Greek Insight* - GODLY SHARING (Acts 4:32-35)
In Acts 4:32-35 we read “All
the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his
possessions was his own, but they shared
everything they had.
With great power the apostles continued to testify to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons
among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them,
brought the money from the sales and
put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”
NIV
Acts 2 tells of the Spirit-filled
church. Its marks are three: signs
and wonders; evangelical outreach; and sharing all things (not
only sharing possessions, but also sharing teaching, food, and prayer). These
same marks appear in this passage and also in Acts 5:12-16. Thus, we are not looking at just any church,
but at a church that is filled by and responsive to the Holy Spirit of God.
Note the underlined sentence in
the passage. Now read the passage without including that underlined sentence. It seems to flow better, doesn’t it? It almost seems as if that underlined sentence
doesn’t belong there.
Well, it does belong there, and
the connection is the Holy Spirit. That
sentence reveals the result of a congregation under the power and trust
of the Holy Spirit. With the Spirit there is the experiencing of powerful evangelism, the
experiencing of grace, and the presence of signs and wonders (miracles). There was also the experience of a potent
loving community, a place where one belonged, a place where defensiveness and
posturing would be out of place, a place where Jesus was Lord not only in their
words but also in their deeds; not only in their heads but in their hearts. W C Kaiser comments on the generosity that springs
from such congregations saying “They achieved Deuteronomy 15:4-5a. (…there
should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance,
he will richly bless you, if
only you fully obey the Lord your
God…) To hear of a need was to
search one’s heart to see if one could meet the need. The Spirit had removed their possessiveness
and joined them in heart to their poorer fellow Christians.”
That underlined sentence also
implies the congregational situation when the Holy Spirit is ignored. Without the Spirit there is tepid evangelism
at best, little if any experience of God’s grace, and the absence of signs and
wonders. There may be pockets of loving
community in the congregation, but there is also stress, discomfort and
dismissiveness in many of the congregational relationships.
There is also in this passage a
very important distinguishing of the God-ordained means of sharing (i.e. the
Spirit-led means) vs. those alien means devised by man. The key here is that there is sharing by
individual volition, individual by individual. The only superior authority in the process is
the Holy Spirit Himself, under whom each individual lives. Thus, all shared gifts are shared with delight
that the sharing is possible. And 100%
of what’s shared goes to the need.
Governmental mandates and
ideologies, on the other hand, lack individual volition. When you’re told to “share” and forced to do
so you are not experiencing the will of God’s Spirit—you are experiencing
socialism or communism. Many would say
that such mandates are necessary—otherwise those in need would have nothing! I would say that that’s because humanity
refuses to submit to God, to be saved by His Son and to be guided
by His Spirit. Kaiser writes that
the principle of Spirit-guided sharing
is “that there might be equality.” The
key here is to recognize that the criteria of equality are not how men might
structure them (i.e. same income, same medical coverage, same education, same
housing, etc.) but how the Spirit of God sees fit to allocate that which is
shared.
Blessings, Kurt*
Points to ponder
Is Our Church or Your Church experiencing
Powerful Evangelism? Spirit-Guided Sharing/Grace? Signs
& Wonders (miracles)?
Does the Holy Spirit or the Government do the best job
of determining needs?
♫ Spirit of
the Living God, … Fall afresh on me…. Melt me, …Mold me,… Fill me, … Use me,
Spirit
of the Living God, …Fall afresh on me. ♫
Yosef a.k.a. Joe Brusherd
July
20, 2021
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages
exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)” Weekly “Hebraic Musings” insightsbyyosef.blogspot.com/
* From my Brother in the Lord,
Kurt Johnson, who publishes Greek Insights weekly; Available on request.
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