The Church and the Gospel

Acts 2:42-47

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

N. T. Wright, Acts for Everyone (Part One)

Acts 2.42 is often regarded as laying down “the four marks of the church.” The apostle’s teaching; the common life of those who believed; the breaking of bread; and the prayers. These four go together. You can’t separate them, or leave one out, without damage to the whole thing (44).

This shared life quickly developed in one particular direction, which is both fascinating and controversial. The earliest Christians lived as a single family (45-6).

And they had a word for this way of ordering their life, a word which we have often taken to refer to feelings inside you but which, for them, was primarily about what you do with your possessions when you’re a part of this big, extended family. The word is “love,” agapē in Greek (46).

When Jesus’ followers behave like this, they sometimes find, to their surprise, that they have a new spring in their step. There is an attractiveness, an energy about a life in which we stop clinging on to everything we can get and start sharing it, giving it away, celebrating God’s generosity by being generous ourselves. And that attractiveness is one of the things that draws other people in (47).

Aaron Orendorff

What was it that produced this remarkable and profoundly communal way of life? Strategy? Planning? Programs? Leadership? No. The simple (frighteningly simple) answer is this: the gospel. Acts 2 is about God launching a renewed, missional community through the outpouring of the Spirit by means of the gospel preached. The Spirit comes in power to make the gospel known, to shape people (not simply individuals, but entire groups) into conformity with the gospel and it is only as the gospel is clearly proclaimed and authentically received that real, deep change takes place.

If what we long for is an Acts 2:42-47 church, then what we must do is declare and embrace an Acts 2:14-46 message.