The Four Devotions of the Church Jesus Wants
Acts 2:41-47
Before PD planted ANF, he spent a lot of time envisioning the kind of church he wanted to build. He concluded that he wanted ANF to be a church that Jesus wants.
With this vision in mind, PD pointed us back to the early church in Acts, right after the baptism of the new believers, and asked us two important questions:
What do you think you need to grow spiritually after you have received Christ?
How can you help build up your church?
Acts 2:42 gives us the answer to both of these questions. This verse reads, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” The first thing that PD pointed out from this verse was the word “devoted.” When we think of the word “devoted,” another word that comes to mind is “commitment” – and oftentimes, this is where many of us fall short. The original Greek word for “devoted” in this passage (proskarterountes) means being consistent and persistent without giving up. Without this kind of commitment to our faith, it is very difficult for us to grow spiritually. Likewise, the people who build up this church are those who have this persistent commitment.
The second phrase that PD pointed out from this verse is that “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings.” Many of these new believers were Jewish and had grown up with a basic education, having likely traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. Yet despite their Jewish religious foundation, they got baptized and devoted themselves to a completely new set of teachings from the apostles. After these people accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they humbled themselves, staying open and teachable to God’s word. Likewise, to grow spiritually, we need to adopt this humble and teachable attitude, obeying the word of God and Jesus Christ.
The last phrase that PD pointed out from the verse is that “they devoted themselves to … the fellowship.” When we think of “fellowship,” we often think about gathering and spending time together. Although English translations use the word “fellowship,” the original Greek word is koinonia, which has a deeper meaning. Koinonia isn’t just about spending time together. Rather, koinonia is about doing life together. And there are two things needed for people to have koinonia with each other – shared ownership and responsibility. In our case, we share ownership of Jesus Christ and are jointly responsible for building up the church. Although fellowship and koinonia are similar in meaning, it is possible for us to have fellowship without koinonia, and this is not what Jesus wants from us. The difference between fellowship and koinonia is that when we have koinonia, Jesus is present through our shared ownership and responsibility in him.
Discussion Questions:
Where in your spiritual life do you find it hardest to stay devoted?
What does it look like to have a humble and teachable attitude? How can you practically adopt this attitude in your walk with God?
Koinonia requires shared ownership and responsibility in building up the church. What is one way you can take on more responsibility instead of just showing up?
