Acts 2:42-47

FOUR ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE CHURCH

Several weeks ago, at the beginning of September, I asked you, “What kind of church would you like to be?” Have you thought about that question since?

            As we study the book of Acts, we may discover what the early Anabaptists found when they sought to reform the church. We may catch a glimpse of the Spirit-filled church marked by a continual devotion to Christ and each other.

            J.B. Phillips writes in the preface to The Young Church in Action, that one cannot spend several months in close study of the book of Acts, “without being profoundly stirred and, to be honest, disturbed.”

            You will be stirred, Phillips says, “because (you are) seeing Christianity, the real thing, in action for the first time in human history…Here we are seeing the Church in its first youth, valiant, unspoiled…a body of ordinary men and women joined in unconquerable fellowship never before seen on earth.”

            But you will also be disturbed, “for surely,” he adds, this “is the Church as it was meant to be. It is vigorous and flexible, for these are the days before it ever became fat and short of breath through prosperity, or muscle-bound by over organization. These men did not make acts of faith, they believed; they did not say their prayers, they prayed. They did not hold conferences on psychosomatic medicine, they simply healed the sick. By modern standards they may have been naïve, but perhaps because of their simplicity, perhaps because of their readiness simply to believe, to obey, to give, to suffer, and, if necessary, to die, the Spirit of God found that he could work in them and through them, and so they turned the world upside down!”

            We must be cautious. Some of what Luke records about this early church tells us what they did, and that does not mean we have to copy it exactly. On the other hand, what they did reminds us of who we are as a church of Christ, and we would do well to imitate them. Our text this morning, Acts 2:42-47, reveals four essential marks that our church can consider for our journey together. The Church of Christ is distinguished by a continual devotion to the four marks of the Acts 2 congregation: teaching, fellowship, worship, and witness.

            Let’s ask ourselves some questions in this regard:

Are we a learning church?[i]

Filled with the Holy Spirit, the first believers were drawn to each other by their faith in Jesus. We might say that they were starting something new, but that is not entirely true. They had the synagogue template and temple worship to help them figure out how to be a new body. And in a very real way, they were actually continuing to be the faithful remnant described by the OT prophets.

            Following the Pentecost event, this new band of believers, 3120 in number, wanted to learn more about Jesus. Luke records, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” (42a).

            They “devoted themselves,” they were “steadfast” or “single-minded” in purpose and desire to follow Jesus. So they listened intently to the Twelve who had been with Jesus, drinking in every detail about the Lord, what he said, what he did, and who he was.

            When Jesus walked the earth, he taught these Twelve about the kingdom of God and promised the Holy Spirit would remind them of everything he said. The Bible tells us that the “mystery” of the gospel of Christ “has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets” (Eph. 3:5). The Church is then built “on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” with Jesus as the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20).

            We do not have the apostles with us today, so the contemporary devotion to the apostles’ teaching today means that we submit to NT teaching. The four Gospels and the letters of the NT are authoritative teaching for the church. A Spirit-filled church is a NT church.

            Are we a learning church? Are we devoted to the Bible as a whole and to the NT teaching of Jesus Christ specifically? One of the reasons we do not focus heavily on topical sermons as preachers is because we want the Bible to speak to us. Topics can easily become hobby-horses and full of human wisdom. We focus on the text to let the text speak.

Are we a loving church?

This question may be more difficult for us. Some of you may not feel loved here at KEMC. What does it mean to be loved? What does it mean to be loving?

            The new church in Acts 2 was a church that loved. “They devoted themselves…to fellowship” we read (42b). That word “fellowship” is koinonia and means “common” as in “the common life of the church.” Koinonia expresses what we share together in God. Fellowship begins with God (see 1 John 1:3). Fellowship does not mean drinking coffee and talking about the Bombers. Instead, it first means sharing in the dance of relationship that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is having this Trinitarian God in common.

            Koinonia, fellowship, also expresses what we share with each other. It is the giving of self to your brothers and sisters in Christ. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (44-45). Some have seen a kind of Christian communism in this, or even communal living where no one owns anything. That reads too much into the text. Note that they still had their own homes (46) and that the intention was that they did not consider their possessions so precious that they could not give them up for those in need.

