³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. ³²And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. ³³And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

Persecution energizes Christians—at least it did the early believers. The fast-paced action of boldness, opposition, further boldness, and a sense of the Spirit’s power—all bred more boldness. But it was not just the phenomenal activities of the Spirit that affected them, but the Spirit’s movement as seen in their prayer and the transformation of relationships.

If we are to take any application away from the early believers, it is this: they gathered together for prayer. This seems to be the human element that catalyzed the Spirit working among them. And it was foundational to their boldness in witnessing.

But we also see in the early believers a profound social revolution, and not one of a political nature, but of a spiritual nature. This is like the later teaching of the apostle Paul to the Philippian believers:

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus . . . (Phil. 2:1–5).

Those early believers in Jerusalem had the attitude of Christ—they were all about the Lord Jesus Christ. We see them acting just like Jesus. When they began sharing their resources, they echoed the feeding of the multitude, when a young boy shared his lunch with Jesus, who in turn fed the crowd (John 6:9ff). They were “of one heart and soul,” not just in word, but in reality; the evidence was there to see. They shared their physical resources as there was need. Indeed, “abundant grace was upon them all.” The testimony of Jesus brings transformation not only in our individual, vertical relationship with God, but also in our horizontal, social relationships with others.

Lord, You have been overwhelmingly gracious to me; let this mind be in me as it was in You. How can I do anything else but be generous with others?