The early church enjoyed both the Lord’s Supper (breaking bread) and “love feasts” (Jude 1:12). Acts 2:46 describes the gatherings of the believers: “Day after day they met together in the temple. They broke bread together in different homes and shared their food happily and freely” (CEV).
There’s an intriguing phrase in Acts 2:47 that describes the church in Jerusalem as “having favor with all the people.” What exactly were these early Christians doing that brought them such esteem? The preceding verses tell us: “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (v. 45-46).
When unbelievers witnessed the generosity and joy of these believers, they saw how they loved one another, and many came to faith: “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47, italics mine). Their open hands and genuine happiness demonstrated the life-changing power of the gospel.
Athenian philosopher Aristides wrote to the Emperor Hadrian (c. 117-138 AD) and said this about the early church:
Every morning and all hours on account of the goodness of God toward them, they render praise and laud Him over their food and their drink; they render Him thanks. And if any righteous person of their number passes away from this world, they rejoice and give thanks to God and they follow his body as though he were moving from one place to another. And when a child is born to them, they praise God, and if again it chances to die in its infancy, they praise God mightily, as for one who has passed through the world without sins.
Scripture tells us something even more surprising. When believers in the early church faced persecution for following Jesus, this was their response: “They left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:41). The Contemporary English Version and five others translate it, “They were happy.” How could anyone be happy in suffering? Because they found joy in being enough like Jesus to be treated as He had been. Note that they rejoiced not because they suffered (self-glorifying masochism) but because they were considered worthy to suffer for Jesus (God-glorifying grace).
We see this same supernatural reality in other passages (see Matthew 5:12; Romans 5:3; James 1:2-3; 1 Peter 4:13). It’s as if our eternal happiness works its way backward into the suffering of the present moment, washing over us as a foretaste of our imminent, unending joy.
Consider what happened to Paul and Silas in Philippi: “The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison. . . . [The jailer] put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16:22-24).
Sadly, God’s people have been treated this way throughout history, but the next verse is astonishing: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (verse 25). Why were the prisoners listening? Because to sing hymns is to express praise and joy and focus on God, not oneself.
Such actions speak powerfully to unbelievers. Words alone are cheap, but joy in suffering gets people’s attention—it demands a supernatural explanation! Countless believers have used their platform of suffering, combined with Christ-centered happiness, to attract people to the gospel.
