The following is the sermon preached on Sunday morning at Sunnyside Baptist Church on July 13, 2008.
What does a true church look like?
We all recognize that there are true churches and false churches. What does a true church look like? What are the marks of a true church?
A church is a community of people who are united around a common system of beliefs. And yet, just because people gather around common beliefs, doesn’t mean that they are a true church. It is possible to gather around the wrong beliefs… and it is possible to gather in the wrong way.
We don’t like to hear this, especially in our pluralistic, postmodern culture where we like to think that truth is relative. We like to think that we can define the church for ourselves. But we can’t.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said “I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Jesus Christ is the Builder of His church and He builds it upon the proclamation of the good news that He is the only begotten Son of God, who has loved us with an everlasting love and He willingly died upon the cross for our sin and rose again the third day, so that we might have eternal life in Him.
This is the belief around which a true church gathers… but what does a true church look like? What does a true church gather to do? What does Jesus expect of the church which He is building?
In Acts 2:42-47… we have a description of what a true church looks like. What we have here is a clear picture of the birthmarks of a church which Jesus Christ is building.
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) – 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Who is the “they” spoken of here? If we go back a verse (v. 41) we see that it refers to the 3,000 souls who were saved after Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. “They” refers to the first New Testament church born as a result of the preaching of the gospel.
So what were their birthmarks?
First, we see that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching… literally to the apostles’ “doctrine” (διδαχή)… to a body of knowledge which was being proclaimed by the apostles.
What was this doctrine which the apostles were teaching? We can be pretty sure that this consisted of about three things…
1) The teachings of Jesus.
Remember the New Testament wasn’t written yet. They couldn’t pick up their Bibles and read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. How would people know what Jesus taught during His earthly ministry if His prize pupils… the apostles… didn’t teach others?
2) Secondly… it consisted of who Jesus is and what He had done.
They announced that He is the Christ… the Messiah… the King of kings and Lord of lords… and that He is the Son of the living God… very God of very God… everything that God is in human flesh. They announced that the only begotten Son of God died on the cross for our sins… and rose again the third day according to the Old Testament Scriptures (I Cor 15:3-4.) They called men and women to repent and trust in Jesus alone to save them from the judgment to come (Acts 2:38.)
3) Finally, they preached from the Old Testament, but with a distinct focus upon Jesus as He is found in the Old Testament.
If you read through the sermons in the book of Acts, you see very quickly how the apostles interpreted everything in the Old Testament in light of Jesus. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial system. He is the fulfillment of the promises of God in the Old Testament. All of the Old Testament points to Jesus… and they made this clear over and over again in their preaching.
So what is the “apostles’ teaching”? It is the Word of God with a definite emphasis on person, work and teaching of Jesus.
The second birth mark we see here is that they devoted themselves to “the fellowship.” The Greek word for “fellowship” is κοινωνία and it means have a close association with others. It speaks of being joined around common interests. It means to live life with others in close, personal relationships.
Notice that it is “the” fellowship. There is a definite article in the Greek. This tells us that they were devoted to a specific kind of fellowship.
What comes to mind when we talk about fellowship? Typically we think of potlucks or sipping coffee and eating donuts and talking about sports or the weather. After all… isn’t that what we do in our “fellowship halls”?
The fellowship described here is more than that. It is a specific kind of fellowship, consisting of much more than a cup of a coffee and some light conversation. What was this fellowship like? Luke… the author of Acts… tells us here in this verse.
Notice how there is no conjunction (“and”) between the word “fellowship” and “the breaking of bread.” This is important in Greek, because it tells us that everything which follows is descriptive of the noun before it. In plain English, what this tells us is that the fellowship in which these early Christians engaged was made up of “the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Most scholars believe that “the breaking of bread” in this verse refers to the Lord’s Supper (again… note the definite article… literally it was “the breaking of the bread”). The Lord’s Supper is a reminder of what Jesus has done for us. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are remembering together that Jesus’ body was broken for us and that His blood was spilled out so that our sins might be forgiven. When we take the bread and the cup to ourselves, we are remembering that we are trusting in Him alone to save us.
This is important to note, because it tells us that their fellowship was so much more than just sipping coffee and talking about the weather. Their fellowship was grounded in the gospel. Their fellowship… their sharing of life together… was based upon the work of Jesus. They remembered Him together and this drew them closer to one another.
But this isn’t all. Their fellowship was also centered around “the prayers.” This probably refers to specific times of corporate prayer. Again… notice that their fellowship was more than a potluck. It was spending time together seeking God in prayer. Their fellowship together was centered in Jesus and in seeking God together.
Notice that they “devoted themselves” to this. The word for devoted (προσκαρτερέω) implies continual endurance and effort. In other words… they worked hard at this. They made the hearing of God’s Word and biblical fellowship a priority. It wasn’t always easy for them, but they made the necessary sacrifices in order to make this a reality.
Does this describe us?
1) Are we a people who continually devote ourselves to the hearing of the Word of God? Is the study of God’s Word together important to us? Are we willing to make sacrifices in order to insure that we are able to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ to grow in our understanding of God’s Word?
2) Are we committed to remembering the gospel in our times of fellowship together? Do we remind one another of who Jesus is and what He has done for us?
3) Do we pray together? There is an incredible bonding which takes place when we pray with other people. Who do you pray with?
These early Christians were united in being the people of God… and God was doing great things in their midst. Signs and wonders were being performed through the apostles for everyone to see and “awe”… literally “fear”… fell over every soul. This tells us that people outside the church saw what was going on. Unbelievers were aware of this amazing work which God was doing and they grew in their respect for God because of the work which He was doing through His people.
