“They were devoting themselves to the teaching of the emissaries and to fellowship, to breaking bread and to prayers.”
Acts 2:42 TLV
They devoted themselves to the teaching of the emissaries….. or in the Greek: Apostolos, transliteration into English: Apostles.
The emissaries here were 11 of the original 12 disciples of Jesus who he appointed to be his apostles, or missionaries, if you prefer. The root of apostolos is “sent one” so using the word emissary or missionary is appropriate. More emissaries come later on… but these 12 (with one replacement for Judas) had a specific mission.
They were called to be witnesses of Christ’s baptism, ministry, death, resurrection, and His movement into Heaven. 1
Interesting right? But why do I so elaborate?
If you remember my introduction post: A Family of Constants I talked about how I believed that Luke wasn’t only being descriptive, but prescriptive… in other words he was looking to replicate this first community everywhere.
So if my hypothesis is correct and the purpose is in fact replication… then it’s important to understand what the apostles teaching actually is which means it’s important to understand who the apostles are. It is also important to understand what they taught.
As far as we know… before Luke writes Acts… John Mark has written Mark and Matthew has written Matthew. Luke has written Luke…each of these record the apostles eye witness accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus… they record his death and resurrection and his trip to heaven. They also include his teachings and revelations.
As Jewish disciples they would have understood their responsibility to pass on the words and actions of their rabbi….And because this is fact the 12s job to know these things according to Acts 1…it makes sense then that the apostles teaching are in fact these accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus.
This is why Christian’s across the centuries have gathered around the Bible, and especially the gospel accounts of Christ’s life. It is also true that Christian’s have disagreed (sometimes strongly) about the Bible and it’s meaning across the centuries.2 But each branch has agreed that Jesus is who He says He is.
It is on Christ the solid rock we stand! All other ground is sinking sand. It is in Him we place our trust.
The Heavenly Fathers family lives and gathers around the life of Jesus. The apostles teaching conveys this truth to both the minds and hearts of believers. We as a family are to Trust in Him, in who He is, and practically in His leadership in our lives.
When Jesus walked this earth he claimed that he would build his community on the truth that He was the Messiah, Son of the Living God.3 The stories that the disciples share and their record of his teachings are precisely the teachings they were conveying in the 1st century.
John, one of the apostles, puts it like this:
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John 20:30-31 ESV
John believed, as I believe, that if we can demonstrate to you that He is who He says He is: The Messiah of Israel and the Son of the Living God… that your whole life could change, would change if you acted on it.
Now I know from John’s teaching and from experience that it is only by the grace of God that we do this.
So may you gather around the life and teachings of Jesus. May you receive what He has done for you, Trust in Him, so you may have life in His name.
A Quick Note: This writing may be a bit shorter then the others in this series. The truth about who Jesus is exceedingly important. Without the truth… nothing else makes sense. Some people would prefer I spend more time writing here. However, most churches in America gather weekly around teaching… usually teaching about the Bible. So teaching and the Bible is an important point that needs to be emphasized…… a huge part of the reason for this series is to give emphasis to the other practices that often fall into disuse… as well as emphasis obedience to the truth of the very things we preach.
Footnotes
1. Acts 1:21-22
2.The disagreement and separation of the church is a much longer subject. One worthy of its own post… I should probably get on that.
3. Matthew 16:16-20
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