Acts 2:42–47

Context

Acts 2 recounts the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the sermon of Peter, and records that about three thousand people were baptized that day (Acts 2:41). This passage is Luke's summary of the life of the Jerusalem community that formed immediately afterward. Similar summaries appear in Acts 4:32–35 and 5:12–16. In the Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Hangeul), the phrase corresponding to "continued stedfastly" uses the word jeonhyeo, an archaic term meaning "solely" or "wholly"; the Revised New Korean Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) replaced it with oroji, the modern word for "solely."

Interpretation

• The basic elements of the church: Many denominations regard the four practices of verse 42—the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer—as the fundamental elements of church life. The KJV reads, "they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." The Greek word translated "fellowship," koinonia, conveys the idea of sharing and participating together.
• The meaning of "the breaking of bread": Interpretations differ. Some take it to refer to the Lord's Supper, others to ordinary communal meals, and still others to a love feast in which a meal and the Lord's Supper were held together. The same debate extends to the phrase "breaking bread from house to house" in verse 46.
• Description versus prescription: Many evangelical scholars hold that the passage simply describes the early community and is not a command that every church must follow. Others, by contrast, emphasize it as a model the church ought to recover.

Debates and Issues

• Sharing of property: On the basis of verses 44–45, some communities have held property in common; the Hutterites, a branch of the Anabaptists, are a well-known example. Many denominations, however, appeal to Acts 5:4 and interpret this sharing as voluntary rather than as an enforced institution.
• Wonders and signs: The "many wonders and signs" of verse 43 are a point of division in the debate over cessationism and continuationism. Cessationism, associated with the Reformed tradition, regards these as limited to the apostolic age, while Pentecostal and charismatic churches hold that they continue today.

In the Korean Church

Often accompanied by the slogan "Back to the early church," this passage is frequently cited as a biblical basis for church planting, small groups, house churches, and district (cell group) worship meetings. The phrase "breaking bread from house to house" in particular is often used to explain home gatherings and table fellowship.

Related Passages

• Acts 2:39–41
• Acts 4:32–35
• Acts 5:1–4
• 1 Corinthians 11:20–26