Desert Watch

The Bible as Six Act Drama

Stories in the Bible are not random events but part of an interconnected story. Just like a TV series where if you sit down and just see one episode of ‘Lost’ (which is about all I watched) you end up confused and mystified. You may be able to glean a little life-lesson from the episode (or not) but you can’t possibly get the whole story arc. Reading individual episodes of the Bible without reflecting on the big picture can be like that.

Like a good play or movie, the Bible can be divided into Acts. I call these six Acts Creation, Crisis, Covenant, Conquest, Community and Consummation.

ACT 1 - CREATION

This is the set-up. We are introduced to the characters and the scene is set. Firstly we meet the Sovereign Creator, then as Genesis records he says: "Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground”. 

One writer puts it like this: “By causing the creation to come into being by his word of power, God establishes it as his own vast kingdom. He thus establishes himself as the great King over all creation, without limits of any kind, and worthy to receive all glory, honor, and power in the worship of what he has created.”  He exercises dominion as he speaks and all creation responds.  He names what he creates.  He pronounces blessings over his creation; all unmistakable acts of a monarch.

His kingship is relational and loving as he walks with his subjects in the garden he has created. He invites them to participate in his ruler-ship over creation. This is more than creating servants, but of vice-regents, co-heirs, image-bearers and friends. Human beings are ‘image-bearers’ - we have authority and a degree of autonomy to also rule.  So to some extent we are all rulers just because God has created us in his own image to have responsible dominion. What follows is that we all have a little kingdom. We are accountable for the creation’s good as commissioned. This authority is an essential part of our humanness and remains with us to be used for good (if under God’s dominion) or for potential great harm if exercised apart from the relationship we were created for.

At creation everything is good. Shalom (peace, well-being, wholeness, safety, completeness, welfare) reigns. Human-kind is created uniquely in God’s image and put in the perfect environment where all is in harmony. God is in close relationship with his creation.Which leads us to Act 2.

ACT 2 - CORRUPTION

We could also call this Crisis or Chaos: Within creation God had also given a degree of authority and autonomy to another class of being to carry out his will. But within this angelic class there was one who overstepped his God-given boundaries - later called “… the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray…” Satan desires to be like God. To do this he must usurp the authority over the earth that humans alone carry.  

His tactics are the same as that of a scheming abuser. He carefully grooms his victims then once the innocent have fallen their guilt and shame keeps them in his clutches. Afraid and confused they withdraw from each other and hide from God.  The harmony of the Kingdom is shattered and the authority given the vice-regents becomes an instrument of destruction. The “dominion of darkness” has found its entrance into the Kingdom of Peace. Satan becomes the de facto “god of this age ...” continuing to blind and enslave victims who are powerless to break out of the victimhood and abuse cycle.   Another writer says: “Victims victimise others, and even themselves. In this way sin gains momentum. Worse, all sinful lives intersect with other sinful lives....”And so we come to Act 3 - capturing the chaos. 

ACT 3 - COVENANT

Humankind is bound in covenant to their cruel oppressors – sin and Satan. We are powerless to save ourselves or our broken world having surrendered our authority over to Satan.

God wants willing subjects, co-workers, friends and vice –regents. He doesn’t want robots. For free, powerful creatures like us to willingly submit to God is impossible; especially when we have literally sold our souls to the devil by choosing our own way above that of our sovereign King. So God allows us to feel the full weight of our independence from him. Society is like a train that’s jumped the tracks. We plummet to destruction smashing into each other and ripping apart our societies and God’s creation in the process.

So God does an incredible thing – through Covenant he binds himself to our fate. He partners with us in our destruction, not as participant in evil but as co-victim. In setting up the covenant with Abraham he is setting the stage for Act 4 – Conquest through the cross of his Son. Through the covenant God takes back for us what all the effort in the world could never earn; what all the military force could never win; what all the wealth in the world could never buy – but it is incredibly costly.

