Acts 2:42 42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Luke offers a summary statement of what happened after the day of Pentecost. There is no specific time reference, but likely the days and weeks that followed. The subject they of this verse is unclear. The Holy Spirit was moving powerfully among the disciples and the three thousand new believers. The growing community of followers devoted (proskarterountes) to four activities. The periphrastic participle used here emphasizes the ongoing activity of focus, engagement, and perseverance in these activities. Since Jesus experienced persecution and even death from the religious leaders, his followers would also face the same response (John 15:20).
The first focus mentioned is the apostles’ teaching. What did the apostles teach? The words of Jesus, just as he commended them (Matthew 28:20). They remembered what we have recorded in our four Gospels. Jesus did not write anything down but gave everything orally to his disciples, who remembered and later recorded his teaching. What the apostle taught was what Jesus taught them. The heart of this message appears in Peter’s sermon: Jesus as rejected, crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. The apostles were the teachers because they had been with Jesus, had witnessed everything, and were given the specific responsibility of teaching others. Thus, they were the authoritative voice of the early church.
Second, they devoted themselves to fellowship (koinōnia). This important word is often used in Paul’s writings to describe the close bond of love and relationship among early believers. It expresses how the early church shared with one another so that everyone’s needs were met, which is described later in 4:34-37. It is one of the key characteristics of God’s family. This is the only occurrence of it in Luke’s writings. The early Christians became as close as a family and called each other brothers and sisters (called “fictive kinship”). They began to follow Jesus’ command of loving one another (John 13:35). This characteristic shows how important community is to Christianity. We need each other on this journey. The Holy Spirit is the one who brings believers into fellowship with one another as the adopted children of God (Romans 8:16).
Third, the believers devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. Luke offers no further description. The history of early Christian meals is unclear. According to the accounts in the four Gospels, Jesus often shared meals with his disciples, friends, and strangers, including the outcasts of society. Sharing meals together was a common practice among Jews. A lot of fellowship can happen around a meal. Most cultures make meal times special occasions. The sharing of a meal was perhaps the most intimate form of fellowship one could have with fellow believers. Food provides physical energy but also spiritual encouragement. It is impossible to know how early or in what form the early church began to practice the Lord’s Supper in any ritualized form. There are hints of this in 1 Corinthians 11, which would have been at least 20-25 years later. Minimally, the earliest believers were sharing meals together, ensuring no one went hungry and offering a time for deeper reflection on God’s goodness and blessings.
Fourth, they devoted themselves to prayer. Jews in Jerusalem would have regularly gone to the temple to pray. The early Christians continued this practice, as evidenced in 3:1. They not only prayed in the temple but also gathered in groups and as individuals. They were praying together when the Holy Spirit came. Prayer is an important theme throughout the book of Acts. Prayer linked them to God’s purposes and power. They were seeking God’s presence and responding to the Holy Spirit’s leading. They interceded for one another and for those around them. Through their prayers, God was able to do many miracles. These four actions were connected and not done in isolation. They provide a good example of how to develop a healthy church with a mission to reach its community in the same way as these believers did.
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