Simplicity of the Early Christians (3) - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.
Acts 20:7–8 NKJV

Simplicity of the Early Christians (3)
The saints of Troas, along with their respected visitor, the apostle Paul, met together in an upper room of a building somewhere in the city. Perhaps it was a building owned by one of the saints, or perhaps it was a rented facility. They met in the evening because the first day of the week was not a public holiday in the pagan world of the Roman Empire. The room was lighted by oil lamps, and thus the room had smoke curling around the ceiling. The windows were opened to let the smoke out and to let fresh air in. A young man was seated in an open window; the room was crowded and there were no seats left, but he was happy for the air (v. 9).

The remembrance feast had been first, before any ministry was spoken, for Christ was to have first place: “that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18). Worship must take precedence over service, and besides, their hearts were full of thanksgiving. The Lord Jesus had delivered them from the penalty of their sins, and from the demon-gods of the Roman pantheon. They were now worshipers of the Father and the Son.

The Supper being ended, Paul arose to speak. We are not told what he spoke on that evening, but repentance toward God, faith in the Lord Jesus, the kingdom of God, and the grace of God, all were keynotes in Paul’s ministry, as we see in his speech to the elders of the neighboring assembly of Ephesus (Acts 20:21, 24, 25, 32). Let us never move far from this simplicity, and in holding fast to these doctrines of grace. They are the foundation upon which we stand as Christians.

-- Brian Reynolds