A Comparison of the Early Church and
the Modern-Day Visible Church
The Early Church
What a great difference we see today in the modern-day visible church as compared to the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts.
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
The Early Church
What a great difference we see today in the modern-day visible church as compared to the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:42-47
Scripture is very orderly. There is a reason why some things are mentioned before others. There is also a reason why some things are NOT mentioned. In general, that which is listed first is of higher priority than that which is listed second. Verse 42 lists four activities of that early church, presumably because they were/are the most important four activities for believers today. Let us examine ourselves as we revisit the activities of the Early church which should be our example.
They continued stedfastly in the apostles' (plural) doctrine.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:42-47
Scripture is very orderly. There is a reason why some things are mentioned before others. There is also a reason why some things are NOT mentioned. In general, that which is listed first is of higher priority than that which is listed second. Verse 42 lists four activities of that early church, presumably because they were/are the most important four activities for believers today. Let us examine ourselves as we revisit the activities of the Early church which should be our example.
They continued stedfastly in the apostles' (plural) doctrine.
Today we each continue steadfastly in our own personal doctrine. Now it may be true that it is difficult, if not impossible, to be in contact with a true apostle today (although many claim that title). But is it possible to continue steadfastly in the doctrine as recorded by the Holy Ghost through Paul, Peter, and John in the New Testament? The Epistles of Paul to the Romans and Ephesians are recognized as particularly addressing doctrine.
They continued stedfastly in fellowship (or communion, koinonia).
They continued stedfastly in fellowship (or communion, koinonia).
John said,
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3
Today, we may confuse socialization with true fellowship. True fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, in the realm of the Spirit. Fellowship has little or nothing to do with the natural realm. Further, that verse says that any minister (and certainly any true apostle) must minister out from personal experience, from our personal relationship with the Lord, not from what we have read or heard from other men.
They continued stedfastly in breaking of bread.
They continued stedfastly in breaking of bread.
That is a figure of speech which signifies that they ate (natural) meals together, but they spoke of the glory, the preeminence, the centrality, the supremacy, the all-sufficiency of God. Today, we occasionally have a meal together, but what is the topic of our conversation?
They continued stedfastly in prayers.
They continued stedfastly in prayers.
That word, prayers, conveys the thought of praying earnestly, supplication, or worship. I have become convinced that very few believers know what true intercession is, much less practice it. Many churches recite "the Lord's Prayer" faithfully every Sunday. Christians repeat, "Thy will be done ..." and have little idea what the Lord's will really is. We are also admonished by the scripture to pray without ceasing, -i.e., to be in constant communication with the Lord.
In Acts 2:43, "fear came upon every soul;" EVERY soul. In reality, is there sufficient fear in our souls today? The visible church today does not have time to fear God. We are too busy with our pleasant things, our laughter, all these things that tickle our soul, our activities, our natural, worldly activities. We may feel too comfortable or too busy with doing our own thing.
In Acts 2:43, "fear came upon every soul;" EVERY soul. In reality, is there sufficient fear in our souls today? The visible church today does not have time to fear God. We are too busy with our pleasant things, our laughter, all these things that tickle our soul, our activities, our natural, worldly activities. We may feel too comfortable or too busy with doing our own thing.
A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is Mine honour? and if I be a master, where is My fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise My name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised Thy name? Malachi 1:6
Jesus said,
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28
There is only One who is able to destroy both soul and body ... the Lord Jesus Christ.
Continuing in Acts 2:43, "and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles." In my lifetime, I have met many men who either called themselves an apostle or were/are called an apostle by others. No one would question that Paul was an apostle. Perhaps I have too high of a standard, but I have never met one man who performed all of the functions that I read about concerning Paul. We also need to remember that just because we see wonders and signs through a person, that does not necessarily mean they are an apostle. Do We see such examples of Aposolic ministry in operation today?
In Acts 2:44-45, "all that believed were together." At that point in time there were at least 3,120 believers. So I doubt that they all physically lived together in a commune or on a large farm. I must believe, therefore, that verse speaks of a spiritual unity, which is recorded many times in the Book of Acts.
In Acts 2:47, as a result of the early believers simply doing what they could and should do, "the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Nowhere does Scripture say that the early disciples went from door to door, struggling to try to make one convert. Is it possible that the Lord saved some folks all by Himself? As a result of Peter and John healing one lame man (in Acts 3), 5,000 men (males) were added to the church. That does not include their wives and children. Peter and John did not go to the temple that day at "prayer time" with the thought of preaching to thousands of Jews with the hope of converting a few. (There is much more, great prophetic significance to that first miracle recorded by the apostles in Acts 3.)
The Lord's ways are marvelous and amazing!
These Four Hindrances in the Modern-day Church
(Please note! This is NOT to say that there are ONLY four hindrances to our maturity in Christ. Far from it! But the following are four of our largest. They have both an individual and a corporate application, particularly in the charismatic/Spirit-filled community today. These four hindrances are very much inter-related. This word is part of a much larger, expanded version to come very soon.)
