Early Church Generosity: Voluntary Spirit, Not Binding Law

Saint Peter recognized that Ananias possessed complete freedom to adopt the communal sharing plan or to decline it. Acts 12:12 reveals that some believers retained their property, maintaining households with children and servants as before. This charitable arrangement was neither permanent nor universal—it emerged from a specific moment of urgent pressure within the Jerusalem congregation and gradually ceased.

Exell (1887) distinguishes sharply between spontaneous devotion and organizational mandate. True organization requires a definite principle of action adopted by competent authority and binding upon all members. The apostles implemented nothing of this kind. Peter himself expressly disclaimed any binding plan, recognizing the community's entire freedom. This was not a primary law of the Church of Jerusalem, but rather voluntary action by individuals—beautiful and heavenly in inspiration, yet valid only while that inspiration endured.

Yet the apostles understood their sacred mission. The Old Testament prophecies to which Christ appealed (Luke 4:18-21) burned with passionate sympathy for the oppressed and tender compassion for the poor. "The poor have the gospel preached unto them" crowned the Saviour's miracles. The apostles remained intensely eager to enfranchise the enslaved, deliver the oppressed, and elevate the poor. They did not abandon this great function through oversight, but rather pursued it through means suited to the Spirit's guidance beyond this temporary institution.