When Paul wrote to the brethren in Rome, he said that their faith was spoken of "throughout the whole world" (Rom. 1:8). And in his letter to the Colossian church he stated that the gospel had been "preached to every creature which is under heaven" (Col. 1:23). This is surely one of the most thrilling stories in all human history. Beginning with a small group of only twelve disciples, the kingdom had spread to the habitable corners of the earth. It had gone beyond Jerusalem, beyond Judea, beyond Samaria, beyond Galilee and Syria. It had become, indeed, the world-wide kingdom of Daniel's prophecy. It had become the greatest herb of all, as set forth in Jesus' parable. And all of this had happened within one single generation.
The growth of the kingdom of heaven was not accidental; it was not something that just happened. There were reasons for this growth. The law of cause and effect is operative here as it is everywhere else among the children of men. Where there is an "effect" there must be a cause. And wherever that "cause" exists, the effect will always follow in due course. The kingdom of God grew because people were daily being added to it by the God of heaven. The people who were added were people who had heard the gospel, believed it, and had become obedient to it. When this happened, God added them to his kingdom or his church.
What Were the Factors?
In this lesson we want to ask, what factors contributed to this growth? What was the cause of it? Why was it so rapid? If we can learn what caused this remarkable growth in the early church, and reproduce those same "causes" in the modern church, then, human nature being the same from one age to another, we can expect the church in our day to grow as it did in that day.
1. The first thing I mention as being responsible for this phenomenal church was teaching. Let us never under-rate the value of teaching. Christianity is a taught religion; it is promoted and promulgated through teaching. Jesus Christ trained his disciples and sent them forth as teachers. There can be no substitute for teaching. The Lord said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, Io, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28: 19,20). This is the way Jesus proposed to promote his cause and his kingdom. He had indicated this very clearly even before his death. He said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heart, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me" (John 6:44, 45).
No man can come to Christ unless God draws him. That is very clearly stated in the text. God must do the drawing. But how does God draw? Many people stop right here, and suppose that God draws in some mysterious, incomprehensible way, in some way that is better felt than told. But the very next verse explains the "how" of that drawing, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." That is the process. God draws, but he draws through teaching. The man who comes is the man who has learned.
The early church was indeed diligent in this regard. Since the gospel is God's power to save, and since that gospel must be taught, heard, believed, and obeyed to be effective, the early Christians felt a great responsibility in the matter of teaching. Life in the apostolic church seems to have been almost one long continuous round of teaching, teaching, teaching! From the very first day we have this statement: "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:4). These early Christians were not satisfied with a short sermonette on Sunday morning and another on Sunday night. They wanted more than a brief casual lesson in a Wednesday night Bible class. They even wanted more than a week's gospel meeting once or twice a year. The records says, "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ" (Acts 5:42).
Religious Fanatics?
2. The second factor in the truly indescribable growth of the apostolic church was their zeal, their spirit of enthusiasm. Not only did they teach, but they taught "in season, out of season." There was no limit to their willingness to talk to everybody they met about Jesus Christ. When one tries to do that in our day, he is branded as a "fanatic." Even his own brethren will think he is a bit queer, and will tend to shy away from him. But this was the normal and ordinary behavior of the apostolic church. And this was a part of the secret of their growth. The word of God is the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11), and there will be no reaping time without there being first a sowing time. If we in our day want to see God's kingdom grow and expand, we know exactly what to do. We can do just precisely what these early Christians did. We can teach "every day" and "in every house."
Talking to the people we meet at every opportunity, telling of the Lord and the salvation possible through him, explaining his mission, and talking about the church of the living God will get two results: for one thing it will quickly bring us the reputation of being fanatics; and in the second place, it will cause a phenomenal growth in the body of Christ. We have the secret; we know the "cause." Now let us activate that cause, and we will surely get the "effect."
Contrary to that, however, many, even of the Lord's people, seem to want to have as little teaching as possible. Sometimes in a gospel meeting, when people are come together for the express purpose of studying the word of God, some brother will likely complain if the sermon is just a few minutes longer than he is accustomed to; or, perhaps, someone who has been a member of the church for twenty-five or thirty years will complain that a gospel sermon is "over my head!" Well, he ought to be ashamed to say so. Do not complain when someone challenges your attention over the word of God. Study!
Unity of Spirit
3. A third factor in the growth of the apostolic church was their united spirit. We are exhorted to "do all things without murmuring or complaining," and the apostolic church gives a beautiful example of exactly what this means. This marvelous unity is emphasized in several passages, beginning from the very first days of the church, when we are told they were "together" and were "of one accord." This unity continued for quite some time, being broken only by the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, and by the murmuring of the Grecians. Both of these problems were quickly settled, one by an act of God, the other by action of the church. And the multitude of them that believed "were of one heart and of one soul" (Acts 4:32).
This spirit of love and concern for one another must have added great weight to the teaching these brethren did among their fellows. They were not only teaching the gospel of Christ, but were showing by their lives its proper application and expression. Paul exhorted the Philippians to "Do all things without murmurings and disputings; That ye may be blameless and harmless the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life..." (Phil. 2:14-16). All too often in our day we want to substitute social activity for the gospel, and try to win men to Christ with huge and costly buildings, coffee and doughnuts, big programs and Hollywood celebrities. Such things may draw crowds, but they do not win men to Christ.
If we are to convert men to the Lamb of God, we must do exactly what these early Christians did. They "went everywhere preaching the word;" and not only did they preach it when the assembly came together, but every day "in the temple, and at home" they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Their zeal knew no bounds. And it was a zeal that issued not only in concern for the unsaved sinner, but which was manifested also in their love and concern for one another. Their practice and their lives were quite consistent with their message. They did not preach one gospel, and practice another. It is not enough to know the truth (important as that is), but one must also live it. Anything short of that is a reproach unto Christ.
The secret of Jerusalem's early growth, then, is not hard to find. It was because of their teaching, their unflagging zeal, and their consistent and godly concern for one another. These attitudes and activities will build up the cause of Christ in any age and among any people. WE here in America, removed by so many thousands of miles and so many hundreds of years from those first century Christians might well take a leaf from their book.
