04 Acts Chapter 4
Acts 4:1-4 Two Reactions To Truth
Acts 4:1-4 MKJV And as they spoke to the people, the priests, and the temple commander, and the Sadducees came on them, (2) being grieved that they taught the people, even to announce through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. (3) And they laid hands on them and put them under guard until the next day, for it was already evening. (4) But many of those who heard the Word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
Here we see two reactions to truth: - on one hand there was hostile resistance from those with power and entrenched positions, on the other hand there was glad acceptance by those who saw the benefits of the gospel and the power of God.
Paul also had this effect for it is the effect of the gospel truthfully proclaimed:
2 Corinthians 2:14-17 ISV (14) But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him. (15) To God we are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. (16) To some people we are a deadly fragrance, while to others we are a living fragrance. Who is qualified for this? (17) At least we are not commercializing God’s word like so many others. Instead, in Christ we speak with sincerity, like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God. The gospel is bad news to the proud and good news to the humble, it is bad news to people who believe they are right and are righteous and it is good news to sinners seeking grace. To those who are being lost it is a “deadly fragrance” because it hardens their heart like stone. To those who are being saved it is a living fragrance that brings eternal life to their souls. The gospel when it is proclaimed truthfully is not “marketable” or commercially acceptable. (2 Corinthians 4:17) It offends many with the offense of the cross and arouses deep hostility and persecution.
Christ crucified is “to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness”:
1 Corinthians 1:20-23 MKJV (20) Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (21) For since, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom did not know God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. (22) For the Jews ask for a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; (23) but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness. This is not just poor preaching or a lack of diplomatic skill, rather it is the very nature of Christ’s radical message:
Matthew 10:34-39 MKJV Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword. (35) For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. (36) And a man’s foes shall be those of his own household. (37) He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. (38) And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. (39) He who finds his life shall lose it. And he who loses his life for My sake shall find it. The vast bulk of people are well armored against any perception of their own sinfulness and struggle to take even minimal responsibility for their mistakes. Some like the Sadducees (the liberal theologians of Jesus’ day) have beliefs they will kill for - in this case the belief that “there is no resurrection” which was clearly challenged by Jesus rising from the dead and by the powerful miracle in His name. The high priests and court officials were all Sadducees. Peter and John were preaching the gospel on their turf in the Temple and so they arrested them. This is the reaction of a deeply threatened belief system and a very guilty conscience.
According to some texts this is all one day - Pentecost! In the morning at 9am the Spirit falls and 3000 believe, that same afternoon at 3 pm they heal the lame man and again proclaim the gospel and late that day they are arrested and held overnight. By the end of the day 5000 men have believed - presumably along with their families. (Acts 3:1 in the MKJV reads: And on the same day Peter and John went up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. The phrase “epi de auto” in Acts 3:1 meaning “upon the same”. See Adam Clarke’s Commentary. ) So in a single day we see two main hours of prayer - the third (9am) and the ninth (3pm) and great miracles happening at both! We see the Spirit falling - and some mocking, while many believe, then the lame man healed, and some angry and again many believing. By the end of the day we have gone from 120 in an upper room to 5000 in the Temple - as a result of the bold proclamation of the gospel, in the power of the Holy Spirit, with signs following. This is a time of great grace and power and also a time of resistance and persecution.
Throughout Acts we see this pattern of bold gospel preaching, in the power of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by healing and signs and wonders - and stiff opposition.
You still see this in many missionary outposts today - where there the preaching of the gospel results in miracles on one hand, and persecution on the other. Yet it is quite uncommon in Western nations. We have been inoculated to grace and are no longer deeply religious. The offer of eternal life excites only a few, and the proclamation of the cross and the resurrection offends few. We have left the Kingdom for the shopping mall. We are more excited by a sale at Macy’s than a free offer of forgiveness!
Acts challenges me to bold proclamation and to high expectations of the power of God - even if it will bring offense and persecution. As William Carey said: “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”
Acts 4:5-12 The Stone That The Builders Rejected
Acts 4:5-12 MKJV And it happened on the next day that their rulers and elders and scribes, gathered to Jerusalem, (6) and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest. (7) And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name have you done this? (8) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, (9) if we are examined today on a good work for an infirm man, by what this one has been healed, (10) be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in this name does this man stand before you whole. (11) This is the Stone which you builders have counted worthless, and He has become the Head of the Corner. (12) And there is salvation in no other One; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Peter and John are brought out of prison and tried before a court consisting mainly of Sadducees and relatives of the High Priest (the John & Alexander here are Annas’ relatives and not any of the apostles). The question asked by the court is a God-given question every missionary wishes to hear: “By what power, or by what name have you done this?” (verse 7 above). This leads naturally into clear witness about Christ.
