Acts 4:31-36 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
In the above focus we now see the church functioning in power and authority of the Holy Spirit. They were ready to proclaim the Good News to the world. Peter and John recently had been arrested by the Sanhedrin for speaking in the name of Jesus. This name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth was an anathema to the ruling elite, for their hatred of him had put him to death. They despised him because He was threatening their position of power with the Israelites. Jesus in his walk on earth was gathering crowds of thousands around him wherever He went. The leading priests knew his ministry was an affront to their position as intermediators between God and the people. They were the chosen ones who had the validation from God to show the people how to be right with him, to be in good standing with the Creator of all things. They oversaw the sacrifices given in the Temple, and they led the people through their teaching of the law and sacrifices in the Temple. But Jesus was challenging all of that by his willingness to break the Sabbath conditions of complete rest. Jesus was also castigating them for what He saw as the hypocrisy in their lifestyle. Jesus and his miracles led the people away from the authority of Moses' laws and regulations. Now the leaders are confronted by Jesus’ disciples, teaching in the Temple this name that was so dangerous to their position of authority and deference. But the church of the Living God was no longer anemic, powerless to resist the challenge of the authorities of Israel, for the death of Jesus had brought to them the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. As with the children of Israel in the wilderness, we see the Spirit of God present with them wherever they went. He was no longer just in the Temple, present with them in a prescribed holy place; He was in a new Temple, a living and thriving Temple: the church. In the above scriptures, we see the manifestation of the Spirit in this scene where the church had gathered: After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. The Spirit of God was viscerally present with them: they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. In essence, the Ark of the living God was with them. No longer would the voice of God be restricted only to the Ark or in the tabernacle of the Lord or his Temple. When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law. In this way the Lord spoke to him. (Numbers 7:89) In the wilderness, on the way to the Promised Land, God’s voice came from the Tabernacle in the Holy of Holies, but now a new Temple had been constructed in and through Christ. This voice would abide in the believers of Jesus Christ, for they would be the temple of the living God. These members of the body of Christ knew in whom they believed. They were not like the Sadducees who controlled the Temple, for they did not believe in supernatural events such as the resurrection. They were stultified by their belief, not true advocates of a living God who created everything. But the believers in Christ were firm believers. They prayed, “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. (Acts 4:24) Now you the mighty I AM, Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:30) That request was immediately answered with a shaking of the building. For them, knowing Christ was not just a religion or a religious activity, it was knowing an active God, involved in their everyday lives. He was a supernatural God who revealed himself through the miracles and activities of Jesus Christ, his Son.
God was not only in signs and wonders for the new believers, He also guided their daily activities and attitudes. God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. They were now the true Israelites. Circumcision as originally ordained did not make a Jew, but the circumcision of the heart made a true Jew, and this cutting away of the flesh was illustrated by Jesus on the Cross. He died to his fleshly existence; He gave himself to God completely, identifying that He trusted his Father God to raise him from the dead. Christ's death and his subsequent resurrection are foundational to every Christian’s born-again life. Every Christian by faith has died with Christ, completing the act of circumcision, the cutting away of the carnal self. To be a true Jew, the cutting away of the flesh is a heartfelt experience, a spiritual exercise. This is a step of faith, but a further work has to be completed for a believer to exist with God forever, and that is his or her resurrection from the dead. All believers through faith in Jesus Christ’s and his works are raised from the dead; now subsequently identified as everlasting children of God. But then, how does a believer in Christ live who has been raised from the dead and now sits in heavenly places alive? I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:20-21). The Christians in today's passage reveal what a true Jew’s life should be like. They should love their neighbors as themselves. If a neighbor is in need, they should come to the rescue of that person, to stabilize their lives by giving out of their own resources. God is love; therefore, they should function in the milieu of love. The world is the opposite of God’s goodness and caring. The acts of the world are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:19-21) Christians should be people who place their trust and allegiance in God, doing his will not their own will. God is to the master of their lives. God speaks of a true Jew’s responsibility to others in Leviticus. If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. (Leviticus 25:35-38) In the verses for today, we see other believers picking up the responsibility of helping their fellow believers. God does not change. He does not mean one thing for other believers but not for us; one thing for another time, but something else for us during our lifetime. Righteousness or right living is always the same, from one generation to the next. The Spirit of God fell in the midst of these new believers because they were one in heart and mind.
Paul reminds the believers of his churches to be generous. He desires for them to help the poor in Jerusalem for they were being persecuted severely. He did not want them to give beyond their means, but if they had money to give to the poor in Jerusalem, they should open their hearts to this dire need of the believers. He reminds them that God has been generous to them; therefore, they should be generous to his church. Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-9) God will remember your generous heart when you meet him on the day of judgment, for all will face God whether you have been good or bad. God is a just God and he will bring justice to all people. We have found in our own lives that not only does God love a cheerful giver, but giving makes you cheerful. Jesus was giving when He walked the earth. He expended his energy to help others. He got up before dawn to pray; He walked from city to city to spread the Good News of eternal life for all who would put their trust in him. He was tired when He met the Samaritan woman at the well. As he rested there at the well, He told the woman about her life, opening up salvation to her and her village of fellow Samaritans. Jesus fed others willingly, even though He knew many of them only followed him for bread. Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” (John 6:26-27) Jesus illustrates the goodness of God to the people He has made; Jesus was generous. Now in our above focus, we see his followers opening their lives up to help everyone, especially the poor among them. By feeding and housing others, these new believers were testifying of the goodness of God. Their fleshly lives meant very little to them. They would put their lives on the firing line for God. Some in this group would lose their lives for Christ--others would face great persecution, but they knew in oneness that they were serving the eternal Creator. So nothing mattered to them but to serve God. Jesus had told his followers their energy should not be spent in achieving things of this world, but should be spent in pleasing God, beings servants to the world. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. Why such unselfishness; why throw their secular lives away? Because they knew the true bread of life rested in the broken body of Christ and the true drink of eternal life came through the blood of Christ on the cross. Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35) During this season of Easter, dear breakfast companions as you look at the bread before you and as you see the drink at your hands, know these are emblematic of the body of Christ, which was freely given for you. As the early believers so willingly did, they ate of this bread, drank the cup given to them representing his blood for the sake of others, do likewise. And be filled with the Holy Spirit as you speak the word boldly.
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