The Perfect Church
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47)
In these two last verses from Acts 2, we see the health and vitality of the early church. We never want to over-romanticize those first Christians, but there was something undeniably special about what is described in Acts 2.
– It was a unified church, continuing daily with one accord.
– It was a learning, connected church, meeting daily…in the temple.
– It was a Jesus-honoring church, breaking bread – they remembered the death of Jesus on the cross together.
– It was a church connected to home life, meeting from house to house.
– It was a church that joyfully ate together, as they ate their food with gladness.
– It was a church that didn’t take itself too seriously, living with simplicity of heart.
– It was a worshipping church, praising God.
– It was a winsome and magnetic church, having favor with all the people.
– It was a God-blessed and growing church, as the Lord added to the church daily.
– It was a church full of God’s salvation, growing in those who were being saved.
It wasn’t a perfect church. Soon enough we will see problems arise in the Book of Acts. However, it was something special – something every Christian today reads about and longs to experience, even if just for a period.
If you have had a wonderful church experience like this, then praise God for it. It isn’t always this good, but there are seasons of remarkable advance and vitality among God’s people.
Is there something we can do to make it happen? Times of such wonderful life and progress are the work of God’s hand and are ordered by His wisdom. They aren’t manufactured by our hard work and clever techniques.
However, if we long for such times, there are two definite areas to address. The first is prayer. If such times come from heaven, then we ask heaven to send true revival, and ask God to begin with us. The second is simply, to the best of our ability as God helps us, to do the things of Acts 2:42-45:
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
It was these trusting, faithful, energetic disciples that saw the wonderful life of Acts 2:46-47.
2 Timothy 4:2 says we should do God’s work “in season and out of season.” We will be faithful no matter what, but there’s no doubt: in season feels better. May God bring our churches into Acts 2:46-47 seasons!
bendiciones muy bueno el material , y la enseñanza