Acts
4:23-37
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- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Primary texts (Pseudepigrapha, Targum, Midrash, Targum) about Messainic Expectation from (Rutgers University Dept of Religion) Mahlon H. Smith's Into His Own: Perspective on the World of Jesus companion to the historical study of Christian texts.
- III.XII.5, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
- Concerning Flight in Persecution (paragraph 12) Tertullian (c. 212)
- VIII.XII, Against Celsus, Origen. (c.246)
- XIV.1, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Origen. (c.247)
- Epistle VII -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 250)
- On the Unity of the Church, Cyprian of Carthage (c. 250)
- Concerning Works and Almsgiving -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 254)
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "True charity helps the need of the poor with its own loss, but in such a way that all things are done well and orderly."
- From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary.
- "The disciples loved one another. This was the blessed fruit of Christ's dying precept to his disciples, and his dying prayer for them. Thus it was then, and it will be so again, when the Spirit shall be poured upon us from on high."
- From
Wesley's Notes.
- "So long as that truly Christian love continued, they could not but have all things common."
- From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- From The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
- "It does not describe a community of goods, but a miraculous benevolence: (1) the goods were not a common fund, but each one had goods that he possessed; (2) he did not say that his goods were his own; (3) they used all as if it belonged to all; (4) there were none that lacked, for (5) those that had houses and lands sold them and brought the proceeds to the apostles"
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
-
- "It is all too easy, then, for us not simply to pity the early church's practice, but to dismiss it altogether. But we thereby also run the risk of dismissing their vibrant resurrection faith that ignited their extraordinary common-fellowship (koinonia) in the first place."
-
- "The Call for a Living Wage," Resources for Prophetic Worship, Speaking to North Carolina Justice Issues, North Carolina Council of Churches.
-
"'They
Enjoyed the Favor of All the People,' Christian Generosity of Community
and Compassion,"
The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey
with Jesus Foundation, 2009.
- "I wish that we Christians could somehow recapture the witness of those first believers who, because 'great grace was with them all,' demonstrated overflowing generosity to their neighbors, and who consequently 'enjoyed the favor of all the people.' Let that be what Tertullian called 'our distinctive mark.'"
-
"The Missing "FOR" and the Risen Life,"
The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with
Jesus Foundation.
- "The power of apostles' testimony, the experience of grace in community, even the unity of the Body of Christ has a direct and, dare I say, CAUSAL relationship with the extent to which all of those of us who call ourselves Christians share what we have with those who don't have it."
-
Join the Feast,
Acts 4:32-25, Greg Bolt, Union PSCE,
2009.
- "...based on further reflection on this passage, it is more about grace than a vow of poverty."
-
-
- "Profession
or Possession (Acts 4:32 - 5:11)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
- "From a purely human point of view, to sell their possessions to meet the needs of others was folly, certain future economic disaster. Surely one must be financially prepared for the future. With one heart and soul, the saints continued to give of their resources to meet the needs of others."
-
- Articles & Background:
-
"Global Poverty: Beyond Utopian Visions," Thomas E. Phillips, (other resources at)
- "The crisis of poverty in the world?s largest cities, which is growing exponentially worse in the new era of globalization, should overwhelm us. However, it should not paralyze us. Scripture may not offer an easy answer, but it does provide a consistent moral imperative."
-
"Global Inequality," Douglas A. Hicks,
(other resources at)
"Global Wealth," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2007.
- "Are the world?s rich and poor growing closer together or farther apart? Why should we care either way? The Christian story expands our moral vision to see every person not as a potential consumer in a global market, but as a reflection of God?s image."
- "Reflections on the Priority of Belonging," Mark Thomsen, Currents in Theology and Mission, 2004.
-
"Global Poverty: Beyond Utopian Visions," Thomas E. Phillips, (other resources at)
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
- Finger, Reta
Halteman, "Cultural Attitudes in Western Christianity toward the
Community of Goods in Acts 2 and 4," Mennonite Quarterly Review,
2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hamm, Dennis,
"Acts 4:23-31 - A Neglected Biblical Paradigm of Christian Worship
(Especially in Troubled Times)," Worship, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Juel, Donald, "Acts and the Easter
Season," Word & World, 1985. (Section on this text begins on p.
210)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Mitchell, Alan C.,
S.J., "The Social Function of Friendship in Acts 2:44-47 and 4:32-37,"
Journal of Biblical Literature, 1992.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Olsen, Glenn W.,
"One Heart and One Soul (Acts 4:32 and 34) in Dhuoda's 'Manual',"
Church History, 1992.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Parsons, Mikeal C.,
"The Character of the Lame Man in Acts 3-4," Journal of Biblical
Literature, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Sölle, Dorothee, "Church: They Had
Everything in Common," Theology Today, 1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Sterling, Gregory E., "'Athletes
of Virtue': An Analysis of the Summaries in Acts (2:41-47; 4:32-35;
5:12-16)," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Thomsen, Mark, "Reflections on the
Priority of Belonging," Currents in Theology and Mission, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Wieser, Thomas, "Community - Its
Unity, Diversity and Universality," Semeia, 1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Finger, Reta
Halteman, "Cultural Attitudes in Western Christianity toward the
Community of Goods in Acts 2 and 4," Mennonite Quarterly Review,
2004.
- Reviews:
- Sermons:
- "Hold All Things Loosely," Rev. Sarah Buteux, Cambridge Swedenborg Chapel, Cambridge, MA.
- With Children:
-
"The Early
Church,"
"Peter and John
Arrested and Released,"
-
-
-
"The Early
Church,"
"Peter and John
Arrested and Released,"
- Drama:
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Images for this week's readings, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
-
- Hymns and Music:
- Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Acts 4:24, 36. The Cyber Hymnal.
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies/scenes listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Acts
