Acts #3 — Stephen Kaung

This is Monday evening, October the 2nd, 1972, in Richmond, Virginia, minister given through Brother Stephen Cohn. Let's have a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee for gathering us together here unto the name of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no name that is nobler, higher than this name. And to this name, Lord, we gladly bow our knees, and we gladly confess that Jesus is Lord. O Lord, we do desire that as we gather together unto Thyself, that Thou will reveal Thyself to us.

As Thou has promised to Thy disciples, Thou will manifest Thyself to those who love Thee. We praise and we thank Thee because Thou has put a love in our hearts. We do love Thee, and we do desire that Thou will manifest Thyself tonight to us in a new way, in a living way.

Lord, all that we need is Thyself. We want Thee, Lord, more than anything else. We commit ourselves to Thee for this evening, trusting Thy Holy Spirit to open Thy word to us and lead us into Thy truth, that we may be unto the praise of Thy blessed name.

In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray. Will you please turn to the book of Acts, chapter 2. We'll read from verse 37. Acts, chapter 2, verse 37. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God may call.

And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. Those then who had accepted his word were baptized, and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.

And they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayer. And fear was upon every soul, and many wonders and signs took place through the apostles' means. And all that believed were together, and had all things common, and sold their possessions and sustenance, and distributed them to all, according as anyone might have need.

And every day being constantly in the temple with one accord, and breaking bread in house, they received their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily those that were to be saved. Chapter four, verse thirty-two. Chapter four, verse thirty-two. And the heart and soul of the multitude of those that had believed were one.

And not one said that anything of what he possessed was his own. But all things were common to them. And the great power did the apostles give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.

For neither was there anyone in want among them. For as many as were owners of lands or houses, selling them, got the price of what was sold and laid it at the feet of the apostles. And distribution was made to each, according as anyone might have need.

The Church as Christ’s Continuing Body

That's all we'll read for tonight. We mentioned in the very beginning that the book of Acts is the continuation of the gospel according to Luke. Because it is the same man who is used of God to give us these two books in the New Testament.

In the gospel according to Luke, it is the Lord Jesus began to do and to speak. But in the book of Acts, it is the same Lord Jesus who continues to do and to speak. We say the only difference is, in the gospel according to Luke, it is the doing and the speaking of our Lord Jesus in his own person.

In that body that he has put upon himself when he came to this world. While in the book of Acts, he is speaking and doing in a mystic, corporate body of his. It is very important therefore for us to know this body.

That our Lord Jesus has been and is using to continue his speaking and his doing. And this body we all know. The body of Christ. The church of the living God. In chapter 1 of the book of Acts, we see the today.

During those 50 days between the resurrection of our Lord Jesus and the Pentecost, you'll find there were 50 days. And these 50 days can be roughly divided into two parts. 40 days and 10 days. During the 40 days, the Lord Jesus appeared to his disciples living.

And he taught them the things concerning the kingdom of God. Then during the next 10 days, A hundred and tenty people, they gave themselves to continue a prayer waiting upon the Lord. For the promise of the Father.

So we say that those 50 days were very significant days. We would like to call these days the days of today. The Lord Jesus was today. And his own people travailed with him. For the bringing forth of something which is most essential to his continued speaking and doing.

And we know that is the church. The body of Christ. And this morning we mentioned about the birth. Again we will emphasize that a congregation can be organized. But a church must be born. So here you'll find on the day of Pentecost a tremendous thing happened.

We often are attracted to the spectacular, the visible. But we often overlook the essential, the unseen. And very often you'll find the seen is actually that which accompanies the unseen. And it is the unseen that is the reality.

So on the day of Pentecost there was a sound. There was a sight. A popping tongue as a fire. But what people have seen and heard actually points to one thing. And that is the exaltation of our Lord Jesus.

Peter says that which you have seen and heard proves one thing. That God has made him the leader, Christ and Lord over all. The baptism in the Holy Spirit. Give us two things. One is the exaltation of the Lord.

The head. The other is the forming of the body. In one spirit we were baptized into one body. So dear brothers and sisters on the day of Pentecost with the baptism in the Holy Spirit the Lord baptized his people into one body under one head.

And that is 310 people. When you look at them individually may we say they were all spiritual giants. Every one of them was a spiritual giant. There was no drop there. And these 310 people were together as a congregation.