As God and Abraham bind themselves together in covenant it’s for the blessing and recovery of the whole world as God says: “all nations will be blessed through you”. It’s for Abraham submitting his little kingdom to the Creator King on behalf of all who follow in the path of the faith of Abraham; those who are of faith are the children of Abraham who inherit this blessing. So like the prodigal son "came to his senses" we also realise that we have squandered our inheritance and return to the gracious Father’s house.

Ominously the covenant was about blood. Innocent animals die as if to say "this is serious". Some blood covenants were sealed by the blood of animals, some by the blood of the participants. This covenant looked forward to a time over 2000 years later when a descendant of Abraham and of God would become the sacrifice, would go down with the train wreck, and would win it all back. Covenant captures the chaos.

ACT 4 - CONQUEST

Now the Son of God comes as the truly faithful, righteous covenant partner – the representative of human kind – the faithful Israelite - their expected Messiah. He also becomes the sacrifice. The "god of this age" is defeated – his legal claim over humanity is broken through the cross of Messiah. Jesus' resurrection is absolute conquest over our captors – sin and Satan, making a way for new creation and eternal life – the restoration of all things to the Shalom of the garden.

Recovery and restoration starts with the return of our wayward kingdoms to God’s Kingdom. But in our sinful broken state we can’t even do that - so God makes a way. Have you recognised that? If you’ve been a victim, Jesus has too. Some victims victimise others. We’re all victims and we’re all victimisers to different degrees. The good news is that through him there is forgiveness and freedom and restoration.

If you are afraid of being abused God says to you like he said the Abraham "Do not fear, I am your shield". Satan is the abuser, who whispers that God will never have you back, there’s too much shame; you’re too corrupted. Abram recognises that he is as powerless to help himself as he and Sarah are barren. All he can do is dare to believe and God does the rest.

ACT 5 - COMMUNITY

The victory is won, Satan has been defeated, the prison doors are open; the frail survivors begin to leave the concentration camps of sin. Yet like victims of long-term abuse there is still sometimes an unhealthy affinity with the abuser - a fatal attraction to what has enslaved fuelled by ignorance or fear of the unknown. Freedom feels too foreign. The familiarity of the abusive relationship feels familiar and therefore safer than freedom. So in his patience the King waits, trying to lure us out with foretastes of the goodness of his Kingdom.

This is where we find ourselves; we who know what it’s like to be back in the Father’s house. We willingly submit our ways to his and in return he clothes us with garments of righteousness, a ring of authority and sandals to take the good news to others. We willingly and gladly serve him through love and relationship not through compulsion. Our joy and restoration to true humanness as displayed by Jesus attract others to the house of the Father because the one who is Creator and King is also the loving Father. We model the mercy and justice of the King in the humility and servanthood of Jesus and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. That's our challenge

As the community of the people of God we have inherited the promise that "all nations will be blessed though you"; restated by Jesus as "go into all the world and make disciples of all nations" - offering to people release, freedom from fear, refuge; calling and reconciliation through Jesus the Messiah. We are a foretaste of the fullness of the kingdom yet to come in the final Act.

ACT 6 - CONSUMMATION

Consummation is defined as “the perfect ending; bringing of something to a satisfying conclusion, or the final satisfying completion or achievement of something”. The announcement is complete; the followers have modelled and proclaimed the kingdom so that all of creation has heard the invitation to freedom. It’s time for the Kingdom to come in its fullness. The groaning of creation is over. Evil is finally purged from the earth as the Son returns in unvieled glory with all the returned prodigals from all generations. The masterpiece is restored and heaven and earth can once again dwell as one. God has a creation in harmony and a people who will enjoy him for eternity.

LOST?

Why is the most popular genre on TV criminal drama? Why are there so many stories about broken relationships and the struggles to see restoration? Because deep down we know this story – the longing for justice and restored relationship is embedded in our DNA. God has placed eternity in our hearts. It will be a happy ending, but not for all. Not all the prodigals will return. But let us not be a stumbling block to any like the elder brother in the story. God's promise is that if we will take this reality seriously and submit our lives to God's reign then we will come alive in this new life and reflect it out into our world. Are you ready?

