Hebrews 2:5-18 "JESUS, NOT MOSES, IS THE FOUNDER OF GOD’S HOUSE "

 

I am delighted to address you this morning in the words of the writer to the Hebrews, “Holy brothers and sisters, you who share in a heavenly calling…” (3:1)

Our text is at once a new slant and yet a continuation of that which the writer to the Hebrews is seeking to communicate to his readers.  You will remember that this letter is written to a group of Hebrew Christians who somehow had lost perspective of their great salvation in Christ over time. 

They were tempted to substitute the Christ of their salvation, whose Being and Nature is described in 1:3.   

They were  tempted  to return to Judaism, and in so doing, they were beginning to drift away (2:1). 

This is a very serious matter and when we get to chapter 6:4-6 we will see that this has very serious consequences: 

4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Drifting from Jesus is a slow process. It happens incrementally, and finally people that once believed in Jesus give up on Him, and they give up meeting with the people of Jesus, a matter addressed in 10:24,25 -  

“23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

This is utterly relevant to our own day. This Covid season has exposed our hearts like little else since the end of WW2, after which huge sociological changes came upon our world and the church.[1] I spoke to a pastor in our Sola 5 connexion this past week and he tells me that 50 percent of their membership has not returned to regular worship, and Covid has apparently provided a respectable reason.  In our congregation  thankfully we do not have such a high percentage, but we do have members whose love for Jesus and the church has cooled. Huge events like this have that sort of effect, and since the Christian faith and the church   form a  familiar routine for many   that are not thoroughly connected to Christ, they drift away, and they discover that  they  are not really missing  Christ and His body.  They then search for renewed meaning and in that process (and with Satan’s help fueling the natural desires of the flesh) the soul substitutes its contentment in God and in Christ for lesser beings and things and activities.[2]  Our fallen religious instinct (and yes, we are all religious – but perverted by original sin) drives us to lesser  beings. 

And so we have seen in Chapter 1: 4-2:18 that these Hebrews were moving away from Jesus  by beginning to consider the angels - these marvelous and mysterious heavenly beings -    as superior to Jesus.

Hebrews 2:1-6

But in addition to that, we shall now see, they were thinking that Moses, that huge Old Testament figure was superior to Jesus. Again this apostolic writer labors to show them that they were heading into treacherous waters, and so he strongly exhorts them to take another good look at Jesus.  

Now Moses’ importance to the Jewish mind cannot be overstated. Moses was revered as the greatest of all Hebrews. His history and his legacy in the Bible is huge.  He was chosen by God in the unique encounter of the burning bush (Ex. 3). He was the great deliverer of his people when he led them out of Egypt (Ex. 7-12). He was the great intercessor of his people when they sinned (e.g. Ex. 17:4, 8-13; 32:11-14, 31-32). He received the 10 commandments on Mt.Sinai, and from him came the law of Moses. (Ex. 34:29-35); He was Israel’s greatest prophet (Deut. 34:10,11).  He was second only to Adam in his experience of intimacy with God[3].  Numbers 12:6-8 reveals this concerning Moses:  

6 …"Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD.“

The first 5 books of the Bible, the so called Pentateuch, are attributed to Moses. Moses was the meekest and humblest person on the face of the earth (Num. 12:3). His character was undoubtedly forged in the desert during those 40 years.  And now you will understand the high regard which the Hebrew people had for Moses. He seemed, like the angels to be superhuman, and now we can understand why the writer finds it necessary to establish the superiority of Christ over Moses. The danger of drifting back into Judaism is real.  Drifting into the past and into lesser loves and 'the good old days' and sentimentalism is a real temptation for all of us when Jesus shifts out of sight.

1.       A CALL TO FOCUS ON JESUS! (3:1)

It is with this thought in mind that the writer calls them to consider Jesus: 

1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession..., 

Please  take note that his appeal is to their confession of faith: they are  brothers, they are holy, they share  in a heavenly calling. This is what they professed, but now the writer holds them accountable   to their commitment to Jesus, their apostle[4]  and high priest. By these titles Jesus superiority to Moses is asserted.

The word apostle means ‘sent one’, and we must remember that Jesus repeatedly refers to Himself as One sent by the Father into the world[5].  In that sense Jesus occupies the foundation of all apostolic work. As high priest He fulfills the office perfectly as mediator between man and God, because He is both, the Son of Man and the Son of God.  As such then they and we are called to consider[6] Jesus. The word is intense and calls us to examine Jesus closely. The apostle Paul expresses this intense desire to know Jesus in Philippians 3:10,  

“… that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” 

In  Hebrews  12:1,2 we  have another call to look closely at Jesus, 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

This writer understands  that the survival of these people to whom he is writing  depends  on a close, intimate  look  on this Jesus, both as  the  apostle sent from God  and as high priest  standing between them and God. Oh, how we need to cultivate intense look at Jesus through our private Bible reading, in regular prayer and meditation, and through hearing the Word of Jesus preached to us often. Consider Him! (cf. also 12:3). Take a thorough, clear and close look at Jesus, and you will see the immense difference between Him and other great personalities and beings, whose lesser glories  we so easily fall for.  The antidote to every spiritual illness is a better sight of Christ. Get to know Jesus as He is presented to you in the Bible. Then you will never leave him.

2.        A CALL TO OBSERVE  THAT JESUS IS GREATER THAN MOSES (3:2-6)

And now the writer helps  them and us to  see  just in which way Jesus is greater than Moses,

2  Jesus…who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses--as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

While both Jesus and Moses were faithful in their God given callings, Jesus calling was greater because His work was greater.  By way of an illustration the writer uses the analogy of a house and its builder. An architect, a builder is always greater than the building which he designs and builds. So the point is that Jesus is superior to Moses because Jesus is the builder, and Moses is part of the building or household as a steward and servant. Now we need to remember that this comparison does not minimize or devalue Moses. His faithfulness is not in question. We know that he was highly  honoured by the Jews and in history. The fact however is that Jesus build the  true house, the temple of God, the church, just as He build the universe (1:2). Moses served as a great leader in the house of God, but Jesus by  His shed blood and broken body built  the living temple  of God. Moses upheld the sacrificial system. Jesus Himself was the ultimate sacrifice.

Verse 5 makes this great distinction between Jesus and Moses even more  clear: 

“Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant… but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son.”  

The word used to describe Moses servanthood is rare and only used here in the NT. It is the word “therapōn”, (from which we derive the word therapy or therapist) denoting an honoured servant who is far above  a slave, but who is  still a servant. Moses was truly a servant of the LORD (Ex. 14:31; Num. 11:11;12:7; Deut. 3:24; Josh. 1:2). In Exodus 35-50 alone there are 22 references to Moses’s faithfulness to God.

In fact, Moses was  a faithful servant and witness to Christ.  We are told  that he was to “to testify to the things that were to be spoken later.” Moses, therefore in this sense is another John the Baptist (who was not the light- John  1: 6-8), but simply  pointing and testifying to the greater  One to come. In fact, Moses law, and the entire sacrificial system, the ceremonies, the priesthood, the tabernacle were all pointing  to  their fulfilment  in the  coming  Christ. That is why Jesus said to the Jews, 

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.”(Jn. 5:46). 

And after the resurrection, walking with 2 disciples on the Emmaus road we read this:   

27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Lk 24:27). 

Moses was a faithful servant, and in one sense he was a son of God, but He was not the eternal Son. Christ is the faithful son over the house of God (3:6). Moses pointed to Him, but Jesus fulfilled all the OT prophecies even unto the cross. Such was the ministry of our faithful apostle and high priest, the One sent from God to redeem us from our sin.  Jesus is greater and better than Moses. Infinitely!

Does our faithful apostle and high priest require anything from us?  

Yes He does!

1.       We have already seen that we must intensely consider Him – the Son of God. And now two more things:  “And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

2.       We are His house, in being and doing. We are the living temple of God – not Moses’s  tabernacle, nor David’s temple – these all pointed to the living church . As such we need to identify with His house, remembering that it is He that calls us and gathers us into this living community. To be disregard   the church means to disregard Christ.

3.       In this we must persevere: “we must hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” We will find this  condition  again and again in the book of Hebrews: we need to persevere in the Christian life. We must hold on. We must hold on in the context of His house.  It is the  test of a true faith. The doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints  is not only rooted  in the fact that God  has saved us decisively, but that this fact  must be seen  and worked out in our lives within the house that Jesus  has built .