            The people of the church loved each other. But Christians did not only take care of their own poor. They ministered to the sick and dying, purchased slaves to set them free, clothed the naked, and fed the hungry whether they were Christians or not. This was recognized by Julian the Apostate, the Roman Emperor who attempted to re-paganize Rome after Christianity was legalized. Julian complained, “These impious Galileans [i.e. Christians] feed not only their own poor, but ours as well.”[ii]

            The community of Christ in the first three centuries was amazing. Out of love for Christ, these Christians did what others were loathe to do. When a devastating plague swept across the ancient world in the 3^rd century, Christians were the only ones who cared for the sick, at the risk of being infected themselves, while pagans threw their infected family members into streets, to protect themselves from illness.[iii]

            These were extreme times. In ordinary times, these believers simply ate together. They met in their homes and enjoyed each other. Eating slows us down, encourages conversation, links us together. What is missing in our generation is hospitality. We live in a small community but we are afraid to visit each other, to drop in and visit. We don’t want to impose or be imposed upon. (Challenge: drop by someone’s home and have a glass of water). A Gallup study shows that 77% of highly satisfied church members have eaten a meal with a fellow congregant over the last year.[iv]

            Are we a loving church? We could work on our koinonia.

Are we a worshiping church?

Worship is not limited to the 15 minutes of singing we do on Sunday morning. When the new church worshiped, we get the sense that it was a whole-life experience. “They devoted themselves…to the breaking of bread and to prayer …Everyday they continued to meet in the temple courts…praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (42c, 46, 47).

            Central to their worship was the breaking of bread, the Lord’s Supper, or communion as we know it. The Lord Jesus promised to be with his disciples always (Mat. 28:20). The Lord’s Supper is a pledge of that continuing presence. In the bread and the wine they had the tokens of his body and blood. They observed the Lord’s Supper together as a body and in small groups in their homes.

            We can see then that worship was both formal and informal in that they worshiped God daily. To worship together and celebrate Christ, we are greatly helped by worshiping God as families at home. When we come together then, we are familiar with the Lord we love. It’s the same with prayer: we practice our prayers in our “closets” so that we can pray together as people who already know the Lord.

            We are told that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (Js. 5:16). Any sister or brother can pray anytime, anywhere. But there is something uniquely powerful when we all join together in prayer as a congregation. In Acts 4:31, the people of God gathered together to pray during an intense period of persecution and “the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

            Are we a worshiping church?

Are we a contagious church?

I read somewhere this week that churches that are growing in numbers are not the churches that have their doctrine correct, or have the best worship bands, but where people feel loved and accepted. I have a problem with that. One essential mark does not make the church. We need them all.

            As the church in Acts devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, and to worship, they grew in numbers. But take a look at this footnote, “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (47b).

            We cannot forget that this all began with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit, Peter preached and three thousand were added to the number of disciples. They continued to be devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to their common love for Christ and each other, and they attracted the awe and favor of those who were not yet believers. Those who were touched by the gospel, who were being saved, were added. But from the outpouring of the Spirit through the testimony of the brothers and sisters, it was the Lord who added to their numbers.

            We must be careful with numbers. One day when large crowds were following Jesus, he turned to them and said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). You can imagine how many turned away from Jesus that day. But Jesus was not concerned with quantity but quality in discipleship.

            Yet, if we are faithful in our witness of Jesus Christ in our testimony and in how we love each other, we will be a contagious church. We will be an attractive church if we are committed to the four truths that the Acts church lived and breathed.

            Are we a contagious church? Jeremy Walden said, "The phrase 'go to church' makes me crazy. I am the church. Believers are the church. Instead of talking about just going into a building for a service, let's start talking about getting together with other believers to discuss God and pray together. That type of gathering is where we'll find community, a place of encouragement, sharing listening, and worship." If we do that, we will be a contagious church that the Lord Jesus will multiply.

Rick Warren wrote, “The key for churches in the 21^st century will be church health, not growth.” When a congregation seeks to be a healthy, biblical church, it will grow spiritually and enjoy the benefits of a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. One person alone, worshiping in isolation, will be disconnected from the gospel of Jesus Christ, because Jesus’ life was meant to be shared and lived in relationship with others.