The Great Co-Mission

John chapter 20 could be described as the turning point of the whole biblical narrative – the day Jesus is raised from the dead. Tears of grief become tears of joy. Despair turns to faith - darkness to light – death to life – emptiness to fullness – hopelessness to purpose.

John is a poet – an artist with word-images. He deliberately parallels his book to the creation account in Genesis. Both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 start with “In the beginning.” John 20 is the start of new creation – the day Jesus is raised from the dead - the “first day” of the week. Darkness is over the face of the deep but the Spirit has been at work bringing life out of chaos. This is Day One of a new creation.

Imagine witnessing the creation of the universe? Mary Magdalene is about to witness something equally as significant. Mary was one of the women who travelled with Jesus – a female disciple. It is recorded that she contributed to the support of his ministry so she must have had financial means. She was also recorded in Luke as having had seven demons cast out of her. So she had quite a history. Some commentators think Mary Magdalene is the same person who anointed Jesus' feet with her perfume and tears as recorded by Luke chapter 7. Jesus says of that women: “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

Today she was on a mission – to anoint Jesus’ body again with spices along with Mary the mother of James and Salome (as per Mark).  But the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty! She runs to get the men – what does this mean? Peter and John come to check it out – “yep it’s empty all right – lets go home”. But something of Mary’s female intuition tells her there’s more going on here.

She can’t leave. I like the old word “tarrying” – sometimes we need to listen to those divine prompts to wait instead of rushing on to the next thing. She hesitated – it just didn’t seem right to go yet. She stays – processing the grief, taking in the moment. We only weep over those we love. There’s a line out of a Switchfoot song that comes to mind: “If it doesn’t break your heart it isn’t love.” Then through her tears she sees something (everything looks like angels through tears!)

“Why are you weeping?” The angels ask. Well it seems obvious to her but out of respect she explains to them why. Then another voice – same question – plus “whom are you seeking?” Who are you seeking? What are you seeking? Where are your efforts being placed? Where is your heart passion directed? Mary’s was directed to Jesus.

She thought he was the gardener! John is referencing the creation account again. Adam was the original creation man put in the Garden of Eden to “tend and keep” it. Now here is the new creation Gardener – the second Adam. Paul – explaining the nature of resurrection and the new creation in 1 Corinthians 15 says “Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.” Jesus has a physical resurrection body – but she doesn’t recognize him. In the resurrection there is continuity with our current physicality and discontinuity as well – more than mortal. Paul uses the analogy of comparing a seed to the plant it produces to explain this difference between first creation life and resurrection life.

He says her name: “Mary”. She recognizes him.  Someone saying your name brings back all your history with that person in an instant – not facts but emotions. Mary becomes a “sent one” – the first witness of the resurrection! The first messenger/missionary/apostle of the crucified and risen Son of God. He tells her “go to my brethren”. This is the first time he refers to his followers as “my brethren” – they had become his family – born anew of the same Father - my whanau, my family, my people, my brothers and sisters.

So it’s now evening – the doors are locked. Jesus appears in their midst – physical but different. What does he say? “Peace to you.” This is more than just saying “chill out guys its just me”. This is announcing that something has shifted. The Second Gardener who is also the Sovereign of the World has reclaimed the peace or “shalom” that was lost in the original garden. This was announced hundreds of years before by another poet in Isaiah 9:

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.…

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.

The kingdom of God is a Kingdom of peace – peace with God, reconciliation of races, restoration of the groaning of creation in terms of the new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells. The people of the world are gripped by anxiety but we as the sent people of God are called to both possess his peace and to take the peace of God into our broken world.

Sometimes things have to be broken before they can be fixed. At one point Jesus says: “I didn’t come to bring peace but a sword.” God will challenge and judge our abusive structures, relationships and belief systems - but the end-goal is peace. Our message is peace and our method is peace. “My peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.” (John 14:27) “Seek peace and pursue it” (1 Pet 3:11). When Jesus sent out his people two by two he instructed them to bring a blessing of peace on a house. This wasn’t just words but something I believe God wants us to draw from his presence – something tangible we can pass on.

