Welcome to the Riches of Christ sermon on Acts 2 vs 42.
To begin with, the Book of Acts provides the basic history of the spread of the Gospel during the three decades immediately following Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
The Book of Acts describes the expansion of the early Church, persecution, and their progressive revelation of the person of Christ.
The book of Acts is a pivotal material written by Doctor Luke about the work of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the followers of Jesus.
Much emphasis is given to the person of the Holy Spirit throughout the book of Acts, the distinction between those living under the law or Old Testament and the Life under the New Covenant brought in by Christ Jesus.
In addition, a popular theme in the Book of Acts is the resurrection of Christ from the dead which was their primary Doctrine.
Why was this their Primary Doctrine? Apostle Paul answered this question in I Corinthians 15, verses 12 to 17. In verse 17, he says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.”
Now that you know without a shadow of a doubt that your sins are forgiven and your faith is alive, active, and working because you believe in Christ, let’s now move over to Acts chapter 2.
SERMON ON ACTS 2 VS 42
Acts 2 vs 42 says: And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (KJV)
This means that the believers were given to a life of consistent, continuous, and progressive learning. A common question people ask is this: What is next after salvation, the short and simple answer is learning the scriptures.
As we see in Acts 2 vs 42; “and they continued steadfastly in the Apostle’s doctrine”, the subject matter here is Christ; the message of who you are in Christ, what you have in Christ, and what Christ can do through you.
When you dwell on this truth, you have escaped the false doctrines of men.
Apostle Paul was specific about the kind of message the church of Ephesus must commit themselves to.
Acts 20:32, “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified”.
Apostle Paul called the message, the word of his grace. The learning of the believer must have direction. It is not just any uncontrolled acquisition of knowledge.
The learning must come from the scriptures, the knowledge acquired can only be profitable for spiritual growth when it is from the scriptures.
The curiosity to study various works of literature, satanic books, mystical books, and other information is not of God. The Spirit of God will always direct the believer to the scriptures.
In Christianity, we don’t have our message or our understanding, we have the message or the understanding.
Nobody is allowed to have their personal revelation or understanding of the scriptures.
The source of our doctrine is Christ Jesus, He passed on to the foundational apostles and they explained the doctrine in the epistles they wrote.
We are also to take the doctrine documented for us and transfer it to other people. 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also”.
This means that we learn what is committed to us and we also commit to other people the same message.
The apostles have already laid the foundation. From our opening text, the disciples were committed to the apostle’s doctrine.
Doctrine must be taught or learned from somebody. However, when they say you must learn the bible yourself, the context is that you must search the scriptures to see if what they taught you is correct.
This discernment or judgment of doctrine being taught comes from spiritual growth.
As you continually read the bible and compare it with what you are being taught, you will begin to have questions and doubts about what you are being taught.
This is where personal responsibility comes in to ask questions and get answers based on your growth in doctrine.
Apart from that you will always know by what you are taught. You can’t know without being taught.
The Holy Spirit uses men to teach us. He will use men to teach you the truth you are to know.
The “breaking of bread” in Acts 2 simply means eating together like a family, in ancient Near Eastern culture, sharing a meal was a sign of fellowship, devotion, and unity.
These communal meals further strengthened the bonds within the early Christian community.
The believers also gave themselves to constant prayer which was evident in the Life of Jesus, if Jesus prayed, if the Apostles prayed, we too should give ourselves continually to prayer, and by doing this we make tremendous power available.
In the same book of Acts 6 vs 4, it says: But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
So, what’s the Life Application of Acts 2 vs 42:
- Importance should be placed on teaching, reading, and learning Doctrine for it is the Believer’s custom and tradition.
- Believers should dwell in unity and fellowship, and be of one mind in Christ, no believer is better or greater than the other.
- Attention should be given to Prayer, it is part of the Believer’s Lifestyle.
ACTS 2 VS 43 – 47 EXPLANATIONS
Acts Chapter 2 begins with the disciples waiting on the promise of the Holy Spirit which Jesus asked them to do.
Jesus had gone to the Father to present himself as the blood and this signified that the work of Salvation is now complete and no more work is required but only to Believe.
When the Holy Spirit descended on them, they began to speak in other tongues mainly “telling of the mighty works of God” – Acts 2 vs 11.
Then Apostle Peter started preaching the Gospel to the crowd, now pay attention to how he started, he started by quoting the Old Testament about the Prophecy of the Holy Spirit from Isaiah 44 vs 3, Ezekiel 11 vs 19, Joel 2 vs 28 – 32 and Zechariah 12 vs 10.
Thereafter, Peter took them on a journey about the Salvation plan by mentioning the Prophecies of David in the book of Psalms 16 vs 8 – 11, Psalms 132 vs 11, and Psalms 110 vs 1.
Peter taking them through the Old Testament and arriving at a destination is what Paul calls rightly dividing the word of truth, 2 Timothy 2 vs 15.
In Acts 2 vs 38, Peter told them to repent and accept Christ for the remission of sins and they too will also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This Promise is for everyone, there is no distinction or favorite. The moment you believe the Gospel, you have come into heaven and everlasting union with the Father, Glory to God!
The power of God was so evident in the early church that signs and wonders were done by the Apostles as Promised by Christ.
In Acts 2 vs 44 – 46, we could see that the believers were in unity, not disunity, the love and grace of God so much filled their hearts that they didn’t consider what they owned to be theirs only.
They were so generous that they sold their properties to assist other believers in their midst, if you pay attention here, the Apostles didn’t cajole them to give, they gave willingly because the Love of God has been revealed to them, halleluiah!
And because of this action and love, they had favour with the people and God kept adding more souls to the Church.
This was just the beginning of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men and the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the Earth.
Today, we have the same task to spread the Gospel, support other believers, and seek the love and fellowship of the brethren.
Thanks for reading and helping us spread this sermon to others.
God bless you abundantly.
My passion lies in reaching out to young adults in communities and schools, witnessing the transformative power of faith in their lives.
This blog extends my ministry, sharing insights, encouraging believers, and exploring Christ's teachings in daily life.
Welcome, Brother James.
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