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The Early Church in the Acts of the Apostles
Benny Thettayil
Acts is exclusively the story/history of the early Church. We reflect on the Acts today because the first
readings for the Mass from Easter to Pentecost are taken from the Acts. Now to the question “How do
you describe your church?” Generally I begin to answer this question by describing how big the church
is, the church buildings, sound/lighting/heating/paintings. The congregation would be thought of
perhaps as one of the last in the list of the descriptions. Nevertheless, the experience of Church in the
Acts was essentially ekklesia, the gathering of the believers. You and I are the church – Church in the
Acts style.
The Birth of the Church
In the narration of the Pentecost experience of the Apostles, Luke is helping us visualise what defies
description; no experience is fully describable. It was a unique experience that he heard the Apostles
narrating to him. According to the description of the experience, the sound is "like" a great wind, the
disciples see and feel something "as of fire”. They were "filled with the Holy Spirit."
The subsequent spread of the gospel is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles act, but the Holy Spirit
inspires and directs. The Holy Spirit in the first part of the Acts functions primarily as the interpreter in
enabling people to understand the message the disciples communicate to many language-groups. It acts
also as the community-builder in gathering a new community of disciples 3,000 strong of many different
nationalities.
Ups and Downs
Phase 1: Holy Spirit's work leads to the formation of community: The first members are all Jews who
go regularly to the Temple, meet at home for extra teaching from the Apostles, for prayers and for the
"breaking of bread”. It is a community of prayer and worship. At this point we do not see any sense of a
parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity. The ekklesia is a Jerusalem-based Jewish church
in which the members of the community shared their property with others as per the need (4:32-35).
The ekklesia is characterised by a pervading attitude of joy and exultation which was rooted in the
resurrection of Jesus.
It is the early spring time in the Church: a wonderful experience. God was working in powerful ways,
with reports of new people coming to faith, an exciting time, the joy they shared was doubled. The
idealistic descriptions were reminders of the true nature of the Church, a goal toward which every
community of disciples should strive.
Phase 2: The short-lived "ideal" church: The ideal ekklesia was later beset with conflict both within and
without. Internally, there arose a suspicion over the sharing and distribution of property and food and
externally, the civil authorities saw them as troublemakers. They would give Saul the necessary mandate
to curb the movement. The early testimony gets blocked by external harassment and internal misdeeds.
Both these mute the voice of authentic testimony. However, the message of the Acts is not to let these
stumbling blocks silence our voices permanently.
Phase 3: It gets physical: The third phase is marked by physical violence against the disciples. However,
the timid disciples suddenly find courage in their conviction. The stepped up violence leads to
persecution. Stephen is dragged before the authorities and eventually is done away with.
The Blessing in Disguise
The destructive plans of the enemies lead to the wider dissemination of the message of the resurrection.
Persecution makes many of the disciples flee into Judea and Samaria and farther. The irony of this event
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is that inadvertently the disciples follow the mandate of the Risen Jesus “be witnesses in Jerusalem,
Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” That is exactly what happens as a result of the
persecution. God turns evil human designs for the good of the world. In this flight, the ekklesia becomes
multi-cultural.
The Church - Multicultural and Universal
The ekklesia gradually sheds the unicultural garb of Judaism and dons a multicultural and universal garb.
The ecclesial community becomes universal. The Christian Pentecost is the quintessential story of
universalism and multiculturalism. Openness to this diversity was the hallmark of the Church even at its
inception. Catholic (katholikos) denotes “universal.” The quality of the Church in our own day is not
different as the Church has members of diverse ethnic backgrounds. However, this poses a challenge to
incorporate all of them seamlessly in the ekklesia.
In the second Pentecost at Cornelius’ house, Peter confirmed this course followed by the Church.
Cornelius was a gentile from Caesarea (10:34-42). Inspired by the whole experience, Peter declared that
all who fear God was acceptable to him (10:34-35). He confirms this at the Council of Jerusalem where
the formal permission for Gentiles mission is granted by the then authority (Acts 15).
Gradually, conversion of others of differing ethnic backgrounds and their evangelical work makes the
Church truly universal. For instance, there is the Ethiopian Eunuch, the Samaritans and the jailer who
saw God’s power at work in themselves.
Christian Realism
This rosy picture of the ideal Early Church should not hide the various issues that the disciples had to
deal with. The Church was a divine-human endeavour and the human element inevitably brought
limitations with it. For instance, there is the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-11), the aftermath
of which instilled fear in the Church (Acts 5:11). The tide goes against the joyful message of the Easter.
Similarly, there is the issue of the complaint from the Greek quarters of the Church that threatened to
split the early Church into two. The realism here is that it is not easy to fulfil the idealized vision of
Church, but it is not impossible.