Jesus’ pattern was to send out his disciples two by two to places where he was going to come. (Luke 10:1). Like John the Baptist they (and we as “sent ones”) have this task of preparing the way of the Lord. He will come where we take his peace. If we take arguments, anger, criticism and judgment we aren’t preparing the way for him to come. Why? He wants human witnesses to model what it’s like to live in relationship with God. We are broken, imperfect, stumbling people with the life of God within – a treasure in earthen vessels that the glory might be his not ours.

So he says again “Peace to you – as the Father sent me so I send you”. This is the great mission. God is a sending God. God sent his prophets, God sent his Son Jesus, now God sends us in the same way. Author Alan Hirsh says:“Although we frequently say "the church has a mission," according to missional theology a more correct statement would be "the mission has a church."” God has a mission and we are instruments of that mission. We talk about the Great Commission but this is the great “Co-Mission”. He co-missions them and he co-missions us to go as he went – with compassion, with service, with tears, with suffering, with joy – the attitude that was in Christ also be in us (Philippians 2).

Then he says in the next breath (literally) “receive the Holy Spirit”. Jesus was “anointed with the Holy Spirit and power and went about doing good and healing” (Acts 10:38) and so must his followers be. Not putting on shows and selling tickets but doing good and healing – moved with love and compassion as he was with this new-creation-Spirit-life in us now that Jesus is risen from the dead. Here again is a parallel to Genesis where God breathes on Adam and he becomes a living soul. We come alive with the life of God in us – new birth – regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Jesus quickly adds that our attitude and message is to be one of forgiveness in line with his nature of restoration not condemnation. Take a breath of God, receive his peace – and forgive.

So where does this leave us? Our method is our message. In our busy anxious world we are called to be like Mary – a seeker of his face. If it doesn’t break your heart it isn’t love. We are called to be people of the heart more than people of the head. Jesus calls us to be his brethren, his whanau, his people - to live in this world as ambassadors of the age to come. Where we go in his name taking his peace he will follow. As the Father sent me so I send you. Peace to you.

Mark - the Epic Adventure

Mark’s account of the story of Jesus is an epic action packed narrative. It has a great sense of scale as it gathers together the great promises of history; the sweep of civilisations toward a climactic moment; and the dramatic miracles adding an extra dimension of divine power to the story. He uses every opportunity to stress the importance of what is taking place. It is critical to the Jewish people; critical within the great civilisations of the day and critical to all who hear the story in the ages to come. 

Mark strongly anchors the story in space and time as if to assure the hearers that this is not a work of fiction but an historical account of real events with eye witnesses. There were challenges being made to the whole world order and Mark makes it plan that Jesus was aware of the challenges he was making; and he was aware of the consequences he would face as a result of that challenge; building a sense of impending danger through the story but leaving numerous hints that the outcome will not be what most of the participants in the story expect. 

Overview

Mark begins with Jesus’ impressive credentials: prophesied by Isaiah; personally announced by John; attested to by the voice of God; tempted by but victorious over Satan; lead by the Spirit and ministered to by angels.  Jesus is also shown as the one who announces the Kingdom of God and his teaching and works of power seem to be consistent with his calling as the Messenger of the Lord; the promised Messiah.

In Chapter 2-3 Mark goes on to reveal Jesus with the authority to forgive sins and even as a friend of sinners who has come to announce a new order which challenges yet strangely fulfils the Law of God. Jesus is revealed as willing to boldly confront the existing religious order as he begins to call his own disciples as those he will apprentice in this new Way. Verse 19 begins to show a backlash; from Judas who we are told eventually betrays Jesus; and a backlash from Jesus’ own family. We begin to see a surprising vulnerability in Jesus and a sense of impending tragedy.

Chapter 4 is an interlude of Jesus’ teaching the multitudes as Mark begins to flesh out for the reader Jesus motivation and methods. His teaching is all about this Kingdom he has come to inaugurate. 