Are you persevering? Or are you drifting from Christ and His house?

Is Jesus as dear to you as on the first day when you met Him? 

Are you holding fast to your confidence  and boasting in your  hope in Christ?

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[1] My dear father left Germany as a thoroughly disillusioned and god-less man. (Thankfully he did not die that way!)  The war and Adolf Hitler had killed the soul of the German nation. Hitler was greatly influenced by   Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), a German philosopher and writer whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history. Nietzsche said famously, ‘God is dead‘.  Nietzsche believed there could be positive new possibilities for humans without God. Relinquishing the belief in God opens the way for human creative abilities to fully develop. The Christian God, he wrote, would no longer stand in the way, so human beings might stop turning their eyes toward a supernatural realm and begin to acknowledge the value of this world. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_is_dead]

[2] Since Satan cannot destroy the gospel he has  too often neutralised its usefulness  by addition, subtraction or substitution (J.C. Ryle)

[3] R.Kent Hughes: Hebrews Vol 1, p.90

[4] The term apostle  for Jesus is only used once, here ; the term high priest  is used 12x in Hebrews 

[5] Over 10 times in John’s writings

[6] Katanoeō ( also 10:24)  – to perceive clearly, to understand fully,  to consider closely

HEBREWS 2:5-18 "JESUS, THE FOUNDER OF OUR SALVATION"

 

The greatest struggle our fallen natures have, is with God, and all He represents. Have you noticed how every major doctrine in the book of Genesis is being attacked or distorted in these days? We will mention only a few:   

In the beginning God… (1:1). God Himself has been declared dead by some and non-existent by others. Many more have distorted His true nature and attributes, making Him less than He is.  

In the beginning God created…(1:1). The doctrine of personal creation has been substituted with the theory of impersonal evolution. 

God created man in His image…(1:26)  Many now reduce man to the level of an animal. 

God created man and woman… (1:27). The insistence is now on gender neutrality. 

The principle of 7^th day rest from work (2:1-3) has been routinely ignored and disregarded for a long time. 

The definition and doctrine of marriage as between a man and a woman (2:18-25) has been challenged by the homosexual agenda.

There is this tendency to constantly make the Tri-une God, and especially now the Lord Jesus, less than He is. Whenever we make God or Christ less than He is, or whenever we substitute His superiority with lesser beings or things we lose focus. Hence we find the emphasis in  Hebrews 2:1 on the danger of drifting away[1]. This is why the letter to the Hebrews was written. 

The Christ who was preached to them and revealed to them (1:1-3) was now no longer in focus, and where the proper focus is blurred, other things are  quickly substituted in His place. The human heart was made to worship. The fall has distorted our capacity to worship, and we quickly substitute our God ordained focus, being on Himself, to lesser and created things.[2] The focus has shifted on to created beings such as the glorious angels were. So, from 1:4 until and including our present text, the writer is helping his readers to see that their focus must not rest on angels, but on the Lord Jesus. 

He is the Founder of our great salvation (2:3). 

He is infinitely more superior and more worthy and more glorious than the angels, for Christ is God Himself (1:3). 

We will drift away from the Author of our salvation, when we make the glorious angels our focus.  When you lose your focus on Jesus, you lose the heart of the Christian faith. This is the reason why you find so many church buildings, formerly dedicated to the glory of God and for the preaching of Christ, now mere buildings, with no true worshippers. Ichabod! The glory of God has departed.[3] And the cults and false religions are snapping these buildings up, creating even more distortion in our society.

Follow now as the writer urges them not to drift away –  to not  lose focus on the person and work of Jesus as  he sets out to show that Jesus as the Son of God is not only greater than the angels (1:5-9), but also  that as the Son of Man Jesus is greater than the angels! And so we see in 2:5-13 that Jesus’ coming as a man does not make Him less superior than the angels,  and in 2:14-18  Jesus  superiority to the angels is not less, because He suffered for us as a man. Don’t let the thought that Jesus was now less than the angels distract you from His real substance! Follow the logic…

1.   Don’t think that Jesus’ becoming a man makes him less divine (2:5-13)

2:5 “Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking”.  He reminds us that angels are not ruling this world - they're simply ministering to this world (1:14). The world is not subjected to them, but to Christ. The earth is His footstool (1:13). It is subjected to Him. It is under His feet (2:8). 

