A man parked his car to pick up the morning paper. He noticed a dirty, poorly dressed boy, looking at his car. Seeing the boy eyeing the car, he reminded himself to be quick or he might be missing a hubcap when he returned. He came out of the store with his paper under his arm and just as he opened the door to the car, the boy asked, "Mister, how much would a new car like this cost?" The man responded, "I really don't know; my brother gave me this car as a gift." The ragged little boy looked unbelievingly at the car and then, with a look of wonder in his eyes, said, "I wish I could be a brother like that."
Be honest, most of us would say, "I wish I could have a brother like that." This boy shames us with his generous spirit: "I wish I could be a brother like that."
This is now the third sermon on what a Spirit-filled church looks like. Last time we said a Spirit-filled church is a fellowshipping church. We learned that in union with Christ, members gather together to support and love each other. In union with Christ, members are one in heart and mind. A Spirit-filled church is a loving, caring, sharing, fellowship.
Today, I want to explore with you again what it means for a Spirit-filled church to devote herself "to the fellowship." Let me remind you that the Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. Koinonia is far more than being chummy or friendly with one another. On top of what we learned last week, we will learn that koinonia means caring for the poor.
I Koinonia - Care for the Poor
A Koinonia is the word Paul uses for the collection he was organizing among the Greek churches for the relief of the Christians in Jerusalem (2 Cor 8:4; 9:13). And, "koinonikos" is the Greek word for "generous." It is this kind of koinonia that we find among the Christians of the early New Testament Church – a koinonia of caring for the poor within the church.
The Old Testament demanded that God's people care for the poor. The Israelites were required by law to give a tenth of their produce to "the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow" (Deut 26:12). Though the New Testament doesn't specify an amount, how can Spirit-filled believers possibly give less? As John was to write later,
(1 Jn 3:17) If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Christian fellowship is Christian caring, and Christian caring is Christian sharing.
If there really is koinonia among the people of God, then, as Moses states, "there should be no poor among you" (Deut 15:4). Of course many societies have dreamed of ending poverty. In the twentieth century that has been the goal of socialist governments world-wide. And, that was also one of the goals of President Johnson's Great Society. At the time of Paul the Greeks looked backward to a golden age in which all property was public. Pythagoras is said to have practised it with his disciples. Plato incorporated this ideal in his vision of a utopian or prefect republic. And, a few miles east of Jerusalem, the Essene leaders of the Qumran community were committed to the common ownership of property. According to its Rule, all members, wherever they lived, were obligated to care for the poor, the needy, and the stranger; however, those who wanted to enter the monastic community at Qumran had to hand over all property and income to the community.
In our Scripture reading we find that the ideal of koinonia was realized in the early New Testament church. We are told "there were no needy persons among them" (Acts 4:34).
B Luke tells us how this koinonia of caring and sharing was accomplished. He says,
(Acts 2:44-45) All the believers were together and had everything in common. (45) Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
(Acts 4:32-35) No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. (33) ... (34) There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales (35) and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
These are disturbing verses. Some say they mean that every Spirit-filled believer and community must follow their example. But is this actually the case? Are we being told to practice a primitive kind of "communism"?
When I think of the rich ruler I do not doubt that even today Jesus calls some of His disciples to a life of total, voluntary poverty. Remember that ruler? Jesus discerned that he loved his wealth and possessions. Jesus discerned that his wealth and possessions was costing him his soul. So Jesus commanded the rich ruler to sell all that he had and to give it to the poor. If we love wealth and possessions like this rich ruler then we too would be better off selling all that we have and giving it to the poor (Lk 18:18f). Yet neither Jesus nor His apostles forbid private property. It is important to note that even in Jerusalem the sharing of property and possessions was voluntary. According to verse 46, they broke bread "in their homes." So evidently many still had homes; not all had sold them.
C Again I ask, how was the koinonia of caring and sharing accomplished in the early church? Being filled with the Spirit those early Christians' had a radical attitude towards possessions; and, that radical attitude led them to sacrificial action.
The most important phrase to describe the attitude of the Spirit-filled church is this: "No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own" (4:32). Although in fact and in law they owned their goods, yet in heart and mind they thought of their possessions as being available to help their needy sisters and brothers. They took the attitude that God blessed them with material wealth so they could be a blessing to others.
This attitude led those Spirit-filled believers to take sacrificial action. Says Scripture:
(Acts 2:45) Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
(Acts 4:34-35) For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales (35) and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Let me give you an example of this koinonia:
Topic: Giving
Subtopic: Of Tithes
Index: 2123
Date: 8/1991.28
Title:
Soviet Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, the author of "Tortured for Christ," suffered terribly for the Lord. Yet he said that even while in prison, he saw fellow Soviet believers practice generous giving. "When we were given one slice of bread a week and dirty soap every day, we decided we would faithfully 'tithe' even that. Every tenth week we took the slice of bread and gave it to the weaker brethren as our 'tithe' to the Master."
The best example of the koinonia of caring and sharing is the Lord Jesus Christ. I think here of the words of the Apostle Paul:
(2 Cor 8:9) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Paul is talking here about Jesus exchanging the riches and glories of heaven for the poverty and cruelty of the cross and the grave. The net result for us who believe is that we leave behind the poverty of sin and misery and enter into the riches and joy of new life in Christ.
D Scripture gives us two contrasting examples of the koinonia of caring and sharing. The first example is Joseph, nicknamed Barnabas or Son of Encouragement. He sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet (4:37). His generosity and openness fulfilled the koinonia ideal of caring and sharing.
