Lesson
10
The
New Testament Church
I. The New
Testament Church
Luke, in about 63 A.D.
wrote the book of the Bible called the Acts of the Apostles. This was an
appropriate name for a book in which is found the birth, inauguration and
phenomenal advancement of the New Testament church. The church became an
aggressive organism, and the heart of the "feeble, but faithful"
followers were transformed into a vigorous spiritual force for righteousness.
This has been called the "Speaking Period" of publishing the Great
Gospel. They vocally proclaimed with anointed lips the purpose of God,
manifested through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
They drew out of their own vibrant encounter and knowledge, for they had been
privileged to be eyewitnesses of His majesty (II Peter 1:16). The Speaking
period was from 30-50 A.D. The Writing period (years during which the New
Testament was penned) was from 50-100 A.D. The collecting of these sacred writings involved the 50 years
between 100 and 150 A.D.
A. Fellowship
1. Apostles
Teaching (Matthew 28:20, Acts 2:42)
There was a desire on
the part of the new believers to be taught the Word of God by the apostles.
Everyone who has committed his life to Jesus Christ must make every effort to
hear the Word of God. The Word of God will give a person the foundation he
needs to stand upon. A person who will not stand for something, will fall
for anything. Man needs the Word of God to live by (Matthew 4:4).
Every believer needs faith which will come by "the Word of God"
(Romans 10:17).
2. Fellowship with
the Church (Acts 2:42)
A phrase taken out of
the early moments of the life of the early church was "all that believed
were together" (Acts 2:22). The Christian has a word for this
togetherness: It is called "fellowship." The first commitment to
fellowship is with Jesus Christ (I John 1:3). "And truly our fellowship is
with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ." John then tells
us in verse 7 ". . .we have fellowship one with another."
3. Breaking
Bread-House to House (Acts 2:42)
Witnesses were telling
everyone about what God was doing in their day. They took the Gospel from house
to house with a lay ministry. Witnessing and preparing the way of the Lord is
still a very important and a vital aspect in the believer's life today.
4. Prayers (Acts
2:42)
After the outpouring
of the Holy Ghost, the Church kept praying. Prayer is an essential weapon in
the life of a Christian. Because of their prayers and praise, God gave the
Church favor with all the people and added to it daily.
B. The First
Miracle in the Church (Acts 3:1-11)
The first miracle
performed after the ascension of Jesus and the inauguration of the Church was
the healing of the lame man at the Gate called Beautiful. This miracle produced
evidence that the power of Jesus Christ was upon His followers. Jesus was
present to heal through the believing of His disciples. (See Matthew 10:1-8,
Mark 6:7-13). The Lord has not changed. He is still healing today.
When unbelief, lack of obedience, and worldliness, are cast aside, the Lord
will perform miracles just as He did in the early church. As a result of
the lame man's healing, people gathered and Peter preached his second sermon
and many believed. The number of men believing were about five thousand (Acts
4:4).
When the Holy Ghost
first fell there were about one hundred twenty present. After that initial
outpouring of the Holy Ghost, there were three thousand more souls added. When
these converts came together to fellowship in the apostles' doctrine, the Lord
added to the Church daily. After this miracle of healing, many more believed. The
number of men was about five thousand. This made a total of about ten thousand
souls that had been converted since the Day of Pentecost.
C. The Giving
Spirit of the Church
It is easy to see that
fellowship and miracles were important factors in the expansion of the young
Church. Along with this, there was a singleness of devotion and dedication
depicted by their selflessness and God-centered attitudes toward each other's
needs. In its infancy the Church had a purity and innocence about it that was
disarming. As many converts come together, there are various material needs
among them. In any group numbering into the thousands there will be widows, the
homeless, the poor, and the not-so-well-off folks who struggle to eke out a
bare existance. These new believers were taken up with the expectation of a
better inheritance in another world, and so, "neither said any of them
that ought of the things which he possessed was his own" (Acts 4:32). They
had grasped the fact that they were simply stewards, not owners, of God's gifts
and goodness.
1. The Lord's
Stewards (Acts 4:34-35)
As stewards of the
Lord's blessings, those who had materially prospered were anxious to distribute
their blessings to their brothers and sisters in need. Houses and real estate
were sold, and the proceeds were laid at the apostles feet. This symbolized
their lack of love for the wealth of this transient world. Matthew Henry, in
his commentary, gives a little more insight into the setting of this poignant
scene: "Dr. Lightfoot computes that this (Pentecost) was the year of
jubilee in the Jewish nation; the fiftieth year, (the twenty-eighth since they
settled in Canaan fourteen hundred years ago), so that what was sold that year,
being not to return till the next jubilee, lands then took a good price, and so
the sale of those lands would raise the more money." (Vol. 2, Pg. 747)
2.
Barnabas Shows the Way (Acts 4:36-37)
Barnabas
was a Levite. Perhaps, he remembered that God, hundreds of years prior,
promised to be his portion and his inheritance, (Deuteronomy 10:9). He
disentangled himself with the things of this world (II Timothy 2:4). He honored
God and God honored him. He is numbered among the apostles, especially selected
by the Spirit of the Lord. He exhibited great-hearted giving. He had an
apostle's reward. It was Barnabas, whose name signifies the, "Son of
Consolation." His was a ministry of encouragement and consolation. He
uplifted and inspired many of the churches in his later ministry (Acts
11:22-24). He encouraged the apostolic circle to receive Paul as a fellow
preacher.