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Acts 4:32–37
“Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet” (vv. 36–37).
Periodically in the book of Acts, its author, Luke the Evangelist, pauses to give a summary of the state and practice of the church. We have seen this in Acts 2:42–47, where Luke describes the worship of the early church, how the early believers cared for each other, and the daily growth of the number of disciples. Having concluded the account of Peter and John’s healing of the lame beggar and their subsequent interrogation (3:1–4:31), Luke gives another summary of the state of the early Christian community.
First, Luke reports that “the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul” (4:32). This refers to the church’s unity in faith and love in its earliest days, a unity that we must continue to seek. We know, of course, that the church soon faced threats to its unity and continues to face those threats today (see 15:1–2). In fact, the remaining presence of sin guarantees that we will face such threats until Jesus returns to consummate His kingdom. Nevertheless, oneness in belief and in love must be what we aspire to. God has granted us many resources to work for that end, including His Word, His Holy Spirit, and teachers for the church (Eph. 4:11–16). Following teachers who follow the Spirit by soundly expositing the Scriptures, the church learns to unite around the gospel, refusing to compromise either love or truth in the pursuit of Christian unity.
Additionally, Luke says that at this point, the early church in Jerusalem continued to hold all things in common. Members would sell their goods and put the money at the feet of the Apostles to be used in caring for the needy (Acts 4:32–35). Some thinkers have used texts such as this one to argue that the Bible commends communistic or socialistic economic systems, but that cannot be the case. For one, the sharing of goods here was voluntary and not compelled by the state. Two, the Bible forbids stealing in both testaments (Ex. 20:15; Eph. 4:28), and stealing is possible only if there exists private property to be stolen. In other words, individual ownership of goods is assumed by Scripture. In explaining what this passage does not mean, however, we dare not miss the positive lesson that we must learn from it—church members should be generous so that the church can take care of members who cannot take care of themselves.
Barnabas took this principle to heart and sold a field to support the church’s work (Acts 4:36–37). In due time, we will see how Barnabas served God in other ways.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
All of God’s people are called to be generous with His resources for the sake of the advance of the gospel and the care of the church’s members. It is important for us to give to the church and to be continually examining our budgets and resources to see where we can be even more generous.
For further study
- Psalm 112:5
- Proverbs 22:9
- Luke 3:10–11
- 1 Timothy 6:17–19
The bible in a year
- Numbers 4–5
- Mark 4