Daily Bread Acts 2
Daily Bread Acts 2
The Fellowship of the Believers
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Observation:
This is one of the most important chapters for the Church today in the entire bible. The birth of the Church happens on Pentecost, a Jewish feast which happened 50 days after the Passover. Since there were Jews gathered from all over the known world for this feast, it was a strategic time for God to send the promised Holy Spirit.
As the believers were filled with the Spirit they were able to speak in “tongues”, literally the term is “glossolalia”. In this case of tongues the Holy Spirit gave to all of the disciples the ability to speak in other languages, which were the languages of those gathered. They heard the gospel of what Jesus did for them in their native tongue. Of course they were amazed. Some however tried to explain it away by saying that the men were drunk. But that didn’t make any sense, how could they have spoken in these foreign languages that the others understood, if they were inebriated.
In the above passage, we see the 1st century church and what it focused on. We see a new community of people who met frequently and shared possessions. This is a remarkable phenomenon. Signs and wonders were a frequent occurrence, and as they shared this deep fellowship together, God added daily to their number those who were being saved. It also says that they enjoyed the favor of those around them.
Application:
One thing the early church didn’t do was compartmentalize. It wasn’t like they had their church group, their social group, their work group etc… This was a high commitment group of people, who even sold their own possessions to give those in need. It wasn’t a “see you on Sunday and maybe I’ll see you next Sunday if I can make it” kind of mentality. These folks did life together.
It was into this rich community that was filled with prayer, teaching, and breaking of bread that God chose to add new believers to. Not just once in awhile, but daily! Contrast this with the North American church today. Sometimes we struggle to get people to come to church twice a month, not to mention selling our possessions with all those in need. Many in the church today explain away miracles as wishful thinking or some kind of psychological manipulation. There are churches that are endeavoring to bring back this kind of church community.
They realize the church is not just about creating programs and entertaining people on Sundays so they will come back, and hopefully give enough money to keep the church afloat. They structure themselves like the Acts 2 church. They create groups that can do life together, and are willing to lay down their lives for each other and those in their community. As they say they were “devoted”. I believe God is looking for churches that want to be like the Acts 2 church. I believe God would richly bless this kind of church and add to its number daily. I would like to be part of this kind of church, how about you?
Prayer:
Dear Jesus as you filled your first apostle’s with Your Spirit, send Your Spirit so we might resemble Your first Church. May we devote ourselves to the things they found necessary to function on a high level, so you might add to our number daily those who are being saved. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Observation:
This is one of the most important chapters for the Church today in the entire bible. The birth of the Church happens on Pentecost, a Jewish feast which happened 50 days after the Passover. Since there were Jews gathered from all over the known world for this feast, it was a strategic time for God to send the promised Holy Spirit.
As the believers were filled with the Spirit they were able to speak in “tongues”, literally the term is “glossolalia”. In this case of tongues the Holy Spirit gave to all of the disciples the ability to speak in other languages, which were the languages of those gathered. They heard the gospel of what Jesus did for them in their native tongue. Of course they were amazed. Some however tried to explain it away by saying that the men were drunk. But that didn’t make any sense, how could they have spoken in these foreign languages that the others understood, if they were inebriated.
In the above passage, we see the 1st century church and what it focused on. We see a new community of people who met frequently and shared possessions. This is a remarkable phenomenon. Signs and wonders were a frequent occurrence, and as they shared this deep fellowship together, God added daily to their number those who were being saved. It also says that they enjoyed the favor of those around them.
Application:
One thing the early church didn’t do was compartmentalize. It wasn’t like they had their church group, their social group, their work group etc… This was a high commitment group of people, who even sold their own possessions to give those in need. It wasn’t a “see you on Sunday and maybe I’ll see you next Sunday if I can make it” kind of mentality. These folks did life together.
It was into this rich community that was filled with prayer, teaching, and breaking of bread that God chose to add new believers to. Not just once in awhile, but daily! Contrast this with the North American church today. Sometimes we struggle to get people to come to church twice a month, not to mention selling our possessions with all those in need. Many in the church today explain away miracles as wishful thinking or some kind of psychological manipulation. There are churches that are endeavoring to bring back this kind of church community.
They realize the church is not just about creating programs and entertaining people on Sundays so they will come back, and hopefully give enough money to keep the church afloat. They structure themselves like the Acts 2 church. They create groups that can do life together, and are willing to lay down their lives for each other and those in their community. As they say they were “devoted”. I believe God is looking for churches that want to be like the Acts 2 church. I believe God would richly bless this kind of church and add to its number daily. I would like to be part of this kind of church, how about you?
Prayer:
Dear Jesus as you filled your first apostle’s with Your Spirit, send Your Spirit so we might resemble Your first Church. May we devote ourselves to the things they found necessary to function on a high level, so you might add to our number daily those who are being saved. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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