Peter’s answer, given by the Holy Spirit, is straightforward and to the point: “be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in this name does this man stand before you whole.” The apostles are careful to point to Christ! It is His name, and it is His power that works miracles of healing.
Now the question by the Sanhedrin has another implication - they wanted to know the spiritual technology involved. They could not do miracles themselves! The Jewish authorities had no healing power - just legal power. They had all the wrong kinds of power for being part of the Kingdom - social power, legal power, and monetary power. These powers do not heal the sick, raise the dead or grant forgiveness of sins.
Peter then goes on to quote Psalms 118:22 - This is the Stone which you builders have counted worthless, and He has become the Head of the Corner.
Peter’s name (Petros) means Stone, and Jesus referred to Peter’s confession of faith saying “upon this rock I will build my Church” so the metaphor of a Stone was important to Peter and also appears in his epistle and is an indication of his authorship. There is a bit of wordplay here, there are two words for rock “lithos” and “petros”, Jesus is always the “Lithos”, while Peter is the “Petros”.
1 Peter 2:4-8 MKJV For having been drawn to Him, a living Stone, indeed rejected by men, but elect, precious with God; (5) you also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6) Therefore also it is contained in the Scripture: "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner Stone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him shall never be ashamed." (7) Therefore to you who believe is the honor. But to those who are disobedient, He is the Stone which the builders rejected; this One came to be the Head of the corner, (8) and a Stone-of-stumbling and a Rock-of-offense to those disobeying, who stumble at the Word, to which they also were appointed.
Christ is the Living Stone (1 Peter 2:4) and Christians are living stones - the smaller copies. We are being built together into a spiritual house - a temple, of which we are also the priests (Jesus being the High Priest) to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The Stone has a dual nature - to those who believe it is a precious stone, a living stone - “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner Stone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him shall never be ashamed."
However to those who do not believe it is a stumbling stone, a rock-of-offense and leads them to the doom to which they are appointed (1 Peter 2:8). Daniel sees the Rock falling on the kingdoms of this world and utterly crushing them (Daniel 2:34; Daniel 2:44).
Standing before the Chief-Priests Peter emphasizes this saving nature of the Stone: “And there is salvation in no other One; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” This plainly contradicts Universalism - the all roads lead to God doctrine. It also repudiates allegiance to the many academic schools of Judaism such as Gamaliel (who would have been present) as well as to the false religions, sects and cults of this world. You cannot be saved through the idols of men, or the doctrines of Confucius, or by serving Mohammed, Buddha, Osiros, or Thor but only through the name of Jesus.
Christ alone is the means of salvation, which is why we must engage in evangelism and in missionary work. All other systems shall be as be chaff and as fine dust when the Stone descends upon the kingdoms of this world.
Dead men cannot offer eternal salvation but the Living Stone can - and does.
Acts 4:13-14 They Had Been With Jesus
Acts 4:13-14 ASV Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (14) And seeing the man that was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. The language here is strong - unlearned is literally agrammatoi - illiterate, unlettered. Ignorant is idiotai - from which we get the word “idiot” or ‘idiotic” literally a “private” person incapable of any sort of public life. Peter and John were hillbillies, Galilean bumpkins, fishermen from the boondocks. But the gift of the Holy Spirit made them fluent, wise and bold. The Holy Spirit did not leave them ignorant but made them wise, somewhere along the way they learned Greek and wrote gospels and epistles and some of the finest literature anyone has ever seen in the Petrine Epistles, John’s Gospel and Revelation.
Why did Jesus choose such people to lead His Church? Few denominations today would credential the unlearned and the ignorant. They were chosen not for how much they knew to start with, but for how much they could learn and believe as they went along. They were chosen to be disciples, not experts.
They were also carrying less “baggage” from the old order and could adapt more readily to the new order without the huge intellectual conflicts that Nicodemus, Paul and others faced.
Ignorance is not an asset. In fact the Holy Spirit got rid of their ignorance and increasingly filled them with wisdom. Conversion and education are frequently linked and Wesley used to say: “Sell your bed and buy a book.”
Formal education seldom produces good leadership and there is an oft-quoted statistic that the more educated the clergy, the smaller the churches. In fact pastors without any formal theological training lead many of the world’s largest and fastest growing churches. However these pastors are all wise people and life-long learners, keen readers and sharp thinkers.
I have noticed that when talking to pastors over 45 it is impossible to tell whether they have been to bible college. What does stand out is the difference between life-long learners and those who stopped reading much after graduation. The life-long learners are true leaders with large churches. Whether their learning has been formal or informal does not seem to matter - as long as they are learning and leading!
