Question

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THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS GOD’S DWELLING PLACE

Acts 4:32-5:16

Key Verse:4:33

1. Read 4:32-35. What was the common purpose and goal of the believers? What was their attitude toward each other? Toward material things? Why?

2. Read 4:36-37. Who was Joseph Barnabas? (9:26-27; 11:22-26; 13:2,13; 15:39) In what way was he exemplary? In what way was he an encourager?

3. Read 5:1-4. What did Ananias and Sapphira do? Why? For what did Peter rebuke Ananias? What does this tell about the nature of the church (1 Ti 3:15)

4. Read 5:5-6. What happened to Ananias? Read 5:7-11. What happened to Sapphira? How did this affect the church? Explain the meaning of “fear” in these verses (See Ex 20:20; Pr 1:7; Ac 9:31).

5. Read 5:12-16. Were the disciples discouraged by the event of Ananias and Sapphira? How did the apostles’ ministry continue to reveal Jesus’ love? Why were people afraid to join them? How could their numbers grow anyway?

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Attachment

• THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS GOD'S DWELLING PLACE-questions.doc

Message

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A Great Church

Acts 4:32-5:16

KV4:33 “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”

Today, people are looking for a great church. What does a great church look like? To many, a great Church means having gorgeous church facilities that are attractive and impressive. To some, a great church means having a dynamic worship team with good instrumentalists and vocalists. To some, a great church is a church that has many programs and ministries covering all ages. Some like a big church, while some like a small church. But what is a great church in God’s eyes? A great church is not one that necessarily has state of the art facilities or an impressive worship team with a full scale choir and orchestra.

The great church at Jerusalem is our God-given example of “how to do it.” They had no gorgeous church building or an enormous music team. But they got in touch with Heaven, received their orders and power to carry them out and please God. We live in the 21^st century America. Do you think that we can become like the great Church at Jerusalem? I believe so. I pray that we may learn from today’s passage some key ingredients of a great Church!

I. A great church is united in heart and mind.

Look at 4:32 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” This describes what had happened to the early church. They were experiencing a oneness, a unity which they could never have produced on their own.

They were all different people from different backgrounds and different personalities. They were different people from different colors and different situations. The most difficult thing in our world is to become one in heart and mind. But what is impossible with men is possible with God. Their unity was created by the work of the Holy Spirit. The diverse multitude that had gathered from all nations and languages became one in heart and mind. Those things, which before had divided them, now faded away into insignificance.

In the name of Jesus they became one. They met Jesus. They placed their faith in Jesus who died and was raised from the dead. Under our Lord Jesus they could build a beautiful community. Where the Spirit of the Lord changes our hearts, there will be unity in the body of Christ. Where the Holy Spirit is present in power, there will be a divine unity – a unity that man cannot create or organize. It is a product of Heaven itself. The Holy Spirit fills each one with the love of God and true joy and peace. So, the believers of the early Church were divinely united in love, faith, and desire. And these were all directed to the kingdom of God.

Our society has become pretty individualistic. But being a Christian is not an individualistic thing, but a community thing. Because of Christ we Christians live in covenant with God and with each other. We Christians should not only love God, but we should express His love by loving and looking out for one another. So, we Christians are opposition to an individualistic culture.

How can you become a great church? We show ourselves as united and devoted to one another. How can we tell the world that Jesus is alive and He is Lord? Jesus said in John13:35: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jesus prayed in John17:21, “that they may all be one, as You Father are in Me, and I in You; that they many also be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” The NT uses the terms brothers or sisters often because the believers became one family. In Jesus we are brothers and sisters. People will believe that Jesus is alive and he is the Lord when we love one another in unity.

Is it possible to have this same kind of unity today? Yes. We already began to experience this blessing. Yet we will experience a greater unity when we moreover yield to the Holy Spirit.

II. A great church testifies to the gospel of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Look at 4:33 “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”

There was a harsh persecution from the Jewish authority. But the persecution couldn’t stop the apostles’ preaching. They spoke with great power of the Holy Spirit, and their preaching led people to belief in Jesus Christ.

Verse 43 reveals the main function of a great Church. The first Christians were not only one in spirit, they were one in purpose. The whole purpose of our being one is not to bask in our oneness, but to join together in a common purpose. And the purpose is to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

The apostles obeyed Jesus who said, "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts1:8). We have something to tell the world: Jesus has risen. He is alive. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Jesus is the Savior of the world! In Jesus’s name we are saved. Why does the church exist in this world? The church is here to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, to testify that Jesus is alive; Jesus has brought about the kingdom of God for us. People in this troubled world have thousands of problems and questions. And Jesus is the one answer of God. Jesus gives us salvation. Romans 1:16 says, “I’m not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” There is a hope in Jesus because He is the Savior of the world.

Verse 43 says, “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." The apostles were threatened by the authorities. But they were not afraid of death. They testified to the gospel with the great power of the Holy Spirit. The more they were persecuted, the stronger their faith grew. The more they were threatened, the bolder and more powerful they preached the good news of Jesus. How could they do that? It was the power of the Holy Spirit.

