1. The day of Pentecost

Last Sunday we learned exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the spirit gave them ability (Acts 2:4). The previously reserved and timid disciples were now empowered by the holy spirit to speak boldly.

Peter addresses the crowd: “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:22-24).

Peter’s concluding verse is recorded in Acts 2, verse 36: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Peter’s speech was strongly convincing because the contents reflected his own experience. He ran away from the scene of Jesus’ arrest, and after the Crucifixion he hid himself with the other disciples in fear of being arrested: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, . . . (John 20:19).

Jesus entrusted this vulnerable Peter with the task of leading the flock. He was enabled to speak openly in spite of being accused, arrested, and experiencing his own spiritual death, loss of faith and revival. To some extent the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus were simulated by Peter. Therefore, Peter’s speech was realistic in tone and filled with convincing power.

Indeed, the contents of the speech was quite astonishing. Because, according to Jewish thinking, those who were executed on the cross would normally be condemned by God. Nevertheless, Peter called the one who suffered such a fate, the Son of God. It must have sounded insane to the audience. But Peter challenged them without hesitation, and they were so profoundly moved, that they asked him and the other disciples: “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). In response to Peter’s appeal, many were baptized that very day. What we today witness through the reading of Acts 2, is the beginning foundations of the Christian church empowered by the Holy Spirit.

2. The Church is a community body

As Paul said: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). People are touched by listening to Sunday worship messages. Many repent and become believers, even now, at this present time.

Though it is said that Japan is a sterile country for preaching, more than 10,000 Japanese are baptized every year. This little church was given many of them. God’s words have power to move human hearts. And we, as Christians, support the local church and the body of believers. For we, like Peter, have also undergone similar experiences of defeat, suffering and redemption.

The enthusiastic embrace of faith which was born at Pentecost did not last for only one day. It was ongoing, and Luke tells us, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). While the idyllic portrait of life in the first Christian communities was not always achieved, it still offers an ideal to which believers aspire. Holding fast to the teachings of the Apostles and listening to preachers like Peter helped to grow the infant church.

Exhorted by God’s words we enter into a community of Christian brothers and sisters. Jesus compelled us when He said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you’” (John 15:12). To become a Christian is to establish a fellowship based on a bilateral love with other believers. Such a kind of relationship is expressed by the word Koinonia in Greek, which embraces also the act of sharing.

Fellowship does not mean to become simply close and enjoy togetherness, rather it means to share. In a hobby circle members share their activities for pleasure. For a company, they share for financial gain, and for a school, it should be sharing scholastic achievements and resources. Then what do we have to share in the Church? The answer is freely given in Acts 2:42, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. The place for breaking of bread and praying is a definition for the Church.

Breaking bread is not merely taking a meal. Contributing and eating food together symbolizes the spiritual relationship at the table. And praying is in the form of common prayer, collective, and conciliating, not in the realm of individuality. The church becomes an authentic community of believers by sharing and praying together in one accord.

3. Beyond the difficulties of the secular world
Today’s invocation verses, Acts 2 : 44-47, shows us the lifestyle practiced by the members of that prayer circle: All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

As Luke wrote, believers of the early church, devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. The Greek word “Koinonia” embraces the meaning of sharing, which entails both spiritual communion, and the sharing of possessions, materially and financially.

A religious group became a commune of daily life. But, with the passage of time, the nature of the Church was forced to change. After the disappearance of the disciples of the first generation, understanding the Apostle’s teaching diverged in several ways, which gave birth to disagreement and even opposition among believers.

Therefore, they needed to compile a Creed *, the aim of which was to unify and consolidate the base of faith. Creed is derived from the Latin word, Credo, meaning to believe. The nature of any faith is determined by what we believe, and the confession of faith in our church is based on the Creed.

The fellowship also commenced to change in character. The episode of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 reveals a fact that there appeared members who became reluctant to share personal assets. Also a conflict was recorded in Acts chapter 6, between the Grecian Jews and the Hebraic Jews, concerning the distribution of food.

Furthermore some Jewish people refused to share the table with uncircumcised gentiles, who began to participate in the Church. Thus a split occurred between faith and daily life. As the Church developed and increased its members, the communal lifestyle could not be maintained. Even if humans are saved, they remain sinners, including church members. The church on the earth, is not yet the kingdom of God.

However, the leader of the Church is always Jesus Christ. We find the fundamentals of our religious life in the roots of the early Church, which established a community where each member worked according to one’s own ability, and shared in the distribution of each necessity. In today’s church the principe of sharing is materialized in the form of donations.

The activities of the early Church were not only listening to preachers and worshiping, but they also prayed for those who suffered from difficulties, or a weakening faith. So we seek to know what we can contribute to society and to pray for conciliation. Prayers, must be followed by action.

The believers of the first generation were getting together every day to worship, to share meals and to pray for each other, through which they became firmly united. Living in this modern society today, it seems we can only get together once or twice a week. Which makes us appreciate and respect those cherished occasions.

Real fellowship consists of reading the bible and praying together. Without those two basic principles, spiritual maturity will not be realized. Our faith looks not only to individual salvation, but rather to a collective one. Luke described how the early church developed, ” . . . And day by day the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

We too received new church members today, the very day or Pentecost. So let us express our gratefulness for such a happy event, as those founders of the early Church did on the day the Lord added to their number. Pentecost celebrates the decent of the Holy Spirit, a comforter promised by Jesus, and a continual gift from God, available to all who seek and call upon His name - even today!

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Notes
* the Creed¡¡¡¡http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed