Dead or Alive? Hot or Cold?

How do you measure the warmth of a church? What makes a church a strong church or weak church? How do you measure her spiritual temperature?

A description of the early church is found in Acts 4:32-37. This was a very unusual situation. Verse 32 says, “They were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” They were unusually warm toward each other. Unusually alive and thriving. Verse 33 even says that the Apostles continued their witness in Jerusalem of the resurrection of Jesus. “And” it adds “great grace was upon them all”.

How then do you measure the warmth of a church? There’s to be a love for the Lord and for His Word. There is to be a love for doing what God has called us to. The love here for God is expressed in terms of a witness in the world. A very powerful witness. And when that happened great grace fell upon them all. That great grace could be seen in terms of God’s favour. But there is another way to see this. The great grace could also mean that favour of others because the word favour is not qualified in the sentence. The favour here could be the favour of those in Jerusalem who saw the church and admired the way the first believers cared for each other. That’s a possible interpretation, though the other is just as legitimate.

The point is there’s to be a love for others – a love for the brethren. A love for those outside the church: calling them to come in and take part in the resurrection of Christ by faith. This is what defines the warmth of the church. Consider what Jesus says in John 13:35 – “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” By this: By how connected we are to each other. By how we love the fellowship. That is what Jesus is saying. And that is what will make a church strong. The higher we value our personal privacy and freedom from commitments, the shallower our grasp of fellowship will be. It will be reduced to moments of idle chit-chat over steaming coffee after church. But there’s more to it than just this – much more….

Luke, the human author of Acts, uses the word ‘koina’ meaning ‘common’ in Acts 4:32. They had all things in common. The focus of fellowship is on what believers have in common with one another, what we share with each other, putting into practice the truth that we are woven together as members of one body. This means stewardship. It also means using our gifts and talents for the good of the fellowship. Our time as well. Really, what Luke wants us to understand is that there was a real delight over belonging to the family of God. This delight brought a joyful eagerness to be with and share with each other and with new members.

Are we eager to share in our fellowship because we are delighted over belonging to the family of God? Can we say, “I’m so glad I’m part of this? I want to be used here by the Lord in whatever way He chooses”? We all have a part and a place that is very important for the well-being of each other. That is the measure of a strong church. These are the conditions that we see in God’s holy community. And you know what? God wants to use each of us.