In this message we will continue to speak on home meetings. This item is the most difficult one to work out among the six spiritual works. When Peter initiated the church meetings, it was under the direct working of God. What is worked out by God is the highest. The highest standard was daily to have big meetings in the temple and small gatherings in the homes. With Peter in the beginning in Acts 2 and 5, the church meetings consisted of both big meetings and small gatherings. The big meetings were held in the temple, while the small gatherings were from house to house. Whatever was spoken and taught in the big meetings—was it left unspoken, or was it changed, in the small meetings? Certainly not. What was spoken in the small gatherings was the continuation of what was spoken in the big meetings.
In the Chinese translation, the meaning of Acts 2:42, “With endurance they kept the teaching of the apostles, the communicating with one another, the breaking of bread, and prayers,” is completely changed because in the original, the main verb is “to continue,” and in Greek “with endurance” actually means “steadfastly.” This verse has everything to do with home meetings and with all matters related to the meetings. At the present time, I feel it is best to translate this verse: “And they were continuing steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Under the ministry of Peter, the meetings of the church began and remained steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles and in the breaking of bread and prayers. These were the typical contents of the early church meetings.
Acts 5:42 says, “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching....” What were they teaching? Acts 2:42 says, “And they were continuing steadfastly in the teaching...of the apostles.” Therefore, their teaching must have been the teaching of the apostles. After reading Acts 2:22-24, 32-33, and 36-38 you will realize that what they were preaching was the first message given by Peter, a message in which Peter spoke only of Christ. This message set the foundation of the contents of the church meetings. When the church was first established, the believers preached only of Christ’s incarnation, His human living on the earth, His being persecuted, His being crucified, and His entering into the suffering of death, and of God’s raising Him from the dead, exalting Him into the heavenlies, and making Him both Lord and Christ, whereupon He poured out the all-inclusive Spirit. These are the contents of the church meetings and the basic principle of the church meetings, which principle is just Christ.
After hearing this first message, the multitude was pierced in their hearts and asked the apostles and brothers, saying, “What should we do, men, brothers?” Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, upon the name of Jesus Christ.” All those who heard believed, repented, and were baptized. The three thousand believers then continued steadfastly in the teaching which they had heard when they were saved. For generations the Jews had been preaching Moses, the Ten Commandments, offerings, gifts, worshipping God in the temple, and burning incense. Now, suddenly, upon hearing Peter speak, “Men, Israelites, hear these words: Jesus Christ, a man demonstrated by God by works of power and wonders and signs, you nailed to the cross and killed. But God raised Him up, having loosed the pangs of death, exalted Him to the right hand of God, made Him both Lord and Christ, and caused Him to pour out the all-inclusive Spirit,” they simply received this teaching. They were saved and continued steadfastly in this teaching. This teaching became the contents of the church meetings.
Peter spoke this teaching in the temple, in the big congregation. Three thousand newly saved ones continued in this teaching, not in the big meetings but from house to house. What was spoken in the big meetings was continued in the small gatherings. This was the practice. What Peter had spoken in the big meetings was repeated again and again in the small gatherings from house to house, where they daily spoke of Jesus Christ. Among the three thousand who were baptized, there must have been at least five hundred households. If Peter with his Bible were the only one who must go and speak from house to house, even if he totally exhausted himself, he still would not have been able to visit all of the houses. The practice in that day was that what Peter spoke the first day was taken back and repeated from house to house the following day. It may seem that this was not possible, yet this is definitely recorded in the Bible.