper. They prayed together too. These four things helped them grow close to God. Everyone felt deep respect for God. God did many wonders through the apostles. The wonders showed that Jesus is alive and powerful. You can do these same four things. Read God's Word, be with His people, remember Jesus, and pray.

The new believers loved to learn about Jesus. They prayed and ate together. They were God's family. You can be in His family too!

Together. “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common” (2:44). Believing in Jesus made them one family. Sharing. They “sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” (2:45). They gave where there was a real need. From the heart. Nobody was forced to sell. Later Peter told a man that his land had been his own to keep: “was it not your own?” (Acts 5:4). They gave because they wanted to. Every day. They met “daily with one accord in the temple” and broke bread “from house to house” (2:46). The church met in big groups and in small ones. Glad and simple. They ate “with gladness and simplicity of heart” (2:46). Simplicity means a heart that is honest and not showing off. Liked by many. They were “praising God and having favor with all the people” (2:47). People in the city could see their love. God did the adding. “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (2:47). The Lord saved people, and the church welcomed them. What we learn. When Jesus changes your heart, you start to care about others and share with them. The church is God's people, not a building.

All things in common (2:44). In Greek, “in common” comes from the same word family as koinonia, fellowship, in 2:42. Their fellowship reached all the way to their money. Whenever a need came up (2:45). In Greek, 2:45 describes something they kept doing over time, as needs appeared. It was not one giant sale on a single day. Free, not forced. Peter later told Ananias, “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control?” (Acts 5:4). Believers still owned homes; they broke bread “from house to house” (2:46). This was love, not a rule someone made them keep. One accord (2:46). “With one accord” means with one mind and one purpose. The same phrase describes the church praying together in Acts 1:14 and 4:24. Glad and simple (2:46). Their “gladness” was joy that bubbled over. Their “simplicity of heart” was a heart without hidden motives or showing off. The church (2:47). The word church means an assembly of people called together. The church is people gathered around Jesus, not a building. Being saved (2:47). The Lord kept adding “those who were being saved.” Salvation is God's work: “For by grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). The church grew because God was saving people.

The believers loved each other in a real way. Some of them sold land and things they owned. They gave the money to people who needed help. Nobody forced them to do this. They wanted to give, because Jesus had given them so much. They met at the Temple every day. They ate in each other's homes. Their hearts were full of joy. God's church is not a building. It is God's people, together. Every day the Lord added new believers. Only God can save people. We get to tell others about Jesus.

The believers shared what they had. They ate together with happy hearts. God added new people every day!

One heart. “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul” (4:32). By now there were thousands of believers (4:4), and still they were united. Open hands. “Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own” (4:32). They held their things loosely so they could help. Power. “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” (4:33). The Holy Spirit had just filled them again (4:31). Jesus at the center. Their message was Jesus, risen from the dead. Their love and sharing grew out of that good news. Great grace. “And great grace was upon them all” (4:33). Grace is God's kindness that we do not deserve. No one lacked. “Nor was there anyone among them who lacked” (4:34). Owners of land or houses sold them and brought the money. At the apostles' feet. They “laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need” (4:35). Trusted leaders made sure each gift reached a real need. What we learn. God's grace to us turns into kindness from us. When we see how much Jesus gave, we want to give too.

One heart and one soul (4:32). Heart and soul together describe the whole inner person. Thousands of people were united on the inside, not just organized on the outside. An answered prayer. Jesus prayed “for those who will believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20), and asked that they would all be one (John 17:21). Acts 4:32 shows the Father answering His Son's prayer. Great power (4:33). The power was the Holy Spirit's. Jesus had promised, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me” (Acts 1:8). In 4:31 the Spirit filled them again, and in 4:33 that power came out in their witness. The resurrection at the center. The apostles were eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus. Their generosity flowed from that message, not the other way around. Charis (4:33). “Great grace” is charis (say: KAH-rees), God's free favor. The same grace that saved each believer now rested on the whole church. No needy among them (4:34). God's law had spoken of a day when there would be no poor among His people (Deuteronomy 15:4). The Spirit-filled church began to live out that picture. At the apostles' feet (4:35). Laying a gift at someone's feet put it under that person's care. The apostles then shared it out “to each as anyone had need.” Givers did not control the gift or collect praise for it.

Time passed, and the church grew to thousands of people. Still they were joined together in their hearts. Big families can argue, but these believers loved each other. The Holy Spirit made them one. The apostles kept telling people that Jesus rose from death. They spoke with great power from God. God's grace was on all of them. Grace means God's kindness that we do not deserve. Nobody in the group went without what they needed. People gave so that others could have enough. That is what God's love looks like in a family.

The believers had one heart. They told everyone that Jesus is alive. God gave them great grace. Nobody went without what they needed.

Joseph, called Barnabas. “And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement)” (4:36). Joses is another form of the name Joseph. A name that fit. The apostles gave him a nickname that described him. People knew him as the one who cheered others on. Where he came from. He was “a Levite of the country of Cyprus” (4:36). Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea. Levites came from the tribe of Levi, the family that served at God's house. What he gave. He was one “having land,” and he “sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet” (4:37). Encouraging with his hands. His gift was encouragement you could see. It showed needy believers that God's family would take care of them. More to come. Later Barnabas stood up for Saul when other believers were afraid of him (Acts 9:26-27). Where it comes from. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit as “another Helper” (John 14:16). The Spirit made Barnabas an encourager, and He can make you one. What we learn. God wants every Christian to cheer others on. The Bible says, “exhort one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13). Exhort means encourage and urge on.

Barnabas (4:36). In Bible times, calling a man the son of something described his character. Barnabas means “Son of Encouragement.” Paraklesis. The Greek is paraklesis (say: par-AH-klay-sis), coming alongside to comfort, urge and strengthen. It comes from the same word family as the name Jesus used for the Holy Spirit: “He will give you another Helper” (John 14:16). Barnabas did for people on the outside what the Spirit does in them on the inside. A Levite with land. Under the Law of Moses, the tribe of Levi received no share of the land, because the Lord was their portion (Numbers 18:20). By Barnabas' day some Levites owned property. Barnabas held his loosely and let it go. Cyprus. Barnabas was a Jew who grew up outside Israel, on the island of Cyprus. Years later he and Saul preached there first on their missionary journey (Acts 13:4). The same as the others. Barnabas did exactly what 4:34-35 describes: he sold, brought and laid the money at the apostles' feet. He did not ask for a plaque or a title; the apostles gave him a nickname. Cheerful giving. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Application. Encouragement is one of the plainest ways to love people. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you one person who needs someone to come alongside them.

Barnabas is a nickname the apostles gave Joseph. It means one who encourages. To encourage means to cheer someone on. It means helping them keep going with God. Barnabas was a Levite from the island of Cyprus. Levites came from a family that helped at God's house. Barnabas owned a field, and he sold it. He gave the money so others could have what they needed. His gift was a way to care for God's family. Later Barnabas helped Paul and many other people. God can use you to encourage people too. A kind word can help a friend keep trusting Jesus.

Joseph got a new name, Barnabas. It means one who encourages. He sold his field to help others.

🎉 All Matched!