SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/18/2017
10:12 AM
My Worship Time Focus: A Sharing
Church
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts
2:44-16a
Message of the
verses: “44 And all those who had
believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling
their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might
have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking
bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together”
I wish to quote John MacArthur here as I mentioned
something about these verses in our introduction to this section that he
happens to agree with. “In these early
days, before strife and divisions affected the church ‘all those who had
believed were together.’ They possessed
not only a spiritual unity but also a practical oneness. That they had ‘had all things in common’ does
not, as some imagine, indicate communal living.
The first Christian fellowship was not a commune, nor does the passage
offer support for such a notion. The
family, not the commune, is the basic social unit in God’s design.” This being true it is no wonder that the
devil is causing so much trouble for families in our country today. The family is suppose to be on man and one
woman having children, children who know from birth that they are either a
little boy or a little girl, and for those who are confused about this all they
need to do is look at their birth certificate.
An example of what was going on in this first church can
be seen in the different feasts that Israel had when many thousands of families
came to Jerusalem to celebrate these feasts.
There was never enough room for them in the inns of that day and so they
would stay with other families who lived there in Jerusalem and they would
share food and lodging with these families.
What we talked about in our introduction to verse 44 was
that this was not a primitive form of communism as some have believed it was
and this “is evident from the imperfect tense (denoting continuous past action)
of the verbs translated ‘selling and sharing’ (cf. 4:34). They did not at any point sell everything and
pool the proceeds into a common pot.
Such a principle for Christian living would have obviated the
responsibility of each believer to give in response to the Spirit’s prompting
(cf. 1 Cor. 16:1-2). Further, it is
clear from verse 46 that individuals still owned homes.” What happened was that people who had land
were selling it to get money in order to help those who were in need as seen in
verse 45. This was done because of the
love that people in the early church had for each other not because they had to
do it, but because they desired to do it.
The sharing of material possessions was not the only
thing that was going on as verse 46 speaks of spiritual things that were going
on as they would meet in the temple for spiritual teaching, as they were hungry
to hear what the Word of God had to say to them. Not so sure that people have that same hunger
in our world today as it seems like other things seem to get in the way. Now as far as meeting in the temple that all
ended in 70 A.D. when it was destroyed by the Romans.
John MacArthur writes “The phrase with one mind again
expresses the unity the first fellowship experienced.” He is speaking of the spiritual aspect in
that statement.
They not only meet in the temple, but as verse 46 also
states the meet in people’s houses “and breaking bread from house to house,
they were taking their meals together.”
This refers to having the communion service in the homes. John writes the following in 1 John 3:16-18
which shows why this all happened in the early church as seen in our verses
from today:
“16 We know love by this,
that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren. 17 But whoever
has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart
against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children,
let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: It is all about
love, the love that the Holy Spirit gives to all who belong to the Lord.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Be open to that love that the Spirit has
given to me and use it for the cause of Christ.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Bernice” (Acts 25:13).
Today’s Bible
question: “The Jews were under the rule
of what nation during the time of Christ?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/18/2017 10:42 AM
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