Note 5 at Ac 2:44: As Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (Joh 13:35). To give of one's own prosperity to help another is one of the greatest ways of showing that love (1Jo 3:17).

It would appear that the believers still retained their homes by virtue of the fact that they met daily from house to house (Ac 2:46). It would also appear that this was not a long-term arrangement, and there is no indication in Scripture that this type of communal living was repeated in other places where large numbers were converted to Christ. In fact, just a few years later, Paul took up a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem (Ro 15:26), implying that the communal system had either failed or been abandoned.

This sharing was totally voluntary, as can be seen by Peter's statement in Ac 5:4. Many attempts have been made to duplicate this same type of sharing, but they have and will all fail unless there is a genuine work of love in the hearts of the people who are giving. Unless their hearts are right, those people's giving will profit them nothing, spiritually or physically (1Co 13:3). Therefore, emphasis should be placed on the heart condition that this generosity exhibited and not on the action itself.