Tremendous. And yet something more. Every one of them had the indwelling Holy Spirit. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit they were not able to be together for 10 days and give themselves to continual prayer.

And yet there was something more that had to be done. Not only in each one of them but among them. In between them. And it is by the baptism in the Holy Spirit these 110 people were baptized into one body of 110 members.

This is the meaning of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. We are made members one of another under a living, with a living body. And because the body is living the head is able to speak and to do. And this is in order that we may be living, functioning members of this gift.

Because with these gifts we may minister one to another for the building up of the body. Now this evening we would like to go a step further. We have seen the travail that brings in the birth. We have seen the birth of the body and what it is.

The Spirit-Given Life of the Early Church

The next thing naturally will be the life. You know one thing we have to thank the Lord. And that is when you read the Bible you find that God often shows us life before we are given teaching. God often demonstrates first before he instructs.

I think there is a definite advantage there. Why? Because if we are taught first we will try to manufacture it. We are taught of something so let's go and make it. So God does not teach us first. He demonstrates it first.

In other words, life before teaching. That's the reason why you have the four Gospels before the Book of Acts and you have the Book of Acts before the Epistles. In the Book of Acts you do not have much teaching but you have demonstration of life.

In the Epistles you have the teaching which explains. So when you read the history of the early church what you see in the beginning is a demonstration. Here a body is born. A church is born by the agency of the Holy Spirit.

Now how does that body live? How does that church function? You don't see but you do see lots of demonstration. A hundred-tented people. As we say these hundred-tented people had very good background.

They had a long history with the Lord. Now for these hundred-tented people who have such background and long history with the Lord after they were merged into one body we could expect a wonderful body like this.

But you know as these hundred-tented people were starting to live as one body because they are one three thousand were added and these three thousand were not as matured as we think like the hundred-tented people.

Well they were pious beings. They knew the Old Testament, yes. They might have some little contact with the Lord while the Lord was on earth. That's possible. But as you compare the three thousand with the hundred-tented there was a great gap in between.

Humanly speaking the hundred-tented will say now wait a minute. You are not fit to come in. Let hundred-tented people, let us live that body life because we were ready for it. If you come in right away you dilute everything.

It will become very difficult. You know how we all like to have all those spiritual people being together and say now you who are new, you are beginners wait, wait a while until you are more mature. This is a college, this is not kindergarten.

But you know the wonderful thing is in the body there are big members, there are small members. In the family of God there are fathers, there are young people and there are little children. So in the very beginning of the church life you find there were fathers, young people and lots of babies.

The beautiful thing is these babies were very soundly born. Even though they might hear the gospel for the first time what shall we do? What shall we do? They were quick in heart. They didn't know what to do.

Peter and the eleven apostles said now this is what you should do, repent and give Peptine in the name of the Lord and receive the gift. And Peter used many words to exhort them to be saved from the perverse generation and those who receive his word.

The word receive or accept there means receive in soul. Their accepting the Lord is a complete acceptance. They repented, they were baptized they received the gift of the Holy Spirit they were saved from this world you will find these three thousand became living members of that living body.

Very often we think those who are matured they could, but those who are newly saved wait three years before you open your mouth. Here you find right away, here is the body of Christ. Immediately you will find the old and the young the matured and the babes they merge together in the spirit.

Every member and every member of the function but so the Bible says they persevered in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles in breaking of bread. The day here refers not just to the hundred and twenty people the day here refers to a hundred twenty plus the three thousand.

In other words the day here refers to every day they all persevered, they all continued steadfastly, they all abode in the teaching. This is the teaching of the apostles. It is none other than the teaching because you remember our Lord Jesus before he ascended in Matthew chapter twenty-eight he said go ye to all the world and make disciples of the nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and whatever I have and join you.

The apostle and Paul says to the Corinthians what I have delivered to you is what I have received from the Lord. It doesn't mean that the apostle can teach what they like. The apostle has their special teaching.

The apostle teaches nothing but the teaching of Christ. In other words the Lord Jesus teaches his people through the apostles. It is not the teaching of man. It is the teaching of our Lord Jesus. The teaching does not come from man.

Their teaching does not come from the wisdom of man. Their teaching comes from that is the way. When the apostles teach they teach what they receive from the Lord by love. What they teach is what they themselves have seen.

What they themselves have experienced. Their teaching is not just their doctrines. Their teaching is not just theories. Their teachings are living words. And because their teaching is such those who receive their teaching do not receive as man's words but as the word of heaven.

