Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
March 2025
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:41-47 NIV)
Today, we want to talk about the church. What does a good church look like? What should it look like? What should you look for in a church? What are some key ingredients of a healthy church?
In many ways, the modern church is similar to the early church. In many ways, it is very different. Wouldn’t it be great to be a fly on the wall of the very first church. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could go back in time and observe the first church on the planet.
Luke gives us an opportunity to do that in Acts 2. We can study the first church. It was located in the city of Jerusalem. Today, we would call it “the First Church of Jerusalem.” Some archeologists believe they have found remains of the first church.[1]
Why is this chapter in the Bible? It is not to satisfy our curiosity. It is not just to give us a history of the church. The purpose of these verses is to show us a model for the church.
Acts 2 is God’s model for the church. It is not the perfect church, as one preacher called it. There is no such thing. Every church is made up of sinners. It is made up of imperfect people.
Your pastor is imperfect. Your elders are imperfect. Your SS teacher is imperfect. Just ask my wife. This was not a perfect church, but it was a model church.
The Acts 2 Church Model
There is a lot we can learn from this model church. It will revolutionize how you view the church. What were some ingredients of this model church? Let’s look at seven characteristics of the Acts 2 Church Model. There are seven things this church had.
Great Growth
The first sign of a good church is growth. This church had incredible growth. It had astronomical growth. The church grew from 120 to 3120. That is not a ten percent increase or a hundred percent increase. It is a 2600 percent increase in one day by one sermon. It is twenty-six times the original.
I am not sure if anyone has beaten that record. This day was historic. Billy Graham had 12,000 make a decision for Christ at a crusade in 2004 but that was over a four-day period, which averages out to 3000 per night.[2]
Many think that small churches are good and big churches are bad. That is not true because the first church was big. In Acts 2, it was a church of 3000. In Acts 4, it was a church of 5000 (Acts 4:4).
That is interesting. This is the size of a mega church today. Mega churches didn’t begin in the 1950s or 60s. The first one started 2000 years ago.
The first church was big and it was good. One preacher said, “The church at its birth was the church at its best.”[3]
Some churches grow and some do not. Many churches all across America are shrinking. They are not growing. They are dying. Healthy things grow. Is your church growing or is it stagnant and declining?
Now, there are different ways to grow. Growing in number is one way but not the only way. A church can grow numerically but not spiritually. We can grow wider, or we can grow deeper. We want to grow not just in quantity but in the quality of disciples.
There are many people who make a profession of faith and get baptized. They join a church, but they do NOT continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. This church continued. They were devoted. They were all in.
How did this church grow? Did it have incredible programs? Did they bring in some high-powered preacher or TV evangelist?
Did it grow by a human technique or program? Did it grow from some church growth model? No. God did it. And the Lord added to their number daily (Acts 2:47 NIV)
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (I Corinthians 3:6-7 NIV)
Great Leadership
A good church has good leadership. A church is only as good as its leaders. If you have poor leaders, you will have a poor church. If you have good leaders, you will generally have a good church.
This church had great leaders. Many Christians take pride in their leaders. They boast that they go to the church pastored by John MacArthur, John Piper, Chuck Swindoll or some other famous Christian. We have some celebrity pastors today.
The first church did not have MacArthur or Piper in it. It didn’t have Swindoll but it had the Twelve Apostles in it. It had good leaders in it. Wouldn’t it be cool to have all twelve apostles attending your church?
Most of us would be happy to just have one of them in our church. It doesn’t matter which one, just one real miracle-working apostle. To have all twelve in your church must have been amazing.
The truth is that many churches do not have great leaders. Some function more as dictators than as shepherds or pastors. They lord it over the flock and they are accountable to no one. They are not Catholic, but they function like popes.
We need humble, godly, Spirit-filled leaders, who have integrity, are accountable and do not try to be a one-man show.
Great Teaching
The model church has good teaching. This first church devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42 NIV). They devoted themselves to Scripture, to doctrine, to teaching and to theology.
