A STUDY GUIDE ACTS 2:37-47

1. A Study Guide

a) A study guide of Acts of the Apostles. It is intended to be expository — to explain and bring out the meaning of the original text. You may use this for your personal bible study or even group bible study.

2. Acts 2:37-47 

a) The verses describe the establishment of the very first church of Christ. This happened in Jerusalem on the Pentecost following our Lord’s ascension.

#1) Acts 2:37
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

@1. Conviction

i) The church began with two convictions —a conviction that the message preached about Jesus was true, and a conviction of sin needing forgiveness.

ii) The Holy Spirit empowered and inspired the apostles to preach the gospel. "The Spirit was giving them utterance" (Acts 2:4). By blessing all Jerusalem with that attested message, the Holy Spirit caused conviction in the hearts of many hearers.

iii) Be saved. Peter had quoted Joel, "Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). Now those who have heeded Peter’s message are most anxious to know how they should do this. The question, “What must I do to be saved?” is the most important question anyone can ask (Acts 16:30).

#2) Acts 2:38-40
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “[a]Be saved from this perverse generation!”

@1. Promises

i) The church also began with two promises —the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Commandments. These promises were attached to two commandments —repentance and baptism. In other words the promises of the gospel were conditional upon obedience to the gospel.

ii) Save yourselves. When Peter told the people to save themselves, he did not mean they could do it all on their own without God’s help. God, after all, was providing the salvation. The only way you can save yourself is to trust God completely and co-operate with Him without question or compromise.

iii) Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39); the renewing and outpouring of the Spirit (Titus 3:4-7); the indwelling of the Spirit (Romans 8:9,11); and seal of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14); are best understood as all being one and the same blessing. Otherwise things become very complicated and confused.

iv) The small word “for”. Some argue that baptism was not "for" forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) in the sense of so as to receive forgiveness, but rather in the sense of because of having received. It is easy, in three simple steps, to discover which meaning is right.

I) What was the question? "What must we do?" (Acts 2:37).

II) What was the answer? "Repent and be baptized" (Acts 2:38).

III) What was to be the outcome? "Shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).

v) Without depending upon any argument about the word "for" we can clearly see that the import of the question was to inquire what one must do to be saved. The purpose of the answer was to inform what one must do to be saved.

#3) Acts 2:41
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

@1. Obedience

i) The two commandments. Peter issued were to repent and to be baptized. Peter expected everyone who wanted to be saved to obey these commandments. There was, on the day the church of Christ began, no such thing as “salvation by faith alone”.

ii) Baptism in water. What the obeyers were immersed in is not explained in Acts 2, but elsewhere in Acts we find it was water (Acts 8:36, Acts 10:47-48).

ii) Was immersion impossible? Some say there wasn't enough water in Jerusalem, or time left in the day, to immerse 3000 persons in water. Jerusalem had several pools — the Pool of Siloam for example (John 9:7). Even if only the apostles did the baptizing (an unwarranted assumption) twelve men could each immerse 250 people inside three hours.

iii) Basis and purpose of baptism. Back in Acts 2:38 we see that the immersion was performed "in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins".

iv) Three thousand. The number who immediately responded to the message preached was "about 3000 souls". This is a small number compared to the population crowding Jerusalem at that season. We are reminded of Jesus’s remark that few find the Way (Matthew 7:14).

v) Gladly received. Luke states that the converts received the word gladly. This language is suggestive of a voluntary receiving of God’s word.

vi) Greek References on repentance: μετανοια metanoia 3341 (Strong) cf 3326 meta (change), 3539 noeo 3563 nous (mind).

vii) Greek References on baptism: βαπτισμα baptisma (baptism), βαπτιζω baptizo (baptize), 907,908 (Strong) cf 909,910. [from 911 βαπτω bapto, to dip, to immerse]

#4) Acts 2:42
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

@1. Devotion

i) After first obedience to the gospel, there must be ongoing commitment: a devotion to the study of Christ’s teaching; to fellowship with his congregation; to the weekly observance of his memorial supper; and of course to prayer.

#5) Acts 2:43
43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

@1. God-fearing

i) This fear was not of fright or dread, but of wonder and awe. It was the fear caused by the amazing message of Christ, a message confirmed by miracles done by the apostles and by those to whom the apostles gave miraculous power (Mark 16:15-18, Acts 8:18).

ii) We are encouraged to live in fear of God, a fear that makes no contradiction against living in the love of God (Philippians 2:12-13, 1 Peter 1:17-22).

#6) Acts 2:44-46
44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 

@1. Fellowship

i) Worldly possessions. The fellowship of the first church of Christ included the sharing of worldly possessions. This was not communism, because on being added to the church people did not relinquish their ownership of property or control of their own money. The selling of personal property, and giving of the proceeds for support of the needy, was a voluntary act. It was encouraged but not compulsory (Acts 4:34-36, Acts 5:1-4). 

ii) Nature of benevolence. This benevolence consisted of the rich helping the poor to live decently, contrary to the social system in which the rich live in luxury by making other people poor. However this benevolence does not reduce everyone’s duty to work for a living where possible (2 Thessalonians 3:7-13, Acts 18:1-3, Ephesians 4:28, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

iii) Breaking bread. The "breaking of bread" at home (Acts 2:46), and the "breaking of bread" in the temple (Acts 2:42), were two different things. The people shared daily meals in their private houses, and they ate the Lord’s Supper in the worship assembly. The two breaking of bread mustn't be confused (1 Corinthians 11:18-33). The first church of Christ did not partake of common meals in association with their worship.

iv) Enjoyment. The first church enjoyed itself. It was characterized by "gladness and singleness of heart" (Acts 2:46). It was in later centuries that the church became po-faced.

#7) Acts 2:47
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

@1. Growth

i) Imitating Jesus. The first church of Christ was, in its infancy, imitating its founder: in his youth, Jesus "kept growing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52).

ii) Favor with community. The three thousand who obeyed on the day of Pentecost were followed by more believers, and the church grew. This was no doubt helped by the favorable attitude of the wider community to the church at that time. Such favor is not always granted the Lord’s church.

iii) Praising God. One reason for their growth was that "they were praising God" (Acts 2:47). Many churches praise and promote themselves far too much and give too little glory to God. God is the One who "gives the increase" (Colossians 2:19, 1 Corinthians 3:6), and he is worthy of praise and thanksgiving (Revelation 5:13).

iv) Saved added to the church. This verse shows that all the saved in Jerusalem were members of the church in Jerusalem. Every member of the church in Jerusalem was a saved person. It was the Lord who saved each one, and the Lord who added each one to the church. The roll of church members is "written in heaven" by the Lord (Luke 10:20, Philippians 4:3, Revelation 13:8). This does not mean we cannot know who is saved and therefore rightfully a church member. All who believe and follow "the apostles’ teaching" are such (Acts 2:42). Nor should we think that the church is an invisible body. The church was visible in Jerusalem. When other churches were established, it was to those visible churches to which God added the saved, just as in Jerusalem. The Pacific Ocean is not "invisible". You might not see it all at once, but you certainly can see it. So it is with the church.