In the fourth chapter of Acts is a beautiful glimpse of what life was like in the early church. After the dramatic events of the day of Pentecost, the healing of the lame man, and the great response of multitudes in Jerusalem, the church faced life in the world of that day -- a world of darkness, despair, and death on every side -- and met it with a flowing out of the life of Jesus Christ.
Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. - Acts 4:32-33
What a picture of true, genuine Christianity. Unfortunately there is also a counterfeit Christianity. It came in shortly after this in the early church, and evidences of it will be seen on throughout the book of Acts. Wherever the true church has gone throughout the world, counterfeit Christianity has gone right along with it.
Counterfeit Christianity can be recognized externally as a kind of religious club where people, largely of the same social status or class, and bound together by a mutual interest in some religious project or program, meet together to advance that particular cause, or to make each other feel better about their lives. But that is a far cry from true Christianity which consists of individuals who, because of Jesus Christ share the same divine life, who are made up of all ages, backgrounds, classes, and status-levels of society, and who, when meeting together, regard themselves as what they really are - brothers and sisters in one family, in the family of Christ.
That is what we have here at the end of Acts 4. "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common."
The last word is the key. Community, commonness, everything in common. This is not a reference to government enforced communism, this is a description of people willingly sharing their lives with each other. For those of us living in 21st century American culture, with all of its individualism, consumerism, and materialism, this concept of community is almost impossible for us to grasp. In fact, I think it is impossible for us without the power of the Holy Spirit.
These believers were of one heart. Here the word "heart" is used for the human spirit. It denotes the deepest part of our life. It is the unconscious level of existence, the spirit, the most essential part of our nature. These were people who, by the Holy Spirit, had been united into one life. They were of one heart. At the very deepest level of their lives they belonged to each other, and that is only possible by means of the Holy Spirit.
Oh Lord, open our eyes to see the deception of selfishness in our culture and in our own hearts. Let us so radically love and serve one another that the world will not be able to deny the power of your gospel. Grant by your Holy Spirit, that we might be truly united together as brothers and sisters in Christ - Amen.
Jeff Frazier
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