            No we are not perfect here at KEMC. Find me a church that is perfect. But that is why we sit here and study the Acts together – to learn from Scripture what it means to be the church.

            The four essential marks of the church of Christ are found in Acts 2:42-47. Apostolic teaching, koinonia fellowship, worship through the breaking of bread and prayer, and a contagious witness, all serve as a key to examining ourselves as a church. These are the expressions of a body of brothers and sisters led by the Holy Spirit.

             A healthy church begins with a consuming passion for the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know that he came to serve, not to be served.

            So the final question to ask ourselves in our church is this: Am I here to be served? Or am I willing to take up my cross, follow Jesus, and serve the brothers and sisters sitting here today?

            May God give us courage to be obedient to the four marks.

                                                AMEN

Prayer:

Our heavenly Father, open our hearts toward one another and toward you. Break down and melt within us the resistance that we erect against each other and against you. Make us to be of one heart and one mind and one accord, generous in giving, glad to participate in anything that advances this marvelous work going on in the midst of a world which is rapidly drifting into darkness and emptiness and coldness. We thank you, Lord, for the warmth of your Spirit, and for your power and your grace among us, and we ask that you will strengthen us in it, in Jesus' name, Amen. (Ray Stedman)

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[i] This outline is based on John Stott’s study of Acts 2:42-47 in his Bible Speaks Today commentary on The Message of Acts, pp. 81-87.

[ii] The Early Church, Breakpoint, Colsoncenter.org

[iii] Earlychurch.com

[iv] A new Gallup study commissioned by Group Publishing shows that people with close friendships in their church are very satisfied with their congregation, less likely to leave their place of worship, and have a strong friendship with God. Church members who have a best friend at church are 21% more likely to report attending at least once a week and 26% more likely to report having a strong, more active faith in God. 77% of highly satisfied members have eaten a meal with fellow congregants (who are not members of their family) at some point over the last year. Only 56% of somewhat satisfied or dissatisfied members have shared a meal together. Mealtime fellowship appears strongly correlated with high levels of congregational satisfaction. 62% of those who eat meals together report regularly spending time in prayer and worship daily vs. 49% who have not eaten meals with other church members.

(From a sermon by Mark Schaeufele, New Life On Purpose: Welcome, 2/18/2010)

Acts 2:14-41

THE THANKSGIVING DAY SERMON

THAT LAUNCHED THE CHURCH

Pentecost was the Jewish version of our Canadian Thanksgiving Day. It came at the end of one harvest and the beginning of another, just as many of our harvests are coming to an end. Pentecost was a time to give thanks to God for his faithfulness in providing the Jews with their material needs.

            We give thanks to God today for the same reason. Our nation sets aside a day to be thankful for food, for life, for liberty, and for many of the gifts we would otherwise take for granted. It is good to be thankful, to develop an attitude of thanks. Unlike many Canadians, we do not merely say “I am thankful,” we know to whom we owe a debt of thanks.

            I ran across a list of things to be thankful for, but it comes with a delightful twist of perspective. (Read list)

I am Thankful for......... 

....the taxes I pay 
....because it means I’m employed. 

....the clothes that fit a little too snug 
....because it means I have enough to eat. 

....my shadow who watches me work 
....because it means I am out in the sunshine. 

....a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and 
....gutters that need fixing 
....because it means I have a home. 

....the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot 
....because it means I am capable of walking. 

....my huge heating bill 
....because it means I am warm. 

....all the complaining I hear about our government 
....because it means we have freedom of speech. 

....the lady behind me in church who sings off key. 
....because it means that I can hear. 

....the piles of laundry and ironing 
....because it means my loved ones are nearby. 

....the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours 
....because it means that I’m alive. 

....weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day 
....because it means I have been productive.
           

            I love twists in stories. They turn things upside down in ways you don’t expect. That’s probably why I like the new TV show This Is Us, because at the end of every episode there is always a plot twist that makes you want more.