Chapters 5-8 moves back into action mode as Jesus is shown raising the dead, taking authority over unclean spirits and instilling hope in the lost and scattered multitudes but showing Jesus’ vulnerability among his own people where he is limited by their unbelief. He sends out his 12 apprentices to do on their own what he has taught and to use the authority he has given. The story of the death of John the Baptist is told in flashback; again hinting at the possibility of Jesus himself being put to death. Chapter 6 finishes with the more dramatic accounts of miracles of provision of food, walking on water and mass healings as Jesus fame grows but with a clash with the religious establishment where Jesus exposes their hypocrisy. Jesus heals a non-Jewish woman showing himself more obviously different to the ruling religious order who would disapprove; climaxing with Peter’s revelation and confession of Jesus as the Christ and Jesus clearly predicting his own death and the potential cost to all would follow him.

In Chapter 9 Mark gives the mind-blowing account of the supernatural appearing of Moses and Elijah with Jesus. These were some of the most revered characters in Jewish history so for them to be personally endorsing Jesus left no doubt as to his Messiah-ship. Jesus once again predicts his own death and warns his disciples that to be his followers they must chose a path of servant-hood.

Chapter 10 is another teaching interlude; this time discussing issues of divorce from the perspective of principles from creation and our attitude toward possessions; choosing a life of simplicity and servant-hood; again with Jesus illustrating by predicting his own death.    

In chapters 11-15 the action picks up as we enter the final phase of the story; Jesus entering Jerusalem hailed as King. He cleanses the temple with a whip then speaks parables which sting the religious establishment with equal severity. Jesus warns of the destruction of the temple and predicts his own return. He eats the Passover with his disciples and prepares himself for death - although the disciples still don’t understand that he is to be the fulfilment of the Passover.  Jesus is arrested and whipped and crucified. The dynamic earthquake, tearing of the temple curtain and announcement by the centurion that ‘this man really was God’s son’ seal Mark’s case; this was fully the plan of God for Messiah to bring the Kingdom by his own death.

Chapter 16 is the epilogue and the grand conclusion: Jesus is risen. He speaks to his disciples, teaching and instructing then ascends to the Father promising his return.  

The challenge

The gospel of Mark is blatantly evangelistic and pointed. Mark packs a lot of punch into a small space as he cleverly weaves narrative, flashback, hints of conspiracy, clues from Jesus own teaching and a back-story from the Old Testament prophets.

The picture he paints of Jesus is nuanced. Jesus is the promised one, but not how he was expected. There is a vulnerability to him which seems to run counter to his spectacular abilities to heal and provide. Mark paints Jesus as powerful yet vulnerable, commanding yet humble and radical yet approachable.  

What a powerful message we have! It cannot be ignored, yet are we able to communicate this message as powerfully in our day as Mark did? We live in a world that has ‘heard it all before’ and only the Spirit of God can stir us up to bring the message alive again in our generation. 

How are we to be as confrontational to the ruling powers of our day as Jesus was; yet in a spirit of humility and servant-hood like him; to reach the masses with a message of comfort and understanding rather than alienation and condemnation?

The message of the resurrection of Jesus and what it means is something we must continue to grapple with. It has the power to bring life into the lifeless but we struggle to communicate this with the power it carries. God open our eyes to this epic adventure we find ourselves in and equip us to live worthy of it!

Acts - Jesus Rocks the World

The book of Acts represents a thirty year history of the explosive expansion of the Christian movement after the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. What were the factors which led to this rapid expansion? I believe they can be summarised in seven concepts: Focus, Filling of the Spirit, Fellowship, Faith, Fear of the Lord, Flexibility and Freshness.  In the early church these factors came together in a powerful synergy to produce earth-shaking results. Can we recapture that synergy today?  

Focus

Luke introduces Acts as the continuation of the story of the life and work of Jesus post-resurrection; now taken up by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.   It’s the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection now changing gears into Jesus working by His Holy Spirit through a people.  The players in Acts saw themselves as a part of the sweep of history; the Creator God’s plan to rescue the world through Israel being fulfilled in his Messiah. They clearly saw the glory of the Lord filling the heaven and the earth.  I believe the incredible momentum we see through Acts is because the followers of The Way  understood that they were part of a bigger story.

