A Powerful Witness

APRIL 13, 2022 STUDY NOTES ACTS 4:32-37 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES A POWERFUL WITNESS INTRODUCTION As a Christian there are many ways to share a witness for Christ, the world needs a witness for Christ A Godly daily life will be a witness, Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; Faithful church attendance is a witness, Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Sharing the gospel of salvation with the lost is most important, 1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. Giving your tithes and offerings to the Church is a witness, 1Co 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Gathering and sharing is the testimony we find in our study of Acts 4:32-37 The Church giving to the needs of others is a powerful witness, Heb 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. There is no doubt that the Jerusalem Church was a giving church ministering to the needs of others Which is true because they were a praying church filled with the Holy Spirit Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. The church was continuing to grow, numbers were increasing, they are now identified as a “multitude” There was a spiritual unity within “the multitude of them that believed,” because they were saved, Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Those who are saved are united into the body of Christ through the baptism of the Spirit, 1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. The “High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus is answered, Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. Paul describes that “One Body,” which is known as the New Testament Church, Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, (Not water baptism but the baptism of the Spirit) Page 1 of 5 The “True Church” is “one body” of believers, Rom 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Every born-again believer is united into the body of Christ, 1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (Many parts united together) The unity of believers is presented in, Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Notice that the little word “all” is found four times in this verse And is in reference to “all” believers, not one single believer is left out of the identification The conclusion is, God is “through all and in you all” That is why the Jerusalem Church could be of “one heart,” also identified as of “one accord” The “heart” identifies with emotion, motivation, and inspiration for life, encouraged to live “And of one soul” identifies with the living out of the heart’s desires, a submission to God’s will There is no doubt that they were all in total submission unto the will of God “Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own” Amazing point, “not even one,” not one said that their personal possessions was all theirs (Eph. 4:6) There was no thought of I don’t need it today, but I need to keep it because I might need it later They believed that God had supplied them their goods and would continue to do so, Paul experienced it, Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Their giving to others was motivated by the love of Christ which united them, Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. The Jerusalem Church had a “Labor of Love” spirit and ministry among them All material possessions were second choice compared to the spiritual life The sharing of material possessions is a way to share the love of Christ with a lost society There was a lack of selfishness, there was a maximum concern for others, regardless of who they were They did not want anyone to be hungry or without the necessities of life That “they had all things common” has already been presented, Act 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; They were united in a common love and fulfilled the “Great Commandment,” Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment. Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The love of their “heart” was willing to share what they had with those in need, Act 2:45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. They were willing to sell their “possessions and goods” in-order to share with others Their sharing was not based upon the “wants” of others, but the “need” of others As need would arise among the church family, they would share in-order to meet the need Which was a powerful witness, their witness was they served the “Living Lord,” He was alive Act 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Their “great power” was the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit within them Which is not a natural human characteristic, it requires the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) Their prayer had been answered, they continued to be a powerful witness, Act 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, Their life was living proof that they served the Living Lord, “a witness of the resurrection of Jesus” Page 2 of 5 The resurrection of Jesus was of utmost importance to the teaching and preaching of the early church God bestowed His “great grace” upon them, and it was a powerful witness to those outside the church The people that witnessed the love and concern of the church were greatly impressed, Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. The word “favor” is the same word translated “grace” in Acts 4:33 The “upon them all” in verse 33 is explained in the next verse Act 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, “Neither was there any among them that lacked” because “great grace was upon them all” The “grace” of God was working through the Jerusalem Church, it was bestowed upon “them all” God has gifted all believers with a “grace gift” in-order to serve God in a special and unique way, 1Pe 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. This is one of the most important verses in the Bible for the church of today to understand Christians today must come to the realization that they have been spiritually gifted to serve others Something that we must come to understand and obey, something we must learn and live Every Christian has been gifted with a “Spiritual Gift” for-the purpose of ministering to others Every Christian is therefore considered to be a minister or a servant for God God has freely given to every Christian in order that every Christian might freely give to others Every Christian has the responsibility of loving service for God All believers in the Jerusalem Church exercised their spiritual gift and there was none “that lacked” Because of the grace of God within them, they, Act 2:45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. Their giving was voluntary and according to “need” (Guideline for our “Labor of Love” ministry) Act 4:35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. “And laid them down at the apostles feet, is a guide for Christian giving today Their gifts were to be given to the church and disturbed by the church leadership Be careful of “telemarketing preachers” today who promise you prosperity for your giving The Jerusalem Church did not offer a prayer cloth for giving to the church leaders Let me give you a response to the telemarketers who call wanting you