In Acts 2:42 the church has just been born, the Holy Spirit has fallen on Christ’s disciple, and three thousand souls have been added to God’s family. The verse offers the basic elements of their early faith. Doctrine, bread breaking, prayers, and fellowship. In doctrine we understand they believed Jesus was directly connected to God, and had become central to their faith. They still believed “God is one”, not two or three, and also believed Jesus was more than just a good man. In “breaking of bread” they quickly began to follow His word to “do this in remembrance of Me”. They prayed! They believed God was with them, and talked with Him together to look for for courage, and clarity in their current challenges. The largest mystery in these elements to me is the fellowship and here’s why.
Of the four basic elements that comprised those first gatherings of new disciples, fellowship is the one that best explains the generous nature of the early church relationships. The word koinonia from the greek, or “fellowship” is a word that means partnership, sharing, contributing, participating. It is a word that informs their acting more together and in each other’s best interest based with an apparent genuine bond. They donated money and lands ,as well as selling houses, not because of a teaching, or a mandate. They weren’t compelled by leaders asking them to give more, but rather by love for God and each other. The love of God was overflowing in their hearts and compelling them to share together (Rom 5:5; 2Cor 5:14). They loved each other in a manner that was expressed in selfless action. Many attempts to duplicate this have fallen miserably short of the early church’s simplicity, authenticity, and generosity. It was openly evident to all that Jesus was their first love, and that love spilled over onto others!
In light of that what can we do? To be fair we must begin with our connection to Jesus. How much real value are we placing on Him as we live out our lives today? In the early church there was not a refined theology regarding Jesus being God, the Son. There was a recognition of God’s love for all people, a heart transforming encounter with Christ, and a desire to live in communion with Him. Responding proportionally to the God that gave His Son for me, asks and invites me to give my best to Him. This is where we not only begin but also hang out. The heart of Christian living is Jesus Christ alive within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship will be most alive and vibrant when it revolves around Him. The disciples gave time, talent, and treasure to Jesus because He first gave His all for them (1John 4:18-19). The early converts to Christianity had seen in Jesus a Lord that put their possessions and the needs of people in a clearer perspective than a great sermon or teaching ever could. They felt the effect of how Jesus lived and now were following in His footsteps.
We can’t go back in time to the early church to experience first hand their authenticity, spirituality, and generosity. We can open our hearts to each other in fellowship around Christ, and in doing so take a step closer to a 2017 version of their experience. Can we better connect in this life with each other by sharing our time, talent, and treasure? I hope so! It could be as simple as taking someone to lunch, working on a project together, watching each other’s children, asking for help, etc… As we share Jesus with each other and respond in Him to the challenge being closer together presents to us, we will be growing in our “fellowship”, and hopefully advancing His Kingdom in our world.