R C Chiten Jamir
SCRIPTURE: Acts 2 : 41-47
In these verses we have a pattern for the whole dispensation of what the Church should be like. If we ask the question: What should our local Church be like? – the answer is to be found here in this passage of scripture. What are the marks or characteristics of a true Church?
1. The Church was spiritually constituted by Christ:
That is to say, it was not the work of man but the work of God. He made the Church. He constituted it and put it together. In Matthew 16 : 18, we have our Lord’s promise that He would do this, and if you will look at Acts 2 : 41 and 47 you will see that it was the Lord who made this infant Church in Jerusalem by adding to it those who were saved. How is a Church formed? The Gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit produces convictions in the hearts of the sinners, the Word is received, the miracle of the new birth takes place, and those who are born again (John 3 : 5) are added to the Lord. Thus, the Lord’s Church is constituted by Him of believers – those who have been added to the Church by Him – verse 47.
2. The Church was openly committed to Christ:
The people who are spoken of in this scripture had heard the Gospel as Peter had preached it to them. On hearing the Gospel, they have been convicted of their sins and had repented and received the word and believed that Christ had died for their sins and all these are described in Acts 2 : 37-40. But verse 41 follows verse 40 and we are told that those who received the WORD were baptised. What a tremendous baptismal service that must have been, for 3,000 were baptised! What a glorious testimony this was to the power and grace of God! Here in these verses we have God’s blueprint, His picture of the early Church, and we are told that 3,000 persons got converted, they were all baptised. All those who gladly received His Word were baptised. Why was this? They were baptised in obedience to the Lord’s command – look up Matthew 28 : 19-20. They were baptised also as an open confession that they had renounced their old life and were now trusting Christ as their Lord and Saviour – compare verses 37 and 40. Baptism does not make Christians but by believing and accepting Jesus only. In the early Church, when people believed they were then baptised; believing and baptism always went together. There is no case recorded in the book of Acts of an unbaptised believer.
3. The Church of Jerusalem was gloriously united in Christ:
The Key Word in verse 44 is the word “together”. They were different in age, background and temperament but now, having trusted Christ and been added to the Church, “all that believed were together,” which means that they were not only together in the sense that they were near to each other and with each other and in each other’s presence, but they were “all one in Christ Jesus.” Look up Galatians 3 : 28. Notice how this “togetherness”, this true unity in Christ, is described –
(1) They grow together. In verse 42, we read “They continued steadfastly… they were babies in the family of God, and together “they continued” and began to grow in grace. Look up 2 Pet 3 : 18. What a grand thing it is when those who are converted go on to know the Lord together!
(2) They fed upon the Word together. Verse 42 says – “They stayed steadfastly in the Apostle’s doctrine.” They had no New Testament. They depended upon the teaching the Apostles gave. In today’s Church also the greatest need for God’s people is to know the Word of God and to be Biblically indoctrinated.
(3) They spent much time together. Verse 42 says, “They continued in fellowship…. Lok up Malachi 3 :16. Do we make friends of God’s children? Do we get together always? What do we talk about? Do we speak of our own common heritage in Christ?
(4) They remembered the Lord’s death together. Verse 42 tells us that they remembered Him “in breaking of bread.” This was the very heart of their united worship. This should be the heart and hub of our worship too! At His table we look back to Calvary, we look up to the Throne and unto His coming.
(5) They prayed together. Verse 42 says: “They continued in prayers.” In today’s Church how have we drifted away from this early pattern? If we study the book of Acts, we recapture the emphasis which is given there on the power and privilege and possibilities of prayers.
(6) They shared together. The verse 44 tells us about the grace of generosity that was very apparent among the Christians at that time. “Believers were together and had all things common.” Shamefully, today’s Christians have become selfish and individualistic; the ground realities put our heads down. Do we, in reality practise Acts 20 : 35 as a pattern as the early Christians did?
(7) They rejoice together. What exciting reading verses 46 and 47 make! They continued daily with one accord in the Church (temple) breaking bread from house to house, eating together with gladness and singleness of heart. What a love, what a fellowship, what a praising of God, what a favour with all people, and what a faith converting people daily and adding to the Church. This was the daily happenings! Questions arise in our minds, have our love for the Lord, for His people, for His House, for His Word gone stale? Have we lost the thrills of being a Christian, the wonders and joys of being graciously saved by Jesus?
4. The Church at Jerusalem was dynamically empowered through Christ:
This is corroborated by Paul in Philippians 4 : 13. This Church as pictured in Acts chapter 2 was what it was through Christ. In Acts 2 : 4, we find the empowering of the Church on The Day of Pentecost and in verse 31 we see the Holy Spirit’s infilling of the hearts and lives of the believers – the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Church. Christ from the Throne and the Holy Spirit made the Church what it was. Do our local Churches have the empowering of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit?
We discover the special ways in which the empowering affected the members of the Church and through them, the Outside World:
(1) The members of the Church were characterised by piety, and this manifestly made a great impression on the people. Verse 43 says, “and fear came upon every soul.” The believers were holy and Christ-like, characterised by godliness and impressed the people around. Verse 47 tells us that they had “favour with all the people.”
(2) The members of the Church were characterised by power (spiritual). Verse 43 tells us that “many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.” What about our local Churches? Do the Church leaders do the same wonders and signs as the Church of Jerusalem? Acts 1 : 8 provides the secret of power to live the Gospel and preach it. May God give us a Church like this today.
