Acts 4:32, commentary and pictures

After Jesus rose from the dead, those who believed in Him were completely united in heart and soul, with all differences put away and no striving for place, supremacy or rivalry. They regarded nothing they owned as their own private concern, but held houses, lands and goods as entrusted by God to be used for the common good, the relief of the needy, and the advance of the gospel. This oneness was both the preparation for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and its continuing fruit, for the Spirit drove selfishness and covetousness from hearts and made one interest and one holy aim to be like Christ and enlarge His kingdom prevail. With that selfless burden for souls they preached Christ with boldness and liberality, and thousands were converted and added to the church daily. That brief unity of heart, soul, mind and purpose stands as the example and pattern for all who profess Christ to the end of time.

Setting After Resurrection

The verse belongs to the account after Jesus' death and resurrection, when the apostles gave clear, bold testimony through the power of the Holy Spirit with great grace upon the believers. That witness expressed living conviction of Christ's resurrection, and the unity of heart and soul accompanied the powerful testimony and the grace resting upon them. The believers had been filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke God's word boldly, united in heart and purpose in their shared faith.

The oneness followed united prayer in an emergency after Peter healed the lame man at the temple gate. When the rulers forbade preaching in the name of Jesus, the church prayed together, the place was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with boldness, becoming united in heart and purpose. Strength in every emergency of life is found in such prayer to God, which brings renewed faith through the gift of the Holy Spirit, producing unity and bold witness.

A large number had gathered at Jerusalem, and many converts had been cut off by bigotry from family and friends, thrown out of business, exiled from homes and livelihoods for following Christ, and needed homes and sustenance. Those who had money and possessions cheerfully sacrificed them to meet the emergency, laying their means at the apostles' feet for distribution to every person according to need, so that none lacked. Their love for fellow believers and the cause they had espoused was far greater than love for money, possessions, and earthly heritage, and by acting out faith they testified that they counted human souls of far greater value than wealth or inheritance. This shared life of one heart and soul, with one common interest in the success of the mission entrusted to them, belonged to a church marked by powerful witness to Jesus' resurrection, grace, glad fellowship, praise, and growth.

Differences among Christians then scarcely existed, except for a short difference of understanding about circumcision, whether uncircumcised Gentiles should be admitted to the church, which was soon settled. Through divine illumination and sanctification believers were perfectly joined together in the same mind and judgment.

The same unity, generosity, and patient endurance was lived out again after Wycliffe's death as a calm, devout, earnest, patient protest against the prevailing corruption of religious faith despite the rage of persecution. As in apostolic days when believers freely sacrificed worldly possessions and had all things common, those permitted to dwell in their homes gladly received brethren banished from home and kindred. When they too were driven forth they accepted the lot of the outcast and rejoiced to suffer for the truth's sake.

That oneness appeared again among the waiting people of God in 1844, when division of feeling disappeared, no one clashed with another, no arguments were needed because all were convinced they had the truth, fanaticism disappeared, and hope and courage filled hearts. It marked a work free from human excitement and extremes and controlled by God's word and Spirit, like Israel's seasons of humiliation and return to the Lord after reproof. It was characterized by deep searching of heart, confession of sin, forsaking of the world, persevering prayer, unreserved consecration to God, and preparation to meet the Lord, with joy and shouting held back for the future when heaven and earth rejoice together.

Meaning of True Unity

Being of one heart and soul means perfect unity and full agreement, with every difference put away and no longer striving for the highest place, supremacy, rank, or rivalry. That condition came after the Holy Spirit was given and both prepared for its outpouring and continued as its result, for the self-giving Spirit of Christ who died that sinners might live animated the entire congregation in harmony. Joined in purpose and spirit, believers took self-denial and self-sacrifice as their shared aim to enlarge His kingdom, joined their interests in advocating truth with salvation through Christ as the common theme, and carried the gospel toward the ends of the earth.

The unity means one interest prevails and one object swallows all others, with the success of the gospel mission as the common concern, Christ filling thoughts and the advancement of His kingdom as the aim, without independent, conflicting, divided interests or seeking worldly greatness. Taught and prepared under the Spirit they became like their Master in mind and character, no longer divided or focused on worldly greatness but of one accord. It means every Christian sees in his brother the divine similitude of benevolence and love, valuing Christ's likeness, the growth of His kingdom, and service and labor for its enlargement above every competing ambition, with all hearts beating in harmony to reveal Christ's character. Reconverted believers sought to imitate Him and do His works with kindly helpfulness, kind looks, loving help, kind words, and unselfish deeds, at the time the glad tidings of a risen Saviour were carried to the uttermost bounds, converts flocked, sinners united with Christians in seeking the pearl of great price, witness was given with great power, great grace rested upon all, and the Lord added daily those being saved.