God does things through conventional people and through unconventional people, He works through scholars like Ezra and Paul and through fishermen like Peter and John. Moses and Daniel were highly educated, Amos and Samson were not. God uses each of us according to His will.
“and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” The transformation that Pentecost had brought was one of wisdom and it was noted by the Sanhedrin. The last time they had seen Peter and John was during the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. When they had been with Jesus, they had been timid, but now they were bold as brass. Before Peter had denied Christ and John had been silent. Now Peter was preaching powerfully and giving testimony to Jesus before them.
“They had been with Jesus” is also a political comment - these were the ones who were at the trial, and now they were healing people, these were the ring-leaders. These are the one to go for. Peter, John (and James) soon became targets of persecution.
“They had been with Jesus” is also a comment about discipleship - Peter and John had learned from the Master and were now doing His works before them. Being with Jesus is risky. If we are identifiably allied with Jesus and His works we become targets for persecution. This is particularly so in Muslim and Communist countries but can even apply in Western workplaces.
“And seeing the man that was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” The evidence was the problem. Healing is good. Healing is from God. To speak against such a miracle would invite wrath and derision. So they remained silent.
Deep down they knew that they, and their religious system, were being undermined. This was alternative religion, outside of the Temple, outside of the priesthood, outside of the way things were ordered.
God undermines all our attempts to fence Him in. He will choose fishermen to rebuke High Priests and show that the glory and power of God are not human qualities attained by education but divine qualities received through faith in the name of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:20-21 ASV (20) Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (21) For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.
Acts 4:15-22 Listening To God Not Man
Acts 4:15-22 MKJV And when they had commanded them to go aside out of the Sanhedrin, they conferred among themselves, (16) saying, What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them is plain to all those dwelling in Jerusalem. And we cannot deny it. (17) But, so that it spread no further among the people, let us strictly threaten them, that they speak to no man in this name from now on. (18) And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all, nor to teach in the name of Jesus. (19) But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right before God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. (20) For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. (21) So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way as to how they might punish them, because of the people. For all glorified God for that which was done. (22) For the man on whom this miracle of healing occurred was more than forty years old.
There comes a time when the religious authorities obviously speak from themselves and not from God. At such times we are under no obligation to listen to them.
Christianity was not yet a separate religion. Peter and John were still Jews within Judaism and subject to the Sanhedrin at both a religious and a secular level. If submission to authority was a cardinal virtue then they should have meekly obeyed.
However there is a higher law than ecclesiastical authority, or even secular authority, that is obedience to God. If a church leader tells you to reject your family, or forbids you from praying in tongues in private, or says you should not witness to people (and some do), then you should disobey them.
However if we choose to obey God rather than man, there will be consequences - such as excommunication and persecution. If a Muslim or an Israeli Jew converts to Christ, there can be strong consequences even today. Converts can be rejected by their families, subjected to government penalties (Christian Jews cannot be regarded as Jewish nationals) and in Saudi Arabia it can mean prison or even execution. The matter can be more subtle but quite painful - many missionaries are blocked by their pastors and boards. The pastor says something such as: “Missionary work robs the local church of money and destroys cultures, we do not think anyone should be a missionary and we do not think anyone should support missionaries.” (This happens). But the young woman has a missionary call, and has been told missionaries should be sent out by the local church, yet this church will not send her out. In such a case she is to prayerfully, carefully and tactfully obey God in the face of a sinful church.
Sinful church policies prevent much Christian witness, especially to other races, to the poor, and to the downtrodden. Churches do not mind you bringing the rich and famous to church but they often do object to saving street kids, or those of a different race or class. That is why among the list of great miracles Jesus says “the lame walk, the blind see, and the gospel is preached to the poor”. It takes a miracle for churches to preach the gospel to the poor. One thousand five hundred million people (a quarter of the world) live in urban slums in the developing world, with hardly a preacher per million residents. Who wants people who live in cardboard shacks in their church?
I am sorry to be so blunt but we see the need. We also see the structural sins of the Church. Ecclesiastical authorities are telling people NOT to preach, not to evangelize, not to say Jesus is the only way of salvation - just like the Sanhedrin did to Peter and John. Many an enthusiastic convert is told to “calm down” in the name of social acceptability. Few Christians share Christ boldly after their first two years in the faith. They are squelched!
