After the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and their preaching attracted large numbers of new believers, both Palestinian and Hellenistic Jews who were in Jerusalem, the new community continued to pray together, attend the Temple and publicly praise God (Acts 2:42, 46 Remaining within their Jewish tradition, they were conscious of themselves as heirs to the promises made to Abraham (3:25-26) and invited others to join them and share their new fellowship. They understood themselves as the New Israel, the people set apart for God, by God.

Entry into the community of the new People of God was through acceptance of baptism. According to the record of the gospels, the command to baptize came from Jesus himself (John 3:5 and Matthew 28: 19). The word 'baptism' comes from a Greek verb meaning 'to dip under water'; in the early Church baptism was probably by immersion in a pool or river. The idea of baptism is obviously related to washing or cleansing and signifies the start of a new, purified life. In Acts, we hear of individuals (9:36-38), small groups (10:44-48), and large groups (2:41), accepting baptism. No mention is made in Acts of the baptism of children, as the converts about whom we hear are all adults; but when the head of a family was baptized, it is most likely that all the children were baptized as well. There are several references in Acts to the family of a convert accepting baptism, e.g. 16:33.

After entry into the new community through baptism, the believers were held together in spiritual fellowship through participation in shared meals (called agape) and in the breaking of the bread, an expression which came to refer to the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper. This had been instituted by Jesus at the last supper which he shared with his disciples before his death. In the way that the Passover meal associated those who took part in it with the Old Covenant made between God and the Israelites on Mount Sinai in the time of Moses, so the believers continue to participate through the Meal in the fellowship of the New Covenant which had been sealed with the blood of Jesus. The believers met together in one another's houses for fellowship.

We shall look more closely at the great significance of baptism and the Meal.

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