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All right we left off last week reading
Acts 4.endend
Milk
January 24th 2016
31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Let’s carry on – verse 32
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.
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
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,
35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
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,
37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Alright, back to 32 and we’ll wrap this chapter up as Luke here sort of sets the stage for the contents of the next chapter.
He begins by describing what he calls the multitude and their unity, then he describes the work of the apostles in a single verse, then about how they survived, and wraps the chapter up with the retelling of one believers actions – which is an example of the right way to give if a person chooses to give.
Chapter five, as we shall see, illustrates the approach we want to avoid – which we will get to momentarily.
They were gathered together praying and apparently the very structure that they were in signifying to them the presence and approbation of God.
An now Luke says:
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.
Young’s Literal Greek translation says it this way:
“and of the multitude of those who did believe the heart and the soul was one, and not one was saying that anything of the things he had was his own, but all things were to them in common.”
At verse 4 of this chapter we are told that the number was 5000 writ large – and Luke could have been speaking of this multitude or a segment of it.
However many there were he tells us that they were of “one heart,” (one Kardia) and “one soul” (psuche).
This is a remarkable description in a number of ways. I think we can first say that they were united by the same Spirit, and on the same cause (Christ) and therefore shared in a powerful spiritual commonality that transcended the things of this realm including envy, greediness, selfishness, or materialism.
Undoubtedly this unity was communalism at its best but I would suggest that the situation and circumstances they found themselves in helped create this perfect storm of oneness.
Remember, they were surrounded by a very influential and historical faith in Judaism. They were thus ostracized from that group and had no means of social or emotional or spiritual or financial support but each other.
Add in the unifying power of the Spirit and the irresistible cause of Christ and we have the setting for one united group.
Luke’s word choice – one heart and one soul – best expresses, in my opinion, the future state in heaven where anything and everything that can cause division has melted away.
God was blessing His bride greatly and because of this they lived in the warm rays of utter community.
The Ancient Greeks used the term “one soul” to describe . . . friends.
In his writings about Cato Plutarch cites an ancient verse that says, “Two friends, one soul.” Diogenes also said that when Aristotle was asked
“What was a friend,” his answer was
“one soul dwelling in two bodies.”
Even the Hebrews spoke of two friends as being “one man.”
All very applicable descriptions of this group but instead of two Luke could have been describing over 5000.
We know from childhood that two is company but three is a crowd so to have a number of people who were one in heart and soul was a miracle.
In addition to circumstance and common cause, such unity can only exist when
members willingly choose “to love” (in the greatest sense of the word) meaning the love is a verb and the actions involved are actions that include longsuffering, patience, forgiveness, kindness, selflessness, etc.
Paul says to believers in Philippian 1:27
“Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ . . . that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
The Greek word for “striving together” here is “Soon-ath-leo” and do you know what it means?
“Wrestle with.” I would suggest that this first suggests a wresting match with ourselves individually as to whether we will allow our flesh and will to reign in group circumstances (or God) and them it applies to our wresting with each other not as a means to pin and dominate but to work things out by the Spirit.
Unity through love – listen – unity through love is the goal of any and all who follow Christ. And it requires a four letter word many people dislike:
WORK
On ourselves and with others.
Sometimes – as it appears to be the case with the believers here in Acts – the unity is truly abiding and flowing.
When that is the case it is simply and amazing experience – and basking in the light and love and unity of such friendships is otherworldly.
I can’t help but believe that these moments are indicative of the future state beyond this flesh.
I experience such unity here with you individually and collectively. It does not to be manipulated nor enhanced. It is of the Spirit and is present whenever we gather together to seek God in spirit and in truth.
However, while in the flesh, there are times when the unity does not come so easily. And it requires – demands –
agonizing effort, labor, work to get along and love.
In Jude 1:3 we read
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
The Greek term for “earnestly contend” for the faith is
“ep-ag-o-nid’-zom-ahee”
or “EPI” and “AGONIDZOMAHEE” which simple means:
“through agony”
Let’s be honest – this is a very appropriate term for what it sometime takes to wrestle through the differences that exist between people of the faith.
In my estimation it is in the presence of such “ep-ag-o-nid-zom-ahee” that we prove our Christian maturity. It’s present when circumstances call for us to forego our agendas, attitudes, opinions, and ways and to selflessly extend to others grace, time, and love – especially when we do not believe the recipient is deserving of such.
So difficult.
But when He is present in abundance so is the ability and inclination.
And that is what appears to have existed here among these first believers – total unity.
To show the level of the spirit that existed among them Luke adds:
and not one was saying that anything of the things he had was his own, but all things were to them in common.”
In other words they had a heart of selflessness and unity and sharing that is typically VERY difficult even among small numbers of people and nearly impossible without God in larger groups.
