How Your Community Affects Your Health (Acts 2)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Have you ever attended a healthy church?

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes upon the early believers. As a result, verse 42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” In other words, they gave this teaching their “constant attention.”^[1] This fellowship, or koinonia, “means ‘sharing in’ or ‘causing to share in’ something or someone.”^[2] This “someone” was God. Because of their connection to him, they wanted to do life together and pray together.

This pattern has served as a powerful template for believers throughout the centuries. Without sitting under the teaching of God’s Word, Christians fall into strange beliefs. Without fellowship and breaking bread together, they become egotistical and proud. And without prayer, they dissolve into chaos and lose their way. As a result of their encounter with the Holy Spirit, verses 43-47 show that:

⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. ⁴⁵ They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

The word “awe” here is the Greek word “phobos,” often translated as fear. It's the same fear the disciples felt when they saw Jesus walking on the water and thought he was a ghost. It's also the fear the guards felt at Christ’s tomb when they became like dead men, and it’s the fear the women experienced when they found the empty tomb. This fear is a unique combination of awe, terror, and wonder.

Unfortunately, many Christians have an unhealthy fear of God because they live in rebellion to His moral law. But as our love for God grows, unhealthy fear is replaced with a new kind of fear—a fear filled with awe. This awe comes from a profound gratitude for Jesus’ saving work and sorrow for our sins. A healthy fear of God does two things: it deepens our desire for him and increases our love for others. In fact, there can be no healthy fear of God that does not translate into increased love for others.

This love for others was a strong bond that was absolutely necessary. One of the great challenges for many early Christians was that Herod Agrippa was a populist type of leader, bent on Pax Romana (Roman Peace) at all costs. He did this by siding with the majority and violently pushing down the up-and-coming minorities. Thus, when one member of the church came under attack, all the members of the church took it as if they were under attack. Sticking together under the unity found in Christ was the only way to survive and grow.