Because of the anointing Peter and John were not easily squelched: “Whether it is right before God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. (20) For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” We always have divine permission to share what we have seen and heard of Christ. The new wine of the Holy Ghost and its miraculous side effects will always be opposed by the rigidity of old ecclesiastical structures - the old wineskins. Soon new structures of grace were needed, which led to the separation of Christianity from Judaism. Mission organizations have had to set themselves up separate from churches, and renewal movements such as Methodism have had to separate from the denominations that gave them birth. The whole issue of permission is a complex one, and a very powerful one. Some people feel they need permission from their pastor before they change jobs or marry someone or go to a certain college. Others feel no need for any permission from any human being and are supremely confident of God’s leading in all things. I think both positions have their merits and deficiencies. We need input from others and wise counsel, we also need to be able to be adults, standing on our own two feet spiritually. We should not be overly dependent on others for permission or approval. Neither should we be independent to the point of being closed to human input- after all we are part of the Body of Christ. Rather we should be inter-dependent on each other and ultimately dependent on God. The clear commandments of Jesus cannot be over-ridden by either ecclesiastical or secular authorities. We are to obey God not man. When we do so we well may have to suffer. Such suffering is greatly rewarded.
1 Peter 4:12-16 MKJV Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trial which is to try you, as though a strange thing happened to you, (13) but rejoice according as you are partakers of Christ’s suffering, so that when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. (14) If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of God and of glory rests on you. Truly according to them, He is blasphemed, but according to you He is glorified. (15) But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or a meddler in the affairs of others. (16) But if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God because of this.
Acts 4:24-31 A Powerful Prayer
Acts 4:24-31 And having heard, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, You are the God who made the heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them; (25) who by the mouth of Your servant David has said, "Why did the nations rage and the people imagine vain things? (26) The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ." (27) For truly, against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You have anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations, and the people of Israel, were gathered together (28) in order to do whatever Your hand and Your counsel determined before to be done. (29) And now, Lord, behold their threatenings, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Word, (30) by stretching forth of Your hand for healing, and miracles, and wonders may be done by the name of Your holy servant Jesus. (31) And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. This is one of the amazing prayers of the Bible because:
1. It does not pray for deliverance but for boldness.
2. It gets to the heart of the reason for persecution - to silence the Church.
3.It views current events in the light of Scripture 4.It has a very high view of the sovereignty of God.
5. It asks for not just a miracle but for a season of miracles.
6. It results in the place being physically shaken.
7. It results in Spirit-filled disciples giving bold witness with spectacular results (see later passages in chapters 4 & 5).
It is also one of the first fruits of a praying community - a group that is of one mind and one spirit and which is devoted to prayer. In the OT most prayers are individual prayers e.g. the prayers of Moses, David and Daniel. In Acts however we have a praying community - the 120 in the Upper Room, the disciples at Antioch and those who heard the report of Peter and John here.
We see prayer communities during revivals, on the prayer mountains of Korea and in various peak times of the missionary movement. However in busy urban life they are as rare as hen’s teeth. This is more than just a prayer meeting it is a conscious decision to live in prayer as a group and to respond to all things in prayer.
There are various levels of persecution in the first chapters of Acts, the overnight imprisonment and warning in chapter 4, the longer imprisonment and beating in chapter 5, and the stoning of Stephen in chapter 7 and the wholesale persecution from house to house in chapter 8. No matter how bad it got they prayed and witnessed and stood up for Jesus! And in the end the gospel triumphed (and the religion of the Pharisees came to an end.)
Back to the prayer meeting - the opening line is: “Lord, You are the God who made the heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them.” - this statement crops up again as the eternal gospel in Revelation 14:1-20. Why is it used during times of deepest persecution by the “system”? In times of persecution the human systems have become demonic and anti-God (as they will also become in the end times) in such times Christians have no hope in “the system” which confiscates their property, persecutes them and even kills them. It can seem that all is lost, that the “whole world” is against them. The system seems huge and they seem so small and helpless. At such times the Devil claims to own “all the kingdoms of this world and their glory” (Luke 4:5-6; 1 John 5:18-19)
However there is a deeper aspect - one that is often overlooked - that the kingdoms of this world are human constructs and are dependent on nature - on God’s Creation, which He still controls! God has the mountains and the seas and can rain meteors down on them! Thus the plagues in Revelation are all natural - drought, famine, locusts, earthquakes, hail, etc. Thus the biblical battle is between “the god of this world” and “the God who made the heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them.”
Even if all governments are Satanic and all the money belongs to the Devil - God can feed Christians with food brought by ravens and demolish the Anti-Christ’s armies with fire and plagues. Our God wins! I am reminded of the scene in the Lord of the Rings where the Ents (the trees) awake and walk against an evil magician and destroy his tower. Nature itself fights evil.
