Toward a Practical Theology of Good Works: The Practice and Teaching of Communal Good Works in all of Acts

Summary

Reese argues that the early church’s practice of communal good works, especially toward widows, was not only a central feature of Christian life but a normative, God-ordained model for all believers. Drawing from several passages in Acts (2, 4, 6, 10, 11, and 20), the author shows how these practices were essential to the church’s unity, growth, and evangelistic impact.

In Acts 6, the appointment of seven Hellenistic Jewish deacons to care for widows illustrates how the church overcame cultural divisions through love and service, which led to unity and numerical growth, even among Jewish priests. In Acts 10, Cornelius’ almsgiving and prayers opened the door for the gospel to the Gentiles, fulfilling the call of Isaiah 1:17 to seek justice and defend the vulnerable. Acts 11 describes the church in Antioch responding to a prophecy of famine by providing relief to the Jerusalem church, showing love through generous inter-congregational aid. In Acts 20, Paul models a three-stage paradigm for church development: (1) bi-vocational ministry and generosity by the church planter, (2) elders imitating this lifestyle, and (3) eventual delegation of benevolence work to deacons so elders could focus on spiritual leadership.

Reese concludes that the early church’s relentless care for widows and the needy unleashed powerful spiritual and cultural transformation, turning marginalized recipients into impassioned evangelists. He contends that if today’s churches followed this same model—particularly the 300,000 churches in America—it could lead to a nationwide reformation, fulfilling God’s promise in Isaiah 1:18 to cleanse and restore a repentant people who learn to “do right” by serving the least among them.

Introduction

As we saw in my last post, the Scriptural evidence in both the Old and New Testaments for taking the communal good works that were practiced by the first Christians in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37 as normative for all believers is overwhelming. We also saw that the historical accounts of daily Christian practice in the post apostolic period of the early church support this normative interpretation as well. Indeed, it is inconceivable that the apostles, in obeying their Great Commission to teach their disciples all that Jesus commanded them, instead led them astray at the very beginning of the church. Nothing in the contexts of these two passages even hints at such an idea.

In particular, I gave two more examples of communal good works in the Book of Acts (Acts 6:1-7 and Acts 20:32-35) that support a normative interpretation of Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37.

In today’s post, I want to look more closely at Acts 6:1-7 and 20:32-35, as well as Acts 10:1-48 and 11:27-30. In particular, I want to point out the following about these four passages:

Acts 6 – How the seven new deacons that the Jerusalem church appointed were Hellenistic Jewish Christians, not Hebraic Jewish Christians, and how they brought healing, unity and growth to the Jerusalem church
Acts 10 – How Cornelius’ piety and communal good works for the poor opened up the gospel to the Gentiles
Acts 11 – How the church in Antioch practiced communal good works for the church in Jerusalem in preparation for a coming famine
Acts 20 – How Paul exhorted the elders of the Ephesian church, not its Deacons, to practice communal good works to meet pressing needs in their congregation

In Acts 6:1-7 – Communal good works produced cultural reconciliation in the early church

What the names of the seven original deacons tell us about the early church’s communal good works for its widows

“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 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.” Acts 6:1-7

The names in Acts 6:1–6 provide valuable clues about the ethnic and cultural background of the seven men chosen to oversee the daily distribution to widows. Here’s what their names indicate:

Stephen (Στέφανος) – Greek name, meaning “crown.”
Philip (Φίλιππος) – Greek name, meaning “lover of horses.”
Procorus (Πρόχορος) – Greek name, meaning “leader of the chorus” or “before the chorus.”
Nicanor (Νικάνωρ) – Greek name, meaning “conqueror” or “victorious man.”
Timon (Τίμων) – Greek name, meaning “honorable” or “worthy.”
Parmenas (Παραμενᾶς) – Greek name, meaning “to remain” or “to be constant.”
Nicolas (Νικόλαος) from Antioch, a convert to Judaism – Greek name, meaning “victory of the people.” He was ethnically Gentile, but religiously a Jew.

Thus, Luke is careful to inform us about the specific names of the first Deacons in order to emphasize their ethnicity, namely, that they were all either Hellenistic Jews, or, in Nicolas’ case, a Gentile Jewish convert. Any contemporary of Luke’s would have immediately noted this.

The significance of the church choosing Hellenistic Jewish men to be their first deacons serving their widows is that the Hellenistic widows were being overlooked by the twelve disciples, who were, of course, all Hebraic Jews. The disciples overlooked the Hellenistic widows possibly because most of the money being donated came from local Hebraic Jews who were selling their property and possessions in Palestine to support their widows. Hellenistic Jews would not be able to sell their land because they had traveled long distances to Jerusalem. This may be the reason Hebraic widows were given preference over Hellenistic widows.

To rectify the situation, the congregation chose seven Hellenistic Jews as Deacons to oversee the distribution of food to both Hebraic and Hellenistic widows. That is, the Hebraic Jews entrusted their widows into the hands of the new Hellenistic Jewish deacons.

