Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. (33) And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. (34) Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, (35) and laid them at the apostles’ feet, and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, physician, historian and sometime travel companion to Paul. In our verses today we are given a glimpse of the early church and how it operated in that ancient world – and how it stood out from its culture. The apostles stood in the middle of community life with the collections and disbursements OF possessions and goods – donated voluntarily by the faithful to care for the physical needs of their “brothers and sisters”. Early believers shared a common passage and mentality. There was a diversity of people but unity of spirit and self interest was put aside. This was Christian stewardship where everything the faithful had belonged to the Lord – there was no demand or expectation of receiving anything in return.

The hearts and souls of the ancient believer were as one as they pursued lives of equality and brothership. Property rights were not abolished but the action of owners made themselves subservient to the law of love. They thought of themselves not as possessors but as stewards. Jesus had left this world with two great commandments: Love God and love one another selflessly and fulfill the Great Commission which is to proclaim the gospel to the lost. The Bible clearly affirms the absolute sovereignty of God – the point of our verses is that believers were not focussed on themselves but rather on what God wanted them to do to extend His kingdom through their witness.

I’m going to end with c.s. Lewis from ‘Mere Christianity: “What we have been told is how we men can be drawn into Christ – can become part of that wonderful present which the young Prince of the universe wants to offer His Father – that present which is Himself and therefore us in Him. It is the only thing we were made for. And there are strange exciting hints in the Bible that when men are drawn in a great many other things in Nature will begin to come right. The bad dream will be over: it will be morning.