to give money Tell them your policy is to give through your local church and you will give them your church’s number They can call the church and tell the church of their need, they hang up “Distribution was made unto every man according as he had need” Meeting the “need” of others is an important ministry of the church of today James gives us an example of the meaning of “need,” Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, Those who do not have the everyday necessities of life are those in “need” “Naked” does not necessarily mean absolutely without clothes on their body It has the meaning of poorly clad or in rags, they do not have adequate daily clothing “Destitute of daily food,” means no food for the day, day by day they were going without food Therefore, they would not only be hungry, but in poor health Page 3 of 5 James uses the “need” of Christians and others to instruct us concerning our faith, Jas 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? “And one of you say unto them” refers to any member of the local church family The point is that the one who speaks represents the church family And your words would be taken as words spoken by the congregation James is concerned about the attitude of the Church Family and their witness to the world “Depart in peace” is a customary farewell, just like “good-bye,” have a blessed day There is nothing wrong with those words within themselves But those words alone will not meet the needs of the helpless Words cannot be limited to “be ye warmed and filled” The thought is someone saying, I will pray that someone will give you food and clothing I pray that you will not go to bed hungry tonight and that you will sleep well and warm Today we often hear, “Good luck to you,” “I am praying for you, brother,” God bless you James has a question for such a response to the need of others, “what does that profit?” If your faith does nothing other than talk, how useless are your words? What good have you done? Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Faith within itself, apart from works is of no value to those who are in need James says if you don’t provide for those in need your “say so” faith is useless John says if you don’t provide for those in need your “say so” love is useless John uses the need of Christians to instruct us concerning our love for God, 1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. A good way to approach the understanding of this verse is with a question, “Do I really love Jesus?” A good question, especially for the day in which we are now living Do we know the answer? If we say yes, what proof do we have? Do others know whether we love Jesus or not? If so, how do they know? John tells us how we can know for sure that we love Jesus John also tells us how others will know that we really do love Jesus “We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren,” “We” refers to a special group of people Those who know the love of God from personal experience God doesn’t expect others, those without Christ in their life, to do what John tells “us” to do And we can’t expect others to do what John says must be done But God does expect Christians to be obedient to John’ words, why us? Because “we” have learned what love really is from the example of Jesus We can now learn more about the love of God by being an example of God’s love through Jesus The life of Jesus explained love to us, and our life is now to be an explanation of His love for others To lay down our life does not mean that we must die, it means that we must live We are not to die for others, we are to live for others John has more to say to us concerning those who are in need, 1Jn 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? “This world’s good” refers to the things of our daily life that we need for living in this world Christians should be interested enough to look for those who have needs We should even put forth an effort to “see” those who have needs God’s love in us obligates us to search for an opportunity to love one another A great opportunity to love one another is to meet the needs of others, 1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. Love is more than words of sympathy and more than just a communication of concern Page 4 of 5 It is easy for the tongue to talk, but we must walk the talk, action speaks louder than words A real need requires a real deed, deeds are the proof of genuine love Love in action is the truth of love, you tell it like it is through the deeds of love Good works are the evidence of God’s love, deeds say “this is the way that God loves” Christian faith and love must prove to be genuine by doing something The Jerusalem Church was growing because of what they were doing, which is indicated in Acts 6 The time came when the church must have additional leadership (Acts 6:1-7) Act 4:36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, The man “Joseph” had a nickname which the apostles had given him, meaning “Son of Encouragement” In our world of discouragement, we need those in the church with the gift of encouragement Those gifted to lift you up spiritually when you are troubled and downhearted Here we have the first mention of the man “surnamed Barnabas” who we will find many times in Acts He was one of the first to trust in the conversion experience of Saul, who became known as Paul, Act 9:27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Barnabas was Paul’s companion on his First Missionary journey and an important part of Paul’s ministry An interesting study is to trace Barnabas through the book of Acts I have already mentioned that every church needs a Barnabas, one who encourages others Some are gifted with the gift of encouragement, we all are to learn from them to be an encourager Are you an encourager? When was the last time that you spent time with someone to encourage them? Have you sensed the Holy Spirit placing someone on your heart that needs a word of encouragement? We need to learn from Barnabas, Act 11:22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Act 11:23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. He encouraged them to stick with God, trust God, turn to God’s Word in prayer, that’s encouragement As an encourager use the Word of God to encourage others, 2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. The Jerusalem Church was an example of the power of God’s Word unto “good works” Act 4:37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. This is the second time we read “and laid it at the apostles’ feet” Placing an emphasis upon those words, words of instruction for the church of today The procedure was to bring the money to the church, which will identify it as a gift from God Which will remove individual recognition and will give God the glory There is a Biblical way for God’s people to give to God’s Glory Give your offerings through the church Be sure the church is using the money to glorify God and not for selfish recognition CONCLUSION The end of Acts 4 is quite a contrast to the beginning of Acts 5 In Acts 4 we find a church united in mind, heart, and soul to serve Christ and minister to others In Acts 5 we find a selfish husband and wife team seeking personal recognition Page 5 of 5