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Monday 15 March 2010

Acts 4:32-36

There was unity between the believers, both in heart and mind. This is in contrast to the situation between the religious leaders. Attempts to bring unity through law will always fail, and sadly the church has proved this many times!

There was also a practical sharing of material goods between the believers. No one claimed that what they owned was their own. Again, any attempt to replicate this through a legalistic means (eg making it a church rule) will lead to disaster. it is the fruit of the work of the Spirit in a person's heart.

The apostles proclaimed the resurrection of the Lord. There are various attempts by people to make out that the resurrection was not actually central to the early church, but these claims are nonsense. The resurrection was the sole reason for the emergence of the church and was the central point of its message.

God's grace worked powerfully in them. Too often we think of God's grace in a passive sense of receiving forgiveness, but in the Bible grace is active, it enables us to do things and to achieve things. The result it produced here was to end poverty. This was brought about by the generosity God produced in people's hearts. Barnabas is cited as an example. Barnabas would play an important role later on in the church, hence his mention here.

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