Thoughts on the Early Church by Kevin Huguley, Rush of Fools

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.                                       Acts 2:42-45  

The book of Acts is an incredible journey through the life and progress of the early church. In the first chapter Jesus promises the coming Holy Spirit and it tells of His own ascension into heaven. That would’ve been pretty awesome (and a little freaky) to see. A new disciple is chosen and Peter preaches at Pentecost where God saves 3,000 new believers, and the gospel continues to birth many incredible acts.  

 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (v.42). The gospel calls us to obedience, to follow the scriptures, and we see that our early church brothers and sisters did just that. But the story gets better as we see in verse 43 that awe, or the fear of God, came upon every soul. And verses 44 and 45 tell us this about the life of the early church: “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” This may seem like a backwards concept to us today but it is how things were done in the early days of the church.  

From this passage we can note a few things to think about with our present day church life. The believers lived life together, in community. And it actually explains in verse 46 that these guys were meeting every day together, having all things in common. People were selling their stuff so that everybody was taken care of. And it doesn’t say they distributed to any in need who worked for it. It simply says “any in need.” Am I living this way? I wish. Even more important, are we being the church we’re called to be?  

God, may Your gospel reign in our lives every day. Help us to understand what we are called to look like as Your church, Your bride. May we comprehend that we are to be a people who live life together, who meet each other’s needs, and who understand that You are the only thing that is beautiful in us. Amen.