The Character of the Early Church

MEMORY VERSE: “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.” —Acts 4:31

ACTS 4:23-33

THE activities of the Early Church began under threats from the Jewish rulers which were designed to intimidate those first disciples and thus to deter them from preaching Christ and the wonderful plan of God which was centered in him. But Peter and John, who had been imprisoned overnight, informed their persecutors that they intended to continue witnessing for Jesus.

After being released by the religious rulers, Peter and John joined their brethren and gave a report of what had happened to them. All were thankful for the release of the two apostles, and they lifted up their voices and hearts unitedly in thanksgiving for the Lord’s overruling providences on their behalf. In their prayer they related the prophecy of Psalm 2:1,2 to the persecution of Jesus by Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the Gentile and Jewish people and now to the persecution of Jesus’ followers.

Their quotation from the psalm reads, “Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.” (Acts 4:25,26) This prophecy of the 2nd Psalm as a whole applies at the end of this age, rather than at the beginning. However, it is true that the opposition of religious and civil rulers has been manifested toward Jesus and his followers right from the beginning. The world as a whole has hated the light of the Gospel and has persecuted those who bore witness to this light, including Jesus, whom they hung upon a cross.

Upon hearing the report of Peter and John, the believers petitioned the Lord to give them strength to preach the Word with all boldness by giving them evidences of his blessing upon their efforts, such as the healing of the man who had been lame, and by other “signs and wonders” which his wisdom deemed advisable. The immediate answer to this prayer is described in our memory verse. The manifestation of God’s blessing upon them and of his power in their midst was similar to that which was experienced at Pentecost.

The experience brought the company very close together. The account states that “the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” This “multitude” consisted of many thousands. In verse 4 of the chapter a figure of 5,000 is given, and this included only the men. It is not necessary to suppose that all these remained faithful to the cause, but apparently all of them were enthusiastic in the beginning, and let us hope that most, if not all, of them remained so.

This multitude went further in their belief than simply to give mental assent to the facts concerning Jesus and to accept him as their Leader. The record states that they gave up all their possessions and put their assets into a common treasury. This arrangement worked well for a while. We read, “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”—ch. 22:34,35

However, this arrangement of the first believers did not continue, for, while the Scriptures do not indicate that any formal decision was taken to discontinue it, the record is clear that brethren later owned their own homes and carried on the material aspects of their lives independently of one another, much as the Lord’s people do today. While for a short time the communal life of the early believers seemed to work well, it led to difficulties. It carried with it the temptation to be unfair. We are told of one occasion when “there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” (ch. 6:1) Probably it was incidents of this kind that led to the discontinuance of the arrangement.

The lesson informs us that “with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” (4:33) All consecrated believers are anointed by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Jesus, but at the time of our lesson most of the believers were extremely young in the faith. They needed to listen and to observe and to learn. The apostles had been with Jesus, and by the aid of the Holy Spirit by now had a good grasp of the Gospel, and they were zealous in proclaiming it.

QUESTIONS

What were the conditions under which the Early Church began?

In what sense did the 2nd Psalm apply at the beginning of the age?

Did the communal life of the Early Church continue?

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