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Preserving and Fostering Unity in the Church
Acts 4:32-37
What determines the unity of a church? How do we know if the church is united? What are some signs? Well, of course a church is united if everyone wore the same kind of clothes. If we believe the same doctrine down to the minutest detail. And if we all send them to the same Christian school. We will all have the same maturity level, socio-economic status, and political convictions. We are united because we shop from the same supermarket. Right? Of course not! Christian unity is far simpler and beautiful. While it is hard to achieve unity, the way to achieve it is simple. And unfortunately, real lasting Christian unity is rare. That’s why the Psalmist exclaimed - “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
But unity is something that has been established by Christ. When Christ died, he made peace between God and sinners. We all deserve God’s judgment. But when Christ died, he removed judgment from those who believe on him. We now have peace with God. Christ also made peace between natural enemies. 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us that “we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free.” In other words, even though we are Christians of different races, backgrounds, and social status, Christ unites us as one people. This is why Ephesians 4:3 tells us to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. What Christ established, we must preserve.
How? By dressing the same? Same taste in music? Raising our families the same way? No - that’s not unity - that’s uniformity. And we are not called to uniformity, but unity. This is what we see in today’s passage. And it is fitting for us to consider this, given that we had Confession of Faith today.
There are 3 things to consider. Firstly, we are united under the gospel because of Christ. Secondly, our unity is evident through our fellowship. And thirdly, our unity is protected through radical fellowship.
Firstly, we are united under the gospel because of Christ. At Pentecost, 3000 came to faith in Jerusalem. The church grew every day. And with growth also came trouble. The authorities imprisoned and interrogated them. But despite the persecution, in verse 32, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” There was unity - their hearts and souls were one. They were agreed. For the church to be described this way is amazing. They were not a small church. By this time, the church had grown to over 5,000 men or 10,000 with women and children. From 120 disciples to a multitude.
These were the pilgrims that came for the feasts. They were from different countries and spoke in different languages. Acts 2 tells us they came from all over. From the east - Mesopotamia and Persia. From the north - like Cappadocia and Phrgyia. From the west - like Egypt and Cyrene. As far as Rome. Because they didn’t speak the same language, God gave the apostles the gift of tongues to communicate the gospel. And now, those who believed remained in Jerusalem. They didn’t go home. They wanted to be part of this growing church. They were of one heart and soul. It’s amazing - different places, Jewish races, customs, and language systems. And yet there was unity.
You can force uniformity, but never unity. There are movements that strongly mold their people into wearing the same kinds of clothes, educate their children only in Christian schools, listen only to Christian music, have only one political ideology. And that kind of uniformity will instill a judgmental inflexibility that will actually foster a dangerous disunity. They become the only right ones in their eyes. Why? Because, even though you may believe the same gospel, but you don’t dress the same as I do, you don’t have the same lingo, or feel as strongly on a particular issue as I do, your prayers sound less formal or too formal - then these things will divide us - because these things become far more important than Christ’s different people of different levels of growth. Many people cannot tell the difference between creed and code. Creed is what we believe and practice according to the Word of God. Code is a set of human laws. When we elevate these codes to achieve uniformity, we invariably de-emphasize creed which is needed for true unity. But people often conflated the two.
But these people were not fixated on music, dressing, schooling systems, politics - they were focused on the gospel. That’s why there was this unusual phenomenon - 10,000 united people. Verse 32 gives the reason why they were of one heart and soul - it’s because this multitude believed. They believed they were sinners, that needed a savior to save them. They believed and repented of their sins. This faith controlled and united them with others who believed the same gospel.
How does an orchestra of so many different instruments play together in harmony? They are different - a woodwind is not a brass, a percussion is not a string. Even string instruments are different. The violin, cello, bass and even the seemingly useless viola - are not the same. But they are in harmony because they all follow the music score; and they have the conductor. They follow his lead. Similarly, we have Christ and the Scriptures. We are all different - but we have the same beliefs.
