Everything in Common

31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. 32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Acts 4:31-37 ESV

Is the church like this today? I'd assume some are, but many Churches are not like this.

According to the Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament, " v.32 speaks of a customary practice in the early church of believers retaining their personal possessions and property and sharing them among the believers; vv.34-35 speak of an extraordinary response to special needs by some selling their property and possessions and distributing them to the needy. In other words, Luke here emphasizes that both continuous and extraordinary acts of Christian social concern were occurring in the early church..."

This is a difficult concept to wrap my head around in practice today, however we ought to follow the early churches examples of giving.

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