Characteristics of the Early Church

You don’t need to look to far to realize that there are a lot of christian denominations.

For us to attempt to research, validate or invalidate each and everyone of them, in my opinion, is an endless task.

Personally, I believe it’s much more beneficial for us to look to scripture regarding the characteristics of the early church….so that’s what we will do today.

My prayer is that these truths would serve as a foundation and reminder of what the church of Jesus Christ is supposed to look like.

Context: The Early Believers

After Jesus ascended into the clouds (Acts 1:9) the 12 apostles, along with other followers of Christ (Acts 1:15), waited in anticipation for the promise of the Holy Spirit which Jesus spoke to them about (Acts 1:4-8).

As promised, the Holy Spirit filled the apostles and the early believers who were gathered in one place (Acts 2:1-4, which bewildered and amazed many of the Jews surrounding the area (Acts 2:5-13).

Apostle Peter (under the power of the Holy Spirit) then preached a powerful sermon which led 3000 souls to turn to Christ in one day! (Acts 2:14-41).

This brings us to our main passage of focus

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 ESV

I’m laughing because when I first posted this scripture, I highlighted and bolded all the important portions.

To my surprise, I had ended up highlighting literally every line of the passage above.

Lol, so there is a definitively A LOT to learn from this.

1. Devotion to the Apostle’s Teachings

These believers were committed and loyal to follow the teachings of the Apostles (which were aligned to the teachings of Christ – Matthew 28:19-20).

To be devoted means to continuously be diligent towards.

They were not simply fascinated, inspired or convicted by the message of truth, or itching for an amazing word from an amazing preacher.

They rather faithfully walked in obedience to the teachings of Christ.

Application? The early church pursued a lifestyle of learning and obeying the teachings of Christ.

2. Service of the Apostles

….”many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles“….

Ok, I know…I know.

Miracles, signs and wonders in themselves are huge topics of discussion – and should be as they make up a good portion of the 4 gospels

However..

For now I want us to focus on one thing.

The Apostles were more than just good preachers.

They also used their gifts to serve the church for the common good (similar to how it was instructed in 1 Corinthians 12:7)

I find it crucial that the scripture mentions that signs and wonders were done through the apostles. This doesn’t imply that other believers of Christ weren’t called to serve one another, however it shows a great demonstration of leadership.

The ones whom Christ called to lead the church did not lord over the church, but rather served them with their spiritual gifts.

Application? The spiritual gifts of the early church were used towards the service of the people, not themselves.

3. Fellowship

Pay close attention to the words of verses 44 – 46
^…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. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts…

This is a BIG one.

The church was united in absolutely everything. They had a heart of selflessness.

They worshiped together in the temple consistently (day by day). Neglecting the gathering of believers was not an option (Hebrews 10:25)

They broke bread in their homes and received food with generous hearts.

The motivation behind their selling of possessions and belongings was to provide for all who were in need.

No one was focused on looking after themselves. They were rather focused on looking after one another, which in turn, supplied for their own need.

Major lesson: Christianity wad never meant to be a “do it yourself” religion. Genuine love & fellowship for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is paramount in the church.

We see this theme repeated consistently throughout the scriptures:

–> John 13:35

–> 1 John 4:19-21

* start edit from here*

If there is even one individual in the church who is lacking necessities, we have failed as a body.

In our own church congregations, can we genuinely say we fully love each other as brothers and sisters?

Would we sell everything we owned in order to provide for the need of a fellow believer?

Think about one person in your life you’re willing to die for…

Would you instill that same level of value in every single church member in your congregation?

These questions are challenging for all of us, but causes us to reflect on where our hearts are and where they should be.

²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen
1 John 4:20 ESV

4. Souls Won

…And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved…

Church growth is something many congregations are typically excited about.

This is a good thing!

However, notice the type of growth been spoken of in this passage.

Unbelievers turning to Christ

The Lord added to those who were being saved.

The hearts of unbelievers were changing as they gave up their lives to follow Christ.

Day after day…

The church of Jesus Christ continously grows through the grace of God being so gracious

Notice that I’m speaking in present tense and not past tense because God is STILL doing this today.

The question is, do we see this happening in our congregation?

Not an increase in church attendance.

Not an increase of seasoned believers changing churches.

But an increase in the conversion of unbelievers.

Final Thoughts

I’m not writing this blog post to provide a “practical method” to achieve any of the things discussed above.

• Devotion to the teachings of Christ
• Service by the leadership
• Geniune fellowship
• Church growth

These are all traits of the true church.

I wrote this in order for us, believers, to look long and hard at our respective congregations and measure our motives with these truths.

In areas we are lacking? Let’s plead onto God for forgiveness and strength to do His great and wonderful work in the church

In areas we are striving? Let’s plead onto God for more grace to continue growing for the sake of His name, and helping other congregations alike.

We, the church, are all one.

In all these situations, let’s remain united as one body, in order to show the world who we really serve.

Jesus.

Soli Deo Gloria