What Does the Early Church Look Like in the Book of Acts?

      I like the way Acts gives a window of how the early believers met together.  In Matthew 16:18 we see the Lord's prophesy "I will build My church...." For years  this word church always brought up for me a picture of a building of some kind with a steeple, but in the New Testament it always means the believers. In Acts  5:11 after the death of Ananias and Sapphira the word church is used:   "And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all those who heard these things." 

       I like the way the footnote on Acts 5:11 in The Recovery Version of the New Testament  clarifies what the Greek word for church actually means: "Gk. ekklesia, composed of ek, out, and a derivative of kaleo, called, hence the called out (congregation), the assembly. It is the first time the church is mentioned here in Acts as a local church...." This makes perfect sense because a building couldn't exhibit fear.  It is fascinating to look at Acts from this viewpoint-- that it is the working out of how the Lord would  build His church in Matthew 16:18. 

     The church in Jerusalem in Acts 5:11 obviously must have come from the initial 120 who were praying in the upper room in Acts 1:15 plus all the ones who got saved in Acts 2 and 3.

     In Acts 8:1 is the first time you can see the word church connected to the city the believers lived in--not someone's name or a practice. Acts 8:1 "...And there occurred in that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; ...." And later in Acts 13:1 it says:  Now there in Antioch,  in the local church, prophets and teachers: ...." 

    If you get out a concordance and look up the word church in Acts or any New Testament book,  you'll find out it always refers to a city, or if the word churches is used, it refers to a region that had several churches. In his Life-Study of Acts Witness Lee said that  Acts gives us the blueprint of the early church life.  

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Acts along with excellent commentary by tuning into  the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Other Blogs on the Life Study of Acts:

In the Book of Acts What is Christ Doing in Ascension?
What Does the Early Church Look Like in the Book of Acts?
According to Acts 5:31 What is the Lord Doing as the Ruler of the Earth?
How Did the Lord Spread the Gospel in Acts 8?
What Vision Did Saul Have at His Conversion in Acts 9:3-8?
How Does the Gospel Reach the Gentiles in Acts 10?
How is Acts a Book on God's Move & Prayer?
Seeing God's Move & Satan's Frustration in Acts 14
Prayer, the Spirit, & the Word - The Way the Lord Carries out His Work in the Book of Acts
Seeing God's New Testament Economy in the Book of Acts - Part 1 of 2 
Seeing God's New Testament Economy in the Book of Acts - Part 2 of 2