What is meant by "the world to come"? Surely it means the same as ‘these last days' referred to in 1:2[4]. The new world order began with Christ's birth, death and ascension. It is true that the world to come (the true new age) is not yet clearly seen, but it has begun by virtue of the fact that Christ has reconciled man with God. Man has been saved, redeemed and restored to a hope of eternal life. The kingdom of God is now here, but it is in the making. It is both here and still to come.

2:6-8 It has been testified somewhere, "What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honour, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. It is God’s purpose that man should rule, not angels.  

Now follows a quote from Psalm 8:4-6. When you look up at the stars and consider the vastness of the universe then man appears quite insignificant. But by design he is not. God, who has made man in his image, is mindful of man. He cares for man. Man is only for a little while lower than the angels. Man remains the peak of God’s creation. In truth man is crowned with glory and honour. In truth man was created to have dominion over this world.  The fall has distorted everything, we do not see everything in subjection to Him, but do not be impatient.

2:9 “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.  

Although  we do not  yet see man in the position  that God intended for him, we do see a representative  Man –  a  man called Jesus, in that position.  We see Him now by faith (Chapter 11) as He is revealed to us in the Scripture (1:1-3).  To restore all things and to restore man’s proper dominion, Jesus took on flesh and became like us. He became the Son of man. He knows what it is to be lower than the angels. He lived in this fallen world. He took upon Himself the sin of this world, suffering in fallen man’s place. 'Suffering' is an important concept in this letter[5]. Jesus was not protected from trouble and pain. When we find ourselves immersed in the harsh realities of human experience, He knows exactly how we feel. He knows what it is to live under the threat of death. He Himself suffered death (2:9), and being who He is, He also conquered death (2:14 - 15).  “He tasted death for everyone”. The next few verses (2:10,11) will explain  just  who these  are that Jesus  died for.  Before we get there, remember that the point here is to show who Jesus is. He being in very essence God (1:1-3) is the One who died for man, and rose for man. He is the ascended Lord, who is now in heaven – ‘crowned with glory and honour’.  NO angel could save like this. We as people cannot point to any angel  and say- my salvation is because of Him.

2:10 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 

For those that stumble over the fact that God the  Father and Creator (by who all things exist) sent His Son, Jesus into the world to suffer and die,  and  who therefore  think that  this is  weakness (cf. the foolishness of the cross- 1 Cor. 1:18), think about  what His so called weakness  accomplished. In His suffering on the cross He who is now crowned with glory and honour (2:9) brings many sons to glory i.e. many among mankind to the same place and position where He is NOW.  It was not an angel who did this. The Christ of God suffered to achieve this for us! Worship Him!

2:11-13 “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." 13 And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Behold, I and the children God has given me." 

Now see this. There is a unique union between Christ and those whom He saves. He is their brother. And as our brother (being the Son of man), he remakes us as mankind in his image. He sanctifies us. He makes us holy.[6] 

Although believers are moving day by day towards their future destiny as sons of glory, something is also happening to us presently. In Christ we are made holy              (sanctified). Being made holy means nothing less than becoming like Jesus i.e. we are thus of the same source and family (2:11a). That is why He is not ashamed to call us brothers (2:11b). Through Jesus’ work we become family of God, children of God.[7] The OT texts from Psalm 22:22, Isa 8:17,18 support  this. Redeemed people are the family of God. No angel did this. Jesus ALONE did this.

SUMMARY: We must get our biblical theology right. In Hebrews 2:5 - 13 we learned that we must not be overtaken by the apparent glory of the angels. We must not replace them with the greater glory of Christ. Don’t think that Jesus is second rate because He became a man. We must also understand redeemed man’s  future glory in Christ.  Although fallen man is presently lower than the angels, redeemed man  by the work of the Son of man is  not. They will rule the world. They will judge the angels (1 Cor. 6:2,3).

