Acts 2:46-47
What is written? (ESV)
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
What does it say?
Each day, as they attended the temple and broke bread together in their homes, they received their food with thanksgiving, praising God and enjoying the good will of the people. And God added to their number each day those that were saved.
What is its immediate context?
Describing the days immediately following the Day of Pentecost when 3,000 were saved upon the hearing of the gospel message from Peter and the apostles. Those “added” or “being saved” has already been defined by verse 41: “So those who received His word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” Scripture later refers to this group of saved believers as the “church in Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1, 11:22, 15:4).
How Acts 2:46-47 is applied across Bible answers
How is Christ’s church defined in the Bible?
God is the one who adds the "saved" to His church.
Top 4: Results of baptism?
The "Lord" (e.g. God, the Father) adds [to the church] anyone that is saved, which in this context9 is all of those who had responded in baptism.
What is salvation according to the Bible?
Salvation is a moment in time that begins when someone is "added" [to the church] by the Lord.
Those who are "added" or "being saved" in verse 47 have already been defined by verse 41 as "those who received His word [and] were baptized, and there were added that day...". Their baptism in water was the moment in which they were added by the Lord to the church and body of Christ.
What is the organization of the church?
God adds the saved to His church in the 'universal' sense.
When is someone a member of the church?
God adds those "being saved" to the church.
In this context, it's only those who were saved/baptized (vs 38) who were "added" (vs 41).
