Was the Jerusalem assembly in Acts 4-5 the same as the church, the body of Christ?
No. The Jerusalem assembly in Acts 4–5 was not the church, the body of Christ. It was primarily Jewish believers accepting Jesus as the promised Messiah. No mention yet appears of salvation based on His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection. Its property-sharing and the Ananias account are not church ground.
Les teaches that Acts 4–5 is not church ground or the body of Christ as the church. He identifies it as the Jerusalem assembly, primarily Jewish believers in the fact that Jesus was the Christ. At that point, there is no mention of salvation based on His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection—only on who He was, the promised Messiah. He points to the closing verses of Acts 4, where believers sold lands and houses, brought the proceeds, and laid them at the apostles' feet for distribution according to need. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus, did the same. Les says this is not Church language and notes that no pastor could ask his congregation to cash in all their property and bring him the money and last until Monday morning. Yet in that setting nothing was amiss; it was expected. He adds that if the death of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 were Church ground, there would not be a believer left on earth.