This is The Way – Devo Day 45

The Church – A Holy Contagion

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)

The Church is like no other human enterprise. It transcends socio-economic, geo-political, generational, and every other human distinctive that divides. It is unique in all of history. There is no other religious system or association of man that has the beauty, veracity, and power of the Church. All the noble enterprises of man have originated in the Church. Parts of it have been duplicated with differing levels of success but it is still without compare.

The Lord’s design of the Church has stood the test of time and it is extremely relevant in these trying times of systemic political failure, massive economic disruption, and a worldwide health crisis. His design was not for a holy clique of people quarantined from their world. Instead, He intended the Church itself to be viral, a holy contagion that infects a culture and transforms it.

I often wondered how the early church spread so rapidly. With the Coronavirus pandemic, we’re living in the middle of a real-world object lesson on exactly how that happened. In a matter of a few months, almost the entire world has been infected with the COVID-19 virus. In the past, I’ve thought that technology and mass communication would be necessary to evangelize the world but now it’s pretty easy to imagine God’s plan to spread His Gospel person-to-person.

I want to take a look at the birth of the Church in Acts chapter 2 and how it might inform us in our day to not only respond to the challenges but also the opportunities. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on 120 disciples gathered to pray. They were filled with His presence and spoke in tongues. Later that day, Peter preaches his first sermon and in Acts 2:41 and it says that “there were added that day about three thousand souls.” Nothing like God starting it with a bang! But the very next verse says,

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

Acts 2:42 (ESV)

What we see starting in verse 42 is a collage of the fabric and life of this fledgling Spirit-filled Church. The very first thing that Luke mentions is not that they were going around speaking in tongues but rather “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” This tells us a couple of things, first they weren’t just seeking the emotional and mystical. We’ve seen over and over in this study that the fullness of the Spirit engages all of our humanity (mind, emotion, spirit, and body) because He is the indwelling Spirit of Truth. We also see that the early Church did not believe that simply because they had received the Spirit that He was the only teacher they would need. On the contrary, we see them devoted and excited to receive instruction from the apostles. A Spirit-filled church is a New Testament church if it studies and submits to New Testament instruction and the Spirit of God leads the people of God to submit to the Word of God.

They were also devoted to “fellowship, to the breaking of bread.” This speaks of the bonds of Christ that tie us as believers to one another in a fellowship that Jesus prayed would be like the relationship He enjoys with the Father (John 17). “All who believed were together” (v44), this fellowship, this coming together, often took place in the context of a shared meal, “day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” (v46)

The third thing that the early Church was devoted to was prayer. Their fellowship and devotion were also expressed in worship both corporately in more formal meetings as well as spontaneous and informal gatherings in homes. Worship and prayer woven into the fabric of every day and it was all punctuated by “many wonders and signs” (v43) being done in their midst. Their worship was marked by prayer (v42), thanksgiving (v46), praise (v47), and the miraculous (v43).

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Acts 2:44–45 (ESV)

This characteristic of the early Church speaks to a radical generosity. They not only shared with one another, but they also supported those in need even if it meant liquidating personal assets, “possessions and belongings.” It is clear that every Christian is called to be generous, especially toward the poor and the needy. This principle is stated twice, “distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” (v45), and “there was not a needy person among them … it was distributed to each as any had need.” (Acts 4:34–35). And as John was to write later “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17–18 (ESV))

Applications For Us – This is The Way

In the midst of the Coronavirus challenges there are some amazing opportunities for us to refocus on what it means to be the Church. What Satan meant for harm and destruction, God through us can bring hope and life to those living in fear. Here are some things we can do RIGHT NOW.

1. Be devoted to the studying of the Word and sound biblical teaching. With the social distancing restrictions in place that means that we’ll have to utilize online teaching resources.
2. Be devoted to fellowship. Again with the social distancing restrictions, we might have to eliminate corporate worship services in favor of online services. But it also means that we need to be more intentional in reaching out to our family, friends, co-workers, and classmates to stay connected and to make sure they are ok. (phone, text, email, social media)
3. Be devoted to prayer. This is not just for us and our personal well being but also for others and for all those in leadership, government officials, first-responders, and healthcare providers.
4. Be radically generous rather than hoarding. Taking care of those in need – our family first, then those in our faith family, and also those in our local community (our neighbors).

Christian fellowship is Christian caring,
and Christian caring is Christian sharing.