Why? Three F’s
Flesh, fears, and frustrations
Our flesh desires to retain “what we believe is ours (or it pushes us to take what is not.)
Our fears that if we don’t use wisdom there won’t be enough for our families to survive, and our
Frustrations with others who appear to take advantage of the spirit of community.
As stated, what can help assuage the flesh, fears and frustrations in the faith is the Spirit. But practically speaking, “circumstances” and a “worthy cause” go a long way to keep even groups of non-believers united and selflessly contributing.
All you have to do is read studies about mass movements or the history of great political causes and you can find examples of selfless unity among some of the most godless people on earth – but godless people who are surrounded by the right circumstances and the right cause.
What I believe is the difference between such groups and the Bride or true Body of Christ is that every non-Godly group winds up dissolving – but people united by the Spirit for the cause of Christ will – not have to, but will remain united in love.
And this unifying love will transcend with them into the eternities.
Part of success for this loving unity never failing comes down to the means by which we agree to disagree with each other.
Truly mature followers of the King, in my estimation, look for reasons to remain united and not for reasons to divide. We seek to let the Spirit of love override the Spirit of the three F’s – flesh, fear or frustration.
There are plenty of examples in scripture of believers and things “dividing” but how we divide determines whether God is involved or it’s an response to the F’s. Let me try and explain.
There are a number of Greek words for parting or separating or dividing.
The first is stasis and/or suzetesis, (sood-zay’-tay-sis) and this is typically used in describing people of opposing positions.
For example in Acts 15:1-2
“And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.”
“no small dissension and disputation” is both stasis and sood-zay-tay-sis.
And means a disputation, reasoning, discussion, uprising, or uproar. Who was involved in this uproar – Paul and his companion Barnabus.
It does not say that God reprimanded them nor that He was disappointed with them. It merely says they had it between them.
So we know that we, as believers, can differ with each other. Notice the text does not say this differing was of the devil.
Then we have another term –
af-is’-tay-mee”
It means to withdraw oneself, refrain away, depart and even to revolt against.
Do we read of this occurring in the New Testament? We do.
In Acts 15:37 “And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them (AFISTAYMEE) from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.”
Another is Diameritzo (dee-amar-idzo)
This they did with the clothing of Jesus in Matthew 27:35
Jesus uses the word in Luke 11 when He said:
“Every kingdom divided (diameritzo) against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.”
In John 19:23-24 we read:
“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted (diameritzo) my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.”
We can see that as a verb diameritzo is used in everyday life. We can also see that diameritzo within the Body is not good – that when the body actually diameritzo’s it has separated itself into parts. And Jesus Himself says that it cannot stand.
Choridzo – “to separate by a room”
or generally means to just depart or leave but it is also used in Romans 8:25 where we read:
Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us (KORIDZO) from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us (KORIDZO) from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s also used in 1st Corinthians 7:10
And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband (choridzo – to put a room between).
I know it’s a lot. Couple more.
Orthotomeo (ortho-tomeo)
To divide rightly, to make it upright and straight. This is the type of dividing God recommends we employ when we study the Word of God and says in
2nd Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (Ortho-Tomeo) the word of truth.”
Make your incisions clear and clean.
MERIZMOS is another and it is used in Hebrews 4:12 where we read:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing (merizmos) asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
So we have merizmos, orthotomeo, koridtzo, diameritzo, afistamee, and soozayhaysis – all reasonable, mature, and even sometimes painful expressions of departure or separation of things or people.
And none condemned but all part of the work of God.
But there is one more word in the Greek that describes the kind of dividing which is typically (not always, but typically) not from God – “schitzo”
Instead it is generally assigned to things that are divided badly.
For example, we read in Luke 5:36
And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent (schitzo), and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
We know from first aid and medicine that a rent (schitzo) verses an incision (orthotomeo) is always harder to repair and heal because of its unmatched parts and pieces.
So it is with believers and groups of believers experiencing a schitzo instead of merizmos, orthotomeo, koridtzo, diameritzo, afistamee, and soozayhaysis.
When Jesus visited the apostles on the beach and filled their nets with fish to overflowing but the nets did not brake the word for did not tear apart was, again, schitzo.
From the word we of course get schitzo-phrenia (torn or broken mind).
Things or people or marriages schitzo’d are torn and rent so badly they are rarely able to be made whole again.
We do not want schizo anything in the Body – no matter how much we might divide in other ways on other things.
Remember Jesus had a coat that was woven from the top to the bottom (which was very symbolic by the way).
And when He was being put to death what did the Roman soldiers do?
John 19:23-24 “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part (diameritzo); and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it (schitzo), but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.”
Why not schitzo the coat? Because it would destroy its value. Why and how? Because once the woven coat was schitzoes apart it would not be possible to bring it back together.
