Articles
“The Growth of the Early Church”
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Acts 2:42
After Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to the apostles, he told them to go to Jerusalem and wait to be baptized by the Holy Spirit who would lead them in the expansion of God’s kingdom. When they received the Spirit, thousands of people were converted and the church began to grow. Throughout the book of Acts, Luke describes the growth of the church in several summary statements. The first one is a great example. In Acts 2:38-47, Luke introduces four specific practices of the early church:
- The apostles’ teaching — attention to God’s word and works
- The fellowship — shared participation and resources
- The breaking of bread — also known as the Lord’s Supper
- The prayers — a regular pattern of worship
These four acts of devotion (Acts 2:42) are repeated and expanded in the following verses:
- Wonders and signs were done through the apostles (43)
- The church shared their resources (44-45)
- They continued to break bread (46)
- And praise God together (47)
Then Luke writes, “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47) The section begins with a description of people responding to the gospel with repentance and baptism, and receiving the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38-41) The next section shows the things the church did that follow a forgiven, Spirit-filled life. (Acts 2:42-47) Luke intentionally frames these patterns of devotion with summary statements about the growth of the church (Acts 2:41, 47).
Noticing this sequence helps us understand God’s design for the growth of the church. Repentance, baptism, and the forgiveness of sins come first in the text because they come first in the life of every Christian. When we change our minds about God (repentance), we turn away from our sins and toward Jesus. We surrender ourselves to him in faith by being baptized. This is the turning point of our lives where we receive the forgiveness of sins and are put into a right relationship with God (Father, Son, and Spirit, Mt. 28:19).
Once in God’s family, we begin to live a radically different life. This new life is spent in the regular patterns of devotion outlined in Acts 2:42 — learning, sharing, feasting, worshiping. All four of these acts of devotion contribute to both the individual growth of Christians and the collective growth of the church (Acts 2:41, 47).
These repeated statements of growth remind us of God’s intention for humans in the beginning. When God created humans in his image, he generously provided for all their needs and taught them to “be fruitful and multiply.” (Gen. 1:27-31) This command is repeated to Noah after the floodwaters cleansed the earth. He was also blessed and told to “be fruitful and multiply.” (Gen. 9:1-7) Later on, Abram and Sarai, who were too old to have children, were blessed by God who promised he would “greatly multiply” their descendants bringing blessing to the world. (Gen. 12:2; 15:5; 17:2; 26:4, etc.)
The beginning of God’s church is like a new creation. God’s newly formed people are blessed and multiply, bearing fruit for him filling the earth with God’s glory. Through Jesus, God fulfilled his promise to Abraham to “bless all nations.” (Acts 3:25-26) Now, through the church, God’s blessing of life continues to multiply as we devote ourselves to these four activities: we devote ourselves to learning about God and his work; we devote ourselves to sharing life as one family; we devote ourselves to remembering Christ’s sacrifice in the Lord’s Supper; and we devote ourselves to praising God together.