Not just as some theories in their mind but they abide in the teaching. In other words they practice, they experience. The teaching of the apostles is the teaching of Christ. It is found in the Bible but it is dreamed, quickened.

The ministry of the apostles is a living ministry. It is a ministration of the Spirit. And because of that their teaching is power. And those who receive them receive them in the Spirit. So it's working.

It is not something that comes from one mind to another mind. It is something from one Spirit. It is the impartation of Christ and the receiving. And by that they grow in the teaching. And all these people persevere.

In other words they continue steadfastly in the teaching. But together with that the fellowship. What is the fellowship of apostles? Do the apostles form an exclusive club? The apostles fellowship. The apostles join an exclusive club.

They join the exclusive club of the Father and of the Son in the Holy Spirit. You know if you read the first epistle of John what did the apostle John say? He said what we have seen and heard and touched and contemplated we have reported to you that you may have fellowship with us and our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son.

And you remember in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 9 Paul said we are called into the fellowship of God's Son Jesus Christ. In other words the fellowship of the apostles is not a man-made fellowship. The fellowship of the apostles is the fellowship of God's Son Jesus Christ.

And the fellowship of God's Son Jesus Christ is the fellowship between the Father and the Son in the Spirit. Oh that is the most exclusive club in the whole universe. The membership is very very exclusive.

Just the Father and the Son in the Spirit. That is the fellowship the Father and the Son have in the Spirit. That is real fellowship. They share everything because they are one. They are one in heart, they are one in love, they are one in purpose, they are one in everything.

No reservation. No drawback. Open and free. Committed one to another perfectly. Harmonious. Glorious. There is the fellowship. No shadow. No darkness. No jealousy. No prejudice. No fear. Oh the fellowship of the Son with the Father in the Spirit.

And the Father and the Son agree. Let's enlarge our exclusive. Let's include man into our fellowship. Let them share with us what the Lord Jesus came to do. He came to this world to seek marriage to that fellow.

He came to this world to open the door of His fellowship with the Father. And through His death and resurrection He told the disciples, to the women, to tell the youth to the disciples, now I go to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.

The apostles were called into it. So here you'll find apostles joined that fellowship. How did they join that fellowship? Not by official means and ways. They joined the fellowship through the Spirit.

God has put them in Christ. And being Christ they are in that fellowship. There is the fellowship of the apostles. Oh the fellowship with the Lord Jesus. The fellowship with the Son. The fellowship with the Father in the Spirit.

And what a sight. You remember our Lord Jesus in John chapter 17. I pray not only for them, but I pray for those who believe me through their words. That they may be one as I. So you'll find that the apostles extend their fellowship to us by preaching the gospel to us.

We too are being drawn into that fellowship of the Father and the Son in the Spirit. Now that is the fellowship of the apostles. And the teaching of the apostles is not another teaching. But the teaching of Christ.

The whole teaching of Christ in the Spirit. So you'll find the fellowship of the apostles is not a different fellowship. But it is the fellowship of God. God refers to truth. Fellowship refers to grace.

On the one hand we persevere in the teaching of the apostles. We receive all the truth that is in Christ. As Paul says in Ephesians, You have not thus learned the Christ. If you have heard him and have learned of him, you know the truth that is in Jesus.

God's truth is in Christ. Because only in Christ is there an amen. That's the teaching of the apostles which we have received. But at the same time there is a common participation, a togetherness. That teaching that we persevere cannot be greater or smaller than the teaching of the apostles.

The fellowship that we maintain should not be bigger or smaller than the fellowship. We persevere in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles. We are living. If we exceed it or if we limit it, we are not living.

That is how the body lives in the beginning. The body lives in the teaching and the scholarship. They receive all the truth that is in Christ. Not just one or two. Not just a few. Not add many, many, many things into it.

But the truth as delivered by the apostles. And they have fellowship with one another in the body. The scope of the fellowship is the scope of the church life. That is how it is. And the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles is especially demonstrated in the breaking of bread.

The Breaking of Bread as Communion with Christ

And what is the breaking of bread? On the night of his betrayal, the Lord Jesus gathered his own around him. And towards the end of the Passover feast, he took a loaf. He blessed it. He broke it. He delivered it to his disciples.