Thus the new Christian community awakes the deep powers of God and does not ask for money or muscle but for miracles. It unleashes powers that the world cannot tap into, the unique powers of the Church. It goes to Psalms 2:1-12 and sees the rage of the nations as futile “vain things” and the sovereignty of God as absolute. This prayer is about a clash of kingdoms - the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. And the sign of the triumph of God’s kingdom is healing and miracles. The Christians have got the message and respond to threat in mature and godly ways - far beyond that of Judges and the desire for military messiahs. They do not fight with the weapons of this world (2 Corinthians 10:3-6), but with spiritual weapons. They know what the Kingdom really is and pray for its bold proclamation and powerful manifestation. The God who made the heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them, is the God of Jesus Christ who can unleash miracles in our midst when we form communities of prayer that depend on God alone. This God will bring an end to all “the kingdoms of this world” and their vain threats and imaginings.
Acts 4:32-37 Communal Christianity
Acts 4:32-37 MKJV And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. And not one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own. But they had all things common. (33) And the apostles gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power. And great grace was on them all. (34) For neither was anyone needy among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold, (35) and they laid them down at the apostles’ feet. And distribution was made to every man according as he had need. (36) And Joses, who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which is, being translated, The son of consolation), a Levite, a Cypriot by race, (37) a field being his, selling it, he bore the proceeds and placed them at the apostles’ feet. A community of love does not hold back that which a neighbor needs:
1 John 3:16-18 ISV This is how we have come to know love: Christ gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers. (17) Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in him? (18) Little children, we must stop loving in word and in tongue, but instead love in action and in truth.
James 2:15-16 ISV Suppose a brother or sister does not have any clothes or daily food (16) and one of you tells them, "Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily." If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do?
Thus agape love means that we will provide for those in need, especially our fellow Christians in our local church and even those around the world. This is why Paul took up a collection from the Gentiles for the starving saints in Jerusalem:
2 Corinthians 8:13-15 ISV (13) Not that others should have relief while you have hardship. Rather, it is a question of fairness. (14) At the present time, your surplus fills their need, so that their surplus may fill your need. In this way things are fair. (15) As it is written, "The person who had much did not have too much, and the person who had little did not have too little." The bible holds two things in tension - the right to private property, and the duty to hold our property loosely and thus to use it in love. There is also a tension between wise stewardship and godly generosity. However the Bible seems to urge us to splurge on God. When in doubt we are to err on the side of love.
Luke 6:38 ISV Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, you will be measured."
What is the difference between Christian love and Communism? For a start Christian love is a voluntary activity, impelled by the Holy Spirit and not a compulsory government edict administered by an atheistic bureaucracy. Yet the Marxist motto: “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.” is definitely a part of the New Testament communal living!
Acts 4;34 For neither was anyone needy among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold, (35) and they laid them down at the apostles’ feet. And distribution was made to every man according as he had need. An actual instance is given: Joses called Barnabas was wealthy enough to have a spare plot of land, he sold it, placed the proceeds at the apostles feet and the proceeds went to the poor. The fact that Communism has picked up a bible truth or two does not mean that it is correct - or that there is not great validity in communal living. Communal living is tough - but it is thoroughly biblical. The closest most of us get to it is during our residence at a bible college. However I have experienced it from time to time on a small scale with a few neighbors and thoroughly enjoyed the giving and receiving that goes on. The world system is all about buying and selling, but the gospel is all about giving and receiving. Do we all have to rush out and sell everything and join a commune? Not at all, but we all need to be able to use our God-given wealth to meet the human needs we see around us.
Romans 12:13 ISV Supply the needs of the saints. Extend hospitality to strangers.
Titus 3:14 ISV Our own people should also learn to devote themselves to good works when urgent needs arise, lest they be unproductive.
We do not need to give up the legal right to our property, but we do need to give up our personal hold on it: “And not one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own.”
If your Christian brother needs a lift somewhere - give him a lift if he needs a car or lend him your car. As soon as we say that we think “What if…” (He has an accident etc). We react - we pull back.
We need to venture in faith as much as we can lose without bitterness. Do not give beyond your capacity to be peaceful about it. You must be able to let it go peacefully and if it does not come back not to worry about it. Something like a family heirloom should not be given unless you are very sure you can give it. The lines are different for each of us. (But they should be lines of love and generosity.)
Now I am not laying a guilt-trip on you, but I am pointing out a biblical way of living that may become necessary once again in the last days when Christians will not be allowed to buy and sell. (see Revelation 13:1-18). We should take up a Spirit-filled lifestyle of unselfish generosity, giving and receiving, in agape love.