A Demonstration
The Holy Scriptures, from beginning to end, lay a path and foundation before us, that prove itself over and over again. In evidence of its works, it will never fail, if we will hold it square in front of our face; focus it as a mirror, direct in our face, to see what manner of man we are (James 1:23-24). In order to know what we're like we have to examine ourselves often so that we do not forget our condition. Therefore, let us not only be an examiner and hearer, but also a doer, says the Apostle.
We believe Christ taught and lived a community life. He called his disciples away from their relatives and from their work to the fellowship of his way – and the little group who followed him had a common purse. Jesus said to the rich young ruler that he should give all he had to the poor and follow him (Matthew 19). This was not, as is often said, because riches were a particular hindrance to this man; it was asked of all who would follow Christ. What he says in Luke 14:33 is unmistakable: "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has, cannot be my disciple." Jesus said this after he had told his followers the story of the invitation to the fellowship of the table at the great supper, showing how the guests had excused themselves from coming. Two of them made excuses because of their possessions and a third because of his wife.
New relationships
In John 16:13, Christ says: "Yet when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth." And we know that after the Holy Spirit had descended upon the disciples the first thing that happened was that they became of one heart and one soul, and had all their goods in common. From this we see Christ's Spirit brings about a change of heart which results in a different relationship between men: the whole structure of their society is changed – even economically. For this reason he refused to make rules for the worldly society, saying to the man whose inheritance was to be divided between him and his brother: "Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?" (Luke 12:14). And to his disciples: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (v. 15).
He envisaged an entirely different relationship between men: one based upon love. After these sayings he told the parable of the rich fool and warned his followers not to be anxious for their life, what they should eat, nor for their body, what they should put on. And here again he ends, "Sell what you have, and give alms." (Luke 12:33). We must not see the sharing of goods, important as it may be, as the main emphasis of community life. Most find the giving up of material possessions the easiest part. Community of goods, (maybe it could be described as community of poverty) is relatively easy. But no one can accept Christ's invitation who is not willing to leave everything behind – especially self-will.
Some who are willing to follow Christ wanted to determine for themselves the right time for doing it. They expected him to wait until they had taken care of their own concerns. Community life is not, as one of our friends sees it, "living in congenial company and having congenial work, a place fitted to your calling." It is a daily struggle for each to give up the free disposal of "own time" and "own talents". Andreas Ehrenpreis in his book of religious letters from the 16th century gave the following warning:
"Men who hold that the New Testament does not advocate community of goods should search their hearts as to whether they readlly want to live in complete surrender to Christ."He further emphasizes: "Brotherly community is the highest command of love, and to give up the true Christian community means to give up God."
Peter Rideman, in his book (1540-45), Confession of Faith, states: "Therefore community is nothing else than that those who have fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as they have all things in common and are likewise one, as the Father is with the Son. Thus hath God created all things, not as private to man, but to have them in common and not make the Creators creation his property. Through wrong doing, as man has done, he has been led from God and forgotten the Creator."
Private property is a danger
Man possesses nothing when he comes into the world and it's just as certain that he carries nothing out when he dies. For if man makes God's creation his own, he sets his heart upon and cleaves to what is temporal and alien. Therefore, whosoever will cleave to Christ and follow him must forsake such taking of created things and property. Now then, as all the Saints have community in spiritual gifts, still much more should they have and show this in material things." The Apostle Paul admonishes in 1 Corinthians 10:24, "Let no man seek his own good, but the good of others." Where this is not the case, it is a blemish upon the church that ought to be corrected, as private property is the greatest enemy of love.
An old Hutterian teaching or sermon of the 16th century says: "For no one any longer owns anything: for one gives oneself and surrenders oneself to the Lord and his church with all that one has and can do, as was the case in the first apostolic church, where none said of his goods that they were his own, but they had all things in common. This we hold to be the surest way and we are assured in our hearts that this is the soundest basis."
Another important factor we have to consider is that in such a community of the saints, nothing disorderly may be tolerated according to the teachings of Christ and Paul (Matthew 18:17). "Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person," (1 Corinthians 5) otherwise it cannot be possible to remain a clean and orderly people. Ye shall not let it come so far, that a Christian community becomes the habitation of carnal and evil-minded men, according to 1 Peter 2 and 2 Peter 2 and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. (Revelation 18). Another Hutterite sermon of the 16th century strongly advocates that not the slightest glimpse or trace may be noted that it should appear "a city without a wall or protection; a garden without hedge or fence; a house without a door, where free passage is allowed with will, whoever wishes, so that not a little leaven will leaven the whole lump, and one scabby sheep make the whole herd scabby." Such a Christian community of the saints cannot be without order and punishment (which the doctrine brings with it), for it must all be spiritually discerned, because it is a spiritual work. (1 Corinthians 2).
Love of Christ, instead of self-love, was the motivating power behind community life in the early church, as John Wesley clearly expressed in his Explanatory Notes on the New Testament. Regarding Acts 2:45, he writes, "And they sold their possessions, (their lands and houses) and goods (their movables) and parted them to all, according as any man had need. To say that the Christians did this only till the destruction of Jerusalem is not true; for many did it long after. Not that there was any positive command for so doing, it needed none; for love constrained them. It was a natural fruit of that love wherewith each member of the community loved each other as his own soul."