And he said, Take all of this. This is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And afterwards he took the cup. And he blessed it. He passed it to the disciples and said, This is the cup of the new covenant.

Share it. Fill it with my blood. For the remission of sins. Do this in remembrance. Things that day. Therefore you will find in the early church, they break bread. Not just once a week. Because in the breaking of bread, it is the symbol of their remembrance.

In other words, the breaking of bread in the early church becomes the very symbol of their life. Their life is based completely upon his blood. His life. They live because of him. And they express their love towards the Lord.

Some people ask me, What version of the Bible do I use? And sometimes I hesitate to mention it. Because this is not a popular version. It happens that I use a version called New Translation by Darwin.

Now if you know anything about Darwin, you know he lived in the 19th century in England. And he translated the Bible with some helpers from Greek and Hebrew into German, into French and into English. And when he was translating the Bible with his helpers, do you know what they did?

They broke the bread every day. The reason was, when they were working, occupied with the translation, it was lots of mental work, you know. And they were afraid. By being so occupied with mental work, their heart might be drawn away.

So they broke the bread every day in order that their heart may be called by the love of Christ. I think that's it. You know, today sometimes we take this method of communion as a formality. Either you do that four times a year, or you do that once a month, or you even do that once a week.

But we usually take it more as a ritual, a ceremony, a Christian ceremony, ritual or sacrament. But dear brothers and sisters, to the early church this is not. This is the way to express how they persevere in the teaching and the scholarship.

This is the way to express their lives were centered upon Christ. This is the way to keep their hearts in love with Christ. This is the way to keep them always in gratitude in Christ. So the early church persevered in the teaching and scholarship of the apostles in the breaking of Christ.

Christ is the center of all the teachings. Christ is the center of all their sacraments. You know, if any teaching or doctrine is not centered upon Christ, soon it will become something of posterity. Whatever the teaching, however correct it is, a fellowship is not centering.

A fellowship is not just talking nonsense. It's not just talking something. It's not criticizing this one and that one, talking behind that one and this one's back. Oh, this brother, that sister, well, we had a good fellowship because we all agree that is a very bad system.

This is no fellowship. This is not edifying. Fellowship is centered upon Christ. It is the sin. So in the breaking of bread you'll find there is a sin of their being. As Zingzendorf once said, he said, I have only one passion in this world.

And that passion, not only the breaking of bread, neglects very much today. One is the breaking of bread. The other is prayer. However you'll find in Christianity, somehow I don't know. Some people say, well, the breaking of bread, once a week, that's too much.

So reduce it to once a month. That's too much. Reduce it to once in a season. That's too much. Reduce it to Easter and Christmas. And if it is, a minor thing. And look at the prayer. When a preacher is preaching, the place is filled.

But when it comes to prayer meetings, like the pharaohs at your door, and some have no prayer meeting at all. They do not come together in order to be one. But they are one, therefore. Togetherness is more than a physical.

This togetherness is a togetherness. They know they are one. They know they are related to one another. They know they cannot live without the other. They have to be. Our dear brother Watchman, he once visited an elderly brother.

The one who wrote, Safe to Certainty and Enjoyment, George Cuttings. You know, that is a wonderful booklet. Safe to Certainty and Enjoyment. Many, many people were helped by that little booklet. And when Brother Me went to England, he purposely went to visit that elderly brother.

He was at that time in his nineties. And his mind was not too clear at that time. He would wake up and very clear for a few minutes and then he would again, you know, go into a kind of semi-tumor state.

So our brother went to visit him. And when he came back he told us one thing. He said, when he visited that elderly brother, he sat there and this brother woke up and talked to Brother Me. He said, he cannot do without me.

I cannot do without him. He cannot do without me. Of course he's referring to the Lord. We often say, well, we cannot do without him. But do we know he cannot do without us? This brother knows. So our brother said, it is true.

We cannot do without him. He cannot do without me. But neither can you do without me and I. How much are we conscious. But do we realize we cannot do without him. We cannot do without our brother. We have to be together because all things in common.

Unity, Generosity, and Freedom from Possessiveness

No one says, this is mine. Everything is at the disposal of the brothers. They fought to do that. Is there any teaching that they should do that? They are so delivered from the spirit of selfishness. Of self-possessiveness.

Of self-interest. They are so full of the love of Christ. They cannot say, you know, there is a very strong urge in our flesh. And that is self. We want to say, now this is mine. You see that even in a little child.

