I see Acts 2:42-47 defining the biblical church.
Acts 2:42 explains its focus. Verses 43-46 offer an example of the fellowship. And verse 47 shows the results, “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
I think Acts 2:42-47 is Christ’s instruction for all churches, but let’s consider it in terms of the Internet. My first insight of the day is the word “daily” in verse 47. Christ’s church is not just a Sunday thing. It’s a take up your cross “daily” thing.
Waking up each morning is a kind of resurrection, a fresh start. Believers enjoy God’s grace and forgiveness. That’s all part of the “fresh start.” The Internet is ideal for that, a great place for encouragement, fresh starts, and a daily check in.
Acts 2:42 focuses the church’s activities. The focus is teaching, fellowship, and prayer, all tempered by the Lord’s Supper. (Because “they broke bread in their homes and ate together” is mentioned later, I think this verse 42 reference concerns the Lord’s Supper. When you consider Paul’s explanation in I Corinthians 11:23-32, the Lord’s Supper plays an important role in a believer’s relationship with Christ, remembering Christ’s sacrifice and measuring the state of one’s walk.)
All three activities are clearly Internet friendly. So, while the Internet is not a physically face-to-face environment, it’s clearly a mind-to-mind environment; and that’s a spiritual thing. Thoughts are spirit. While having a “church supper” would be tough to do on the Internet (I’ll bring the chocolate cake), fellowshipping together is a snap. I’ll bet that’s why the Lord invented chat rooms. (I wonder how you do that on a blog?)
The challenge of the Internet church, to me, is exciting. It’s also sobering. I’m just one guy fortified by my biases and suffering from my weaknesses. As I present myself as a teacher, I’m also accepting the awesome responsibility of getting it right, not just the facts alone but the loving balance of guiding folks in applying those facts. (And I know so little and struggle so much.)
In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) I originally related to the man who hid his talents. That way, I reasoned, I would not risk loosing the Lord’s currency; but, of course, in reading the parable more closely, burying the talents is the worse thing one can do. So, after 40 years of trying to figure out why God made the world this way and not some other and trying to understand my silly little place in it, I’m getting after it with this blog and the website to come.
But you’re part of it, too, because Christianity is not a spectator sport. The biblical church is a team ministering together, each participant buttressing the other (Ephesians 4:1-16; Romans 12:1-8; I Corinthians 12 & 13; I Peter 2:4-12). I’m trying to find a church in Denver willing to let me run with this ball. The biblical church looks good to me on paper, but the proof is in the pudding. Maybe the pudding for me is the Internet. After all, the fields there are ripe for harvest, too.
Questions to come: What did they teach in that first church? What kind of a person were they trying to urge into being? What are we to learn from Acts 2:43-46? Isn’t that Christian Communism? (That’s what I thought for years.) And why did God choose to reveal himself in a book that he knew so many people would misconstrue? (If God wants sound doctrine, will only the A-students be saved?)
There’s lots of engaging stuff to come, some challenging stuff, too. (Lots of learning for me, as well.) Your reactions and insights are critical because we’re all in this together.
Showing posts with label Acts 2:42-47. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acts 2:42-47. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Biblical Church, Part II
Acts 2:42-47 presents the model church. It is unique among Christian churches. Indeed, it was one of a kind.
First of all, the Acts 2:42-47 church is the first church ever. But its “firstness” is less important for us than the acts of the folks who guided it.
This was the only time in the New Testament in which all 12 apostles ministered as a team. That team was important because Christ had just taught them what he wanted for his church (Luke 24:45-49. Note: Acts 1:1-11). That suggests that what they did in Jerusalem is Christ’s model for us today, in our case, The Internet Church. In addition, Christ ordained Peter to be the apostles’ leader (John 21:15-20). That suggests that Peter’s philosophy for the church is important for us to consider as we organize our church. What was his philosophy?
We find it in I Peter 2:4-12. He focuses there on two issues: the “living stones” and the “priesthood of believers.” Both are essential building blocks for Christ’s church and our Internet Church as well.
Judging from the rest of the New Testament, I have concluded that the “living stones” remark concerns gifted people serving in the areas of their giftedness. Paul fleshes this out in Ephesians 4:1-16, Romans 12:1-8, and I Corinthians 12 & 13. In other words, God has graced each believer with a variety of spiritual gifts (graces) that he wants them to use in improving their own lives and in ministering to the Christian body to which they belong (the church). That is one way in which Christ shapes each church. He shapes it through the gifts he has given its people. That means no two churches will necessarily be the same.
But each church will be similar because of the doctrine it proclaims. The “priesthood of believers” remark concerns the fact that each believer has a personal ministry, not one that comes from God’s unique grace to each believer, but one that comes from sharing the gospel of Christ. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) applies not just to the church but to each believer individually. Each believer has a mandate from God to spread the gospel message and to minister to those within his or her spheres of influence (Note: I Corinthians 7:24). Each believer is an ambassador from God (II Corinthians 5:16-21) and a living illustration of God’s plan for man (II Corinthians 2:14-17).
