THE INFANT CHURCH
Series: Let the Church Be the Church
Bible Text: Acts of the Apostles 1
Introduction
This message begins a new series entitled “Let the Church Be the Church.”
We are living in a day when many people no longer love or appreciate the church as they once did. Some of us have been part of the church for so long that it no longer stands out to us as it should. We know what it is to be lost. We know what it is to be away from God. But many of us have never known what it is to be without the church.
That is a blessing — but it can also cause us to forget just how precious the church truly is.
If we are going to appreciate the church, we must go back to the beginning — to the infant church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They were small.
They were new.
They were unlearned.
Yet they changed the world.
So how did they do it?
I. They Were in Fellowship with the Risen Lord
Acts of the Apostles 1:3–4
3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For forty days after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to them and taught them.
Gospel of John 15:4–5
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
The church must never forget — without Him, we can do nothing.
Remember this:
“ The church was not born out of grief for a dead Christ, but out of faith in a risen Lord.”
II. They Operated in the Power of the Holy Ghost
Acts of the Apostles 1:8
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
They were not told to organize first — they were told to wait for power.
Acts of the Apostles 2:1
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
The Spirit came just as Jesus promised.
Epistle to the Romans 8:9
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Today, believers are indwelt by the Spirit at salvation — but we are commanded to walk in Him and be filled with Him.
The infant church understood:
They could not do God’s work in human strength.
III. They Were Obedient to the Word of the Lord
Acts of the Apostles 1:4
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
They were commanded to stay.
Acts of the Apostles 1:12–13
12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.
13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
They did exactly what He said.
Power has always been tied to obedience.
God has never blessed disobedience.
IV. They Were United in Spirit
Acts of the Apostles 1:14
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Psalms 133:1
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Unity does not mean uniformity.
It means different people with the same Spirit and the same goal.
Conclusion
Before the church preached in Acts of the Apostles 2:
- They sat with Jesus.
- They waited for power.
- They obeyed His Word.
- They walked in unity.
So the question for us is simple:
What are we preparing for God to do in our church?
Discussion questions:
Why do you think people today struggle to value the church the way believers once did?
What causes us to lose appreciation for something so foundational?
In Acts 1, the early believers spent time in fellowship with the risen Lord before they ever preached publicly.
What does it practically look like for our church to “abide in Christ” today?
The infant church waited for the power of the Holy Spirit before moving forward.
How can we tell the difference between working in our own strength and working in the Spirit’s power?
The early church obeyed even when it may have been uncomfortable or uncertain.
Why is obedience often the missing ingredient in modern Christianity?
Where do we tend to look for loopholes instead of simple obedience?
Acts 1:14 says they were “with one accord.”
What threatens unity in a church today?
What practical steps can we take to protect and promote unity in our congregation?
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