“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” – Acts 2:42.
What were believers of Jesus being saved to?
After Peter’s Spirit-led sermon on Pentecost, 3,000 souls were added. What were they added to? Luke describes the day-to-day scene of this new community of new believers living new lives.
Four things the believers were devoted to: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and the prayers.
The apostles were witnesses of Jesus’ life, teachings, ministry, death, and resurrection. They must have taught all that their master had taught them. They must have taught the Old Testament Scriptures beginning with Moses and the Prophets concerning Jesus (Luke 24:27). They must have taught about the Kingdom of God, for that is what Jesus spent His post-resurrection time with them doing. And awe and reverential fear of God came upon the believers as they learned from the apostles. The apostles continued to present signs and wonders: signs that point to Jesus, wonders that evoke the fear of God.
The believers were devoted to united fellowship or partnership. They met together. They shared everything–joys, struggles, needs, and material possessions. They would even sell their own possessions to raise funds for those who lacked.
They were devoted to the breaking of bread, the communion of sharing simple meals together in one another’s homes. They ate with glad and generous hearts; they were thankful for the food and community, and were joyful to give and share their food, their homes, and their lives. And it was through these humble ordinary everyday moments that they experience Jesus, like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who only had the eyes of their souls opened to Jesus when He blessed the bread, broke it and gave it to them.
The believers continued to go to the temple to participate in the communal prayers together. While they were a new spiritual community, they did not see themselves as abandoning their previous religious community or Jewish faith. They were no separatists. Because they continued to go to the temple, and there meet other Jewish members of the community, God gave them favour and used these encounters to witness to other Jews. God gave them divine opportunities near the temple to heal those in need and publicly declare the gospel, as in the chapter which follows. And that must have been how, day by day, more people believed in Jesus and joined their faith community.
In the time-space between now and the age to come, how should we as believers of Jesus live? How should your you and your faith community remain devoted to the teachings of Jesus? How are you devoted to sharing with one another in gospel fellowship? How are you breaking bread together? How are you devoted to communal prayer? For in these things, we may know God, fulfil His mission, and finish well to return home to Him.