The other example is Ananias and Sapphira. To all appearances Barnabas and Ananias did the same thing. Both sold a property. Both brought the proceeds of the sale to the apostles. The difference was that Barnabas brought all the sale money, while Ananias brought only a percentage. Peter's judgment fell on Ananias and Sapphira for their lack of integrity – that they brought a part, while pretending to bring the whole. Ananias and Sapphira wanted the credit and the prestige of sacrificial giving, without the inconvenience of it. So, in order to gain a reputation they did not deserve, they told a lie. Their motive in giving was not the plight of the poor, but to fatten their own ego. This certainly did not fulfill the koinonia ideal of caring and sharing.
In doing this, Ananias and Sapphira sinned against the Holy Spirit. But they also sinned against the church. You see, falsehood and hypocrisy and lies ruin the fellowship of the church. True koinonia requires trust and truth and honesty. That's why the sin of Ananias and Sapphira had to be exposed and condemned.
E The lesson is clear, isn't it?! A Spirit-filled church practices the koinonia of caring and sharing. The Holy Spirit creates a church that cares for the needy and practices sacrificial generosity.
We need to hear this today. In the early church the believers gave abundantly of what was their own; but in our day many not only jealously guard what is their own, but callously rob others of what they have. In the early church believers sold their own possessions; in our day it is the lust to buy that reigns supreme. In the early church love made each man's possessions common property for those in need; in our day the poor are resented and trampled upon.
The Holy Spirit creates a church that cares for the needy and practices sacrificial generosity. We need to hear this today as many struggle to pay Christian school tuition. We need to hear this today as some are too proud to ask for help. We need to hear this today as some are looked down upon for getting help.
Marquis de Lafayette was a French general and politician who joined the American Revolution and became a friend of George Washington. An influential man in the U.S. and France, Lafayette was also a man of compassion. The harvest of 1782 was a poor one, but the manager of his estate had filled his barns with wheat. "The bad harvest has raised the price of wheat," said his manager. "This is the time to sell."
Lafayette thought about the hungry peasants in the villages and replied, "No, this is the time to give."
Many people, like the manager, would take advantage of the situation to make a killing. Few people, like the Marquis, would reach out in love. Real koinonia is measured by our willingness to let go of what we possess for another's good.
F It is fair to say that a church which does not practice the koinonia of caring and sharing is a dead church or, at the very least, a sick and dying church. It is not a church filled with the power and grace of the Spirit.
An artist was asked to put on canvas what he considered to be the picture best symbolizing a decaying and dying church. After several months, he returned and reported that he had finished the task. The hour finally arrived when the painting was to be unveiled.
Several people standing around the easel had already given their description of what they thought the church would look like. Some had said it would be a rundown building in great need of repair and paint. Weeds would be growing in the church yard, and there would be some broken window panes. Everyone in the group seemed to have the same picture in mind.
However, when the cloth was removed, a hush fell over the group. Everyone was stunned. Before their eyes was an absolutely beautiful church building. The grounds were well kept and the exterior of the building was in excellent condition. After a few minutes, one person stepped forward and said to the artist, "I thought we asked you to paint a dying church?"
The artist smiled and invited everyone to step closer to the painting. He pointed through the windows to the "poor box," what we would call the benevolent fund. There was nothing in the box but "cobwebs."
The church that has cobwebs in its collection plate is a church that is decaying and dying. Without the giver, there is no giving. Without the giving there is no koinonia of caring and sharing.
A Spirit-filled church practices the koinonia of caring and sharing. In fact, she devotes herself to this. The Holy Spirit creates a church that deliberately cares for the needy and practices sacrificial generosity. In fact, our text tells us that she devotes herself to the fellowship.
II The Early Church's Health Plan
The last issue of Christian History contains an article entitled "The Early Church's Health Plan." As I read the article I could not help but thank God for the koinonia of caring and sharing shown by the early church. Let me read excerpts from this article:
A little known fact is that Christians in the ancient world had longer life expectancies that did their pagan neighbors. In fact, many pagans were attracted to the Christian faith because the church produced tangible (not only "spiritual") blessings for its adherents. These benefits included: Social services. In a world entirely lacking in social services, Christians were their brothers' keepers. At the end of the second century, Tertullian wrote that while pagan temples spent their donations "on feasts and drinking bouts," Christians spent theirs to "support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined to the house."
Similarly, in a letter to the bishop of Antioch in 251, the bishop of Rome mentioned that "more than 1,500 widows and distressed persons" were in the care of his congregation. This charity was confirmed by pagan observers, too. "The impious Galileans support not only their poor," noted the emperor Julian, "but ours as well." Health services. When two great plagues swept the empire in 165 and 251, mortality rates climbed higher than 30 percent. Pagans tried to avoid all contact with the afflicted, often casting the still living into the gutters. Christians nursed the sick, even though some believers died doing so. We now know that elementary nursing – simply giving victims food and water without any drugs – reduces mortality in epidemics by as much as two-thirds. Consequently, Christians were more likely than pagans to recover. Close-knit community. Because the church asked much of its members, it followed that it gave much. Because Christians were expected to aid the less fortunate, they could expect to receive such aid, and all could feel greater security against bad times. Because they were asked to nurse the sick and dying, they too would receive such nursing. Because they were asked to love others, they in turn would be loved.
This is the koinonia of caring and sharing as it was practiced in the early church.
Conclusion
You may wonder why I am preaching a sermon on this? Do I think that we have a problem in this area?
I have a nickname for each of the churches I have served. For this church it is "A Generous Church." I have told you before and I will tell you again, I have never met a church as generous as this one. I want to encourage you in this generosity, in this koinonia of caring and sharing, in this sign of the Spirit's presence.