Acts 4:32–35

Context

This passage is not the speech of a character but the author's own narration. The author is traditionally identified as Luke. In Acts 4:31, after Peter and John have been threatened by the council (the supreme Jewish council) and released, the church prays together and all are filled with the Holy Spirit; this passage follows immediately. Like the close of Acts 2, it is one of the "summary passages" that describe the condition of the church in a few sentences. It is followed by the example of Barnabas, who sold a field and brought the proceeds (4:36–37), and then by the account of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied about the price (5:1–11). Verse 33 states that the apostles gave witness to the resurrection with great power, placing the sharing of possessions alongside the proclamation of the gospel. The phrase "had all things common" means that the believers shared the use of their goods, and "lacked" refers to being in severe need.

Interpretation

• Reading as voluntary sharing: Many evangelical commentators regard this sharing as a voluntary expression of love prompted by the Holy Spirit rather than as the institutional abolition of private property. They cite Acts 5:4, where Peter says that the land and the money from its sale had belonged to Ananias. Some also point out that, grammatically, the descriptions of selling and distributing in Acts 2 and 4 describe actions repeated whenever a need arose.
• Reading as fulfillment of the Old Testament: The words in verse 34, "Neither was there any among them that lacked," recall Deuteronomy 15:4, "Save when there shall be no poor among you." Some scholars therefore read the passage as describing the realization within the church of what had been promised to God's people. Others note that the expressions in verse 32, "of one heart and of one soul" and "they had all things common," resemble the Greek ideal of friendship captured in the saying "friends hold all things in common."
• Reading as a basis for communities of shared property: The Hutterites, a branch of the Anabaptists, have formed communities that hold property in common on the basis of Acts 2 and 4. The passage has also been cited in some strands of Christian social thought.

Questions of Application

Opinions differ on whether this passage sets a norm that the church of every age must follow or describes a particular feature of the early Jerusalem church. Those who read it as descriptive note that Paul's later letters do not require the sharing of property but instead speak of sharing through collections (offerings). Those who read it as normative hold that, although the form may differ, the principle of ensuring that no one in the church is in need still applies. On either view, some observe that turning this passage directly into a political argument about the institution of private property as a whole goes beyond its context.

In the Korean Church

In preaching, this passage is frequently cited together with Acts 2:42–47 as a representative text portraying the community of the early church. It is commonly used when emphasizing almsgiving and the communion of saints, or when introducing ministries of sharing within the church.

Related Passages

• Acts 2:42–47: the first summary passage of the same kind
• Acts 5:1–4: Ananias and Sapphira; the voluntary nature of sharing
• Deuteronomy 15:4: the promise that there shall be no poor
• 2 Corinthians 8:13–15: Paul's teaching on sharing "that there may be equality"