The early church didn’t have the NT written but they had the apostles. They were closest to Jesus. They spent three years with Him. They heard His teaching, healing. They saw His miracles. They were eyewitnesses of his resurrection. Their doctrine was later incorporated in the NT.
A good church is a biblical church. It follows Scripture. It follows what the apostles taught. This is the exact opposite of what we see in some churches today. In liberal churches, people do not continue in the apostle’s doctrine.
They don’t like what Paul says about women. They don’t like what Paul says about submission. They don’t like what Paul says about headship. They don’t like what Paul says about slavery.
They don’t like what Paul says about homosexuality. Some of them don’t like what Paul said about predestination. They do not continue in the apostles doctrine. They revise it or reject it.
Many churches today have very little teaching. You go there and you will not learn anything. In fact, many are boring. They put you right to sleep. Most churches have preaching but very few have any teaching. Teaching is not the same thing as preaching. Our pastor does both very well.
In many churches, the sheep are not taught the Word, and they do not know the Word. You could go there for twenty years and not learn much Scripture there.
Do We Need Transformation, Not Information?There is a common objection to Bible study that you hear in many churches. Christianity is not about knowing; it is about doing. Many say that we do not need information. We need transformation. Are they right? Is that all we need? We need BOTH. Information is important. We need some information. Information and knowledge is not bad. It is good. If you think it is bad, the Bible says you are a fool. It says, “fools hate knowledge” (Proverbs 1:22, 29 NIV). In fact, God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6 NIV). One of the reasons that God gave us the Bible is so that we would know some things. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine, for teaching (II Timothy 3:16). That is mentioned first. God does not want us to be ignorant of His Word. He does not want us to be ignorant of spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:1). Many Christians are ignorant. Christians all across America simply do not know what the Bible teaches. It is a problem in every denomination. Some Christians have been in churches for twenty years and still do not know what the Bible teaches and some of them are leaders. They are elders. They are deacons. Biblical illiteracy is a big problem in the church today. One preacher said, “biblical illiteracy is not a problem in the church today. It is the problem in the church today.”[4] If we don’t know the Word and what it teaches, it affects how we live our lives. We do not know right from wrong. We will not know the difference between truth from error. We will not be able to resist the Devil. You will be deceived and fall into false doctrine. Transformation comes through information. God’s Word is what changes us. It transforms lives. Transformation is good, but you can’t even have transformation without information. Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NIV), so it is a completely false dichotomy. |
Great Fellowship
The first church didn’t just devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, they devoted themselves to fellowship (κοινωνίᾳ). Fellowship is important. What is fellowship?
Fellowship is an intimate bond that can only take place between two believers. The early church not only grew vertically in their relationship with God, they grew horizontally in their relationship with fellow believers.[5]
The early church was close. They worshipped together on a regular basis. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They had a common faith (the apostle’s doctrine). Thewy believed the same thing. They shared a common meal and even shared some of their possessions.
Fellowship often took place in homes. It took place in the context of a meal. The early Christians often ate meals together, not just the Lord’s Supper.[6] Church dinners were a big part of the early church.[7] There is intimacy when you eat together.
You go out on a date with someone, you often go out to eat. There is an intimate bond when you share a meal with someone and an even more intimate bond when you do it in someone’s home.
They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. They did not get together to get into arguments and debates over politics or other topics.
There are many in the house-church movement who say that we should not meet in big church buildings but in people’s homes, because the early church were house churches. That is true but this first church met in two locations.
They met in the temple, and they met house to house. If we translate this in today’s language, they had big church and met in small groups in people’s homes. There is value in doing both.
Great Prayer
Prayer is important. The was not just a learning church but a worshipping church.[8] They spent time in prayer (Acts 2:42). They spent time in the temple (Acts 2:46). They praised God (Acts 2:47).
This was a praying church. Most of us do not pray enough. The apostles asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1 NIV)
They never asked him how to preach. They never asked him how to cast out demons. They never asked him how to walk on water. They never asked him how to raise the dead. The disciples asked Him how to pray.
Prayer is important. The church was born out of a prayer meeting. Jesus said we are to pray always. He said we are to always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1).
