Acts 2:42-47

I, perhaps like you, really like this passage. Every time I encounter it words like ‘focus,’ ‘clarity,’ ‘simplicity,’ and ‘devotion’ come to my mind. When I am abruptly confronted with the fast pace of the rat race, and when I feel like my physical body, my ministry, and my household is being pulled in a dozen different directions, I come back to these familiar and final words of Acts chapter two and reflect on the rhythmic steadiness of the first generation of followers of the Way of Jesus.

There are many themes embedded in these six verses. In them we find an early glimpse into Christian devotion (v. 42), insights into how the believers lived in relationship to their physical possessions (v. 44-45), and how the outward witness of followers of the Way catalyzed the inward transformation of not-yet-followers of the Way (v. 47). Depending on the context of your ministry you may feel it best to ‘settle in’ with one of those themes, and if that is the case for you, I encourage you to follow that Spirit-led impulse!

In this space I would like to briefly present three lenses – some perhaps familiar and obvious, others perhaps not so much – through which we can view all of the activities, habits, and rhythms mentioned in these verses. These lenses are discipleship, evangelism, and repentant resistance.

One way in which we can view the content of this passage is in the context of discipleship; that is, the process in which individuals and groups of people expose themselves to the Way of Jesus, in order to become more like Jesus, so that neighbors near and far may come to know and be known by Jesus.

The words of Acts 2:42-47 can show us how someone becomes more like Jesus. If someone desires to be more like Jesus, one must be taught by Jesus (ie: the apostles’ teaching was centered on Jesus). If someone desires to be more like Jesus, it would be good of them to spend more time with others who desire the same (ie: fellowship, meeting together, etc.).

In the same way, these words also can show us the things people who have been earnestly desiring to become more like Jesus do in their everyday lives; that is, the fruit of discipleship.

However, there is an ugly side to this coin: If the life of a self-identified follower of Jesus does not relatively look similar to the life being described in this passage, there is a chance they are being discipled by someone, or something else. (But I will leave that type of work of convection to the Spirit, and that type of shepherding to someone’s pastor!)

Another way in which we can view the content of this passage is in the context of evangelism; that is, the way in which followers of the Way of Jesus ‘spread’ the Way of Jesus. In the spirit of imagery and metaphor, I would present that the words of Acts 2:42-47 describe what could be called ‘an ecosystem of evangelism.’

Yellowstone National Park is a robust ecosystem. It has a rich diversity in climate, wildlife, and vegetation. These elements interact with each other, and in so doing, create and sustain the world-renowned beauty that is Yellowstone National Park: its terrain, concentration of mammals, and abundance of thermal features.

The activities described in this passage work together in order to create and sustain opportunities and environments in which the message of the Way of Jesus can be both shared and received. Each element is important and, I would suggest, interdependent on the other elements. Teaching cannot be done in isolation; it requires fellowship. Fellowship cannot happen without the continued commitment of believers to be together. The collective selling of property and blessing of those in need cannot exist without the trust built at the meal table.

Note: ecosystems flourish when they are preserved and protected. Yellowstone National Park would not exist as it does today without the continued intentionality of choosing to preserve and protect it. With its ecosystem of evangelism, believers must do the same.

One final lens in which we can view Acts 2:42-47 through is repentant resistance; that is, individuals and groups of people choosing to repent of the ways of the world which destroy and distract from the Kingdom of God through a type of resistance which employs counter-cultural ways of being.

Peter brings close to his post-pentecost sermon with the following plea: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…[and] save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (Acts 2:38-40). I believe it is safe to say that Luke, the author of the book of Acts, placed our passage after Peter’s sermon on purpose. I believe the words of Acts 2:42-47 can serve as an answer to the question, ‘What behaviors must one embrace as they turn away from the corrupt ways of the world?’

I would like the bow on this thought, and this article, to be tied by the words of the late historian, professor, and scholar, Alan Kreider:

“The Christian assembly was not one of a palette of social commitments of an urban Roman; it was the center of the Christians’ lives. It was not one aspect of a varied religious life; it was their religious life. The Christians were creating an alternative community that had nonconformist approaches to common social problems and that imparted to its participants a powerful sense of individual and group identity. This had immense formative power.”[1]

May God bless you and your community as you discern together what God may be calling you into.

[1] Alan Kreider, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), 60.