THE FELLOWSHIP OF BELIEVERS

Acts 2:42-47

Key Verse 2:42

“They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Intro: After Jesus rose from the dead, he showed himself to the apostles and approximately 500 followers of Jesus. (I Cor. 15:5-6)  They were fully convinced of Jesus’ resurrection.  They had true resurrection faith.  Jesus instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit.  On Pentecost, they received the Holy Spirit.  Peter then spoke to a large crowd and called them to repentance and baptism in Jesus Christ and 3,000 were added to their number on that day alone.

After, having resurrection faith planted in their hearts and receiving the Holy Spirit and having 3,000 new converts, a community of believers developed.  In today’s passage we see the result of the Holy Spirit working amidst them.  In today’s passage we see the character of this fellowship and how God used this fellowship to further his purpose.

Look v. 42.  What did the Apostles teach? (Mt. 28:20; Jn. 13:34; Acts 2:23-24,36; 1 Cor 15:1-4) Why do you think the believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching? To the fellowship?  To the breaking of bread?  And to prayer?

Verse 42, “ ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Mt. 28:20 reads, “²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Jn. 13:34 reads, “³⁴"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Acts 2:23-24 reads, “²³This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”

Acts 2:36 reads, “³⁶"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

I Cor. 15:1-4 reads, “¹Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ²By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. ³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

The Apostles taught that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures.  He taught them that it was because of our sins that He died and that it was in reality us who put Him to death.  They taught that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.  They taught that they were to obey everything Jesus had commanded the disciples; most importantly He gave the new command to love one another, just as He loved them.

They devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching because the Apostle’s were teaching obedience to Christ.  The Apostle’s were teaching everything that Jesus had commanded; they were teaching true obedience to God.  This was very different than what the religious leaders were teaching the people.

II Cor. 6:14 reads, “¹⁴Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”  They devoted themselves to the fellowship of believers, because they could have no true fellowship with anyone else.

They devoted themselves to the fellowship because Christ instructed them to ‘love one another’.

I Jn. 1:3 reads, “³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”  They devoted themselves to the fellowship because in doing so they were having fellowship with the Father and with Jesus.

I Cor. 10:16, “¹⁶Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?”  

I Cor. 11:26, “²⁶For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

Luke 22:19, “¹⁹And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread because they were celebrating and remembering Christ freeing them from the power of sin by offering up His own sinless life for them.

Gen. 14:18, “¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High…”; Isa. 25:6, “⁶ On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.”; Lk. 13:29, “²⁹People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.”; Mt. 22:4, “⁴"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'”; Rev. 19:9, “⁹Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."  They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread because it pointed to the feast of all believers in sweet fellowship with the LORD.

Mt. 21:22, “²²If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

II Thes. 3:1, “¹Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.”

The fellowship devoted themselves to prayer because God called us to pray without ceasing, praying for all nations, for one another and for the message of the Gospel to spread rapidly.

Look at v. 43.  What does the word “awe” mean?  Why was everyone “filled with awe”?  What role did “wonders” and “miraculous signs” play in this fellowship of believers?  (Acts 2:22, Mark 16:20)

Verse 43, “⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.”

Webster’s dictionary defines ‘awe’ - an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.

As we learn later in this passage, we see the love among the believers and also love towards God.  There was grace, peace and joy among them and this was something no one had experienced or seen before in their relationships with others.  They were filled with ‘awe’ because they could see that something was different and that God was among them.

Acts 2:22 reads, “²²"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.”

Mark 16:20 reads, “²⁰Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”

“Wonders” and “miraculous signs” confirmed Jesus’ Words and that Jesus is Lord and Christ.  That the Apostles were the ones who were able to perform these ‘wonders’ and ‘miraculous signs’ also showed that Jesus had given them authority and needed to be obeyed and listened to.  They also show that God is good to His people.  God helps His people in their need.

Look at vs. 44-45.  What does it mean that they “had everything in common”?  What happened when any believer had a need they themselves could not meet?  How was this behavior different from those around them?  Why did the believers act this way?

Verses 44-45, “⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”

The believers did not see their possessions as their ‘own’.

Whenever someone was in true need (not just what they wanted, but didn’t have) others sold their possessions and goods and gave to the person in need.

Those around them, who do not know Christ can give and share, but they will only do so if it does not affect or truly cost anything to them.  They can only give out of abundance, but not when they actually have to sacrifice something for others.

Look at v. 46a. The word “together” is repeated three times throughout this passage. How often did they meet together?  What do you think they were doing when they met together in the temple courts?

Verse 46a, “⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.”

They met every single day, without missing even a single day.

They were praying and studying the Scripture and devoting themselves to the Apostles’ teaching.

Look at v. 46b. Was the temple the only place they met together?  Where else did they meet and what did they do?  What was the characteristic of their eating fellowship? What does this show about the Christian life? How does this reveal the work of the Spirit among the believers? (Gal. 5:22)

Verse 46b, “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…”

The believers did not only meet together in the Temple courts, but also they met together in their homes.  They spent all their time together, both in their public and private life.

When they met together in their homes they ate together.

The time they spent together was marked by glad and sincere hearts.  They truly enjoyed one another’s fellowship and friendship.  They were like brothers and sisters, enjoying one another’s company.

The Christian life is marked by joy and gladness.  Fellowship with one another is sincere and genuine and a joy to be around.  Fellowship in the world is marked by mistrust, jealousy, pettiness, etc.

Gal. 5:22 reads, “²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”  Where there is sincere fellowship with Christ and fellow believers the fruit of the Spirit manifests itself among the believers.  Each became more and more Christ-like.

Look at v. 47.  Why was the believers’ praise to God so heartfelt?  Why did they have the favor of all the people?  How was God using this fellowship of believers?

Verse 47, “⁴⁷[P]raising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

The believers were praising God because they tasted the ‘Kingdom of God’ among their fellowship.  They praised God because God was with them and blessing them so beautifully and wonderfully.

The people showed them favor because they could see how the fellowship of believers lived with one another and towards God.  They valued what they were seeing, even though they themselves did not experience such a thing.  They wanted to, but could not.

God added to their number daily.  This reveals that this fellowship of believers was the work of God through the Holy Spirit.  God used this beautiful fellowship of believers to expand His Kingdom and for the saving of many.  This was God’s work and purpose.  The believers could not ‘design’ or accomplish this work, it was the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.