<p>2:46 <i>And day by day, continuing earnestly with one accord in the temple</i><i>- </i>The way Jesus forewarned the disciples that the time would come when they would be cast out of the synagogues (Jn. 16:2) surely implies He assumed they would maintain synagogue attendance until they were cast out, rather than removing themselves in obedience to Christ. By remaining as far as they could, they were the salt of their world; and we see in Paul&rsquo;s ministry how his synagogue attendance gave him many opportunities to witness to the Gospel. The Lord warned His disciples that they would be scourged in the synagogues (Mt. 10:17). But synagogues could only scourge those who were members. The Lord foresaw that His preachers would remain within the synagogue system rather than leave it totally. The fact Paul was scourged in synagogues (2 Cor. 11:25) shows that in being a Jew to the Jews, he opted to remain within the synagogue system. This fact shows that the Lord Jesus didn&rsquo;t intend His people to formally break with the synagogue system, even though it was apostate in doctrine and practice. This indicates that there was absolutely no sense within Him of &lsquo;guilt by association&rsquo; nor a demand for His people to leave apostate systems- they were to remain there until they were cast out of the synagogues.</p><p>Even from within the New Testament we can soon perceive that first century Judaism was full of both theological and practical errors- the immortal soul, heaven going, ascending to &ldquo;Abraham&rsquo;s bosom&rdquo; after death, hell fire, a personal Satan, literal demons, a Kingdom of God based around the violent resistance of evil and military conquest of the Romans in the first century; and above all a serious misunderstanding of Jesus and the whole concept and nature of Israel&rsquo;s Messiah.</p><p><i>And breaking bread at home- </i>Luke's writings (in his Gospel and in the Acts) give especial attention to meals and table talk. Societies tended to distinguish themselves by their meal practices. Who was allowed at the table, who was excluded- these things were fundamental to the self-understanding of persons within society. So when the Lord Jesus ate with the lowest sinners, and Peter as a Jew ate with Gentiles... this was radical, counter-cultural behaviour. No wonder the breaking of bread together was such a witness, and the surrounding world watched it with incredulity (Acts 2:42,46; 4:32-35). Note too how Luke mentions that Paul ate food in the homes of Gentiles like Lydia and the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:15,34).</p><p>Acts 2:42,46,47 speak as if it involved eating a communal meal together. If we can accept that the original &ldquo;breaking of bread&rdquo; was indeed a meal, it would seem almost axiomatic that access to the &ldquo;bread and wine&rdquo; as in the &ldquo;emblems&rdquo; would have been open. For would the early brethren really have said: &ldquo;You&rsquo;re welcome to eat everything on the table except the unleavened bread&rdquo;? Or would they really have invited those present to pray and worship with them before and after the meal, but not while they were praying for and taking the bread and wine? There is no hint even that this was the case.</p><p>The record of the body of Christ in the New Testament begins with descriptions of the Lord preaching in houses. The word &lsquo;house&rsquo; occurs a huge number of times in the Gospels, especially in Luke&rsquo;s record. He seems to have been very sensitive to the way the Lord entered into homes and did things there. We can be sure that these homes became house churches after His resurrection. The establishment of the church began with the believers gathering in the temple, but breaking bread &ldquo;from house to house&rdquo; (Acts 2:46 Gk.). Fellowship in Christ is about this family sense of community. In practice, the early body of Christ was a fellowship of house churches. They preached and worshipped both in the temple and &ldquo;in every house&rdquo;, i.e. every house church (Acts 5:42).<br />Acts 2:46 (NKJV) records how the early brethren broke bread with &ldquo;simplicity of heart&rdquo;; and we likewise, in our memorial meetings and in our lives, must unswervingly focus upon Him and the colossal import of His cross.</p><p>Almost every major New Testament description of the Lord&rsquo;s coming and what He will bring with Him is also given an application to our experience in this life: the Kingdom of God, eternal life, salvation, justification, sanctification, perfection, glorification&hellip; and of course, judgment. All these things shall come; but the essence of them is being worked out in the life of the believer now. All this is brought to our attention whenever we attend the breaking of bread. That &ldquo;table&rdquo; at which we sit is a picture of the future banquet and table in the coming Kingdom. The &ldquo;gladness&rdquo; which accompanied the breaking of bread (Acts 2:46) is the same word used about the &ldquo;rejoicing&rdquo; at the future marriage supper of the lamb (Rev. 19:7) and the Lord&rsquo;s return (1 Pet. 4:13; Jude 24).<br />Throughout Scripture, the opposition between the kingdoms of this world and the Kingdom of God is highlighted. After the establishment of the first ecclesia in Jerusalem, the Acts record seems to emphasize the pointed conflict between the ecclesia and the world. Being &quot;of one accord&quot; was a hallmark of the early brethren (Acts 1:14; 2:1,46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25); but the world was in &quot;one accord&quot; in their opposition to that united ecclesia (Acts 7:57; 12:20; 18:12; 19:29). &nbsp;</p><p><i>They took their food with gladness and singleness of heart</i>- <i>Metalabein </i>literally means to &ldquo;receive one&rsquo;s share in&rdquo;. In this context we read that &ldquo;day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved&rdquo;. The repetition of &ldquo;day by day&rdquo; suggests a connection between the daily conversion of unbelievers and the daily breaking of bread meetings. And in extensive missionary experience I have observed that those who witness a breaking of bread meeting tend to find themselves drawn into the things of the Lord Jesus.</p>