This act of humility so impressed the general population that Luke tells us the number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, including a large number of priests.

In Acts 10:1-48 – Communal good works opened the door for the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles

“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.” Acts 10:1-8

We now turn to the story of Cornelius and the spread of the gospel directly to the Gentiles. Luke describes Cornelius as a centurion, meaning he commanded about 100 soldiers. His unit was part of the Italian Regiment, a prestigious cohort of what would have been about 500 volunteer Roman citizens who were born and raised in Italy. Thus Cornelius was a respected and, most likely, wealthy Roman citizen and high ranking military officer from the Italian homeland.

But the most important facts we are told about Cornelius center around his vibrant spiritual life. Luke tells us Cornelius was “devout and God-fearing.” That is, though Cornelius had not fully converted to Judaism, he still believed in the Jewish God and worshiped him with Jews in their synagogue. Cornelius had not been circumcised and was not completely observant of all of the Torah, but he still “gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.” We are also told that he had led his entire household to faith in God. Cornelius had even led one of his soldiers to the Lord.

What we learn about good works from Cornelius is that his communal good works played a central role in God’s choice of him to open the early Jewish church to Gentiles. Luke defines someone who is devout and God-fearing as someone who gives generously to those in need and prays to God regularly.

Thus, once again in Acts we see the central role communal good works played in the expansion of the church.

Cornelius’ communal good works fulfilled Isaiah 1:17, and God’s subsequent opening the door for the gospel to go to the Gentiles fulfilled Isaiah 1:18

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. (Isaiah 1:17-18)

As I have explained in another place, when taken it its context, Isaiah 1:17-18 is about national repentance, repentance that is evidenced by learning to do communal good works, which God then promises will lead to cultural transformation. In that article, I pointed out some biblical examples of when this process actually happened.

In Acts 10, we see another example of someone “learning to do right,” and God, in response, transforming their culture. In this case, the person who has “learned to do right” is Cornelius. He gave generously to those in need” and prayed to God regularly.” In response, God opened up the gospel to all Gentiles.

And the rest is history.

In Acts 11:27-30 – Communal good works provided for victims of a mass casualty event in the Jerusalem church

“During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” Acts 11:27-30

A poverty of riches, but a wealth of relationships saturated in the love of Christ

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

From time to time I have volunteered in homeless shelters, which has given me the opportunity to talk with several homeless people on an extended basis. One thing that I have learned is that most homeless people not only have a poverty of riches, but also a poverty of relationships. Often, they are alone, cut off from anyone who knows and loves them, anyone who is willing to help them.

The congregation in Jerusalem had a poverty of riches, but they definitely did not have a poverty of relationships. Rather, they were “brothers and sisters” with distant believers who loved each other.

This wealth in relationships overflowed twice for the benefit of the Jerusalem church: once when a severe famine (AD 46-48) occurred over the entire Roman empire (Acts 11:37-30), and once when their persecutor, Saul, converted to Christianity and began raising funds for them from the Gentile churches (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

In practicing communal good works by selling their property and possessions to meet the needs of their starving fellow believers (Acts 4:32-34), the Jerusalem congregation did not let worry about their own future wellbeing keep them from meeting the current pressing needs in their church. As a result, their church experienced God’s provision for them during the coming famine through a “wealth of relationships” with the church in Antioch, and again, later, when Paul delivered a large sum of money to the elders in Jerusalem that had been donated by the Gentile churches.

In Acts 20:32-35 – By Acts 20, we see a clear pattern where communal good works played a central role in Paul’s evangelism, pastoral training and early church planting

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 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.’ ” Acts 20:32-35

This passage gives us important insight into the first two stages of Paul’s three stage paradigm for evangelism, church planting and leadership development in the early church.

Stage 1: Paul began his evangelism by being bi-vocational and practicing communal good works that met his own needs and the needs of others around him

Paul ends his message to the Ephesian elders by explicitly reminding them of his bi-vocational ministry: “You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.” (Acts 20:34) Here we see that Paul worked with his hands (e.g., Acts 18:3; 1 Thess. 2:9), did not rely on his new converts for support, chose bi-vocational ministry to avoid being a burden (2 Thess. 3:7–9), and modeled self-sacrifice and generosity from the beginning. This approach allowed him to establish credibility, avoided any charge of greed or covetousness, and served as a living example of generosity and humility.

Stage 2: Soon Paul appointed elders, whom he trained to follow his example and begin their ministry by being bi-vocational themselves, practicing communal good works that met their own needs and the needs of others around them as well

Paul clearly states in Acts 20:35 that he intended his bi-vocational ministry to be an example for his elders: “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak…” Paul isn’t just recalling his own example—he’s urging the Ephesian elders to continue in it. That includes working diligently, meeting not only their needs but also the needs of others, and leading not from a position of entitlement, but from service. Also, in Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5, we see that Paul appointed elders in newly formed churches, indicating a process of local leadership development, often grounded in imitating Paul’s own manner of life (cf. 1 Cor. 4:16; Phil. 3:17). Paul trained elders to lead with the same servant-hearted, self-sustaining mindset.

