Acts 2:46 - Exposition

Day by day continuing steadfastly for they continuing daily, A.V. ; at home for from house to house, A.V. ; they did take their food for did eat their meat, A.V. In the temple . It is very remarkable that at this early age of the Church's existence Christians did not deem themselves separated from their Jewish brethren, or from the Old Testament institutions. Christianity was but Judaism perfected; the gospel the full blossoming of the Law. The first Christian Jews, therefore, did not conceive of themselves as quitting the religion of their fathers, but rather hoped that their whole nation would in a short time acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ. Christian institutions, therefore—the prayers, the breaking of bread, the prophesyings and speaking with tongues, and the apostolic teachings—were supplemental to the temple service, not antagonistic to it; and the church took the place rather of the synagogue than of the temple (see 'Dict. of Bible:' "Synagogue"). At home. This version hardly represents the true idea of the original; κατ οἶκον represents the private Christian place of meeting, as contrasted with the temple. The meaning is not that every disciple broke bread in his own house, but that they broke bread at the house where the Christian assemblies were held, whether one or more. We have already seen the Church gathered together "in an upper room" ( Acts 1:13 ), in "one place," in "a house" ( Acts 2:1 , Acts 2:2 ), and "together" ( Acts 2:44 ; see too Acts 4:31 ); and we know that as the synagogue was called הלָּפִּתְ תיבֵּ , house of prayer, or תסֶנֶכְּהַ תיבֵּ , the house of assemblage, so the Christian place of meeting was called ὁ κυριακὸς οἷκος ; the Lord's house, whence the word "church." (For breaking bread, see above, Acts 2:42 .) They did take their food. The link of connection is the ἀγάπη or love-feast, which formed an important part of the κοινωνία , or common life, of the early Christians. The whole description is a beautiful picture of Christian unity, piety, love, and joy.