Acts 4-5 // Power of a Unified Church

In Acts 4 we see the united efforts of a praying church that results in the freeing of Peter from prison.  Unity in the early church was not just a desirable feature, but it was the condition of its very existence.   Today, unity is marked by denominational groupings, such as Catholic, Protestant, orthodox, evangelical, baptist or Pentecostal.   These groupings did not exist in the early church.  Unity was not something that they prayed for, it was a force working within them that drew them together.    Their unity produced a praying church and worshipping church.    

Oftentimes we measure our unity based on the number of people in our buildings, or how much we can agree on a specific theological doctrine.  The style of a church’s worship service or its programming or ministries offered tend to become the driving force of our unity as a movement.  The early church didn’t focus on any of those things. 

What came out of their unity was generosity.  A sharing of one another’s life and resources, so that no one was in need.  Their devotion unto God was shared by everyone.  They were radically changed by God’s grace, growing in obedience to the teachings, serving one another in humility and empathy.  It truly was the grace and power of God’s Holy Spirit working through and among them that built the unity they were experiencing together.

And when this unified people came together to pray, they would pray into the Sovereign plans of God, with boldness and courage to face whatever challenges would come their way, speaking the word of God and demonstrating it with signs and wonders.    Prayer became the foundational activity of the early unified church.

But there were attacks on the early church and its unity.  First, came an attack on its integrity.  Ananias and Sapphira were found stealing from the treasury for their own benefit.   God would take this seriously and they would both lose their lives over their deception in the church.   Then came doctrinal disputes.  The Sanhedrin would be come filled with indignation over the apostles teachings.  They were zealous to defend their religious traditions from the expanding doctrines of Peter and John.    Yet, Peter and John would boldly proclaim and not back down from their preaching, explaining to the Religious Powers we are to obey God and not man.    Even one of the highly respected religious leaders said, there is no sense in fighting against these men, let it fizzle out, or you may find yourself fighting against God.    

The ultimate attack on the early church at the end of chapter 5 and for the rest of the book of Acts was persecution.   Even though this would ultimately scatter the church, it would not stop the movement.  Unity would become even more evident as persecution grew.    Nothing would stop what the Holy Spirit was doing through a unified praying people.   

So, no matter what weapons are formed against our world, city, your home, when unified in prayer, nothing will prosper against you.  I encourage you find a group of people that you can join with in praying for our nation, your city, or even your neighborhood.  Some of you need to just join in prayer at home with your spouse and your children.  Asking and crying out for God to move in your family.  Whatever and wherever the Holy Spirit leads you, you can rest assured that when a group of people unify around the grace and power of God, nothing will stop the purposes of God among you.