Acts 2:43-47 43And fear came to every soul at the many wonders and signs done by the apostles. 44And all the believers were together and had everything in common. 45And they were selling property and possessions and distributing all the things according to whatever need each had. 46Every day being devoted in one purpose in the temple, breaking bread in each home, they were eating food together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Luke’s summary of the characteristics of the earliest believers continues in these verses. The miraculous wonders and signs echo the prophecy from Joel quoted in verses 17-21. Every soul is one of Luke’s typical overstatements, but gets the idea across that many people of Jerusalem saw these miracles and were filled with a sense of fear (phobos), awe, or reverence. Luke records one such miracle in 3:1-10. What was the purpose of these miracles? A “sign” points to something else. The miracles pointed to the new movement of God among those who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. The purpose of miracles is to draw people to God and to help them come to him in humility, repentance, and recognition. They should bring people to believe in Jesus Christ and should not be done to bring attention to the disciple or the person healed. When Jesus performed miracles, he did so to bring people into his kingdom. Faith was somehow involved in these miracles, and in most cases, this faith was recognized and strengthened as a result of the miracle.
Verses 44-45 describe the fellowship of verse 42. These verses give a good definition of fellowship (koinonia). Believers is the earliest way the new Christians are described. The word “Christian” will not show up in the record of Acts until 11:26 in the city of Antioch. The word includes the three thousand and the growing number mentioned in verse 47. Together is a word combination that simply means “about the same thing” (epi to auto). They were focused on the same thing and doing the same activities. Luke describes this unity further with the phrase they had everything in common. In common (koina) is related to the word “fellowship.” Fellowship is the result of the common bond that unites believers.
This idea is illustrated in verse 45. The extent of their commitment to the good of one another is amazing as they sold property and possessions to care for one another. Jesus’ prayer for unity and love was being answered. The verb were selling (epipraskon) is an imperfect tense indicating ongoing and repeated action, with the nuance that they began to do and did it repeatedly; this was not a rare, one-time occurrence but the practice of these believers. The result was that the financial needs of everyone were being met. Pooling resources together can accomplish more than what one person can do. Having no needs put everyone on equal standing. The rich gave up their material goods for those who were lacking. The harmony and togetherness of the earliest believers were evident in the actions that made a difference in people’s situations. Their faith was not simply spiritual but physical and tangible. Their motivation is not mentioned, but it is assumed that they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, who filled them with compassion for those in need.
The prayer and breaking of bread in verse 42 are described further in verse 46. We get further hints of where the believers prayed, at the temple, though that does not rule out prayer in “upper rooms” wherever they gathered or individual prayer time. Their meetings were a time of teaching as the apostles taught the new believers about Jesus. The temple became what God intended it to be: a place of prayer, worship, and instruction. Those early days were also a joyful time of fellowship around meals. Eating together accomplished several things. It made sure no one went hungry. It provided a time of fellowship and opportunity for teaching. It was a time of great joy and openness to God’s work in their unity. It was also a strong witness to the community as unbelievers marveled at the care and compassion expressed in the strong fellowship. The new movement of Jesus followers was attractive. Others wanted to join in, and so the number of the saved increased each day. Luke uses the keyword saved (substantival participle sōzomenous) to express the new eternal life that came to those believed. The increase in number was not simply an outcome of human action, but it was evidence of God’s work in and through the believers: the Lord added. Luke will develop the idea of the combination of God’s grace and human obedience throughout Acts and will show how this brings a successful mission in fulfillment of Jesus’ statement in 1:8.
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