2.   Don’t think that Jesus’ suffering as a man  makes him  weak (2:14-18)

2:14 - 16 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

Jesus’ weakness and suffering and death was a stumbling block for many in his day. But do not let that temporary picture of weakness fool you. All this had to happen. This was divine logic at work.  Jesus had to share in our flesh and blood partaking of  the same things (2:14a). Jesus needed to die to destroy Satan’s chief tool – death[8],  through His resurrection (2:14b) in which  all will share.  Now, it isn't that the Christian won't die. We all must die (Heb.9:27). Even when you have been born again, you must die that "first death".  But Christians will not have to face the fear of the second death[9]. And thus we are reminded that Jesus delivers his brothers and sisters from the slavery of fear (2:15) and in this all we are reminded that He helps man and not angels (2:16), and so follows the very clear assertion that… 

(i)            2:17 "He had to be made like His brothers in every way " (v.17a see also v.11).  An important aspect we need to add to here that Jesus, though He was a man, He did not share in their sin nature (Heb.4:15).  This is also the reason why Jesus could be a 'merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God.'  Only men (not angels) could be high priests. Jesus became the perfect high priest  (2:17b cf. Hebrews 8)...  to make propitiation for the sins of the people. In this sacrifice He is both the High priest who presents the sacrifice, and the sacrifice itself. He makes propitiation (taking away the wrath of God) for our sins! Truly we must  thank Jesus and not angels  for this!

(iv)       12:18 i8 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.  Jesus can help man, because He has experienced man’s weakness. No angel could do this.

SUMMARY: Jesus’s ordinary manhood and his death on the cross was seen by many as a weakness. Angels, by way of contrast were always glorious, shining creatures. They appeared more glorious. Don’t be fooled! Remember, that the wisdom of the cross is foolishness to this world. But it is the wisdom of God. 

The Hebrews who were in the process of drifting away needed to see Jesus for who He was: (i) The Son of Man who is the glorious Son of God 

(ii) who died on  a cross  of shame  so that  they could become the sons of God.

A true view of Jesus and His purpose for this world, and for us, is the gos-pill that will cure us from drifting away into lesser loves. May God be pleased to settle this truth in your hearts.

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[1] Gr. parareō, lit. to flow past ;to let slip

[2] Romans 1:18ff

[3] 1 Samuel 4:21

[4] see also 6:5

[5] see 2:18; 5:8; 10:32; 11:26,36; 13:12

[6] Sanctification is another important theme in this letter (10:14,29 ; 13:12)

[7] 1 John 3:1

[8] Obviously we must understand , that Satan holds the power of death only in a secondary and not in an ultimate sense .

[9] the second death- Rev. 2:11; 20:6; 21:8; Rom. 6:23

ACTS 2:42-47 "THE MARKS OF A LIVING CHURCH"

 

If the church were forced to focus on the bare minimum- what would we do?

If  the church stripped away everything and just do the essentials, what would we do?

If the church had to make a choice between the good and the biblical, what would we keep on doing?

Our text in Acts 2:42-47 gives us an indication of what are essential and vital marks of a living church, loved by God, redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, indwelt by the Spirit of God. 

Following Pentecost and the outpouring of the Spirit, the Christian church comes into being. We immediately get an impression of the essential activities and responses which make a biblical church unique. As many were converted and baptised, these were added to the church (2:41),  the  immediate result was that the church began to organise itself in terms of  a commitment (i.e. they devoted themselves) to gather under the apostolic Word, a commitment to fellowship,  a commitment to  remember the Lord’s death in the Lord’s supper,  and a commitment to prayer. Here  then we see the essentials marks of a living church. 

(i)                 Regular apostolic teaching: The very first evidence of the Spirit’s presence in the church is that they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. He is the ultimate Communicator of the Word about Jesus. And the early apostles, chosen by Jesus were the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20). Thus, by the Spirit  and under the supervision of the early apostles, the teachings of Jesus were accurately recorded and passed on.  And so we find that this is still so today. The  primary activity  of the church remains  the proclamation of the  Word of God – both  in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  At the heart of the church’s  establishment is the Word of God!  And so they  devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.

(ii)  Regular fellowship: “They devoted themselves… to the fellowship” (Koinonia – ‘communion’, ‘sharing in common’).  Our fellowship  is expressed in  two ways:

a.      It expresses what we share in: We share in common God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 1 John 1:1-4  says that our fellowship (koinonia) is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.  The heart of what we share together is defined by the Bible. We have fellowship in the Father and in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. Our fellowship – our common experience is defined by the fact that we share Him! That is the key to genuine fellowship.

b.      It expresses what we share out together: The church is deeply involved in each other’s lives. One of the key expressions of this is that they would help those who were disadvantaged in their midst. There was great compassion! This follows the O.T. pattern where Israel was taught to have a strong level of concern of care for the poor (e.g. Micah 6:8). Christian fellowship is Christian caring, and Christian caring is Christian sharing. We must not try to evade the challenge of these verses.

(iii)     Regular participation in the Lord’s supper:  “They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread and the prayers …”. They organised themselves to come together for the regular remembrance of the Lord’s death. The cross is where the church meets. The cross of Christ is our common experience - sinners saved by the grace of God. The cross of Jesus is our common ground.  The cross is that which brought us peace, with God and with one another.  Therefore the cross, the remembrance  of the  shed blood of Jesus is the symbol of our unity, and so every time we celebrate Communion, we are acknowledging our unity in Christ. We are one.

(iv)      Regular participation in the prayers.  The church had meetings for prayer all the time. We see this pattern in the book of Acts[1]. Illustratively then  we read in Acts 12:5-7: “So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer  for him was made to God  by the church...and behold ,  an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the and woke him, saying’ Get up quickly’. And the chains fell off his hands.” The Puritan preacher, Thomas  Watson,   commented here astutely: The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer fetched the angel. By prayer the church reminds herself continually that her strength and help is from God. Prayer fetches God. Prayer says, “Look here Lord… help!”  … and we need so much help, don’t we,  in these  challenging days?    

 Now this organisation of the church   had a remarkable effect:

       (i)                 “awe came upon every soul” (2:43a)

 

       (ii)               “signs  and wonders were being done through the apostles” (2:43b) 

 

       (iii)              there was a culture of sharing (2:44,45)

 

       (iv)              there was a culture of worship and joy (2:46)  lit. exultation and sincerity of heart.” It is right in public worship to be dignified; it is unforgivable to be dull!  Our joy must be tempered by awe! When God was in their midst they knew it! And they bowed before Him in humility and wonder. The combination of joy and awe provides healthy balance in worship.  Also note  that the church  met both formally and informally  for fellowship and teaching i.e. in the temple  and in  each other’s homes (2:46),  which is an interesting combination, and I think that we need both today!

 

        (v)                there were regular conversions,  and  there was constant church growth (2:47)

 

a.       The Lord Himself did it: “the LORD added…. “ Yes, He did it through the preaching of the apostles, the witness of church members, through the witness of their common  life and common love for one another, but it is still by His power through them which He did it. “Salvation belongs to our God alone , This is such a much needed emphasis in a day when people speak of the work of salvation  as if it were all dependent upon human effort.

 

b.     The Lord added to their number!  The Lord saved them and then he added them to the church! Here is a solemn thought. God does not save us, without also placing us into a body. Salvation and church membership belong together. I would issue a simple challenge to you who say that you are Christians, but who have not committed themselves to the discipline of church membership.

 

c.  The Lord added daily!  The early church’s evangelism was not a sporadic or an occasional activity. They did not organise occasional evangelistic campaigns, and occasional mission trips! No! The life of the early church was evangelism and missions. Just as their worship was daily, so was their witness, and as their outreach was continuous, and  so converts were being added continuously.

 

d.       The Lord added those who were being saved!  The present participle emphasises that salvation is a progressive experience: we were saved … we are being saved … we shall be saved!

We note that this was winsome and contagious Christianity. “They were having favour with all the people”, notwithstanding the fact that very soon the enemy of the church would launch an all-out attack on them and scatter  them.

 
Today is a wonderful Sunday.

On this day we are experiencing much of what we read of here.

We are gathering around the Word and in prayer in the spirit of worship;  we are  gathering around the communion table; we are enjoying fellowship; we are  seeing people converted and baptised and received into the church; we are witnessing the sending out  of  our  missionaries.  And we are joyful!   

Thank God for Sundays and high days in which we have a taste  of what it was like for the  early church!

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[1] Acts 3:1;4:23-31; 12:5,12; 13:2,3; 14:23 ; 16:13,16