We need the power of the Holy Spirit. A church without this divine power is like a nice, wax-shined car that has no engine. Without an engine, that car will sit still with no power and will not move. A church without the Holy Spirit's power will be a church that sits still, doesn't move or go anywhere, and will affect no lives. So we desperately need the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you!” (Acts1:8). The Holy Spirit has come. Now we can testify to the risen Jesus with great power. But the problem is that many are afraid of people and ashamed of the gospel. It happens because we do not desperately depend on the Holy Spirit.

I pray that we may earnestly pray and cry out to the Lord and seek His face. I pray that God may equip our church with the power of the Holy Spirit! Verse 33b says, “And much grace was upon them all.” When the gospel was effectively preached, much grace was upon all believers. May God bless our church to testify to the gospel of Jesus with great power!

III. A great church values people over possessions.

We have seen a great church is one in heart and mind and testifies to the living Lord. And now we see that even material unity happened because of the love of Christ.

Look at verses 34-35 “There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”

Some people compared the early church to the communists because they both shared everything together. But they are different in content and quality. The communists force people to share under gun point, but believers share out of their brotherly love voluntarily. The center of our Christian fellowship is Jesus Christ. The believers practiced Jesus’ new command, “love one another” (Jn13:34). They did not claim that their possessions were their own. They did not say, “That’s mine!” Instead, they said, “everything belongs to God. If the Lord needs it, please take it, brother!”

The early Church valued people over possessions. This is something which was born from within, not something which was imposed from without. They cared for others, and so they gave.

As a result, no one lacked anything. This was a spontaneous expression of what God had done in their hearts. Their unity led them to voluntarily and joyfully share with those in need. Joseph who was called Barnabas set a good example: He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the church for distributing (4:36-37).

Let me add that we should not misunderstand this passage. God is not commanding everyone to sell their possessions and live in a communal society. But he is telling us clearly, that our possessions are only a means by which His work can be done. They are not ours, they are His, and we are His stewards. Some brought to expression this: If Jesus Christ has your heart, He has your checkbook as well. If He doesn't have your wallet, He doesn't have your heart. In this sense, the early Church was really committed and sold out to Jesus, the living Lord. May God help us to value people over possessions because of Jesus’ love!

IV. A great church lives in the holy fear of God

Up to now we’ve heard about the pleasant things of a great church. In Acts 5:1-11 we hear about unpleasant news. When Barnabas sold a field and brought the money for the church, Ananias and Sapphira wanted to copy his act. People looked upon Barnabas as a hometown hero. His name spread throughout the body of Christ and everyone was talking about this noble thing that Barnabas had done. Ananias and Sapphira too wanted their name to be praised much like Barnabas. That was their motive. They wanted personal praise for themselves. And as a result of their sins, they were struck down and died.

Again, we need to be clear on the exact nature of their sin. Their sin was not that they sold their property and had given only a part to the church. In fact, Peter made plain that it would have been fine for them to have sold their property and not given anything to the church. Their sin was this: they conspired together to deceive the apostles and the church into thinking that they were giving the entire amount, when in fact they kept back a portion for themselves. In other words, they were trying to impress everyone with a higher level of commitment than they really had. Have you ever done that?

In this age of tolerance, we might think, "What's the big deal?" We need to view this sin from God's holy perspective, not from our relative view point. Jesus always hit hypocrisy hard. Like yeast, hypocrisy starts small and unnoticed. But if it is not quickly checked, it spreads and destroys the community.

Some might ask: Why did God deal with Ananias and Sapphira so severely when He does not do so with hypocrites in the church today? Don’t be surprised that God dealt with them so severely; rather, you should be amazed that He is now treating you in such a gracious way.

And Anaias and Sapphira's sin was not merely incidental, but inspired by Satan; and it was a lie to both the church and the Holy Spirit; it was deceit, not just on the community level, but primarily a lie before God. God set before us a sober lesson of the seriousness of this sin among God's people. He wants us to know that we should live in the holy fear of God. We should be on guard against this serious sin, hypocrisy, which is a lie to God.

Whether we get struck down instantly for our sin or have to stand before God at the judgment, in a few short years we all will face God. Twice our text mentions that great fear came on all those who heard about these events (5:5, 11). Great fear of God should come on us as well.

The Christian church is not merely a human gathering, but the temple of the Holy Spirit. The early church was a church on fire. They had fire for God. The great church comes not by the works of men, but it comes through the Spirit of God. Do you want our ministry to be like the early Church? What happened in the life of the early church can happen to us. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit, and be united in heart and mind. We can testify to the Risen Lord with great power. We can be united in love and concern for one another. We can live in the holy fear of God. We can become people who make difference in this world because of Jesus’ love. May God make us a great church in God’s eyes!

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Attachment

• A Great Church.docx