This story gave them Focus. It set the scene for them. They knew and proclaimed the narrative which started at creation; carried on through the fall, God’s covenant with Abraham, then raising up from him a people who were to be a light to the nations; the setting apart of those people by the Law through Moses and their subsequent proving in the wilderness. It continued through the establishment of the kingdom and exile and the promise of Messiah and full restoration.  This story was climaxed in the coming of Messiah in Jesus of Nazareth; his living as the faithful servant representative of Israel who became also the suffering servant and the deliverer; not only of Israel but of the world – all as promised in the Hebrew Scriptures. Now those who had seen how the story worked out were captured by its implications and had no doubt as to the part they were to play in the coming of the fullness of the Kingdom and the final return and reign of the King.    This is the essence of Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost and subsequent messages throughout Acts. 

This sense of story gave focus; a sense of a great destiny and purpose to those who embraced it and a message which permeated everything they lived and died for.  This focus was called ‘the good news of the Kingdom’ ; ‘the gospel’ ; ‘the Way ’; ‘the Word of God ’. This narrative put everything into true perspective and true focus. Continually through Acts the preaching of the gospel is tied into the sweep of history and into the story of Israel.  The point was that this movement was something unexpected but it was not something new. It was part of a grand sweep of history giving a sure foundation to those who were confused, downtrodden and scattered.  People could be connected, not just to a worthy cause but to Truth; the whole purpose of creation and history. Even among the non-Jewish people the believers preached a creator God who had been lovingly at work all along, in the background, involved in the lives and histories even of those who were ignorant; now calling all to faith in the resurrected Messiah and saviour for all peoples. 

On the day of Pentecost...“Peter...is understanding the Old Testament as a single great story which is constantly pointing forwards to something that God the creator was going to do through Abraham and his family... this great Something was the restoration of all things, the time when everything would be put right at last. And now he says, it’s happened! It’s happened in Jesus! And you can be part of it.” (Tom Wright: Acts for Everyone - Part 1)

Filling with the Spirit

Secondly and significantly intertwined with this focus was the Filling of the Spirit. Early in Acts the spectacle of the outpouring of the Spirit attested to the message preached.   When Peter stood and explained what had just happened on the day of Pentecost he references the Prophets, specifically the prophet Joel ; explaining that although this is something new to us, it all makes sense in terms of the big picture. It obviously impacted the hearers as three thousand joined the movement that day.

The filling of the Spirit was more than just a sign though. It was the birth of a new creation – the life of God re-birthed among humankind; the resurrection life of Jesus within individuals forming them into the expression of Messiah on the earth; fallen humanity bought back into the life of God and the guarantee of resurrection and the new creation.  The life of the indwelling Spirit empowered them to do the works of Jesus  and to become part of a new community – the people of God.  They were now empowered by the Spirit to do what Israel could only attempt to do by obedience to the Law.  And the people of God were no longer limited to Israel or those who adopted Judaism but were drawn from every nation. 

The book of Acts is filled with the work of the Spirit though the people of God. The Spirit led them and guided them in matters of doctrine.   The Spirit did signs and wonders through them, the Spirit helped them pray, praise, and testify.  The Spirit helped them face death and adversity with courage and faith and the Spirit along with their focus on the story they found themselves in produced the next key: Fellowship.

Fellowship

A definition of Fellowship (koinonia) I like is The Shared Life.  True fellowship as experienced in the early church encompassed a shared focus, the shared life of the Spirit, but also the practical outworking of sharing of resources within a caring community.  In this community there was reconciliation of previously strained or warring relationships which made a powerful statement to the outsiders.  Rich, poor, slaves, free, Jews, Gentiles, men, women, young and old were all treated with respect, care and dignity. This was a huge contrast to the racist, classist, sexist society of the day and drew many to the church.   

The church therefore became a source of practical salvation as well as spiritual needs. There was little if any distinction between the two.  The church became all that the temple was supposed to have been; the dwelling place of God, the place of forgiveness and reconciliation and the place of provision. The church also became all that Rome had promised but could only try to deliver by brute force – safety, justice and prosperity. Consequently the Church was popular with the common people but jealously persecuted by both the Jewish leadership who felt they were losing followers to heresy and later by the Roman state nervous that someone else was claiming to be King  and Lord  and doing a better job of it ('Lord’ was used by both the Romans to refer to Caesar and by the Jews to refer to Yahweh, so when the believers proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Jesus did the things that Yahweh had promised to do and Caesar had boasted he could do but never delivered on the church drew some unpleasant attention).