            Into this context of Pentecostal thanksgiving, Jesus introduced a twist. Just as the Jews offered God the firstfruits of the harvest, Jesus, raised from the dead, was the firstfruits of the resurrection. Suddenly, the meaning of Pentecost moved from the harvest of essential crops to the deeper impact of Christ’s sacrifice and triumph and what that meant for the audience that day.

            The twist that Jesus introduced, the hook, came with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But the experience left the audience in Acts 2 bewildered. “What does this mean?” they said. Peter rose to the occasion and preached a sermon that resulted in the launching of the most significant movement the world has ever known – the church.

            As I wrestled with the text to summarize in one sentence the thrust of Peter’s sermon, I found none better than his punch line in v. 36, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” How did God do that? How did he make Jesus so central to the church? And why are believers more thankful for Jesus Christ than anything else?  

            Luke’s account of Peter’s sermon is but a thumbnail of the actual sermon. The Acts version would be over in three minutes. Peter spoke much longer than that, but Luke provides us with the gist of what Peter was getting at.

            To explain the wind, fire, and tongues of that day, Peter briefly addressed the Holy Spirit with the passage from Joel 2:28-32. But he spent more time on Jesus. Peter knew that the outpouring of the Spirit found its root in Jesus and God’s endorsement of Jesus as the Christ. Peter revealed four ways that God endorsed Jesus.

           

God approved Jesus’ earthly ministry

Peter had the attention of the crowd. They were eager to hear the meaning of these wonders. So Peter spoke, “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know” (2:22).

            Everyone knew of Jesus. The drama of his death only 50 days earlier still reverberated in the city. There was no question that a man named Jesus, a great prophet to many, lived and died. Even today, magazines like McLean’s still ponder the meaning of Jesus’ life, not as some legend, but as an historical figure that impacted our world. Few scholars deny that Jesus lived.

            But Peter makes it clear that Jesus was more than a good teacher. Jesus healed, cast out demons, restored sight to the blind, turned water into wine and raised the dead. These miracles, signs and wonders indicate something more.

            Nicodemus acknowledged that “something more” when he said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know you are teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2).

            Both Peter and Nicodemus clarify that they know that it was God working in Jesus and through Jesus to do these things. This crowd was a witness to the facts. When Jesus spoke, God authenticated his words with miracles.

God planned the death of Jesus long ago

Heads were nodding in the crowd. Then Peter lays a heavy on the crowd: “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross” (2:23).

            The only thing they heard at first was Peter’s accusation – “You did this.” How is this an endorsement of Jesus? All it says is that God collaborated with lawless men to crucify Jesus. This could hardly validate Jesus’ messianic claims. But this is a superficial response.

            Peter was not making a victim out of Jesus; he was not killed because his plans went awry and everything fell apart. He was killed because that was God’s plan from long ago. Isaiah prophesied 700 years earlier, “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer…” (53:10a). And Jesus continually told his disciples that the Scriptures foretold the Christ should suffer and die for the sins of the world (Luke 24:46). He was fully aware that his mission was to die and become the Savior of the world.

            The death of Christ, albeit at the hands of Jews and Gentiles together, fulfilled God’s plan. Christ’s death actually validated Jesus as the only one worthy enough to die for the sins of the world.

            At the same time, the crowd must take responsibility for the death of Jesus. Even if they did not realize they were fulfilling God’s plan, they took Jesus and murdered him. It was their sin that put Jesus in this position; it was their sinfulness that led them to reject God’s Son. So the guilt still fits.

God raised Jesus from the dead

If Jesus remained dead, he would have been a martyr. If Jesus were still in the grave, he would be a failed figure of history that said some good things, but died. The resurrection of Jesus does not allow for such a conclusion.

            Peter gives God’s third endorsement, “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (2:24).

            The imagery Peter uses of Jesus’ resurrection reminds us of a pregnant mother at full term that cannot and does not want to keep that baby in the womb any longer. Death could not keep its hold on Jesus but must give him up and let him live.