It puts Christ's command to love one another as He loved them into practice with tender love toward fellow believers, as the oneness produced by faith working through love and purifying the soul, calling believers to put away differences, envy, and malice. That love was expressed in treating possessions not as exclusively one's own but as shared and held for common use. Hearts beating in unison rose in praise and thanksgiving to God, reflecting light to the world as the Spirit's life, light, sanctification, and holiness filled believers whose shared aim was to become more like Christ and glorify God. People listened attentively to the Word, were impressed in mind and heart, and many were converted.

The unity does not mean everyone judges the value of each person's work alike, for people may rate their own work above another's, but only the Lord knows the heart and motive determines an action's value, so believers must stop measuring one another by their own standards and counting their own work most valuable. The unity grows in proportion to illumination and sanctification, bringing harmony in understanding truth, union in judgment, confidence in one another, peace, believing and speaking the same things, and glorifying God with one heart and mouth, with no clashing or need for argument because all are convinced they have the truth. Such love and Christian unity evidences to the world that God sent Jesus to save sinners and testifies with convicting power that God's Word is the safe rule of life, and it will always be the fruit borne under the Holy Spirit's influence. Being one heart and one soul also describes two workers whom God has joined in shared interests and work; God fits the helper with wisdom and tact for that specific work, makes hearts and interests one, and joins them so no influence should separate them and they should draw together and stay together, and the helper will not be sustained in other work God has not given. Those who labor closely together in God's work must have souls that are one, with perfect confidence in each other and perfect frankness and openness; being exclusive and secretive toward fellow workers brings God's frown, and unless work proceeds on this principle of oneness God will turn everything upside down.

Holding Goods in Common

No one said that what he possessed was his own, treated it as his private concern, or held it as exclusively his own, but all that was owned was held for the common good and for the advancement of the work and reformation. This oneness of mind and heart came as the Spirit of God removed selfishness, for the work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost drove selfishness and covetousness from hearts and united believers in purpose and affection.

Possessions, houses, lands, and earthly goods were regarded as gifts entrusted and lent by God, not as things whose claims could take priority over Christ. Gratitude for Christ's sacrifice to redeem sinners led believers to count what they had as bought by that sacrifice and to return it to His service, making houses, lands, and possessions available as the needs of Christ's cause and the worthy, suffering poor required, to support poor believers, sustain the cause of truth, and relieve need. This shared life was not a system in which all property was put into a common fund, nor a community system where no one had any claim above another to a common stock, but greatly enlarged, voluntary liberality expressing unselfish care and love for sinners by spreading truth and giving to needy saints.

Love for fellow believers, for brethren, and for the cause espoused far outweighed love for money, possessions, property, and earthly heritage. Those who had money and possessions cheerfully sacrificed them and willingly used what they owned to meet one another's needs, providing homes and sustenance and laying means at the apostles' feet for distribution to every man according as he had need, so that none lacked. By thus acting out faith they testified that they counted the souls of men of far greater value than wealth and valued salvation and human souls above any earthly wealth or inheritance, with the success of the gospel mission as their common concern and interest. Their willingness and generosity resulted from the work and influence of the Holy Spirit, which overcame selfishness and covetousness and made them benevolent and willing to give for others.

They sold possessions and made means available as the needs of Christ's cause and the worthy poor required, submitting property to the apostles as they saw the work extending far beyond expectation and going forward with zeal and unabated zeal, so there would be no lack among God's suffering poor and the cause of truth could be sustained. The same Spirit leads believers today to manage entrusted property responsibly and to use the Lord's goods to advance the gospel, share truth and the gospel, relieve the needy and helpless, give to needy saints, and help the helpless, showing Christ's tender compassion for those in need. Their sharing also means that a believer who has given generously to God's work and later falls into poverty should be helped by fellow believers sharing with him the blessings in their care. Though few and poor, believers acting together in unity and shared purpose have pledged lumber, materials, and labor to build a place of worship and completed and dedicated it within four weeks without debt. Believers are to regard nothing as their own, with students who serve God dedicating gifts and abilities to Him and working unselfishly for others.

