And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.Luke continues by stating that these followers of Jesus were gathered together in community and were selling their property and possession and were sharing with them all as they had a need. Now many people have taken this passage and used it to promote communism or socialism. There is a significant problem with that view, however. The problem with that view is that no one was forcing people to redistribute their possessions and property. This was a voluntary action by these early followers of Jesus that focused on meeting the pressing and practical needs of those who were in need. What Luke is revealing for us here is that the church recognized the needs of the poor and marginalized in their midst and took the necessary steps to minister to those needs.
The early church recognized that everything that they had was a gift from God and they chose to respond to that gift by investing their time, talents, and treasure towards meeting the needs of others and advancing God’s kingdom mission. These early followers of Jesus responded to God’s generosity by reflecting that generosity to others and became the vehicle that God used to reveal His generosity to the world. And in the same way, as followers of Jesus that are a part of the community called the church, we are to engage in God’s co-mission by investing our time, our talents, and our treasure that God has so generously given us into His kingdom mission by ministering to the needs of those around us.
And this investment is not simply to be focused inward toward other followers of Jesus. We are to invest our time, talent, and treasure outward in a way that engages and invests in the lives of those who are in the community, but not a part of the community called the church. That is why the church where I serve engages in meeting practical needs of our community through the Emergency Assistance Window. That is why we are so passionate about our Saturday of service that is coming up. We are to be a “city in a city” that is loves and serves our city in real and practical ways to meet pressing needs in a way that opens opportunities to reveal a profound need for Christ as we reveal and reflect Christ. Luke then gives us an additional glimpse into the life of this new community called the church in Acts 2:46:
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.Here we see Luke reveal for us the reality that these early followers of Jesus not only to gathered together corporately once a week in a community that was marked by genuine and authentic unity. These early followers of Jesus also scattered throughout their community. Notice what Luke says in verse 46: "The church was day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house." The church is to gather and scatter. The church is to gather for large corporate times and is also to scatter into smaller groups within the community. And as these early followers of Jesus scattered into their communities, they continued to connect with one another in the areas of influence that they had throughout the community. These early followers of Jesus were doing life together.
In the culture of Jesus day, as it often is today, having people over for a meal was a sign of connection and community with one another. And as they scattered into smaller groups within the community of Jerusalem, these smaller groups were marked with gladness and sincerity of heart. The word gladness here refers to a sense of a fullness of joy. There was just an overflowing sense of happiness and peace that was unmistakable. And these scattered groups of early followers of Jesus were also marked by a sincerity of heart.
Now the word sincerity, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to have a sense of simplicity and generosity. These scattered groups of early followers of Jesus were characterized by transparency and generosity. There were no fronts; there was no need to put on heirs or a false impression. These were groups of people who lived authentic and generous lives that invested in one another and those around them.
This is why we believe so strongly in community groups at the church where I serve. Community groups afford the opportunity for us as followers of Jesus to scatter into the community and develop intentional environments where people can grow in their relationship with God while developing encouraging relationships that foster accountability and spiritual growth in the community. Community groups bring us into the areas of influence that God has placed us that are outside the four walls of the church. We are called by God to scatter into our communities so that we can be in a position to invest and invite people to be a part of what God is doing.
Luke then explains that these early followers of Jesus were praising God. These early followers of Jesus were responding to who God was, what He had done, and what He had promised to do by worshipping the Lord. And in the same way today, we are to respond to God’s transformational activity in our lives through Jesus Christ by living in a way that, whether we are gathered together corporately in community, or scattered into the community, is worthy of God as an act of worship to God that is pleasing to God.
You see, worship, simply put, is a response. Worship is a response that is focused on who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do. Worship is not simply singing, reading your Bible and prayer, although it can involve singing, Bible reading, and prayer. Worship is a lifestyle; worship is a life that is lived in a way that is focused on and that responds to God’s character and activity in the world.
But not only were they praising God; Luke tells us that these early followers of Jesus were having favor with all the people. The word favor here conveys the sense of winning the respect of others. These early followers of Jesus were respected by all the people; by believers and nonbelievers; by religious and irreligious; by seekers and skeptics. Regardless of whether they bought into the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel, this new community called the church was respected by all the people.
And the respect that these early followers of Jesus had earned resulted in the opportunity for the church to engage in the kingdom mission that God gave the church to be the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the lost and hurting world and bring them into the relationship with God that they were created for. We see this reality revealed for us as Luke concludes chapter 2:
And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.Luke records for us that the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved. As these early followers of Jesus gathered together in community to hear the word of God, to pray for one another and to proclaim the message of the gospel through the celebration of communion; as these early followers of Jesus invested their talents and treasure serving God by serving others; as these early followers of Jesus scattered throughout the community into smaller groups that invested their time living life together in supportive and encouraging relationships that fostered spiritual growth and accountability, God’s transformational intervention and activity was impossible to ignore. Hearts were captured, lives were changed and transformed, and the number of people who became followers of Jesus grew. And these early followers of Jesus that became a part of this new community called the church were being used by God to complete the co-mission that they had been given.
And it is in this story that we see revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to the co:mission we have been given. And that timeless truth is this: God’s co-mission requires our investment. The Lord used the healthy community that existed amongst the early church to advance His kingdom mission and grow the church. You see the issue is not the growth of the church; the issue is the health of a church, because healthy things grow. And the early church experienced explosive growth not because of a church growth strategy or a marketing campaign.
The early church experienced explosive growth as a result of early followers of Jesus investing their time, their talent, and their treasure into being a part of what God was doing in community with one another. Early followers of Jesus invested their time in a community that gathered and scattered in a way the revealed and reflected Christ. Early followers of Jesus invested their talents serving God by serving others in ministry to others in a way the revealed and reflected Christ. Early followers of Jesus invested their treasure generously to meet the needs of others in a way the revealed and reflected Christ.
And in the same way today, God’s co-mission requires our investment. When followers of Jesus consistently invest their time by being involved in a regular worship gathering and a community group; when followers of Jesus consistently invest their talents serving God by serving others by being a part of a ministry team; and when followers of Jesus consistently invest their treasure in order to help create environments where people can explore and grow in their faith while experiencing community, we create a healthy community that is engaged in God’s co:mission as a city in a city that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city.
So here is a question to consider: Are you investing in God’s co-mission in a way that results in your spiritual growth and others spiritual good? Are you investing your time in a community group? Are you investing your talents serving in a ministry? Are you investing your treasure through regular and proportional giving? Because the timeless reality is that God’s co:mission requires our investment. We are most powerfully positioned to partner with God when we are invested in a healthy community that is invested and engaged in God’s kingdom mission.
So what is the next step that you need to take in order to be invested and investing in God’s co:mission?
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