Model Church?
Acts 4:32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
Wow, what a church fellowship Jerusalem had. There is not a single thing wrong with this early churches ideas here to share everything they owned and all. They gave great witness to the resurrected Christ! Grace rested upon them. Their plan is just a little to soon and plagued by the sin nature of man! The world as we know it now, cant achieve this lifestyle. Sinful man will destroy this plan. The ideas of communism and socialism stem from this, excluding the atrocious political forms of them! But, again, those political forms came about with this culture. Again, this early church was amazing but it was unsustainable! If something is worth continuing, see what it becomes years later! And just a few short years later, this "everything is everybodies" idea devastated the church in Jerusalem, so much so that Paul raised several love offerings to help aid the poor destitude believers there! Look, Jesus will make a better kingdom than any has ever known, it isnt going to be this side of His coming folks! During the Jesus Movement, several houses were bought by Calvarys to house these hippies. Amazing things happened but where are they today? Sustainable is the point! Maybe it was just supposed to be a season, but if its so great, it has to last. Im not looking for no eutopia outside of Jesus' return. IT WONT HAPPEN. But then again, there is always those who try to defy history. Name one single example when communism or socialism ever worked for the betterment of the people? You can use this church in your assessment! None.