Source of Power
What the Early Church Believed
There is a question that haunts many congregations today, whispered in the hallways after services and spoken plainly in the meetings of pastors who are willing to be honest with one another: Why does the church seem to be losing ground?
The preaching is solid. The singing is genuine. The people are redeemed. And yet something is missing. Something vital. Something that the earliest followers of Jesus seemed to carry with them everywhere they went.
That something is power.
Not the power of a polished program or a well-funded ministry. Not the power of charismatic personalities or clever strategies. The power of God. The kind of power that turned a small, frightened group of disciples hiding in an upper room into a movement that swept across the known world and changed the course of human history.
The apostle Paul put it plainly in 1 Corinthians 4:20, where he declared that the kingdom of God is not found in words alone but in power. So the real question is not whether the church needs power. The question is why we are not experiencing it.
Three Honest Reasons
Before looking at what the early church did right, it is worth sitting with three uncomfortable reasons the power of God can be absent from a congregation.
The first is unconfessed sin. God does not overlook it. The story of Achan in the book of Joshua stands as a sobering reminder that hidden disobedience among God's people can bring an entire community to a standstill. What is buried in the tent still matters to God.
The second is an unforgiving spirit. When Jesus told Peter in Matthew 18 to forgive not seven times but seventy times seven, he was not giving a mathematical formula. He was describing a posture of the heart that refuses to let bitterness take root. An unforgiving spirit will quietly drain the life from any church.
The third is unbelief in Scripture. And this leads to the heart of what made the early church so extraordinary.
What You Believe Determines How You Behave
Acts chapter 1 is a short passage, but it is packed with the convictions that fueled one of the most remarkable movements in human history. The early church was not powerful because of what it possessed. It was powerful because of what it believed. And there are eight convictions worth examining closely.
They believed in the gospel. Not as a theological concept to be studied and filed away, but as the only genuine hope for every human being they encountered. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a starting point they moved past. It was the center of everything. As one writer has observed, everything in Scripture is either preparation for the gospel, presentation of the gospel, or participation in the gospel.
They believed in obedience to God's Word. Before ascending, Jesus gave his followers specific instructions. He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. They obeyed. And because they obeyed, they received. Obedience is not a burden placed on those who love God. It is the very language through which love for God is expressed. Jesus said it plainly in John 14:15 -- if you love him, keep his commandments.
They believed in the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 promises power when the Holy Spirit comes upon the believer. The book of Acts is sometimes called the Acts of the Apostles, but it could just as accurately be called the acts of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles.
Organization can accomplish what organization is capable of. Education can accomplish what education is capable of. But when a church relies on the Holy Spirit, it gains access to what God is capable of, which is anything that aligns with his will.
They believed in the Great Commission. The early church did not treat the command to go and make disciples as optional. They moved outward from Jerusalem into Judea, into Samaria, and eventually to the ends of the earth. A church that wants the power of God must be a church that is going and giving, not merely gathering and sitting.
They believed in the second coming of Jesus Christ. In Acts 1:11, two men in white apparel told the disciples that the same Jesus who had ascended would return in the same manner. This was not a distant theological footnote for the early church. It was a daily reality that shaped how they lived. First John 3:3 connects this hope directly to purity of life. Those who genuinely believe Christ could return at any moment will live accordingly.
They believed in prayer. Acts 1:14 describes the early believers continuing with one accord in prayer. A prayerless church is a powerless church. Jesus himself declared that his house was to be known as a house of prayer. Prayer is not preparation for the work of God. Prayer is the work of God.
They believed in the Word of God. When Peter stood to address the early community about the vacancy left by Judas, he went straight to Scripture. The Word of God was not a reference tool for the early church. It was the foundation on which every decision was made. Hebrews 4:12 describes it as living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, capable of discerning the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.
They believed in their leadership. The early church trusted those God had placed over them to guide the community in the direction Christ had already set. Trust between a congregation and its leaders is the bond that holds a body together and allows it to move forward as one.
A Question Worth Sitting With
The early church was not a perfect community. But it was a believing one. And because it believed, it behaved in ways that could not be explained apart from the power of God.
