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31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. 32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. ~ Acts 4:31-37
Today, we conclude our study of Acts 4 where the Lord Jesus is building His Church one believing heart at a time. Many believe that it is man who builds the church with all of his fancy ideas regarding entertainment. Many say, "I led so many people to the Lord this year," but the Scriptures are clear, it is the Lord Jesus who builds His Church and sometimes He uses us in the process. The Lord builds His Church as His children pray, preach the Gospel and teach His Word. Along with this, the Holy Spirit convicts sinners of their sin and He woos them to trust the Lord Jesus as their Savior. At this point in the narrative the Lord has now added 5,000 new believers to the group. Unless the Lord build the house those who build it do so in vain. Only the works of God endure forever. The command of the Lord Jesus to seek God’s kingdom first is a must if we are to enjoy true fellowship with Him and other believers.
In v.31 of today's passage we read, "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."
We must never be formulaic when it comes to the things of God, but there are certain givens when we desire to build community. The first step in developing community is prayer. With the prayer of the previous verses complete, here we have a description of what happened next. As a result of the prayer "the place in which they were gathered together was shaken." There may have been a mild earthquake which may have hit the area at that exact moment, whatever occurred, such an event was taken by the assembled believers as a clear indication that the Lord was behind it.
Prayer prepared these believers in Christ for the filling which came. Following prayer, in order to create community we must value the Word of God. Luke told us that these believers spoke the Word of God with boldness. This event reveals the purpose and the power of the Word of God. The Bible contains God's definitions of all things. If God pronounces something good, we must consider it accordingly. If He describes it as something that is bad, we must not be defined by it. When we are being defined by God it means that we are obeying His Word.
In v.32-35 of today's passage we read, "32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need."
With the believers committed to prayer and the value of God's Word, they were filled with the Spirit. This resulted in the disciples experiencing great unity which produced one purpose. God made us all trichotomous beings meaning we are made up of three parts: body, soul and spirit. The soul is different from the spirit. The soul is the conscious part of our lives, it is where we consciously live. It consists of the what we think, what we choose, and how we feel. The soul is the realm of experience. These early believers were like one living organism resulting in oneness of heart. This is why there were no unmet felt needs among them. When we are generous we are being most like God who is Himself most generous. Recently, I asked Him why He is so good to me. His response was the same as it has always been. He said, "My Son." The Lord Jesus earned our favor when He endured the penalty of our sin as He hung on the cross. We become His rival when we begin to believe that we earn God's favor or maintain it in any way.
It is one thing to have oneness of spirit, but it is another to have oneness in soul. It is quite possible to come to the meeting of the church, to sing the same worship songs and listen to the same message, and relate to God individually, but to have no sense of belonging to one another. It is possible to come week after week, year after year, and never know the people with whom we worship. When that happens there is no unity of soul. We may belong to God, but we may not belong to each other. This is what is often lacking in the Church today, and what the early church so wonderfully possessed.
It was out of this unity and oneness that these early believers loved one another. They loved one another because they each knew the love of God for themselves as demonstrated on the cross. It was out of this wonderful context that the word of God was preached with power. This was due to the grace of God that was in abundance among them. God's grace always produces a great amount of gratitude among the people with their possessions. This is so due to the fact that the died to solve all of our real problems. In the cross and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus there is the indisputable evidence that God has favored us.
After the people sold their lands and houses they took the money and laid the money at the feet of the apostles. In that day when royal subjects visited a King an offering was delivered. The laying of the offering at the king's feet represented that which is under the authority of the person. The giving of their money was a way for them to own the authority of God over them.
In v.36-37 of today's passage we read, "36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet."
While his momma called him Joseph, his friends called him Barnabas. Joseph means "He shall add." "Barnabas" means "Son of encouragement." The meaning of his two names reveals a great truth which is: "Loved people love people." Barnabas, this "native of Cyprus," came to know the love of God for himself which in turn caused him to love others. Barnabas' generosity was the result of him coming to understand the intense sacrificial love of God showed for him at the cross. We can't love others until we have experienced true love for ourselves and the Lord Jesus is the Only One to have true love. Having experienced God's love for himself, Barnabas was poised and known for loving others.
