Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
In Acts 2.41-47, we see that the church after Pentecost was marked by faithfulness, fellowship, fear, and fervency. While the historical aspect of the Day of Pentecost has been fulfilled, The Spirit of Pentecost is a description of the church that is born from above today. The souls that were saved on Pentecost heard the gospel, were convicted by The Spirit, and publicly proclaimed Jesus as both Lord and Christ in baptism. They faithfully gathered to learn apostolic doctrine. They gathered together for fellowship with one another both in the temple and from house to house. They helped one another out materially as needed. Their time together was marked by gladness and singleness of heart. They praised God. They feared God, and God added souls to that body. They identified with no name but Christ. They had no agenda but His. There was no denominational “slogan” or “distinctive”. They were one church. One body. One Lord. One gospel. They were people loving Jesus, serving Jesus and loving one another.
May The Spirit of Pentecost be poured out afresh upon every single local church that bears The Name of Jesus Christ. The church that is born from above will truly be “Pentecostal”, if you are using Acts 2.41-47 as your definition of Pentecostal. Though there are no Apostles, in the sense of the original 12 on earth today, the Spirit that empowered the apostles dwells within each child of God. It is that Spirit that gives birth to the “normal” church life recorded for us here in Acts.
This activity of The Spirit was not the result of surveys taken by “church growth gurus” of the day. This was the work of the same Spirit of God Who dwells in the heart of every Christian and every Spirit filled congregation. Outwardly, this kind of church may not “look” very “Pentecostal” according to contemporary terminology. They continued steadfastly, or on a regular basis in Bible Study, prayer meetings, worship, helping one another out when needed, meeting at “church” and each other’s homes. All of this was the result of the operation of God’s Spirit within His people. I doubt they had “bulletins”. I doubt they were activities prompted by “the need” for small groups or growth group “programs”. These were repentant, born again followers of Jesus who were simply living out their faith in Jesus with one another. It was supernaturally natural. This is what born again people will do, because this is the Spirit of Pentecost.
As they walked in the apostles doctrine, this was the overflow. It was The Great Commandment in high definition. This is what the church that is born from above will look like. It was all about reaching out to one another as The Spirit leads us in the love of Jesus. Discipleship and fellowship are not programs telling us what to do and how. What about evangelism? How did they grow numerically? The Lord added to the church. The unspoken but unmistakable fact is that the personal and congregational fruit of The Spirit of Pentecost also gave birth to a group of souls who shared and lived out the gospel of Jesus Christ with gladness and power right where they lived and worked. Evangelism became their lifestyle. This is the church that is built by Jesus Christ.
