A needy person would be someone who required assistance in terms of food or accommodation. In the early church, such individuals were provided for by their fellow believers so that no one was in want of basic necessities. This reality is a confirmation of God’s blessing upon this new community. In Deuteronomy 15:4, God told the people of Israel that there should be no poor among them. Under the old covenant, if the people obeyed God’s law, they would be richly blessed so that all needs could be provided for. The old covenant ideal is thus being fulfilled in the new covenant church.1
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold