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)