Oh, this toy is mine. You cannot touch it. This is mine. Self-possessiveness is a fallen instinct of man. Whether it is expressed in a big way or in a small way, it is there. It is the expression of individualism.

The grace of God has come in such a way. When the love of Christ has fulfilled them, they are completely delivered from individualism. Not from the individualistic. They are still individuals in one sense.

They haven't lost their individuality. What I mean is this. They haven't lost their individuality. Yet they are delivered from individualism. The spirit of self-possessiveness with God. They are one.

They share everything. Communal life. Seems to be a kind of mood among God's people. Those whose hearts are touched by the Lord. They are longing to live a communal life. Or a community life. Therefore you find in this country, there are lots of communal communes organized.

Lots of communal groups are organized. Lots of so-called communities, Christian communities, are being fought. Now brothers and sisters, do not misunderstand me. Let me try to explain what is in my heart.

On the one hand you will find if the love of Christ constrains us, we are a community. The church is a community. We share everything one with another. Selfishness is gone. Everything is in common. But remember, this is the whole church.

Not just a few special people organized into a community or a commune. I believe that the desire there is right. For trying to organize into an exclusive commune, or an exclusive community life, this is what the church ought to do.

Not just for us. I don't know if you understand me. The desire is right. But we must remember, it is not something that you go out and organize. It is not a teaching that you try to copy. It is the love of Christ within you.

Give you such a faith of body consciousness that you learn. With the brothers and sisters, no one says this is mine. As a matter of fact. Because there were so many poor people at that time. Many sold their property.

And lay at the feet of apostles, let them speak to each according to their need. But it all is one. It is not something that everyone has to sell his property and dig. Even those who haven't sold, they open their house.

Otherwise, if they all have sold their property, the church has no place to meet. So brothers and sisters, what I'm trying to say is simply this. It is not something organized. It is not something manufactured.

It is spontaneous. It is the expression of the love of Christ, the consciousness. And when you see that, you know. Generally speaking, there is always such an aspiration. Several years ago I went to Israel.

I visited a few kibbutz, kibbutzes. I was deeply impressed. You know, all these kibbutzings were common. They came together, they lived together, they eat together, they work together, you know. They did not possess anything.

It all belonged to that kibbutz. Naturally, seeing the division, the selfishness that was, that is in mankind, the good self naturally aspires to such things. I mean, I was deeply impressed. It is not a copy, an involuntary thing, or even voluntary, but organized.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit. As you go on, you will find how true this is. The apostles never, never said no. Every one of you must sell your property and give to the church. Never. Even Sapphira and Ananias, they sold their property, hold back some and give the others to the apostles.

The apostles said, when the property is in your hand, it is yours. Nobody forced you. Even after you sold it, the money is still yours. But why do you deceive the Holy Spirit? In other words, it is purely a matter of the Holy Spirit.

He is the one who comes. Brothers and sisters, that is the way they live in the early days. And then finally, they meet every day in the temple. And they break bread in eating their food with joy and thankfulness.

Praising the Lord, getting faith. And the Lord adds to the church. Assembled together. Now probably you will say, now that is impossible. But the principle, do not forsake the assembling of. Especially when we know his return.

We need to come together to encourage one another. Even though we may not be able to meet every day. But we should meet as often. Because the very life of the church is an assembling of. Exhaust one another.

To build one another on favor. They do not offend the people. They had a good test. So brothers and sisters, when you read the early chapters of the book of Acts. It gives us some demonstration of the life in the early days.

The Holy Spirit’s Living Direction for the Church

The Spirit of God is living. He does not try to uniform everything. Because the early church is that way. Therefore, let us copy it. His ways are different. So we are not talking about, here is effect, form.

Now, do it. We are talking about the Holy Spirit has shown us a path. Full of divine principles. Let us be led by the Spirit into Christ. You will find every place will be different. And yet, Father, I do hope that the Lord will recover our Heavenly Father.

He will praise and thank you. For the demonstration of thy life in the church. Lord, thy life gives me life. May it be unhindered. And by the quickening of the Holy Spirit. There may be expression. Coming forth.

Spontaneously. To the praise and the glory of thy name. Lord, we have shared these things. Now it is up to you to work it out in us. We do not dare to stretch our arms and try to organize anything. But we just commit ourselves to thee.

For what thy Spirit desires. In the name of our Lord Jesus.