When Luke described the newborn Christian church in Acts 2-4, he demonstrated that the church fulfilled a key element of the Mosaic law that Israel had never achieved. He wanted to show that the community ideal that lay at the heart of the law was at last achieved as a direct result of the outpouring of God’s Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The law of tithing and the law of the cancellation of debts described here in Deuteronomy 14-15 were given to ensure a shared life that connected God’s people and secured the welfare of all. So, Luke explains that: “All the believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:44). And again: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had” (Acts 4:32). A key Greek word here is “Koina” which means “share”. It is also the root word behind the words translated as “in common” and “fellowship”. The key idea then behind these laws in Deuteronomy as well as the key idea underlying the fellowship of the church is sharing. God’s aim in all he has done in Christ’s sacrifice and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not just our individual salvation but the formation of family, that is, true community. A group of people do not become a community until they share. If we don’t share, then we are merely a crowd. God wants us to create a common purse, for a common life with a common purpose. He wants us to share our lives, gifts and income.
Reflect on how you can share more with your church.
Read Deuteronomy 14 and 15