Stage 3: Eventually, deacons would be appointed to take over administering the communal good works of the congregation itself so that the elders could focus on spiritual ministry, just as happened in Acts 6

This third stage is not mentioned in Acts 20:32–35. It does not say that the elders should eventually shift away from communal good works to focus solely on spiritual matters. But we do see elsewhere in Scripture a division of responsibilities develop as churches mature.

Besides what we learn about elders eventually handing over their communal good works to deacons, in 1 Timothy 3:8–13, Paul instructs Timothy about appointing deacons, clearly indicating an ongoing diaconal office. And in 1 Timothy 5:17: elders who labor in preaching and teaching are singled out for high honor, suggesting specialization within church leadership.

So, while Acts 20 doesn’t describe a formal transfer of benevolence ministry from elders to others, it’s reasonable to infer that as the church matured, the elders’ primary focus shifted more fully to spiritual oversight and deacons began to take on the administration of the communal good works performed by the entire congregation. Thus, this third stage is clearly supported by passages like Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 3.

In summary, Luke makes it clear in Acts 20: 32-35 that Paul’s ultimate goal in his evangelism, pastoral training, and church planting was to develop congregations that mirrored the communal good works practiced by the Jerusalem congregation as described in Acts 2:42-47 and 4:31-37.

The Book of Acts tells us why the early church’s practice of communal good works toward its widows and others worked so well for spreading the gospel throughout the Roman empire

“Let our people learn to engage in good works, to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” Titus 3:14

Let’s face it, focusing on widows as a means of growing a church seems counter intuitive. And yet, focus on widows the early church did. And, to our surprise, it grew rapidly. Here are several reasons why.

With its communal good works, the early church fulfilled the biblical teaching in the Old Testament about pleading the cause of the widow. (Deuteronomy 15, Isaiah 1)
With its communal good works, the early church followed Jesus’ teaching and example of committed love for each other expressed by sacrifice (John 13)
With its communal good works, the early church eradicated all pressing needs in their congregations (Acts 4, 6)
With its communal good works, the early church experienced the blessing of God (Acts 4, Isaiah 1:18)
With its communal good works, the early church manifested the presence, power, and fruit of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2, 4)
With its communal good works, the early church earned the admiration of the general population (Acts 2)
With its communal good works, the early church saw thousands of people come to saving faith in Christ (Acts 2, 6)
With its communal good works, the early church succeeded in duplicating its “model” over and over again (Acts 20)
With its communal good works, the early church overcame its cultural and racial prejudices (Acts 6, 10)
With its communal good works, the early church transformed its culture for good (all of Acts, Isaiah 1)

And finally…

With its communal good works, the early church turned the recipients of their good works into fanatical witnesses for Christ (Acts 3)

“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.” 1 Corinthians 1:27, 28

“No person is so insignificant as to be without influence.” Francis Schaeffer

There is no more powerful witness than a widow, single moms, or a disabled person who has been loved with the love of Christ. Peter’s healing of the lame man in Acts 3 is a great example of this phenomenon. The healed lame man’s powerful testimony could not be ignored by the general population.

I, too, have seen what happens when we treat widows and single moms and the disabled the way God wants us to. Here are two examples.

One care receiver my team worked with asked us to start a Bible study in her home. When we said yes, she personally went door to door on her block and begged her neighbors to come to the Bible study. “You have to meet these men. You’ll never believe what they do for me!” She told them. And when her relatives came to visit her, she piled them into her car, drove them by our church, and pointed out the window, “That’s the church those men I’ve been telling you about go to!” she exclaimed.

Again, a widow my team was working with asked me if I could give her a ride to her dermatology appointment. I did, and when the nurse called her name to be seen by the doctor, she insisted I go with her. I protested, but she continued to insist. So I reluctantly went with her. When the doctor came into the exam room, he asked her who I was. “Oh, he’s my pastor! His team of men do incredible things for me!” And then she proceeded to list them. When she finally finished, he looked at me, and then at her, and said, “I’ve never seen anything like this!”

That is what communal good works do for widows, single moms, and others with long term pressing needs. It turns them into impulsive witnesses for Christ. To put it bluntly, they just can’t shut up.

And that is what happened with the early church. Suddenly, tens of thousands of widows and other poor people became effusive witnesses for Jesus. All of those widows had friends, neighbors, and family. You can be sure they all got an earful about Jesus and what their new Christian friends were doing for them.

Now imagine if all 300,000 churches in America today did for their widows and others in their congregations with long term pressing needs what the early church did for theirs. In other words, what would happen if the church obeyed Isaiah 1:17. It would be like giving millions of widows, single moms, fatherless children, and the disabled a bullhorn for the gospel. It would usher in, not just a revival, but a reformation; a complete and total transformation of our culture for good. In other words, God would do what he says he will do in Isaiah 1:18.

Just like he did for the early church.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.

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