Holy Spirit Creates Oneness

The oneness of heart and soul was both the preparation for the outpouring of the Spirit and its continuing result. It was the fruit of Christ's Spirit working in hearts, of abiding in Christ and drawing nourishment from Him, and part of the strength found in serving Christ. Believers came into perfect unity because the Holy Spirit was working in their hearts, with all differences put away and all in full agreement, no longer striving for the highest place or for each person to be a center of influence for himself. This is the unity Christ prayed for, and it provides the pattern of transforming grace bringing believers into harmony.

The Spirit of Christ who died that sinners might live animated the entire congregation and community. That animating made them strong and earnest workers, magnified the Lord, and brought harmony with every difference put away. United in purpose and spirit, their shared aim was to follow Christ's example of self-denial and self-sacrifice, to become more like Christ and do more to glorify God, and to enlarge His kingdom. Hearts beating in unison rose in praise and thanksgiving to God, and this unity is the fruit of Christian life that lets the church reflect light to the world. It followed abandonment of rivalry for the highest place and accompanied the burden to carry the gospel to the world.

Taught and prepared under the Spirit, the disciples became like their Master in mind and character. Christ filled their thoughts and the advancement of His kingdom was their aim. They were no longer divided or focused on worldly greatness, but were of one accord.

Those controlled by the Holy Spirit are reconverted and born again into complete unity of heart and mind, with every spiritual pulse and impulse beating in harmony. One interest prevails and one holy emulation swallows up all others, to be like Christ, to do the works of Christ, and to enlarge His kingdom, each striving to do the most. This unity is expressed in brotherly love, kindness, helpfulness, kind looks, earnest zeal, and even seeing the faces of angels in brethren and sisters.

Oneness begins at the very foundation of Christian character in a clean heart, because out of the heart are the issues of life. When hearts are right with God, when every child of God seeks Him earnestly and perseveringly, grace is provided and the power of the Holy Spirit works with every effort, so there is greater growth in grace and larger results from labor. Then dissension, envy, jealousy, and strife cease, and purity and love prevail, in contrast to the opposite spirit shown where abiding in Christ is lacking. This change comes by beholding and contemplating the character of Christ until conformed to His image, by coming to Jesus just as they are to be received and given a new song of praise to God.

Their unity allowed the Spirit of Christ to work from heart to heart, shaping believers to share in the divine nature and escape the world's corruptions. This unhindered work accompanied the spreading of the gospel and the adding of people to the church after receiving the Holy Spirit. After Christ's resurrection and ascension their unity was the fruit of the Spirit's illumination and sanctification, producing agreement in faith and judgment.

Missionary Zeal and Growth

The oneness of heart and soul meant that all felt their resources must be taxed to the utmost, with one theme for every representative of Christ, to preach Christ and Him crucified through the whole world, committing means to the fullest of ability, finding hearts and doors opened by the Holy Spirit wherever they went and daily adding new territories as fields of labor. That condition came after the Holy Spirit was given, when believers had entered perfect unity with all differences put away and no striving for the highest place, animated throughout the congregation by the Spirit of Christ who died that sinners might live. Such unity was both the preparation for the pouring out of the Spirit and its continuing result, joined to a selfless burden for souls rather than seeking blessing for themselves, as they claimed the promised endowment of power to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.

One interest prevailed and one object swallowed up all others, with all hearts beating in harmony and salvation through Christ as the common theme in which they joined interests to advocate the truth. It belonged to the time when the glad tidings of a risen Saviour were carried to the uttermost bounds of the inhabited world, converts flocked from all directions, believers were reconverted and sinners united with Christians in seeking the pearl, the apostles gave witness of the resurrection with great power, great grace rested upon all, and the Lord added daily to the church those being saved. On the day of Pentecost when the Spirit descended, no one treated what he possessed as his own but all that was owned was held for the advancement of the reformation, and thousands were converted in a day. Christ's grace then appeared in words and works as light to those in darkness, with the hand stretched out in beneficence to help the perishing.

When the same Spirit moves believers today to give back to God of His own with the same liberality, holding themselves and all they have in readiness to meet the demands of His cause, a wide and far-reaching work for the upbuilding of His kingdom will be accomplished. Their unity, free from strife and contention because Christ's abiding love linked them, helped the gospel spread rapidly, led to new churches being established, and made converts witnesses for Christ. Their faith, united in heart and action through love for Christ, was expressed in caring for widows and orphans and keeping themselves unpolluted by the world.

The apostolic church thus lived out God's principle of benevolence, which comes when His people wholeheartedly accept it and obey the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Their spirit of self-sacrifice and free giving stands as an example for today: if Christ's love filled hearts and believers understood the urgency of preparing people for His coming, they would give their means as freely to advance God's work rather than hoard it. The harmony, unity, and brotherly love that result when Christ rules in hearts and selfishness is removed are still seen in Christians giving the fruits of self-denial for God's glory and devoting themselves to active efforts to save others.