This shared life extended to their leadership style.  They recognised that all are members of the Body of Christ with every person a gifted and valuable member , yet some have been given gifts of leadership. This did not equate to superiority but if anything to greater responsibility.  Jesus had modelled servant leadership and stressed to them that they were not to copy the dominating leadership styles common in their culture but instead to lead by example and genuine sacrificial love.  

Fellowship in the early church was not only horizontal but also vertical.  The indwelling Spirit breathed a whole new dynamic of prayer and worship into the people of God. They became the living temple of the living God! As they prayed and worshipped they received fresh infilling and empowering.  Prayer and worship permeated all they did.  

At the heart of this was the celebration of the Lord ’s Table , the Lord’s supper  or 'breaking of bread' as it was simply referred to in Acts 2:42. This distinctive celebration  instituted by Jesus prior to his death encompassed and refocused the story in one simple profound and participatory act. It calls to mind creation, the Passover, the broken body and spilt blood of Jesus and the Old Testament sacrifices.  If encourages faith in the oneness of the believers eating and drinking together and the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus through the indwelling Spirit. It brings hope in the promise of the future kingdom when all is summed up in Christ and much more.   

Faith

The combination of the filling of the Spirit, the backup of a loving supportive community and an unshakable focus on God’s purposes produced another key factor: Faith. The apostles in particular were known for their staggering confidence before God, before people and before the forces of evil. The church chose leaders for these qualities of being full of the Spirit and faith.   True faith, Paul says in Romans, comes from hearing the word or story concerning Christ (Rom 10:17). As the Holy Spirit enlightens our understanding faith will the natural outflow. Faith was such a powerful factor in the early church that another name for the movement was The Faith. 

Faith has some balancers which were critical to the growth of the church. Faith without love, Paul tells us later – reduces us to nothing.   Spectacular faith without true care for each-other will not produce the results God desires. Faith also needs to be coupled with the filling of the Spirit. There is an unfortunate incident where a group of fired-up young enthusiasts (the sons of Sceva) were casting out demons in the 1name of Jesus – apparently with some success until a demon realised that they were missing the critical ingredient and turned on them.  They seemed to have great faith but did not have the life of God within them. 

The Fear of the Lord

Another critical balancer is The Fear of the Lord. God was close and big among the early church – he was awesome in their midst.  The believers knew the track record of the God of the Hebrews. He was known for His compassion but also His justice. The stories of His past dealings with His people rightly gave the apostles a great respect for Him. Jesus himself had reflected that character when he cleansed the temple.  God has an agenda for holiness and his Spirit is called the Holy Spirit for good reason. So the few times that God brought about judgement (enforcing justice) the resultant response was ‘the fear of the Lord’. 

The great value of the manifestation of the fear of the Lord was to make the church a safe place from predators and abusers. This was key to the churches rapid growth as it marked it out as genuine; not under the control of people but under the firm hand of God. Acts 9:11 says: “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.”  Anyone who dared speak or presume to lead had to have a healthy fear of God, to stay true to His word and treat people right or face God’s anger.

Flexibility

Paradoxically the fear of the Lord did not lead to inactivity and rigidity as might be expected by those afraid to put a foot wrong but coupled with the work of the Spirit and the focus on God’s story the fear of the Lord allowed a great freedom and Flexibility. The believers were able to relate powerfully using the culture and symbols of those they were ministering to without fear of compromise or syncretism because they had a deep Spirit-enlightened understanding of God’s ways and God’s story.  