The question that remains is a personal one. What do you believe? Not what you say you believe on a Sunday morning, but what your daily life reveals about your convictions. Because what you believe will always determine how you behave. And how you behave will always determine what God is able to do through you.
The preaching is solid. The singing is genuine. The people are redeemed. And yet something is missing. Something vital. Something that the earliest followers of Jesus seemed to carry with them everywhere they went.
That something is power.
Not the power of a polished program or a well-funded ministry. Not the power of charismatic personalities or clever strategies. The power of God. The kind of power that turned a small, frightened group of disciples hiding in an upper room into a movement that swept across the known world and changed the course of human history.
The apostle Paul put it plainly in 1 Corinthians 4:20, where he declared that the kingdom of God is not found in words alone but in power. So the real question is not whether the church needs power. The question is why we are not experiencing it.
Three Honest Reasons
Before looking at what the early church did right, it is worth sitting with three uncomfortable reasons the power of God can be absent from a congregation.
The first is unconfessed sin. God does not overlook it. The story of Achan in the book of Joshua stands as a sobering reminder that hidden disobedience among God's people can bring an entire community to a standstill. What is buried in the tent still matters to God.
The second is an unforgiving spirit. When Jesus told Peter in Matthew 18 to forgive not seven times but seventy times seven, he was not giving a mathematical formula. He was describing a posture of the heart that refuses to let bitterness take root. An unforgiving spirit will quietly drain the life from any church.
The third is unbelief in Scripture. And this leads to the heart of what made the early church so extraordinary.
What You Believe Determines How You Behave
Acts chapter 1 is a short passage, but it is packed with the convictions that fueled one of the most remarkable movements in human history. The early church was not powerful because of what it possessed. It was powerful because of what it believed. And there are eight convictions worth examining closely.
They believed in the gospel. Not as a theological concept to be studied and filed away, but as the only genuine hope for every human being they encountered. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a starting point they moved past. It was the center of everything. As one writer has observed, everything in Scripture is either preparation for the gospel, presentation of the gospel, or participation in the gospel.
They believed in obedience to God's Word. Before ascending, Jesus gave his followers specific instructions. He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. They obeyed. And because they obeyed, they received. Obedience is not a burden placed on those who love God. It is the very language through which love for God is expressed. Jesus said it plainly in John 14:15 -- if you love him, keep his commandments.
They believed in the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 promises power when the Holy Spirit comes upon the believer. The book of Acts is sometimes called the Acts of the Apostles, but it could just as accurately be called the acts of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles.
Organization can accomplish what organization is capable of. Education can accomplish what education is capable of. But when a church relies on the Holy Spirit, it gains access to what God is capable of, which is anything that aligns with his will.
They believed in the Great Commission. The early church did not treat the command to go and make disciples as optional. They moved outward from Jerusalem into Judea, into Samaria, and eventually to the ends of the earth. A church that wants the power of God must be a church that is going and giving, not merely gathering and sitting.
They believed in the second coming of Jesus Christ. In Acts 1:11, two men in white apparel told the disciples that the same Jesus who had ascended would return in the same manner. This was not a distant theological footnote for the early church. It was a daily reality that shaped how they lived. First John 3:3 connects this hope directly to purity of life. Those who genuinely believe Christ could return at any moment will live accordingly.
They believed in prayer. Acts 1:14 describes the early believers continuing with one accord in prayer. A prayerless church is a powerless church. Jesus himself declared that his house was to be known as a house of prayer. Prayer is not preparation for the work of God. Prayer is the work of God.
They believed in the Word of God. When Peter stood to address the early community about the vacancy left by Judas, he went straight to Scripture. The Word of God was not a reference tool for the early church. It was the foundation on which every decision was made. Hebrews 4:12 describes it as living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, capable of discerning the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.
They believed in their leadership. The early church trusted those God had placed over them to guide the community in the direction Christ had already set. Trust between a congregation and its leaders is the bond that holds a body together and allows it to move forward as one.
A Question Worth Sitting With
The early church was not a perfect community. But it was a believing one. And because it believed, it behaved in ways that could not be explained apart from the power of God.
The question that remains is a personal one. What do you believe? Not what you say you believe on a Sunday morning, but what your daily life reveals about your convictions. Because what you believe will always determine how you behave. And how you behave will always determine what God is able to do through you.
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