Flipping this around then, the only thing – listen, the only things we want to schitzo out of our lives are those things and people we never, ever want to be reunited with again.
We can reunite with something we “merizmos,” “orthotomeo,” “koridtzo,” “diameritzo,” “afistamee,” and “soozayhaysis,” but once something is schitzoed in our lives its done.
I would make three observations at this point relative to this point.
First, I would suggest that the author of schitzo in this world is Satan. He loves a destructive irreparable divide – whether in marriage, families, community, among countries but especially in the body.
Which lead me to the second point – in my estimation there is far, far, far too much schitzo in and among believers. Truly ugly, uneven, renting and tearing and biting at each other that makes reparations nearly impossible.
In these types of divisions Satan does his best work.
But having said all of this there are two places in scripture where God schitzos things.
The first was when he parted the clouds on the day of Jesus baptism. He schitzoed them and in my opinion this was just what He did.
But the second and last time God schitzoes something was?
That’s right, when he parted, separated, divided, torn, or unevenly shreaded the veil in two.
In other words when we read that
“behold the veil of the temple
Perhaps one of the most symbolic acts in scripture of where God Himself says,
“I NEVER EVER want these two pieces to come together again.”
So . . . back to these believers. United in heart and soul. Verse 33
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
The apostles were given great dunamis (power) to preach. This is what I believe Luke speaks about because He says the power was related to their witness of the resurrection and I tend to think this witness was shared in preaching.
And not only did they have great power in witnessing of the resurrection but Luke says that “great grace was upon the whole group.”
The word grace means “favor,” and we could believe that great favor was upon them from God and or from the other people in the community.
We normally tie grace to our understanding of salvation but here the word seems to mean they were blessed in their life work as believers, had favor, were able to live as believers without much difficulty.
(verse 34)
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,
Now remember their circumstances, their unity as a result of their circumstances and cause, and the fact that because this is what they did in no way suggests that this is what should be the case with Christians everywhere.
Where do I get the right to make such an assessment?
First, the context is different the context of what we face here in Salt lake City Utah.
Secondly, we know that this approach to living the faith did NOT carry forward very long in the early church.
And third it was not mandated by God – it just seems to be the result of the heart of the people meeting the need of those who were in their group.
Apparently at that particular time and place there was such unity that if anyone may have been in a position to lack they would have been taken care of.
By who? Those who had or possessed material goods in particular lands or houses it says.
And what did they do with the proceeds? (verse 35)
35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
In other words they committed the money they received for the sale of their property to the disposal of the apostles, to distribute it as was necessary among the poor.
In time we will see that the Apostles got overwhelmed with these duties and dispatched them to believers known as deacons.
But at this point it appears that all of this was in the hands of the Apostles and that it was all based on the freewill donations of believers.
Now Luke gives us an example which must not be the exception for it seems like many participated in this type of giving. But in his example Luke says in our last two verses:
“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.”
A number of manuscripts, instead of saying “Joses,”read Joseph.
We aren’t sure why he was selected or why his offering is highlighted but we can make some guesses.
One is because he was a foreigner. Another is because he was remarkably generous but in all probability he is mentioned not for these reasons (because generosity is generosity regardless of the amount) but instead because of the role he will play in bringing Paul forward in ministry (which we will read more about later in Acts).
His name was Joses or Joseph but apparently the apostles gave him another name, Barnabas, a common practice back then.
Barnabas, a compound of two Syriac words, means “son of prophesy.” But the Greek word to interpret this compounded name is translated consolation.
In the end it is believed that Barnabas had an ability to teach, preach, exhort people – even to console them – and was thereby given the name Son of Consolation.
He was a Levite – meaning he descended from Levi and therefore would have been qualified to serve in one of the lesser temple services.
As an FYI the entire tribe of Levi was set apart to the service of religion and it was divided into Priests and Levites.
The three sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Out of Kohath Aaron came and was the first high priest but all of the others of the tribe of Levi were called Levites, and as stated did the “lesser” work of the temple.
Barnabas was also from a country called Cyprus, a largest island in the Mediterranean.
It is of interest that both Paul and Barnabas were raised in pagan lands, even though they were both Jews, that they were called to reach the Gentiles, and that they would work together.
Not a coincidence. They were perfectly groomed to do what they did – and we’ll read more about them in the next few months.
But right now we have an introduction to the man who will become Paul’s traveling companion in ministry and he comes to us to foreshadow his future work in the book of Acts.
We’ll conclude by pointing out that Luke has primed and prepped us for what he is about to share next – some within the rank of believers who decided to hypocritically pretend to be giving and benevolent – but were really only lying to God.
That is where we will pick it up next week – at chapter five.
Questions?
Comments?
Microphone please.