And that’s why 1 John 1:7 is a scary indication of how Christian we are - “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.” But if we can’t have fellowship with one another, if there’s a split, or falling out, or disunity - it means that someone is not walking in the light; someone is not following Christ. Someone has once said - failing to be united is failing to be a believer. Why? Because disunity comes when we forget the gospel. But when we live the gospel, we prefer one another. Jesus left heaven and came to earth to die for sinners. He died for his enemies because he loved them. When we believe the gospel, we humbly mourn for our sins. When we live it out, we forgive sins against us, even as Christ has forgiven us. There can only be unity under the gospel.
Secondly, our unity is evident through our fellowship. Verse 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.” Their unity was evident in their sharing of their possessions. What they had, they shared. They fellowshipped. Luke describes this in 2 ways. He describes it positively. They had all things common - the word for common is koinos which means shared, where we get the word koinonia or fellowship. It is common - not special to one person - but common to all. So these believers shared everything. All 10,000 of them. Why? Very clearly, they came from other countries but continued in Jerusalem because this new movement of Christ was the kingdom of God - the new and better Israel. And so these foreigners didn’t have room - so the Christians in Jerusalem opened their homes.
Luke also says it negatively. Neither said any of them - meaning, no one said that his possessions were only his own. And the Greek tense is continuous. Their sharing was continual and regular. What did they share? Money. These visitors from out of town would have finished all the money they had brought. There was no ATM. So they had to rely on the generosity of the saints. What else did they need? Food and shelter and things in every day life. These believers in Jerusalem share everything they used and needed in every day life. Communism says - what is yours is mine. Christianity says - what is mine is yours.
The reason why they did this was because they were controlled by the gospel. Verse 33 - “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” Why were they generous? Because great grace was upon them all. Unity was born of grace!
Their unity was not based on code but creed. Their creed taught them God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Christ gave up all to become poor, so that we who are spiritually poor, might have the eternal spiritual riches. Christ shared in our guilt that he might share with us his holiness. Their generosity was based on the gospel.
It’s very easy for me to preach Old Testament law. I can tell you to give your tithe. I can guilt you into giving. But we’re not living under that law - Christ has fulfilled it - instead his law is love. Because he loved us, we love one another. Because Christ gave, we give. We give when we understand grace. When Zacchaeus was saved, he gave - not to obtain forgiveness, but because he was forgiven. Mary Magdalene, a rich woman from Magdala, gave to support Jesus and the 12 disciples. If they only tithed the kingdom couldn’t have grown. No, the gospel demands all from us because Christ gave all to us.
But it’s not just money. Yes, the context is money and things. But it was so much more. It required them to give energy - to face difficult situations. Husbands and wives argued about who would clean the house because Bob from Egypt and Joe from Rome wore shoes into the house. It required time. Hock Seng had to rush across town to buy rice because Ah Huat from Cyrene ate a bit too much. But Ah Huat from Cyrene couldn’t explain because he only spoke Cyrenian. He was hungry because he spent half of yesterday helping Jenny of Bethany to retile her roof. They gave their time and effort to one another.
And thirdly, our unity is protected through radical fellowship. Radical fellowship is not giving only what is convenient - what we are able to. Or giving only what may be expected of us. And I’m not talking about money. We come to church, send the kids for some fellowship activities, but when it comes to those things which are very inconvenient for us; those things which demand much from us - we will not give. Time, we will not give. And we only fellowship with those who are same as us - same clothes, same race, same music, same lingo, same judgmental spirit, same complaints? Imagine if we were to radically give and fellowship, unity will be preserved.
