Toward a Practical Theology of Good Works: Communal Good Works in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37

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As we continue our survey of the Bible in our quest to develop a practical theology of good works, we come to the Book of Acts, and in particular, Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37, where Luke describes in detail the daily life of the first believers. The reason I am focusing an entire post on just these two passages is because they are critical to our understanding of the role of communal good works in the early church. (Communal good works are good works that all believers are commanded to do for the benefit of the community.) Here are the passages. ¹

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42–47

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.” Acts 4:31–37 ²

We see from these passages that the first Christians in Acts 2 and 4 were focused on doing communal good works. “They…had everything in common,” “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need,” “They continued to meet together in the temple courts,” “They broke bread in their homes and ate together,” “They shared everything they had,” “those who owned land or houses sold them,” “Joseph…sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”

What exactly was happening with the communal good works in the Christian community in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37?

Questions about how the new believers in Acts 2 and 4 handled their finances arise immediately when we come to Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37  because it seems like, in the heady days following Christ’s resurrection and ascension, some were acting more out of emotion than out of wisdom. Indeed, many counterfeit extremist cults have misused these passages in Acts 2 and 4. ³  Even political movements such as communism, which is basically a Christian heresy, have sought to duplicate what we see in the Acts 2 and 4 Christian community through the use of secular laws and even force.

On the surface, it might be easy to think that the Christians in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37, upon being baptized into the church, immediately sold everything they had and threw it all into a common fund to be redistributed equally as needed. However, that was not the case. Rather, the believers maintained their possessions (Acts 5:4), but had an attitude of “what’s mine is yours if you need it.” Since the temple in Jerusalem was a magnet for widows and the poor who were living life on the edge, it was only natural for the congregation in Acts 2 and 4 to be made up of many poor and vulnerable people who had a subsistence standard of living. Starvation and poor health stalked them.

To meet the needs of these poor people, and because the congregation had just witnessed their messiah voluntarily give up his life for their sins, many who had means “kept selling their land and possessions” (the meaning of the Greek here) to keep them from starving to death. These acts of sacrifice were spontaneous, not forced , and arose out of a heart of love for their fellow believers.

With this understanding in mind, here is a concise summary of what these passages say about the daily lives of the first believers in Jerusalem.

The Christians were living close enough together to have daily fellowship and social interaction. They maintained their individual property but regarded it as available to any who might have need. When emergency needs arose (such as someone on the verge of starving to death), individuals voluntarily sold their property and the proceeds were given to meet those needs. The Christians interacted with each other socially and spiritually by taking their meals together from house to house and worshiping together in the temple. They had the respect and admiration of their non-Christian contemporaries, and this drew many to a saving faith in Christ. In all of this the Christians were united spiritually, emotionally, socially, geographically, and economically.

Simply put, these believers loved each other with the love of Christ and that love motivated them to imitate Christ and sacrifice everything if need be to sustain their fellow believers.

Should the communal good works by the Christians in Acts 2 and 4 be taken as descriptive or prescriptive?

Just because the Bible records someone doing something does not necessarily mean we should do it too. David cutting off the head of Goliath does not mean Christians should behead their enemies. Much of what we read in the Bible is simply descriptive; it’s telling us what happened and that is all. It is not prescriptive in the sense that it is recommending the historical account as normal behavior for Christians.

On the other hand, Judah offering himself up as a substitute for his brother Benjamin in Genesis 44 is clearly prescriptive. It is the beginning of the climax of the Book of Genesis and serves as God’s answer to Cain’s question in Genesis 4, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

“Yes,” God is saying, “all believers are their brother’s keeper the way Judah was his brother’s keeper.” In this instance, Scripture sets Judah up as an example for us to follow.

I am going to argue here that there are good reasons for taking the two accounts of the first Christian community in Acts 2 and 4 as prescriptive; that they represent normal Christian behavior that should be imitated in our daily lives as believers.

Why the communal good works by the Christians in Acts 2 and 4 should be taken as normative for all Christians

• The highly positive language Luke employs in both passages

Positive language permeates both of these passages: “devoted,” “fellowship,” “breaking of bread,” “prayer,” “awe,” “wonders,” “signs,” “together,” “everything in common,” “sold,” “give,” “meet together,” “broke bread,” “ate together,” “glad,” “sincere,” “praising,” “enjoying,” “favor,” “added,” “saved,” “they prayed,” “filled with the Holy Spirit,” “spoke…boldly,” “one in heart and mind,” “shared everything,” “great power,” “God’s grace,” “powerfully at work,” “no needy person,” “sold,” “brought,” “put,” “distributed.”

Language like this indicates high approval by the author. Luke clearly sets these believers on a pedestal for us to emulate.

• The locations of these accounts near the beginning of the book of Acts

Both of these passages occur toward the beginning of the Book of Acts, giving the impression that Luke wants us to keep them in mind as we read the rest of the book because soon congregations similar to this one would be founded all over the Roman empire and they would be repeating these actions. These two passages explain why Christianity spread like wildfire throughout the Roman empire.

• The amount of detail Luke employs when describing these believers

We can tell that Luke relishes telling us about the early Christian community from the amount of detail he gives us. As a result, these two passages are two of the most detailed descriptions of early Christian daily life that we have.

• The repetition of the accounts of daily life in the early church

Authors repeat things they want to emphasize. Luke repeating these accounts of church life in Jerusalem means he wants to make sure we “get it.”

• Both passages end with positive results

Acts 2:42-27 ends with “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 4:31-37 ends with “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.” Luke uses both of these endings to justify the previous accounts.

• Luke makes no negative comments about either passage

Authors often guide our assessments about events they are describing by providing us with their personal opinions. Luke avoids that and lets the facts speak for themselves. One would think that if we were not to take these actions as prescriptive, that he would warn us with something like, “Don’t do this at home!”