And if the Christian Church had continued in this Spirit, this usage must have continued through all ages. To affirm, therefore, that Christ did not design that it should continue is neither more nor less than to affirm that Christ did not design this measure of love should continue. There is no proof of this at all. Rather Acts 4:32 tells us, "Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own." In so great a multitude this was a necessary consequence of that union of heart. It is impossible anyone should not want such sharing, while all were of one soul. So long as truly Christian love continued, they could not but have all things common! Verse 34 tells us, "Neither was there any among them that lacked." We may observe this is added as the proof that "great grace was upon them all." And it was the immediate, necessary consequence of it, yea, and must be, to the end of the world. In all ages and nations the same cause – the same degree of grace – could not but, in like circumstances, produce the same effect.
Giving must be voluntary
"For as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them" – not that they were compelled to do this; but there was great grace and greeat love of which this was the natural fruit. In view of Christ's life and teaching it seems rather dangerous to uphold that the New Testament does not teach community of goods, saying that the church in Jerusalem was the only church that practiced it. Eberhard Arnold remarks on this point:
"It is very significant for the Spirit which ruled in the Church that, up to the time of Hermas, rich men could gain a place in the church-community only by divesting themselvs of their income on behalf of their poor brothers. Many sold themselves as slaves on behalf of others and gave themselves up to be imprisoned for debt."The Spirit of free spontaneity was a more essential characteristic of the movement than the working out of the communal form of life or having no poersonal possessions. It was more spontaneous love taht in the early church changed the holding of private property into a communism of love, and later on made the heathben complain that Christian women of rank were changed into beggars through giving away their property."
With this overflowing love in mind, one understands the reproach to the Church of Laodicea of whom the Spirit says, in Revelation 3:16, "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, and have grown wealthy, and have need of nothing."
Is not that communion of love a long way too from the Christian of today who testified with thankfulness in his church paper that since he had started tithing God had prospered his business in a wonderful way? There seems to be a tendency to believe that following Christ must yield material blessings. But is this the way of the cross? The old Anabaptists used to speak about the "bitter Christ" because of the suffering they had to endure and undergo through discipleship.
Good Stewardship
A Christian may consider himself a steward of his possessions and have a genuine concern for the needs of the world, but stewardship can never excuse living a comfortable life on the greater part of one's income and giving the smaller part to the needy. In the Didache, the Christians are admonished as follows, "Thou salft not turn away from him that hath need, but shalt share all things with thy brother, and shalt not say that anything is your own: for if you are partners or brothers in the eternal things, how much more are yoiu partners in the physical?"
And Chrysostom, in his 11th address on the Acts of the Apostles, exhorted the members of his church who had left this way of love with the follwoing words:
"Grace was upon them all, because none lacked anything, because they all gave with such zeal that none remained poor. They did not surrender merely a part and retain another part for themselves as they saw fit; they gave everything, regarding nothing as their private property. They thrust inequality from their midst and lived in complete harmony."They also carried this through with great dignity; foir they did not venture to press a small gift into the hands of the needy, nor did they give with a coondescending manner, but they laid their possessions at the feet of the Apostles; these they made administrators of their possessions, so that all need might be met from the common fund and not as from private property."
Real stewardship must inevitably lead to full sharing, and thus to community. The complete sharing and self-surrender demanded by community life is the first step, the minimum requirement of Christian discipleship. One can hardly take 1 Corinthians 12 – especially verses 25 and 26 – at face value in non-communal church life.
"That there should be no division in the body; but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it."
Or 2 Corinthians 8:13-15, which says,
"I do not intend that other men be eased, and you burdened, but for there to be equality; at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance may also be a supply for your want: that there may be equality. As it is written, He who gathered much did not have too much; and he who gathered little had no lack."
Is it not complete sharing that is taught here?
When the Christian church fulfills its high calling of being the body of Christ, the body of which he himself is the head, there must be complete unity between the members, and the function of each member can be only to serve the whole. By this is not meant the so-called unity where Christians try to convince themselves and the world that they are one, although they make life impossible for each other through economic strife and kill each other in wars, but the real unity and communion for which Christ prayed.
This complete oneness is so much higher than "good relationship" between neighbors, between employer and employees, or betweeen nations and races. Christ still invites all men to follow him on his way of self-surrender, of self-emptying, the way of the cross. This should never be seen as a special privilege which he wants to give to some of his follwers. The monastic movement, which sprang into being when the chuyrch associated itself with the world, was seen in such a way. From that time on, people who felt they coluld not likve a Christian life in the world withdrew into monasteries. But this is certainly quite different from the first community in Jerusalem where the church was not divided between those who saw their Christian discipleship as the onlyh calling in life and those who felt differently, but where all the memberfs were of one heart and one soul.
Therefore we have to testify to Christians that, although no one is able to go the way in his own strength, a life of coplete unity is still given to every Christian who will now, at this moment, listen to Christ's call, "Follow me!"
God's promises still stands; taht he will give his Holy Spirit to all who ask for it. Now, as over nineteen hundred years ago, his Spirit leads to unity among believers. It is the call for community, it is the outcome of the Spirit of Love which urges the sharing of all things, from the least to the greatest. GThis desire to share to the utmost is as natural to loved as the fruit to the tree. With itsx appearance one recognizes the fruit of love. In accepting this gift of community the Christian also bears witness to him who gave it. Christ prayed in John 17 for the oneness of his disciples; "that the world may believe that you have sent me."
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