Acts 2:44–45

Context

After three thousand people were baptized at Pentecost, the Book of Acts summarizes the life of the first church. The believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer (v. 42). Verses 44–45 describe the sharing of possessions, and verses 46–47 describe how the believers gathered daily in the temple, broke bread in their homes, and had favor with all the people. A similar summary appears in 4:32–37, which includes the account of Barnabas selling a field and bringing the proceeds. This is followed in chapter 5 by the account of Ananias and Sapphira, who kept back part of the price and died.

Interpretation

• As voluntary sharing: Most commentators hold that this sharing was not a compulsory institution but an expression of voluntary love within a community united by the Holy Spirit. They point to Peter's statement to Ananias that the land remained his both before and after it was sold (5:4), and to the fact that in verse 46 the believers still met "from house to house." The phrase "as every man had need" (v. 45) is understood to focus on helping those in hardship.
• As the ideal of the church: Some interpreters regard this picture as a model of community toward which the church in every age should strive. Hutterite communities, part of the Anabaptist tradition, have practiced the common ownership of property, and the monastic tradition has also appealed to this passage.
• As a response to particular circumstances: Another view regards the practice as a temporary response to the unique situation of the Jerusalem church, in which pilgrim believers had stayed on and persecution and poverty compounded one another. Proponents also note that the Jerusalem church later received relief offerings from other churches (2 Corinthians 8–9).

Controversies and Issues

Christian socialism and certain social movements have appealed to this passage, while critics counter that voluntary sharing that recognized private property cannot be equated with a state system. In the Korean church, with its strong anticommunist sentiment, many voices cautioned against interpretations linking this passage to questions of social systems. Today many sermons treat it less as a matter of debate over political systems and more as a text that calls attention to disparities of wealth within the church and to the responsibility of almsgiving.

In the Korean Church

The phrase "Let us return to the early church" is frequently used as a slogan for church reform and community movements, and this passage is usually the first cited in its support.

Related Passages

• Acts 2:42–47
• Acts 4:32–35
• Acts 5:1–4
• 2 Corinthians 8:13–15