If you recall in Acts 6, the Hebrew speaking widows started to grumble because they were neglected in the daily distribution of money. They started to grumble. Unity is always threatened by grumbling. When you grumble, you threaten unity. But they grumbled because they were neglected. Justified? No, natural and understandable, yes. But whatever it is, their grumbling jeopardized unity. We grumble all the time! We have so many grievances that those grievances become more important than loving the people. And we focus on them like they are precious trophies to polish and display. They become something that we use to distinguish ourselves. I learned a new collective noun yesterday - like a pride of lions, a flock of sheep, a school of fish. The collective noun used to describe crocodiles is a congregation. We are like a congregation of crocs when we grumble, and then we bite and devour one another in our unhappiness.
Here, in Acts 4, no one was neglected. Verses 34-35 read - “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, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”
Neither was there any among them that lacked. 10,000 people - none of them needy. This is significant. The majority of the people in those days, as with today, are poor. Famine was very common in Judea. And these Christian Jews of Judea had to house these out of town Christians. It was easy to grumble. But there was no grumbling. Why? Because needs were fulfilled. They may still have been poor but none were needy. Why? Those who had gave lavishly. “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them.”
Those who owned land or houses - those very rich Christians - sold them according to the need and we learn that they brought the money and laid them at the apostles’ feet. They established a benevolent fund. They didn’t take it on themselves to give as they saw fit, but they brought it to the apostles. These people didn’t say - well, if I give, they will get used to it. And they will keep asking me. No! Why? Because the gospel that worked in the rich was the same gospel that worked in the needy. Those who gave, gave excessively because of the gospel. Those who received returned in kind. And this preserved the unity - it stopped grumbling from starting. Their giving was also in proportion and appropriate to how God had blessed them. Some sold their house and land. What is the purpose of your riches? Your gifts? Your abilities? What will you give radically?
We see an example in verses 36-37 - “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, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.” Joseph - nicknamed by the Apostles as Barnabas - was rich. He sold land and brought the money to a central fund. He knew that the apostles had a better idea where to use it. And secondly, he could give it anonymously. But they knew it was him. He nicknamed him Barnabas - the son of encouragement.
Barnabas befriended Paul, when no one would associate with him. He endorsed Mark, when others were suspicious of him. His ministry of encouragement became his name. And here he encouraged radically. This is how many of you have preserved unity - you have given excessively, prayed radically, taught radically, spent time radically, showed hospitality radically, cleaned up radically.
This is the gospel. This is the way to unity. 2 Corinthians 8:9 - “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” When Christians use what they have been given, the result is growth and love. Ephesians 4:16 tells us that Christ makes the whole body fit together perfectly as each part contributes, it helps the other parts grow in love.
Yes, the context in this passage is money - but there are so many other things we need to share. Our time, our gifts, our friendship, our abilities, our effort, our homes - all of these things are necessary for the preservation of unity. Those who serve may be tempted to grumble. They have the burden of service. But they need you to serve too. Give, pray, serve lavishly and radically. There are those who are crying out for encouragement, instruction, care, friendship. Their needs can be met by you. Jesus came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life for many. What will you give for the kingdom of God - to preserve and foster unity and growth? Christ gave of his life for his church. For his disciples who grumbled all the time. For the warring Jews and Samaritans who were at odds with one another. For his own family who mocked him. For the people who demanded he be crucified. Why? Because he loved his enemies. When we give of ourselves to our family here, lavishly, we will love one another more. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
And so those of you who are joining the church, serve the Lord - fellowship - share your substance, your time, your gifts for the unity of the church. And this makes one wonder about those who never share - their substance, their time, their gift. Unity comes from radical fellowship, fellowship is birthed through the grace of God. If there is no unity, it means there is no fellowship, there is no flowing of grace, and perhaps that means there is no understanding of the gospel.
We Are United Under the Gospel Because of Christ
One heart and one soul
Multitude
Unity not uniformity
Evidence of the gospel
Our Unity Is Evident Through Our Fellowship
Fellowship - positively expressed
Fellowship - negatively expressed
Born of grace
Our Unity Is Protected Through Radical Fellowship
None grumbled, none neglected
Those gifted gave
An example of Christ
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2021, Rev. Mark Chen
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