They Devoted Themselves | To The Apostles Teaching
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47, ESV)
After the ascension of Jesus Christ, returning to the Father, Christ gave the church the sole mission of bringing the Gospel to all the world and making disciples of all people. Commonly referred to as the Great Commission, this marked the purpose that would unite the church globally and set their outward posture to the world around them. Accomplishing this feat would require unity among the people of God to stand in solitary mission with one another to support and stand with one another. The church would not be able to survive as a collection of lone wolves but would need to come together in support of one another. Thus, at the start of the church, Luke describes in acts the basic expression of their unity and their coming together. They were to devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
Each of these would represent a revolutionary approach of bringing together a diverse group of people with seemingly nothing else is coming other than faith in Jesus Christ. At the center of the church remained a devote focus on Jesus Christ and the Gospel of His work in creation and on the cross. At the center of the devotion came the teachings of those closest to Jesus Christ, the apostles. The church, in order to survive the tumultuous culture of the day would need a unified message and purpose surrounding them. The full teaching of the Apostles, rooting themselves in the Gospel, would equip and challenge the church to actively pursue the things of God and keep in step with the Spirit that resides within them and guides them.
The Apostles’ Teaching Rooted In Christ
The people devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching. Not all teachings would be ones that the people of God should devote themselves to as many teachers of that day claimed a type of special knowledge and revelation. Very likely the Apostle’s teaching referred to a very select group of people who had been in the immediate presence of Jesus Christ, walking with Him, talking with Him, and sitting as a disciple as one who had dedicated their life to follow Him. More specifically, this Gospel entered teaching is rooted in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, for the sins of mankind. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians stated “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2, ESV) Even the sermon by Peter on the day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2, preaches that salvation comes by Jesus Christ and by Christ alone. It speaks to the goodness of God in all creation as everything from the law and the prophets pointed to Him.
We often seek to turn scripture into a type of moralism or rulebook that talks about living our best life, prospering personally, or reaching a type of enlightenment or self-actualization. While many of us would never say this is what we are doing, we deceive ourselves when we seek to make scripture about us. The Apostles’ teaching described a humanity in desperate need of a Savior, unable to pull themselves out of the depth of their sin and depravity. Jesus Christ, and Him alone, set down the path for our salvation and restoration. “Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'” (Luke 24:44, ESV) The entire body of scripture, from the law to the prophets, speaks of Jesus Christ and points to Him. The word of God is not about us receiving gifts of power (though that does occur when we abide in Christ) nor is it about the path to financial, fiscal, and worldly success. The word of God is about the glory of God being fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ throughout all creation and for all eternity.
Cherry Picking The Word of God
The issue our current cultural context finds wrestles with is the notion of cherry picking the word of God and base our understanding of who God is on how we feel, not the truth of the word of God. Often, this takes the form of pitting the love of God against the justice of God, two things that are not opposed to one another. Paul, in address the Ephesians elders sought to warn them of those who would come after them and exhort that they should follow the entirety of scripture. “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:26-30, ESV) By cherry picking the word of God and twisting it to claims things contrary to what is being said, or by flat out ignoring scripture, the wolves would run away from the sheep, leading them away from the safety of the flock.
The whole counsel of scripture, which forms the foundation of the Apostles’ teaching, should be adhered to, even when it is difficult and we may not understand. Furthermore, our default position should be one of obedience to the word of God rather than licentiousness until we fully understand. In waiting to fully understand before we obey, we create idols out of ourselves. Followers of Christ should encourage a devoted approach to the word of God. We read it, we study it, we meditate on it, and we incorporate it into every aspect of our lives. Submitting to the word of God in every aspect of our life submits to and allow the our Heavenly Father to mold and shape us into who we are called to be and trusts in the goodness of God above our own understanding. More practically, this means we must be willing to calls things as sin that are explicitly sins in scripture but must do so with the love of a people who seek to bring restoration between the lost and the family of God. The Apostles’ teaching is Gospelcentric in that it brings good news to sinners that even they might be welcome into the presence of God. We do not accept the rebellion of people for the sake of being loving, nor do we spew hatred and venomous words under the guise of maintaining orthodoxy. To uphold the whole counsel of scripture and the Apostles’ teaching means we call our the truth of our sin and grace of Jesus Christ who bore the weight of our sin upon Himself to redeem and restore our relationship with him.
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