Model for Later Church

The brief oneness of heart and soul and mind and purpose in the first church stands as example and lesson and pattern for all who profess Christ to the end of time, needed so followers may act together and gain strength for spiritual conflict and service. The powerful witness to the resurrection of Jesus and the great grace upon believers went with that unity, and it was part of the strength found in serving Christ. That shared faith and purpose made believers unwilling to treat possessions as exclusively their own, expressing itself in greatly enlarged, voluntary liberality from love for sinners by spreading truth and giving to needy saints. It was not a general surrender of all property into a community system where no one had any claim above another to a common stock, but believers sold possessions so there would be no lack among the suffering poor and the cause of truth could be sustained, laying property at the apostles' feet as the work stretched far beyond expectation and pressed forward with unabated zeal. The same oneness calls for putting away differences and envy and malice in tender love for one another, joining believers in earnest prayer as they watch and wait for God's promise.

It was a blessed state of unity and faith and love, a model of what God's people would reach. That unity of heart and purpose from apostolic days will be restored among God's people through receiving light from His Word and humbling themselves before Him.

Brethren are to be one in heart and soul even as Christ and the Father are one, and one with Christ in God. This oneness is to be taught and practiced in the Lord's work in the last days, with brethren in every part of the vineyard counseling together as equally under God's control and working to build one another up. There are to be no Jerusalem centers and no kingly power, no concentrating of authority in one person or group or institution or center, and no binding of the work in different countries by contracts to a central work. No part of the work is to claim greater importance or rule over the others.

Those bound heart to heart and soul to soul in unity and peace must counsel together and not move independently. Ministers and guides to the people must pray much when they meet together, for united counsel and prayer gives wonderful help and courage and strength in endeavor. Workers who counsel together in this unity may receive the Lord's help and blessing, while work without such unity cannot be blessed in the same way.

Their love and Christian unity is an evidence to the world that God sent Jesus to save sinners, and testifies with convicting power that the Word of God is the safe rule of life. Such oneness exists only in proportion to illumination and sanctification, and the more fully believers receive the enlightenment of the living Spirit the more nearly they harmonize in understanding truth, unite in judgment, have confidence in one another, and are blessed with peace and harmony, believing and speaking the same things and glorifying God with one heart and mouth. The differences now existing among Christians did not exist then, except for a short difference of understanding about circumcision, whether uncircumcised Gentiles should be admitted to the church, which was soon settled, so that through divine illumination and sanctification believers were perfectly joined together in the same mind and judgment. Such oneness is and always will be the fruit borne under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Living Unity Today

Acts 4:32 teaches that believers today are to be united in heart and mind and purpose, and that unity means not looking for opportunities to disagree or keeping differences of opinion prominent, but working and associating together so as to represent Christ's character under His leadership. It means working in harmony to support and defend the truth rather than acting independently.
Unity of heart grows through friendly association and social intercourse, where mutual contact refines minds, friendships are formed, and people bless one another, creating an atmosphere of love that is pleasing to heaven. Having one heart and one experience is shown in trusting the church, accepting counsel and correction, and standing together rather than joining complaints that divide it. The accord of the disciples is the model of brotherly love to be cultivated daily, so that it will strengthen others and bring health to mind and body and soul. Christ's followers obey His voice as one mind and one soul, with spirit and will brought into harmony with His.

God's workers are to be of one mind and one heart, praying for the Holy Spirit, trusting God to fulfill His word, and working in harmony. The Spirit working through those who proclaim the gospel brings believers together in love for God and obedience to His commandments, and this unity and obedience prepare them for translation. Being of one heart and mind joins believers in earnest prayer and patient watchfulness and hope while waiting for the fulfillment of God's promise, with all differences and envy and malice put away and tender love pervading the whole. The human part is putting self in connection with the divine channel, while answering prayer in His own time and way is God's part, for He is faithful; the answer may come with sudden velocity and overpowering might or be delayed for days and weeks with faith tried, but when this unity exists Jesus as Representative and Head is ready to do for believers now what He did for the praying, watching ones on the day of Pentecost.

Students' shared religious aim and cooperative work reflect this unity of heart and purpose. Ministers and members need sympathy and harmony, with no hard feelings over differences on points of truth, but prayer and joint searching of Scripture until common understanding is reached. Gathered believers should come close together and be of one mind rather than scattering attention from the spiritual meeting.