We may not see the lame healed and the dead rise again today like they did in the days of the apostles, but the presence and power of God in our midst should still be visible to all. Don’t limit your understanding of the miraculous work of God to simply healing and supernatural phenomena. When God transforms sinful human beings into His people… this is a miracle. It is a miracle when Jesus Christ is actively building a church amidst His people. And when He is active in our midst, the world will see and be in awe of our God.
This is particularly true of the love which God produces in His people for one another and we see that clearly in the next couple of verses.
“All who believed were together.” They were a close-knit community. They were united in this fellowship which God was producing in their midst.
We see this down in verse 46 as well…“Breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” This speaks of what we would commonly call the “potluck.” This isn’t so much a celebration of the Lord’s Supper as it is spending time together… eating meals together… living life together.
These early Christians lived life together in almost a family-like structure and this is seen in the fact that “they had all things in common.” Now… this was not an early form of socialism. This basically tells us that they didn’t overly value their stuff. The word translated “common” (κοινός) basically means something that is not sacred. Their stuff was just that… stuff. They didn’t consider it to be all that important to them. They could use it or let it go… it didn’t matter to them. In fact, they did let it go when there were people in need among them. As needs arose they sold their possessions and belongings in order to provide for others. This included the selling of property (compare to Acts 4:34-37) makes clear.
Think about this for a moment. How many of us would be willing to sell off some of our prize possessions in order to help those who are less fortunate in our midst? I don’t know about you, but that would be hard for me. Why? Because my stuff is too important to me. It isn’t common to me.
This may be hard… but isn’t this what Jesus commands of us?
John 13:34-35 (ESV) – 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus commands us to love one another as He has loved us. How has He loved us? To what extent has He loved us? He loved us enough to give His life for us… to suffer the punishment we deserve for our sin. He gave His all for us. We are to love one another enough to sacrifice on behalf of one another.
When we do so, Jesus says, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples…” The world will know that we are with Jesus by the way we love one another.
No wonder people outside the church were in awe when they saw these Christians. Not only was God powerfully working miracles through the apostles, but God was working a miracle inside the church, causing them to love one another in this way.
The people saw this and, as verse 47 tell us, they were “having favor with all the people.” People respected them, in large part because of the way in which they cared for one another.
Does this describe us?
1) Do we love one another enough to sacrifice on behalf of each other?
2) Do we consider each other more important than ourselves?
3) No church is perfect… but are we growing in this?
4) Do we love one another more today than we did yesterday?
The church which Jesus Christ builds is committed to the study of His Word and those within it are committed to one another in love and fellowship, but they are also committed to the worship of God.
“And day by day, attending the temple together…praising God…” Day by day… every day… they were together in the temple praising God. Worship was a part of their daily life. Not just private worship, but corporate worship. They were “together” in the temple. They were united in their commitment to worshipping God together. In fact, the verb here in the Greek is the same as the one in verse 42 translated “devoted themselves.” They made the necessary sacrifices to be continually devoted to worshipping God together.
Also notice that this worship was done in public. They were praising God in the temple, before the watching eyes of all the people, including those who had murdered the Lord Jesus. They were not ashamed of Jesus. In fact, the opposite is true. Together they celebrated Him so that all the world could see Him as He truly is.
Are we a people committed to the worship of God? Not just personally… but corporately as well? Not just privately… but before the watching eyes of the world?
As people see us and the work which God is doing in us and as they hear us praising the Lord Jesus Christ, God will do His work in saving some. That is exactly what happened here…“And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Day by day… every day… people were being saved.
This was a witnessing church. They were committed to evangelism. And their evangelism was not in vain. Not because there was anything special in the way they presented the gospel. Notice that we are not told specifically how they shared the gospel. They simply lived out their faith… growing in their knowledge of the gospel… loving one another… and praising God before the eyes of the world…and the Lord Jesus Christ added people to their midst every day.
Jesus said, “I will build My Church… and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18.)
So what are the birthmarks of the church which He builds? Although there are different ways to classify these… I tend to see four distinct birthmarks of a healthy church here…
1) They were a learning church. They devoted themselves constantly to the hearing and study of God’s Word.
2) They were a loving church. They lived life together. They loved one another and sacrificed on behalf of one another. Why? Because their fellowship was not grounded in the things of this world… but in the work which Jesus Christ had done for them.
3) They were a worshipping church. They were continually devoting themselves to praising the God of all grace who had given them everything.
4) They were an evangelistic church. They were committed to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world… and God blessed them with numerical growth to a supernatural degree… “the Lord added to the number day by day those who were being saved.”
Are you a Christian here today? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ to save you from your sin? Are you part of His church? Then these birthmarks should be evident in your life as well as the life of your local church.
I would challenge you to examine yourself in light of this…
1) Am I committed the hearing and study of God’s Word?
2) Am I committed to fellowship with other Christians? Not just engaging in small talk after the service, but am I committed to speaking the gospel into the lives of my fellow Christians?
3) Am I committed to praying with other Christians here in this body of believers?
4) Am I loving toward my brothers and sisters in Christ? Do their needs come before my own?
5) Am I committed to engaging with God in worship alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ?
6) Am I committed to sharing the gospel with others?
7) Am I praying that Jesus will build His church here day by day as we imperfectly live out the Christian life together?
If we are honest… we all fall short of God’s expectations for us. The correct response to this is repentance of the ways in which we fall short and faith that Jesus Christ will complete the work which He has begun in us. Praise God that Jesus has died for all our sins! Praise God that He is not done with us yet!
These are the birthmarks of the church… may they be clearly seen in all of us and may Jesus Christ build His Church in our midst!
Read Full Post »
Ramblin' Pastor Man 
You must be logged in to post a comment.