Acts 4:32-37 - Barnabas the Man of Grace and Encouragement

<p>Introduction</p> <p>     In the previous section (Acts 4:13-31), the Sanhedrin had evaluated Peter and John (whom they regarded as uneducated men), and after asking them to leave the Council briefly, began to discuss how a noteworthy miracle had been performed in Jerusalem that was witnessed by many. The Sanhedrin were impressed by their confidence and recognized that they had been with Jesus. Despite being ordered to stop speaking about Jesus, Peter and John refused to obey and continued to preach. This shows that some acts of civil disobedience are required by God’s people when the civil authorities command something that is contrary to the will of God. After Peter and John left the Council, they reported their encounter to their companions, and they all prayed together for boldness and were filled with the Holy Spirit. The place where they prayed shook, as a sign of God’s approval, and they continued to speak the Word of God with confidence.</p> <p>Following Text</p> <ul><li>“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them” (Acts 4:32).</li> </ul> <p>     This newly formed group of believers experienced a radical change of heart, and Luke tells us they were of one heart and soul (καρδία καὶ ψυχὴ μία - kardia kai psuche mia). The heart (καρδία) does not refer to the physical organ, but to the “center and source of the whole inner life, with its thinking, feeling, and volition.”<a href='#_ftn1'>[1]</a> The NT usage of the soul (ψυχὴ) is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the heart, as it too can refer to “the inner life of a person and its various faculties.”<a href='#_ftn2'>[2]</a> When combined together, the heart and soul “denotes the common mind that caused the church to be united at the deepest human level.”<a href='#_ftn3'>[3]</a> The result was an abandonment of self and self-interest, as “not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but