Unity in the Early Church and Now (Post #1): Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
Unity in Real Life
Unity. It’s defined as a state of oneness, or the combining of many individual parts into one whole. Unity is a worthy goal for any group or organization. Things tend to operate much smoother and move much faster when you’re unified. And the absolute quickest way to lose unity in a family unit is to ask everyone where they want to go to dinner. In my household, you’ll get five completely different and very loud opinions ranging from a sit-down steakhouse to the McDonald’s with the playground. And the reasons behind the varied opinions aren’t just differing preferences; differing priorities play into the equation, too. Usually, I’m looking for somewhere that offers some healthy options. The oldest little will predictably campaign for McDonalds or CookOut (simple because he knows what he likes and doesn’t see any need for change). The middle little will opt for a place we haven’t visited in a while (because who doesn’t want some variety in your out-to-eat diet?). The youngest little will support anywhere “fun” (like, does it have a playground? Does the kids’ meal include prizes?). And my hubster inevitably supports the quickest and cheapest place. The second you glance in the rearview mirror and say, “Hey, guys, where should we go to dinner?” everyone starts talking at once. It doesn’t take long to remember why you shouldn’t have asked it at all, and inevitably the final decision leaves everyone grumpy.
Unity. It’s a great thing, but it’s tough to maintain. Any time you put together a group of sinful, selfish humans, the most likely result is chaos, not unity. And that’s exactly what makes unity so very vital for the church. The world around us values the “make your own way” strategy where you follow your heart and prioritize your own wants and successes, even at the expense of others around you. In stark contrast, Jesus teaches us the first in His kingdom are those willing to be last; the one who loses his life will gain it; and reward comes to those who put others first. It’s an upside down way of thinking and living, and when we do it right, the watching world notices.
Unity in the Early Church
Unity within the body of believers was so important to Jesus, He prayed about it right before His death. In John 17, we read Jesus’s prayer that his disciples “may be one” (verse 11), that they would experience the same closeness and singleness of mind that He and the Father experienced. Jesus also prayed for future believers (that’s us!), saying “may all of them be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you… may they be brought to complete unity” (verses 20-23). If unity was important to Jesus, it should be important to us today, too.
And God knew we would need an example of this. He knew we would need a blueprint, a real-life picture, of what unity looks like. So He gave us the book of Acts. Luke, the Gentile physician who wrote the Gospel of Luke, wrote Acts as a type of sequel to document the humble yet miraculous start of the Christ-following church. This early body of believers wasn’t without challenges, yet the fact that these babies in the faith persevered and spread the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the Earth makes their start worthy of our attention. What the early church lacked in knowledge, they made up for in obedience and dedication, and the results were nothing short of miraculous. When we read in Acts about the example of the early church, one of the easiest things to spot and study is this group’s unity.
Their unity was simple yet deep; practical yet profound. They were brought together by their belief that Jesus was the long-waited-for Messiah. But how did they stay together? How did the early church maintain this unity over the long haul? The answer can be boiled down to a few simple but super important elements: perspective, stewardship & service, presence, and prayer. (Unity is a simple concept, but building and maintaining it can be complex. I’ll break this topic down into several different posts, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!)
Perspective
Many times in life, we find ourselves in the middle of circumstances we didn’t ask for and can’t control. We may not be able to change the situation or even the outcome, but we can change our perspective. Often, looking at things from another angle alters our attitudes and gives us valuable insights that we might have missed before. In my own life, it’s a constant struggle to ditch the worldly perspective and cling to a Biblical perspective. The early church may have battled this, too, but they were successful in fine-tuning their focus on kingdom matters.
Based on the first few chapters of Acts, we can see that in the beginning, the early church was most likely made up mostly of Jews who either lived in Jerusalem or who were visiting to observe the holiday of Pentecost. At that time, the Roman government was reasonably tolerant of Judaism, even granting it legal status as a government-recognized religion, but rumors about a new renegade group of believers following “The Way” sparked unease and even fear. Discrimination and persecution against members of the early church weren’t uncommon. And growing up in a devout Jewish family and then proclaiming Jesus Christ as Messiah? It was viewed not just as a sudden and silly change in loyalties; it was seen by many as the most serious form of familial betrayal. Overall, the early church was surrounded by challenges and conflicts. Yet despite this, and maybe even because of this, the early church still kept the main thing the main thing.
Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
I had a youth minister who once told us, “the main thing in life is to keep the main thing as the main thing.” I haven’t forgotten it, but it’s much easier said than done. I tend to first focus on the conflicts around me, and I’m easily overwhelmed by the challenges. Acts 2 illustrates the early church’s strategy for keeping proper perspective, for keeping the main thing the main thing. And it centers around Bible Study.
The saving faith for members of the early church was based on, first and foremost, Scripture. The majority of Acts chapter 2 details the argument Peter gave to prove Jesus was and is the promised Messiah. He uses multiple Old Testament passages, which the Jewish audience would have known and trusted. Once they surrendered and believed, the men and women of the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (verse 42). They didn’t have the New Testament to read or study, but the early church had the apostles in the flesh, sharing their first hand experiences with Jesus and teaching the lessons they learned from Him. In essence, the members of the early church studied the New Testament before it was even written down! And they did this on the daily. Acts 2:46 says “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts and broke bread in their homes.” They were devoted, committed, to learning about the life and heart of Jesus. This wasn’t just a casual club membership or an once-a-week activity. These believers prioritized studying Scripture. They did it at church. They did it at home. They did it daily, like they needed it to breathe. And they did it together.
For the men and women of the early church, meeting together to study Scripture was a regular part of their daily routine. In their eyes, there wasn’t anything more important. Work, family, making money, hanging with friends… nothing trumped gathering together to learn God’s Word.
And me? I’ll just be honest, here. Sometimes I struggle to prioritize it just one day a week.
Their shared perspective, their common prioritizing of God’s Word, held them together and helped them keep the main thing the main thing. Studying God’s Word regularly also helped them see the rest of life through a different lens. Once they had their “Bible Glasses” on, the early church believers saw persecution as an opportunity to forgive; they viewed inconvenience as a chance to serve; they considered conflict an occasion for humility.
It’s important to remember that the accounts of the early church in Acts are mainly meant to be descriptive, not necessarily prescriptive. But if the habit of meeting together regularly to study Scripture worked for the early church, it can work for us today! Heaven knows we’re all in need of a little help keeping the main thing the main thing.
(Stay tuned for more on this super-important, timely topic!)