• God himself puts his stamp of approval on these believers when he judged Ananias and Sapphira for their bad faith donation

God’s severe judgement of Ananias and Sapphira when they acted in bad faith (Acts 5:1-11) by selling their property and lying about how much they received for it indicates God’s approval of the rest of the Christian community when they did the opposite.

• Both of these passages reflect the communal teaching and practice in the rest of the Book of Acts itself

Two passages in Acts support a normative interpretation of these passages in Acts 2 and 4: Acts 6:1-7 and Acts 20:32-35.

In Acts 6, the apostles establish the office of deacon to serve widows so that the apostles could dedicate themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word of God. This clearly validates a prescriptive interpretation of the Christian community in Acts 2 and 4. (In fact, the ending in Acts 6:7 is almost exactly like the ending in Acts 2:47 – “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

In Acts 20, Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders and concludes by saying, “You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Paul is closely mirroring here what was occurring in Acts 2 and 4.

• These passages reflect the communal teaching and practice of Jesus and his disciples

Jesus taught his disciples not to let worry about the future keep them from giving generously to the poor, even if it means selling one’s possessions. Here are three examples that foreshadow what would soon be happening on a much larger scale in the church at Jerusalem.

1. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Luke 19:8
2. Jesus said, “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.” Matthew 19:21
3. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:25, 31-33

• The communal good works of the believers in Acts 2 and 4 reflect the communal teaching and practice of the Old Testament

The phrase “there were no needy persons among them” in Acts 4:34 is a direct reference to Deuteronomy 15:4, “there will be no poor among you, since the Lord will surely bless you.” Luke is telling us that the believers were enjoying God’s blessing because they were succeeding in meeting the needs of their needy fellow believers.

Deuteronomy 15 goes on to say, “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.” Deuteronomy 15:7,8

Thus, the Christians in Acts 2 and 4 were practicing what the Old Testament had already clearly taught.

And finally, the believers in Acts 2 and 4 were doing exactly what God enjoined the entire nation to do in Isaiah 1:17-18: plead the cause of widows and orphans. “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. “Come now, let us settle the matter,”  says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

God promised the nation of Israel that if they did good by pleading the cause of the widow and orphan, then he would transform their culture and make it “white as snow.” The church, beginning in Acts 2 and 4, plead the cause of the widow and orphan and as a result, God did indeed transform the entire Roman empire.

• These passages foreshadow the teaching and practice of communal good works in the epistles

The good works that we see the Christians in Jerusalem doing in Acts 2 and 4 are strongly encouraged throughout the rest of the New Testament. Here are some examples:

1. “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” John 3:16-18
2. “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Ephesians 2:2-4
3. “At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.” Romans 15:25-27
4. In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul devotes a huge section of Scripture to the topic of giving for the saints in Jerusalem specifically, and to the topic of giving in general. Here are the churches that participated in Paul’s collection for the Saints in Jerusalem: the churches in Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia (Corinth), Asia (Ephesus and other cities), Troas, and Antioch. Far from being a one-off, the behavior of the believers in Acts 2 and 4 was duplicated in these Gentile churches.
5. James, the Lord’s brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church, emphasized in his epistle the importance of faith and works, as well as a concern for the poor. See his famous “true religion” passage in James 1:27.
6. Paul’s extensive instructions on the care of widows in 1 Timothy 5:3-16 parallel and give order to the practices of believers in Acts 2 and 4.

• And finally, the believers in Acts 2 and 4 served as a paradigm for communal good works in the post apostolic church throughout the Roman empire

Well into the third century after Christ, the Christian congregations around the Mediterranean, even as far away as North Africa, continued to follow the roll model of the early believers in Acts 2 and 4. Here is Tertullian’s famous description of Christian life in North Africa from his Apology (39). (Note especially the parallels between the second paragraph and Acts 2 and 4.

“But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. “See,” they say, “how they love one another,” for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred; “how they are ready even to die for one another,” for they themselves will sooner put to death. Yes, their indignation at us for calling each other brethren comes from the fact that among them all names of kinship are pretended. We are a body knit together as such by a common religious profession, by unity of discipline, and by the bond of a common hope. We meet together as an assembly and congregation that offers up prayer to God as with united force, pleading with Him for His mercy, by reason of our common sufferings. Such earnestness finds acceptance with God. We also assemble to read our sacred writings, if the character of the times obliges us to give warning or recall them to memory by the actual sight. In any case, with the sacred words we nourish our faith, animate our hope, strengthen our trust, and confirm our discipline.

“All this we learn from the teaching of God. With these things we feed our minds, and with these we elevate our character. Between us there is common sharing of all things — no one in need, and everyone giving. All is voluntary. We do not use any compulsion: no one is forced, but each contributes what he wishes. The offerings are like a trust fund, held and used for the support of orphans and widows, for those who are ill or in distress, for prisoners or strangers staying among us. In short, they are for all who are in need.”

Conclusion: Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:31-37 are descriptions of Christian orthopraxy

In short, what we have in Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:31-37 is the twelve disciples, now called apostles, after baptizing more disciples, teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded them, and then actually practicing Jesus’ teaching. This interpretation is in complete harmony with all of Scripture and with the history of the early church and it explains why Christianity came to dominate the entire Roman empire, just as God predicted in Isaiah 1:17-18.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.

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1. Both Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37 have had a lifelong impact on me. Read “My Personal History with Acts 2:44-47 and 4:31-37 and with the Concept of Christian Community” here and you will learn why.
2. For my exegesis of Acts 2:44-47 and 4:31-37, read chapter 2 of my master’s thesis here.
3. See “How Healthy Churches vs. Extremist Cults Apply Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37” here.