The First Fellowship

Acts 2:42-47

In Acts chapter 2 there are from verses 42 to 47 are some of the key characteristics of the church in its ideal character.  There are really two main ways in which the new testament exhibits to us the ideal of the church.  One of them is doctrinal and that is in Ephesians.  The other is historical and that is in Acts particularly here in chapter 2.

We see the church purity in doctrine in Ephesians.  We see the church purity in actuality in Acts.  We see this beautiful new born church in its splendid prime when the memory of Jesus was vivid, when the gifts of the Spirit were fresh and new and when there was a vitality that was beautiful and glorious.

To review for our own understanding, Jesus had arrived, He had died, He had resurrected, He had ascended into heaven, He had then sent the Spirit to finish His unfinished work.  He formed His body, called out those of His own choosing, brought them together to form the church.  Baptized them into the body, filled them with His Spirit, they began to speak the wonderful works of God in the languages of the people who were there, the crowd was gathered, Peter stood up in the midst of that, explained what miracle was going on and then proceeded to announce to the Jewish population of Jerusalem that Jesus of Nazareth whom they had crucified was both Lord and Messiah.  And this fantastic message that Peter gave running fifty days on the heels of the execution of Jesus brought a response that was remarkable in verse 4l it says, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about three‑thousand souls".

l2O disciples, the addition of three thousand, the church that was born in Jerusalem on the first day had three‑thousand, one‑ hundred and twenty members.  Now this is some indication, as a footnote, that they kept rolls, the fact that they knew how many.  They evidently knew who was a part of the church by a profession of faith and by baptism and this is really the precedent for such a thing as membership rolls in a church.  So they are able to keep track of who it is that's committed himself to Christ and for whom they are responsible in ministries.  So the first fruits of the church were gathered on the day of Pentecost which was a feast celebrating First‑Fruits.

Now as we see this little church beginning, as we go through the book of Acts we're going to see how it was born, how it grew and how it reproduced.  And we're going to see the expansion of the church clear on out to the end of the book of Acts and this is the birth right here.  There were already the l2O who believed, there were already disciples up in Galilee but here is the first local assembly of believers ever brought together in the city of Jerusalem.  There is no!church in the old testament this is the birth of the church.

Now what was this first church like?  And even perhaps more significant then that question is, Can we be like that church?  It had a certain genius that every really evangelical church has tried to capture all through the ages since that time.  It had a certain kind of vitality and a certain kind of life that all churches that are really committed to the word of God have desired to emulate throughout history.  Can we do it?  Is it possible to be what that church was?  Or are there some restrictions that eliminate it?

But before we can know if we can be that church we've got to know what that church was and in ninety‑eight Greek words Luke really gives us some identification tags for that church, very brief and yet very rich with very much insight.

Now as we look at this passage and we're going to consider 42 to 47 and not in great depth as we perhaps do other passages but just in kind of a general way.  We see to begin with a little group of humble disciples who have counted the cost.  willingly identified by public baptism with Jesus Christ thus ostracizing themselves from their historic Judaism, they have named the name of the crucified blasphemer Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah their Lord.  The church has been born of which Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  The hour of divine dispensation has struck and a new thing was begun.  The church, the new dispensation is born and men and women filled with the Holy Spirit and possessing the power promised by Christ begin to do what Christ did not finish.  They finished the unfinished work of Christ which was His design for His church.

Now if you'll look at your outline you'll see that this church was an ideal church for three major reasons.  Number one, it had the proper content Number two, because of proper content it had proper character.  Number three because of proper character it had the proper consequences.  And this is a progressive outline.  To affect the proper consequence which is at the bottom of your outline, to be a growing church, you go all the way back to the very church beginning and begin with content.  Thi?/had the proper input and it resulted in the proper out‑go.  Evangelism was the last thing on the list in verse 47 Long before that ever happened we have to begin in verse 42 with the proper content.

Now this is where the effective church begins.  Our immediate task in the church is not evangelism.  In Ephesians 4 it tells us that there were apostles and prophets and teaching shepherds and evangelists given to the church for the perfecting of the saints.  Later on evangelism is a by‑product And here we have the same thing.  There is content to be pumped into the church itself before it is able to reproduce.  Before the church is effective in evangelism and winning others to Christ it must be the right church, there must be the right content.

Now let's look at just four things that indicate this church had the proper content.  Number one, it was a saved church.  In verse 4l it says, they were gladly received and were baptized and in verse 42 it says that they continued steadfastly.  Now here we saw last week was a basic identify mark of a truly saved individual, continuing.  Jesus said in John l5, "That a true branch does", what?  "Abides in the vine", it stays there.  Jesus said in John ?:3O that, "If you continue in My word then are you My disciples for real", aleethos.  In other words, continuing in Christ is a proof of real salvation.  People always say, ‑ What about so‑and‑so, they believed for awhile and then they dropped away?  I John 2:l?  says, "They went out from us that it might be made known that they never were of us,"  for if they had been of us they would have remained with us".  Continuation, it's all over the book of Hebrews.  Continuation is a sign of true salvation.

If an individual is really born again, if they really come to know Jesus Christ they abide in Christ.  Now this was a church of saved individuals.

You say, ‑ Is that anything shocking?  It is today.  There are churches all over the place that are populated in the majority by unsaved people.  This morning in our elders prayer meeting one of our elders brought to our attention the fact that he wanted us to pray for a particular pastor of a church that he might be saved.  Now you know if there are pastors and there are multitudinous pastors who don't have the faintest idea what salvation is that there are churches jammed with people who don't know what salvation is either.  This church began by being a redeemed church.  All the professors were also possessors and that eliminated a lot of problems.  You know, there are people who say, ‑ We've got to invite all of these people in any way, we've got to make them feel a part, we've got to bring them in and put them into positions and then if they feel that we love them then maybe they accept our Christ.  No way.  That's like inviting Satan to come in and make your plans with you.  That's like saying our church is working well it's a combination of God and Satan.  They work together.  That is absurd.  There no place within the church for the activity of those who do not claim to love Jesus Christ.  We're about His business.  We're not about the business of a social club.  We're not about the business of being so palatable to everybody that we make God sick.  We're about the business of a unique and separated identity of believers in Jesus Christ.  You say,  Are you saying that you don't welcome unbelievers into the church?  Absolutely not.  I welcome you to come and hear about Jesus Christ.  I welcome you to come and sense the love that we have for you because we want you to know the Christ we know but there's no place for a such in the church to teach or to minister or to serve or to work with us or to be a part of the intimacy of our fellowship for that puts Satan in a place where he can do his work.

The beginning key to this church was it was a saved church.  And I hope that you understand that I'm not saying that we're unloving toward unbelievers, God forbid that.  We have a love and a compassion for those who don't know Jesus Christ that's the ultimate end for which we exist that we might reach you with the gospel but when we come together to seek the power of God and to express our desires and to express the will of God we must be of one mind in Christ.  Unbelievers are welcome to hear the message, they're welcome to learn about Jesus Christ but the fellowship of the church, the membership o the church, those who serve and those who work must be redeemed.  I've had more people then I'd like to think of tell me, ‑ You know, our church will never be anything that God can really use because there are too many unbelievers in positions of leadership.  That's common all over the country in liberal churches.  That's common everywhere.  It's sad to say even evangelical churches have allowed themselves to get infiltrated by Satan and even those who try to stop it find that Satan is wily and cleaver.  And you know that he appears as an angel of what?  Of light.  But in this church, they that gladly received were for real and they began with a real group of people.  And, boy, that's the heart of the thing.  They all really loved Jesus Christ.  And if you try to mingle believers and unbelievers in a church you get the same kind of confusion as if you ask God and Satan to work together.  It can't be done.

Paul writing to the Thessalonians, who really had an ideal situation they had a beautiful church kind of gave them his finest commendation when he said this, "Paul and Silas and Timothy under the church of the Thessalonians I Thessalonians l:l, "Which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ and in verse 5, "And in the Holy Spirit".  Now that was a group that was in They were in the Trinity.  What does that mean?  That means they were saved Verse ?, I remember your work of faith, labor of love and patience of hope, also

they exhibited the triad of Christian virtues, faith, hope and love.  The next verse he says, "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God".  That was a saved crew and that's why they had what they had.  That's why it was said of them, They've come and turned the world upside down.  That's why their testimony got spread all over the world in only a matter of weeks because to begin with they were all committed to Christ.  From time to time we have folks who will come and they'll come to see me, make an appointment and say, ‑ I'd like to join your church‑ and I say, ‑ Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?  I'll get into the gospel and find out they are not even a Christian.  And I'll say to them, ‑You know, before you can become a part of the f