This flexibility was manifested in how they organised the new groups of believers , how they shared the message, how they related to people from other cultures and how they interfaced with the Jewish faith they had sprung out from. Roy Clements says: “Unlike the imperialisms of men, the Holy Spirit had no ambition to homogenise the peoples of the world into a uniform Christian culture. On the contrary, he intended to bridge cultures and to overcome the alienation they create without eroding the diversity they represent...the dividing walls of culture would not be destroyed but lowered to the point of innocuousness, being superseded by a new kind of social identity altogether... – the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” (Roy Clements, The Church That Turned the World Upside Down).

There were many challenges to their existing thinking. Firstly the temple became less important because they understood now that the believers themselves were the temple of God. The relationship to ‘outsiders’ – non-Jews was dramatically challenged by God through Peter’s vision.  The issue of keeping the Jewish law came to a head in Acts 15 and the church was able to make a major shift to recognise that believers did not have to become Jewish before they could become part of the church.

The apostle Paul continued with great effectiveness sharing the story of Jesus throughout much of the known world because he understood that God was bigger than Judaism – he was and has always been working in every people group and has his finger-prints on every culture.  

Freshness

The combination of all these factors meant that the Acts church was a place of continual Freshness. There was movement and excitement because the wind of the Spirit was moving.  The story of God was unfolding before their eyes in their generation. They knew God’s ways; what he likes and why because they knew that they were part of the great story and through prayer and worship they had become His friends (In John 15:15 Jesus had said: “I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know their master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you”).  

As a result they were full of faith, joy and enthusiasm. They could then apply the unchanging principles they had learned from Jesus or passed down from other under the leading of the Spirit without fear of compromising the message in ways that honoured the people they were ministering to.  

They understood what it means to serve and created a safe, just and kind environment that was a place of great refreshing. People were attracted and the church exploded with growth even in the midst of extreme opposition at times. 

Fitting it together

What can we learn for the contemporary church? I think a major key is to regain the story of the gospel. It is not just a set of statements we must believe, it is an unfolding story we must grasp, grapple with and learn to communicate. I fear that we have lost the power of this story among the many competing narratives in our world.  Tom Wright says:“When no attention is given to teaching, and to constant, lifelong Christian learning, people quickly revert to the worldview or mindset of the surrounding culture, and end up with their minds shaped by whatever social pressures are most persuasive, with Jesus somewhere around as a pale influence or memory.” (Acts for Everyone)

The other major key I see is that we need to have all these factors in place together in synergy. There have been churches and movements that have emphasised faith but have forgotten the fear of the Lord so have become self-serving. There have been movements that have emphasised the fear of the Lord but without understanding God’s ways which can be applied with flexibility and grace they have become rigid and legalistic. Others have emphasised fellowship and community but missed the big story focus so neglected the urgent call to tell the story. Some have been so flexible in their desire to be relevant that they have unwittingly compromised the message itself. Others have emphasised the filling of the Spirit so much they neglect the rest and focus instead on their next (supposed) Holy Spirit experience.  Some have focussed so much on teaching doctrine they forget to simply care for each other.

At a basic level the spread of the message about Jesus is about God who made us bringing us into what we were made for. Humans long to be a part of big story which gives meaning to life and fits with the world we observe. They hunger for truth. The story of God in Jesus supplies this Focus. We are made to be connected to the source of all life; so we fill that God-shaped gap with God-substitutes to ease the craving but we are made for the Filling of the Spirit. We are made for warm, meaningful and safe relationships:  Fellowship in God’s people is to provide this. We are made for adventure and risk taking and the danger we find in a life of Faith. We hunger for justice and to know that there is someone who is able to deal with evil and correct us when we stray. We find this as we understand The Fear of the Lord.  We instinctively know that life is about grace and that God who made this amazing creation is a God of variety, beauty and Flexibility not harsh rigidity. We love an adventure where the plot unfolds and we are surprised and delighted by the Freshness of what we find. These were distinctive of the early church. Is it any wonder that multitudes were added? 

These principles are rooted in God’s character and in the needs of humanity and they are proven to produce lasting fruit that will remain. Focus, Filling of the Spirit, Fellowship, Faith, Fear of the Lord, Flexibility and Freshness working together in the early church produced incredible results. I believe as we begin to align ourselves afresh with these proven keys we too will see powerful results.