English Standard Version
Who wouldn't want to join this group, right? They're devoted to one another, they're filled with awe as wonders and signs are done amongst them, they're willing to share with each other, breaking bread with one another. They're glad and generous, they praise God together, and new people are coming in daily. It sounds amazing, right?
One way to tackle this text is to take each step as a prescription and try and duplicate it through human efforts. And this would doubtless yield some good things, although you might just end up frustrated at the end of it all.
The Holy Spirit is awfully hard to force to do anything. Whenever humans have tried to do things that rightfully belong to God, the results never look like they do when God does something. God can create an environment like this -- it's a group of people depending on the power of the Holy Spirit, leaning into God, fully reliant on God and God's strength. This is a group of people who show up and see what God is doing, grateful that God has brought them together, no matter how different they might be. True community is formed by God, and it's re-shaped by God continually, as the people of God cling not to their vision of what the church should be, but rather follow the work of the Spirit as the people are called and sent.
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