So that becomes our initial model. That’s what I bring to this endeavor. But your contribution is vital. Your insights need to be examined and considered. I only know what I know, and I don’t know it all. But together we can build a great church.
First of all, the Acts 2:42-47 church is the first church ever. But its “firstness” is less important for us than the acts of the folks who guided it.
This was the only time in the New Testament in which all 12 apostles ministered as a team. That team was important because Christ had just taught them what he wanted for his church (Luke 24:45-49. Note: Acts 1:1-11). That suggests that what they did in Jerusalem is Christ’s model for us today, in our case, The Internet Church. In addition, Christ ordained Peter to be the apostles’ leader (John 21:15-20). That suggests that Peter’s philosophy for the church is important for us to consider as we organize our church. What was his philosophy?
We find it in I Peter 2:4-12. He focuses there on two issues: the “living stones” and the “priesthood of believers.” Both are essential building blocks for Christ’s church and our Internet Church as well.
Judging from the rest of the New Testament, I have concluded that the “living stones” remark concerns gifted people serving in the areas of their giftedness. Paul fleshes this out in Ephesians 4:1-16, Romans 12:1-8, and I Corinthians 12 & 13. In other words, God has graced each believer with a variety of spiritual gifts (graces) that he wants them to use in improving their own lives and in ministering to the Christian body to which they belong (the church). That is one way in which Christ shapes each church. He shapes it through the gifts he has given its people. That means no two churches will necessarily be the same.
But each church will be similar because of the doctrine it proclaims. The “priesthood of believers” remark concerns the fact that each believer has a personal ministry, not one that comes from God’s unique grace to each believer, but one that comes from sharing the gospel of Christ. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) applies not just to the church but to each believer individually. Each believer has a mandate from God to spread the gospel message and to minister to those within his or her spheres of influence (Note: I Corinthians 7:24). Each believer is an ambassador from God (II Corinthians 5:16-21) and a living illustration of God’s plan for man (II Corinthians 2:14-17).
So that becomes our initial model. That’s what I bring to this endeavor. But your contribution is vital. Your insights need to be examined and considered. I only know what I know, and I don’t know it all. But together we can build a great church.
The Biblical Church, Part I
Every Christian church is supposed to be a biblical church, founded on Christ and Scripture; but while most modern churches aim for biblical accuracy, they are also profoundly influenced by (1) their denominational heritages, (2) the men and women who govern each local congregation, (3) the needs of their people, and (4) the culture in which they find themselves. If every modern church suffers from this, where can we find the pure church, the church that Christ himself endorses, the biblical church, the model church?
Not surprisingly we find it in the New Testament. But wait! The New Testament epistles are generally written to churches with problems. We can interpolate Christ’s model by examining their problems, but does the New Testament anywhere depict the perfect church, the fresh church, the model for any church, and in our case, The Internet Church?
We see that church, in two places:
Its first occurrence is in Acts 2:42-47, the first church. More on that in my next post. Its second occurrence is in Christ’s letters to the churches in Revelation.
Of the seven churches Christ addresses there, only Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) escapes his criticism. His criticism of the other six concern either false doctrine or accurate doctrine inaccurately applied. This is not the only place in which the New Testament stresses the need for sound doctrine. I conclude from this that the church Christ wants teaches sound doctrine and urges its people to understand what it is and apply it in their lives.
All we can construe from the church at Smyrna is that it was about to experience a world of hurt. Christ urges its congregants to be faithful. If they are, they will overcome their trials and prove themselves in the process. This faithfulness to God (Christ) is a common theme in Scripture, faithfulness to Christ in spite of what you see going on around you. Peter tells us that this perseverance is a test of faith (I Peter 1:3-9 key verse 7. Note: James 5:7-11; Hebrews 10:19-39; James 1:13-18), not for God’s benefit because he already knows the truth about each of our benefit, but for us so we can know our faith is pure.
Not surprisingly we find it in the New Testament. But wait! The New Testament epistles are generally written to churches with problems. We can interpolate Christ’s model by examining their problems, but does the New Testament anywhere depict the perfect church, the fresh church, the model for any church, and in our case, The Internet Church?
We see that church, in two places:
Its first occurrence is in Acts 2:42-47, the first church. More on that in my next post. Its second occurrence is in Christ’s letters to the churches in Revelation.
Of the seven churches Christ addresses there, only Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) escapes his criticism. His criticism of the other six concern either false doctrine or accurate doctrine inaccurately applied. This is not the only place in which the New Testament stresses the need for sound doctrine. I conclude from this that the church Christ wants teaches sound doctrine and urges its people to understand what it is and apply it in their lives.
All we can construe from the church at Smyrna is that it was about to experience a world of hurt. Christ urges its congregants to be faithful. If they are, they will overcome their trials and prove themselves in the process. This faithfulness to God (Christ) is a common theme in Scripture, faithfulness to Christ in spite of what you see going on around you. Peter tells us that this perseverance is a test of faith (I Peter 1:3-9 key verse 7. Note: James 5:7-11; Hebrews 10:19-39; James 1:13-18), not for God’s benefit because he already knows the truth about each of our benefit, but for us so we can know our faith is pure.
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