Acts 4:32-37
I’ve had the privilege of being a part of many different short-term mission trips in my life. I went on a few in high school, and then led many different domestic and international trips as a Student Pastor. One of the things that I love about those trips is the team dynamic that is built along the way. I believe that the main reason for this is because the team has been set on a trajectory that leads to a primary place, and that is a proclamation of the gospel. Now, this can look like serving, running camps, street evangelism, or many other things. But, when those teams had the same purpose and the same end goal, there was a unity that would develop that was hard to imitate.
See there is something about being on gospel mission, the hard work of sewing gospel seeds, arms linked together. This is exactly what we saw in the early church. They were of the same mind, the same mission, the same soul level desire, and that was to be a people bold in proclaiming the gospel.
Big Idea: The early church was marked by unity in generosity.
A Church Marked By Unity
We take a brief sidestep out of the missional narrative of Acts in our passage this morning. Here at the end of chapter 4, Luke gives us an inside look at the way in which the early church functioned, healthy, through generosity and unity. However, we see the antithesis in the following chapter, in the withholding and deceit of Ananias and Sapphira, so consider this week and the next a bit of a two-parter.
The first verse, verse 32, is really important. Luke tells us that the “full number” of believers were united. This means without exception, with no one excluded, they were all about the same thing. They were of one heart, and of one soul. This means that they were on the same mission, the mission of proclaiming the gospel. And this unity, as we’ve already seen, comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:3-6: “Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
I’m just going to go ahead and say this clearly, Family Church is about proclaiming the gospel. Our vision is “to see our cities transformed by the life-changing message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Our mission is to be a family committed to making disciples for the kingdom and glory of God.” That’s what we are about. And that is what we need to be united behind as a church family; proclaiming the gospel so that our cities are transformed for the glory of God.
Part of that is how we care for one another. And while we don’t get a full picture of what this looked like in every realm of life for the early church, we do get a small glimpse.
I want us all to keep the following verse in mind during the message this morning: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
1. Unity in purpose and pursuit (32a)
One Heart
We have talked about this before, but culturally when Acts was written, the heart was thought of as the control center of one’s life. This included thoughts, desires, and purpose. This is why the writer of Proverbs 4:23 said, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
One Soul
We’ve also talked briefly about how the soul was thought of as breath or life, as that very place that is the core of our being. It also would have the implication of thoughts, desires and purpose. To be united at the soul level is something that can’t be forced, it’s something that happens as a result of our being transformed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
This is more than just being of the same mind, thinking the same things. In the deepest parts of their desires and understanding of purpose, this is where unity was found. This unity for them had layers, and what we see in our text this morning is that they had a shared desire to meet the needs of anyone and everyone who was a part of their fellowship.
2. Unity in generosity (32b, 34-35)
Generosity is defined as being “liberal in giving; openhanded.” When I talk about generosity, maybe you have someone that comes to your mind. For me, there are a few people that come to mind. Some of those are generous with their finances, some are generous with their time, with their service. There are some of you in this room that I thought of when considering generosity. But it’s this idea of living open handed with those things that the Lord has blessed you with for the benefit of others.
A. They were selfless
I’ll brag on my Mom for a minute (illustration about her selflessness)
“No one said that anything that belonged to him was his own.” They had the habit of living open handed before the Lord, and each other. Many critics would tell you that what we see in the early church was a form of communism, but to the contrary. As one commentator said, “Communism says, ‘What is yours is mine; I’ll take it.’ Koinonia says, ‘What is mine is yours, I’ll share it.’”
This was a shared conviction for the church. The idea of having everything in common did not mean the right to take what they needed, because they didn’t have to! The church was so well connected that when a need arose it would be met immediately. And this culture of selflessness led to generosity, and at some points extreme generosity.
B. They were generous
“There was not a needy person among them.” Think about this for a moment. You are talking about over 5,000 people. Surely they came from all walks of life, all different demographics. Some were apparently from the wealthier class, but most of them would have been from a lower class economically. This meant that many of them would have been struggling. For this church to successfully meet the needs of every single person would have seemed impossible, but yet, because of their deep seeded unity in the Holy Spirit, they were driven to generosity.
This is why wealthy land owners were selling their land and giving the money to the church leaders. They understood the challenge from Jesus not to store up treasures on Earth, but instead to live in light of eternity, to store up treasures in heaven. And so the question that they were effectively answering was, “what really matters?” Is the most important thing for me to gather and store away, or is the most important thing to take that which the Lord has blessed me with and serve those in need, serve the vulnerable, the downtrodden, the orphan, the widow?
I want to take a moment to testify to something. Church, I believe this can be said about us. I believe the Lord has been building His church, and that He has been doing so with selfless and generous people. Apart from the regular giving being over budget, you have stepped up every time we’ve presented a need to you. And not only have you stepped up, but you’ve given above and beyond what was needed. I mean what a privilege to be a part of a church that views giving as more important than taking. What a privilege to be a part of a church family that is willing to live open handed before the Lord.
_____________________________________
We have an interesting statement in verse 33. It seems a bit disconnected from the rest of our passage, but I believe Luke includes this because it’s the reason why the culture of the church was so strong and healthy. Maybe it could be said, “because the apostles continued to preach the resurrection, the Lord poured out grace over them.” They were all of the same heart and soul, and that included their understanding of the gospel. They understood the sacrifice that Jesus made for them, which led them to be willing to sacrifice for others. They understood the implications of the resurrection, which led them to enjoy fellowship and life to the fullest.
____________________________________
3. Barnabas’ example (36-37)
It’s one thing to say that something is happening, but it’s another to give a specific example of it taking place. This is what Luke does, and he does this leading into chapter 5, where we see the example of what NOT to do. Remember, the original text didn’t contain chapter breaks, so the account would have been one continuous story. This is what selflessness looks like through Barnabas, and this is what selfishness looked like through Ananias and Sapphira.
Barnabas, his name meaning “Son of Encouragement,” known for not only his generosity in giving financially, but also throughout Acts we see him generously pouring out encouragement on other believers. Barnabas sold a piece of land that he owned and it would appear that he gave the entirety of the sale to the apostles.