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (I Timothy 2:1-2 NIV)
All through the book of Acts, the church is praying. They prayed to make decisions, like choosing a new apostle (Acts 1). They prayed for the courage to witness (Acts 4).
The Apostles said their ministry focus was prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6). They prayed over church leaders (Acts 6). The first martyr Stephen prayed as he died (Acts 7).
Peter prayed before he raised someone from the dead (Acts 9). The saints prayed when Peter was in prison and scheduled to be executed (Acts 12).
The church prayed before sending our Paul and Barnabas as missionaries (Acts 13). Paul and Silas were in prayer and worship when the prison doors were opened (Acts 16). The early church was a praying church. A model church focuses on prayer.
The apostolic church was devoted to prayer. It had corporate prayer. They did not just pray; they prayed together in public. Many churches today do not even have prayer meetings. Many Christians will go to Church on Sunday but never ever come to a prayer meeting.
Great Generosity
Another characteristic of a model church is generosity. They practice radical generosity to take care of the needs of needy Christians. This was a loving church. It was a giving church. They didn’t just give ten percent. They sold houses to help people.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. (Acts 2:44-45 NIV)
Jerusalem was a very poor church. The Christians in this church were poor. They lived in the city that executed Jesus. When they took a stand for Jesus, they alienated family and friends and some suffered financially.
The church found a way to help them through radical, sacrificial giving. The church in Jerusalem would not have survived without this. We should be generous to help fellow believers in need.
People who abuse the Bible use this as a verse for Christian Communism. They had everything in common. The first church liquidated assets (houses and land). They sold real estate
Is this communism? No. The atheist Karl Marx believed private property was bad. It should be abolished but the Bible does not forbid private property. One of the Ten Commandments says, “Do not steal” which assumes the right of private property.” Is Acts 2 Christian communism? No.
One, it was not complete. They did not sell everything. If they sold all of their houses, they would not have been able to meet “house to house”
Two, it was not mandatory. This giving was radical, but it was completely voluntary. There is no command to do this. Many do not understand this. Just because something is in the Bible, and just because it is in the Book of Acts, does not mean that it is a command for today.
Three, it was not government enforced. This was not forced redistribution.
The point is that giving was part of the first church and should be a part of the church today. We should be generous to help believers in need. We should be willing to help people in need, share and not be selfish about our possessions. That is the lesson of the first church.
Great Power
A model church has power. One of the signs of a false church is no power. Paul said that some preachers had a form of godliness but denied its power (II Timothy 3:5). The first church had power.
Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles (Acts 2:43 NIV). They did not just have great words in this church. They displayed evidence of the power of God. This was a supernatural church. Supernatural things took place in this church. They had not only signs but wonders in their church.
What’s the difference? They are very similar. A wonder is a miracle. It is something that cannot be explained naturalistically. It is a supernatural event. A sign is something that validates or proves something. It points to something else. The miracles of Jesus were signs. They validated His claim as Messiah.
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31 NIV)
The early church had not only signs and wonders, but “MANY signs and wonders.” They were not only many signs and wonders; they were awe-inspiring signs and wonders.
Even people outside the church were awed by these miracles. Fear came on everybody. Many churches are not characterized by excitement or awe but sheer boredom.
These were not just awe-inspiring signs; they were apostolic signs and wonders. They were done by the apostles. What were the wonders and signs? We don’t know. We see one in the next chapter that is an incredible healing.
Were these signs and wonders limited to the apostles? Some say they were but in the rest of the book of Acts, people who were not apostles also did wonders and signs. There are some wonders and signs in Acts done by non-apostles (Stephen, Philip, Ananias).
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDdktsDJTiM; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv0vxMMXclM
[2] https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/12000-make-decisions-for-christ-at-crusade-billy-graham-speculates-about-his-future/
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bs7oub9w9o
[4] https://wkministries.com/bible-literacy/
[5] C. Peter Wagner, Acts of the Holy Spirit, 83.
[6] https://www.cyber-chapel.org/sermons/acts/mp3/acts_02.46c_47.mp3
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp3LnNXACZ8
