Acts 2:47 · World English Bible
Acts 2:47 Meaning Praising God
praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
What does Acts 2:47 mean?
The Church grows by God's own adding. People are not recruited into an organization; they are joined to a body, and the joining is His act, so no generation can claim the growth as its own achievement.
From the Orthodox reading below.
Acts 2:47 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Orthodox
ORTHODOX
Orthodox
The Church grows by God's own adding. People are not recruited into an organization; they are joined to a body, and the joining is His act, so no generation can claim the growth as its own achievement.
What drew people was worship and a visible decency of life. Praise turned toward God becomes attractive without trying to be, and neighbors could see something they wanted. Being saved is not a private decision kept in the heart. It means being placed among others in a common life, carried by them and expected to carry them.
Orthodox lensGo deeper in the app
Orthodox lens
Live Acts 2:47 today
- Do one decent thing today that no one will see or thank you for, wipe the counter at work, take the cart back, let the car in. Let it stay unseen.
- Ask someone in your life to actually come along, to dinner, to the walk, to the thing you were going to do by yourself. Belonging usually starts with a plain invitation.
- When a group you are part of is working badly and you want to quietly check out, stay in the room and be the one who is pleasant. You cannot make other people good, you can make it easier.
Where have I been trying to grow something by effort that only grows by being lived in?
The same truth in other traditions
Tao Te Ching 22
What is genuine does not need to advertise. The sage does not push himself forward, and so people come toward him; the pulling and promoting are what drive others away.
Buddhism · the Sangha
The path is not walked alone. Taking refuge in the community is one of the three foundations, because a life of practice is carried by the people around you and you carry them in turn.
Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius
Stop arguing about what a good person is like and be one. A life lived well is visible, and it changes the people nearby without any speech about it.
Free · No account needed
Read all of Acts 2 through 17 lenses
Lensightful opens every verse of the Bible through the traditions you choose. Save readings, ask a follow-up question, and get one verse a day.
Get Lensightful on the App Store