At the top of the list is:
1. Christian man, particularly the charismatic-Spirit filled community, has tried to do what only God can do. Man, by nature, is a "doer." Scripturally, experientially, and historically, the Lord can "save" someone all by Himself; He can heal someone all by Himself; He can deliver someone all by Himself. He can reveal His word to us all by Himself, through the Holy Spirit. I know this to be true because all of the above has happened to me. This is not to say that the Lord will not use man.
Man says (Genesis 11:4) "Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." Man is forever trying to build His (and his) church. Jesus said (Matthew 16:18) that "upon this rock (of revelation) I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." When the Lord gets through building His church, it will not look anything like what we see today.
2. Man, even Christian man, is FOREVER trying to pull down that which is spiritual and holy to the natural level. Why? So that man can try to understand the ways of the Lord and the mystery of God with his own natural, carnal mind. The book of 1 Corinthians is a letter of correction to the Church at Corinth. Paul tells them that they are carnal, babes in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1). Paul also says,
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14
A number of years ago on TV, I heard a well-known fundamentalist preacher say, "When I get to heaven I am going to wear a literal crown on my head and a literal robe." That man has a "congregation" of perhaps 7-10 thousand and air time on about 225 TV stations. But he is in for a big surprise! The robe worn for those who are faithful to the end will be a robe of righteousness (white robes of righteousness, 4 times in the Book of Revelation). Jesus wore a crown of thorns before His crucifixion. The crown worn by those who are faithful to the end will be an incorruptible crown of life, a crown of righteousness, a crown of glory, but only because of His great sacrifice for us.
There are a multitude of scriptures that cannot possibly be interpreted in the natural realm. Not the least of such verses are the following:
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.54 Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.55 For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.["The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (not joy in the soul)]56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him.57 As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.59 These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.60 Many therefore of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before?63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him.65 And He said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.66 From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.69 And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. John 6:53-69
Surely no one believes that Jesus told us to be cannibals. Sadly, the above has been, is now, and will be repeated. Any minister who speaks of spiritual things, rather than in the natural realm, will be misunderstood, maligned, and left, just as many of Jesus' disciples walked no more with Him. There will come a point in the life of any minister when he must decide whether he wants to please God or men. Further, many years ago the Spirit quickened that there has been, is now, and will be a repeat of John 7:1: "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him." The word "Jewry" means Judah or Judaea, which relates to our modern-day charismatics or those who claim to be baptized in the Holy Ghost.
3. Church groups make the same mistake as individuals. Christian man is forever searching the scripture to find the pattern for this and the pattern for that ... how to do this ... how to do that ... and then crystalizing their doctrine into a hard and fast set of rules and dogma, all set into concrete and then written down in pen and ink for all to see. Sounds like Judaism or legalism. The only true Pattern is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed to us personally by the Holy Spirit. How can we define the Undefinable? How can we understand Him Who can never be revealed by books, tapes, CDs, conferences, etc., but can only be revealed by the Holy Ghost?
I remember a time many years ago in an "elders" meeting when one man brought a suggestion from another charismatic church. The suggestion was that every charismatic church in Northern Virginia should write down all of their basic Christian beliefs (doctrine) and compile them into one consolidated pamphlet. That way when a new believer came into the Northern Virginia area he/she could read the pamphlet containing the different beliefs of all of the various churches and then choose the church which he/she would be most comfortable attending. Well if such things are appropriate then we no longer need the Holy Spirit.
A number of believers historically have written books concerning church government ... with conclusions that are diametrically opposite. Some claim that the Church at Jerusalem (Acts 15) is the pattern for church government (the pastor and the elders); others claim that the Church at Antioch (Acts 13) is the scriptural pattern (multiple ministries). In reality both sides have missed the point. There is now and never has been a fixed, static pattern for church government. Church government, like the life of a believer, is (or should be) dynamic, ever changing ... always moving away from the government of, by, and for man to the government of, by, and for the Lord Himself. "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end ... The zeal of the Lord of hosts (not the zeal of Christian man) will perform this" (Isaiah 9:7).
4. The fourth hindrance among the members of body of Christ lies in the area of human communication. The most difficult aspect in charismatic/Spirit-filled circles today is communication. Communication requires both a transmitter and a receiver. Even if the transmitter is perfect (the Holy Spirit), without a receiver tuned to the same frequency, no communication is possible. Lord, give us ears to hear! The church cannot thrive or survive on yesterday's manna. This area is much more difficult than communication between those who do not know the Lord. Why? because those who do not know the Lord have no access to things of the Spirit. Therefore they have far fewer areas to argue about. This is a day when every (Christian) man does that which is right in his own sight. The same written and/or spoken word is interpreted in many different ways by different believers, because of the first three hindrances. We like to hear only that which agrees with our own understanding of this walk.
The answer to every hindrance to maturity in the body of Christ is always the same. We must cry out, "Help, Lord!" Only the Lord can open our spiritual eyes. Let us return unto the Lord.
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