"Then the church throughout all Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord."

The church was strengthened. Normally we think that someone is responsible when a church is strengthened. Who strengthens our body? Does someone come from outside and 'give' us development? No. Our body is strengthened because its members serve one another. For a long time we considered the ministering of the pastors, teachers, apostles and prophets to be responsible for the strengthening of the church. I also had this opinion. Of course I was a member of my church and contributed my share, but it never occurred to me to accept responsibility for others, because after all, that was the task of the pastor who was paid to do so. I didn’t realize that this wasn’t his true assignment. If our church life isn’t according to God’s wishes, i.e. that we strengthen one another, and if we only expect this from a chosen few, then development will not progress according to the will of God. But this doesn’t mean that the church isn’t alive. A body with a few sick members, who can’t serve the others, can still go on living, but with restrictions. God’s Word shows that pastors, teachers and other ministries are given to the church (Eph 4, 11) in order to prepare the believers for serving, which results in believers serving one other. I am more and more convinced that if we stick to the biblical example in respect to our living and thinking, in our reflections and obedience, then we can expect similar results to the ones described in the Bible. It hardly needs to be mentioned that the homecell is an ideal unit for believers who serve one another

The second thing mentioned in this passage is the atmosphere within the first church: "living in the fear of the Lord". We know a lot about theology, but so often the fear of the Lord is missing. This doesn’t mean being afraid of God, it means being in awe before God. The fear of the Lord, according to the Bible, consists in hating evil (Proverbs 8:13) und in shunning evil (Job 28). In the first church this fear of God, i.e. awe before God, was dominant, and along with it the fear of committing sin. The Holy Spirit living in our hearts is also a Spirit of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2+3): "the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord". When Jesus lived on this earth, he didn’t primarily strive for wisdom and understanding of things, or for God’s power. Isaiah says that the Son of God, when he lived on this earth, delighted in the fear of the Lord.

Thirdly we see here: The church grew in numbers, which means that more and more people came to believe. The emphasis is on: "encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers". Encouragement is given to someone who can’t cope alone, and therefore needs someone else. This other person has both the capacity and the necessary quality. Someone who doesn’t learn to work with the Holy Spirit won’t get far. This is especially the case when spreading the gospel. Jesus didn’t send his disciples into the world and to minister, before the Holy Spirit came upon them. Only then did the disciples begin to understand how His life and ministry stood completely under the direction and leadership of the Holy Spirit. All the wonderful things described in the Acts only happened because the disciples and the Christians worked together with the Holy Spirit. If we want to work together with someone, then clearly, a harmonious relationship is needed. That is why the Bible warns us concerning our relationship with the Holy Spirit: "do not grieve the Holy Spirit". One can’t grieve a thing, only a person. The Holy Spirit is a person. Take heed that you don’t grieve Him. How can one grieve the Holy Spirit? He is the Spirit of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and power. The Lord showed me that if I rely on human wisdom and strength and my own thoughts, then I grieve the Holy Spirit. If He is suppressed or grieved, then the result of what He wants to do in our lives is only insignificant. And then we have to work and sweat. But we are told that the first church grew in numbers because it was encouraged by the Holy Spirit, which also shows us how important it is to God that we spread the gospel. Jesus says: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." God wants people to be saved, but this can only happen if we learn to work together with the Holy Spirit. It is my concern that we as churches are led towards a biblical community life. We want to be communities where we strengthen one another, living in the fear of the Lord, and wanting to learn to spread the gospel, encouraged by the Holy Spirit.
                                                                                                                                                                             Werner Kniesel