Living in the Image of God M06S02

A prominent practice of the early church did not survive the disintegration and rebirth of the church. The early church vested itself with the authority to distribute resources to the points of need; a practice that led to the demise of the church and did not survive the rebirth of the church through evangelism following the martyrdom of Stephen. The fact that the practice did not survive provides a basis for understanding God’s purpose that the authority to distribute resources belongs to the owner. Every gift of God to an individual comes with full authority to determine when, where, and how to use “what the Lord has given us.” Whatever is in your possession—physical and mental resources—has been given to you by God, with a mandate and purpose to address the needs around you: needs of self and needs of others; and full authority to choose the needs to address; when, where, and how.

This study discusses a prominent practice of the early church that did not survive the disintegration and rebirth of the church. The early church in Jerusalem practiced communal control of the distribution of resources to points of need: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had” [Acts 4:32]. And the church leadership handled the sharing and demanded total surrender of the proceeds of individual ownership. Ananias and wife Sapphira received the ultimate punishment for disobeying.

However, the resource distribution function led to problems that the church leadership tried to solve by handing over the function to a new arm of leadership; the deacons, led by Stephen: “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” [Acts 6:1]. The church leadership responded by getting the church to appoint the deacons. Subsequently, any dissatisfaction with the distribution function fell squarely on the shoulders of Stephen and created opening for the enemies of the church. The martyrdom of Stephen and subsequent persecution of the Christians led to disintegration of the church. The Christians scattered far and wide and continued with evangelism wherever they were. Their evangelism led to rebirth of the church in several places. The church thrived, but the practice of exclusive resource distribution authority by the church did not survive.

The fact that the practice did not survive constitutes a basis for understanding that the authority to distribute resources belongs to the owner. Therefore, we learn that every gift of God to an individual comes with full authority to determine when, where, and how to use the resources. The understanding is an important step in learning and sharing God’s purpose for “what the Lord has given us.” We will understand that whatever is in your possession—physical and mental resources—has been given to you by God, with a mandate and purpose to address the needs around you: needs of self and needs of others; and full authority to choose the needs to address; when, where, and how.