Idealism and Realism
“If you ever find the perfect church, don’t join it because you will spoil it!” (Anon.) The early Church in
the Acts alternates between the rosy and murky picture of the church in the world. The first phase of
unity and swelling of the number in the Church is followed by the first instance of persecution. The
unusual generosity of the members and their and care for one another is followed by the hypocrisy of
Ananias and Sapphira. The unlikely, but very welcome decision of the Jewish priests to join the ekklesia
is followed by the apostles’ witness before the authorities, at the end of which the Sanhedrin flogs them,
Stephen is stoned and the church is scattered.
The church needs to maintain a balance between the attention paid to what happens within it and
without. If we focus outward - fail to attend to problems within the result usually is discord and
disintegration of the Church. IF we focus inward, we forget our mission in the world and the result is
that we lose our sense of mission, we run the risk of being consumed by backbiting and self-centeredness
which leads to an implosion.
The Acts Style:
Meeting the demands of the growing the ekklesia in the Acts model was for the leaders and members
to be spiritual in submission to the Word. Spirituality in the Acts does not consist in mysticism that has
nothing to do with the world, rather, it is in enjoying the God-given life in fullness materially and
spiritually with the guidance of the Spirit in prayer.
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REALISTIC RESPONSE
1. Life Enhanced by Prayer and Word
The problem that he members of the early Church encountered is that the Greek widows were neglected
(Acts 6:1). The response of the apostles to the complaint made was they would not neglect the word of
God” (6:2). Rather, they would devote themselves to prayer, and ministry of the word” (6:4). This
important ministry of feeding could be done by others who would be “men of good reputation, full of
Spirit and wisdom” (6:3). Thus, thy chose Stephen “full of faith and Spirit” (6:5) and six others from the
Greek-speaking Christian community and prayed over them (6:6).
Both the Soul and the Body were to be cared for. Spiritual people are concerned for the total person.
The problem arose when distributing food to needy widows. It had to be continued. True spirituality is
not impractical and other-worldly, because souls are securely fastened to bodies! It is when these were
cared for in a balanced way that “the word of God kept on spreading” (6:7).
2. Problems of the Spiritual People
Despite the sense of unity and community in this early church which was guided by the best leaders
imaginable in the twelve apostles, and despite the fact that the community was growing (spiritually and
numerically), yet they had problems.
Teething troubles: The new converts will have problems. Like all babies, spiritual babies are usually selfcentred at first. That is why perhaps, the Hellenistic Jews legitimately felt the discrimination. It is naïve
to think that coming to faith has made you divine.
When we try to serve the Lord together conflicts erupt, because we are serving the Lord and we are
serving together. The problem is dealt with in a constructive manner. The apostles called together the
whole congregation. They explained their philosophy of ministry and laid out some guidelines. They
asked the believers themselves to find 7 men to deal with the situation and gave those men the authority
to deal with it.
3. Spirituality of Harmony Expressed in Diversity
Easiest solution to the problem would have been a split which would have led to two churches. However,
despite diverse backgrounds of the believers and their differing mother tongues, they solve the problem
in a spirit of unity, not division.
4. Solution in Diversity of Spiritual Gifts
Church leadership is not a singlehanded affair. Not even the apostles, having been trained under the
Master himself, could do it all. They were called to the ministry of prayer and Word, and not to direct
every aspect of church. This responsibility has to be delegated to godly men. One of the keys is to resort
to division of labour on the basis of spiritual gifts. Any one person, however gifted, cannot carry on the
task of animating an ekklesia. All members have to be involved in accordance with his/her gifts. The key
to solving issues is to recognize the authority of all the gifted members of the ekklesia and use his/her
gift to work on the problems that are perceived.
At times, a change of the organizational structure to meet legitimate need has to be in place. As the
ekklesia grows and expands, under the direction of the Spirit, constructive changes are to be welcomed.
A blend of apostolic direction and congregational participation under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
keeps the Church alive. The seven deacons in this case and the appointment of elders in every church
by Paul to be overseers (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9) are some of the examples of positive responses made
to the exigencies that arose in local churches.
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Conclusion
It is this approach that produced immense results. Even a great many of the priests came to faith (6:7).
Perhaps these belonged to the most difficult of the groups in Judaism to reach out to. However, as the
Spirit worked, even the unlikely transpired.
Church life Barometer:
Points to Ponder
- who runs your ekklesia
- the priest?
- the community (you)?
- what is more important to you
- the ekklesia?
- the church building?
- how in am I in the ekklesia?
- do we keep our members within?
- how can we bring them deeper in?
- do we attract others for right reasons?