TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
424
November, 1941
Thus will the church as a whole be edi fied, grow strong in the Lord, and be enabled to make -the impression she should make upon the whole world. Points and Problems 1. “Them they that gladly received his word were baptized” (Acts 2:41). Two things should be learned here: First, water baptism was regarded as of the Lord by the early church, an important command which was to be obeyed with out delay. But second, while important, baptism was not regarded as a saving act, as’ it is by some today. It was not a means of regeneration, but an act of loving obedience on the part of a soul already regenerated. Only those who had “gladly received his word” were baptized, and as many as had received Him, “the Word,” were already the chil dren of God (John 1:12). 2. “There were a d d e d unto them about tjiree thousand souls” (v. 41). It is sometimes suggested that we should not be concerned about “numbers.” But
here at the beginning of the Christian church, the Holy Spirit recognizes the interest of the human mind in definite results. And the fact that the number is given proves two things: First, the con versions were not s'ecret, but public— which means that those who believed must have indicated it in a public man ner; and second, that some kind of records must have been made of these conversions. Other passages in the New Testament indicate quite clearly that the. early church did keep rolls of the membership. The fact of excommuni cation (cf. 1 Cor. 5) proves that the early church kept account of its mem bership. 8. They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (v. 42). Translators of the common version unfortunately have omitted the definite article four times as it appears in the Greek original of this verse. It -should be the d o c t r i n e , the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. The use of the definite article indicates that the early church held steadfastly to a definite body of doctrine, enjoyed a def inite kind of fellowship which distin guished tlie new faith, that the breaking of bread was not an ordinary meal, and that the prayer was a definite type or prayer, probably at set times. There was no fuzzy vagueness about Christi anity in the beginning, such as there is in the modern versions of today. All was clear-cut and distinctive. 4. It should be added that in the list of activities of the early church, adherence to the definite body of doc trine taught by the apostles was put before everything else. Until-men were knit together in a common faith, there could be no fellowship, no true observ ance of the Lord’s Supper, and no gen uine union in prayer. It is scarcely necessary to remark that in the modern church this divine order has been wholly reversed. Let us have fellowship in wor ship and prayer, we are exhorted today, and keep theology in the background. The trouble is that if we relegate doc trine to a secondary place, Christian worship and fellowship and prayer be come at last impossible. Faith must be first, not second. A well-known devotional writer and Bible teacher was inviting a congrega tion to enter into the joys of the Spirit- filled life (Eph. 5:18). He pictured glowingly the peace and the victory of allowing the Lord to have His way in all the small and,large affairs of daily life. At the close of the meeting, a woman in the group turned to the one beside, her, a stranger, and in a careless and Golden Text Illustration E phesians 5 :25
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