6. The early state of the church 2:42-47Luke now moved from describing what took place on a particular day to a more general description of the life of the early Jerusalem church (cf. Acts 4:32 to Acts 5:11; Acts 6:1-6). Interestingly he gave comparatively little attention to the internal life of the church in Acts. His selection of content shows that his purpose was to stress its outward expansion. read more
The feeling of awe that the obvious working of God in their midst inspired continued among all the people in Jerusalem. The wonder-inspiring miracles that the apostles performed pointed to God’s hand at work and kept this spirit alive. Not the least of these wonders must have been the remarkable unity and self-sacrifice of the believers. Compare Acts 2:22, where Peter said Jesus had done "wonders and signs," with this verse, where Luke wrote that the apostles performed "wonders and signs." This... read more
These early believers had frequent contact with each other. Communal living was voluntary and temporary in the Jerusalem church (Acts 4:32; Acts 4:34-35; Acts 5:4); it was not forced socialism or communism. No other New Testament church practiced communal living to the extent that the Jerusalem Christians did. The New Testament nowhere commands communal living, and Acts does not refer to it after chapter five. [Note: See Brian Capper, "The Palestinian Cultural Context of Earliest Christian... read more
This progress report summarizes the growth of the church thus far. It is one of seven in Acts each of which concludes a major advance of the church in its worldwide mission (cf. Acts 6:7; Acts 9:31; Acts 12:24; Acts 16:5; Acts 19:20; Acts 28:30-31). [Note: See Witherington’s excursus on the summaries in Acts, pp. 157-59.] The believers met with one another daily, enjoying the unity of the Spirit. They congregated in the temple area probably for discussion and evangelization (cf. Acts 3:11; Acts... read more
2:16 Joel, (a-11) See Joel 2:28 . read more
2:20 appearing (b-18) Though used for 'illustrious,' 'glorious,' the Greek word has in it the sense of 'manifestation, appearing, displaying itself.' see Titus 2:11 ,Titus 2:13 . Lord (c-22) 'Jehovah;' so ver 39. read more
2:21 Lord (c-14) 'Jehovah;' so ver 39. read more
2:22 Israel, (d-3) Lit. 'Men, Israelites,' as elsewhere, cf. ch. 1.16. to (e-14) 'Borne witness to, to you,' is not agreeable English; but 'approved,' in the modern use at any rate, is not the sense, and 'among you is feeble. The manifestation or demonstration was to the Jews. The witness was borne to them objectively, to Jesus as its subject. read more
2:25 him, (f-6) See Psalms 16:8 . read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Acts 2:42
These new converts along with the disciples gave ("devoted," Gr. proskartereo, cf. Acts 1:14) themselves to two activities primarily: the apostles’ teaching and fellowship. The grammar of the Greek sentence sets these actions off as distinct from the following two activities that define fellowship. The apostles’ teaching included the Jewish Scriptures as well as the teachings of Christ on earth and the revelations He gave to the apostles from heaven. This means the early Christians gave... read more