            Peter spends much more time on the resurrection than any other of God’s endorsements of Jesus. He quotes a psalm of David (16:8-11) that speaks of one who does not get abandoned to the place of the dead, nor does his body see decay. But David died, so he could not be speaking of himself. Peter and everyone present knew that David died; his tomb was known to everyone in the city. David must be talking about someone else.

            Peter answers that question, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it” (2:32). What the audience was meant to understand was the clash between their rejection of Jesus and God’s acceptance of Jesus; their defamation of Jesus and God’s affirmation of Jesus. Now it is not simply a matter of killing a man, but of opposing God.

            Remember that the people gathered there that day were devout, religious Jews. These are good people, worshiping people, people who knew scriptures by memory, and Peter was telling them that they were at odds with God. They claim to know God, to love God, and to follow God. But Peter says they are opposed to God. This is what will cut them to the heart.

            Someone may claim to know God but in fact may be against God. How do we know? Because that person does not embrace God’s endorsement of Jesus in the resurrection.

            Paul takes this theme of resurrection and fleshes it out in his letter to the Corinthians where it seems that some doubted the resurrection. (Read 1 Cor. 15:12-19).

            God raising Jesus from the dead overwhelmingly authenticates Jesus as Lord and Christ.

God exalted Jesus to his right hand

Peter presents one more validation of Jesus, one more piece of evidence that God approved of him. “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (2:33).

            After Jesus was raised from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and others giving many proofs that he indeed lived. Then, after 40 days, he ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father.

            The roaring wind, the flames of fire on the heads of disciples, and the speaking of many tongues all make sense now. Peter’s listeners can see through the signs and wonders that Jesus has been given power and authority to gift His Holy Spirit to those who believe.

            Peter again quotes David who said, “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Who are these enemies? The enemies of the Messiah are those who crucified him. Who crucified Jesus? Peter says, “You did!”

Here is the punch line again: “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

            The audience on the day of Pentecost was cut to the heart when they heard this final indictment. Peter had presented them with four ways God had endorsed Jesus as Lord and Christ. When they realized who Jesus was, and that they were responsible for his crucifixion and death, they felt it deeply.

            Spurgeon said, “It is idle to attempt to heal those who are not wounded, to attempt to clothe those who have never been stripped, and to make those rich who have never realized their poverty.”[i]

            So let me make this quite plain: Who crucified Jesus? You did. I did.

            Why is it important to acknowledge this responsibility? Just like the crowd, we did not yell “crucify him!” or hammer the nails in his hands and feet. We did not literally kill Jesus in the most physical sense. Why do we need to confess to such a crime?

            The crowd asked Peter and the disciples what they should do. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (2:38).

            Unless you admit that you killed Jesus, you cannot be a part of his church. Many will balk at confessing this because they reject the idea that they had any part of killing Jesus. We still hear the objection, “I’m a good person. My sins aren’t that bad.” But James reminds us that if we break one law, we’ve broken them all (James 2:10).

            Unless you repent from that attitude, you cannot be a part of his church. Some may consider Jesus as the Christ and change their mind about who he is. But repentance means more than a change of mind or attitude. Repentance is a change of direction in one’s life, a physical or literal turning away from a sinful and godless life.

            Unless you are baptized, you cannot be a part of Christ’s church. The NT makes that clear. The apostles could not conceive of a person who followed Jesus but was not baptized. It just never entered their minds.

            God has endorsed Jesus as Lord and Christ through his miracles and ministry, through his death, and through his resurrection and exaltation. If you accept this and repent and are baptized according to these scriptures, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And it is through the Holy Spirit’s work that we become the Church of Christ.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I give thanks to God for exalting his Son, Jesus Christ to the highest place, proving that He is Lord and Christ. I give thanks for His church, the community of faith that believes in Jesus Christ as Lord.

                                                            AMEN

Prayer:

Our Father, we thank you for the truth in this mighty declaration that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord, that you have exalted him and give him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We pray that any who have never come to know this One as Lord may now open their life and cry out to him as these men and women did: "What shall we do?" and hear this delivering word to repent and to believe, and thus receive the promised Spirit, who is available to all. We thank you in Jesus' name, Amen.  (Ray Stedman)

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[i] (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit [Ages Software], vol. 44, “A Far Reaching Promise”)