Acts 4:33Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He expresses that this testimony had, as it were, been entrusted to them, or he speaks of it as a duty. That is, they boldly gave testimony to all concerning the Kingdom. They testified to the resurrection not only by word, but also by power. So Paul says: "my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor 2:4). And he does not simply say "with power," but "with great power." He rightly said, "and great grace was upon them all," because the grace consisted in the fact that no one was poor. That is, because of the great zeal of those who gave, no one was in poverty.

Luke presents them as men to whom something has been entrusted, and speaks as though of a duty. This is what the expression "they gave witness" means.

The active love of the first Christians and the danger of its distortion into hypocrisy. Ananias and Sapphira (4:32-5:11). After the previously described clash of the apostles Peter and John with the council, the Christians enjoyed outward peace for a time. Yet at this time, within the society itself, a danger to its inner state and development was revealed and removed by the God-enlightened attention of the apostles. For that reason it was a greater danger than outward persecutions from the Church's enemies. The state of Christ's Church at this time remained the same as before. The same union of Christians among themselves characterized the first Christian society even now. This was union and agreement not only in matters of faith, but also in all thoughts and moral dispositions.

The apostles continued their work with still greater zeal. The assembly of believers was distinguished still more by its virtues and by its incomparable concord. "The multitude of those who believed had one heart and one soul; and no one called anything of his possessions his own, but they had all things in common." This does not mean that the first Christians adopted a dreamy and practically unrealizable theory known as communism. Its essence consists in the rejection of all personal property. Communism presupposes the compulsory abolition of all personal property. Among the first Christians, however, the sharing of possessions was only an expression of the inner spirit of self-denial with which they approached works of philanthropy.

"And the apostles" and so forth: the third feature, concerning only the chief representatives of the society, is the power of the apostolic preaching about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The Lord's resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith (1 Cor 15:14). It was the foundation of all apostolic preaching, as the central point of the whole proclamation. Therefore the expression does not mean that the apostles preached only about Christ's resurrection. Their preaching was "with great power," granted to them according to their prayer and the prayer of all the believers (v. 29), despite the council's threats and prohibition. The fourth feature is this: "great grace was upon them all." That is, not only upon the apostles, but upon all the believers.

Other distinctive features of the inner state of the primitive Church were these: intensified preaching about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the central object of faith. For with the establishment of faith in Christ's resurrection, everything else in Christianity was established, both in doctrine and in life. There was also the evident presence of great gifts of grace (see 1 Cor 15:10). The gifts of almsgiving were also an expression of the spirit of grace in the hearts of the generous givers. By them the communion of all and ecclesial unity were bound together. So too was peaceableness with those who still remained unbelieving. Christians did not enter into property disputes with them, and in general tried to have a good reputation among them as disciples of Jesus (see Jn 13:35).