The history of the church.

[Alive]

In China, the Christian church is underground from what I heard.

Yes it has been for decades. They meet in homes mainly. As assemblies have grown and they seek to gather in larger buildings, they are often found out. It doesn’t go well, especially for the leaders.
There are party sanctioned churches, but these cannot worship as they wish.
The Lord’s church is very much alive in homes and small groups. Such has been the way since 100 AD all over the world.
Its a history within history.

 

[makesends]

The Apostolic church.
The beginning.

In one sense the Christian church came into being when Jesus made disciples. It's commonly said the history of the Christian church began on the day of Pentecost following the resurrection. But then began the active life of the church.

The Christian Church includes the OT redeemed as well.

 

[Carbon]

The Christian Church includes the OT redeemed as well.

Indeed.

 

[Arial]

The Christian Church includes the OT redeemed as well.

A little recognized purpose of Israel the nation: they were a community belonging to God and cared for by God. But it was never intended that they would become a purely isolated geo political power. The land was situated at what was then the crossroads of the world. The Israleites were to do what the NT began doing. By their godly way of living and interpersonal relationships and of worship to the one true God, they were to spread the knowledge of God to the world. They were to represent God.

Not to go on too long or sidetrack, but I just began reading The Israel of God: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow by O. Palmer Robertson. A very informative book. He has an Interesting take (which I can find no fault with) on the land. All the land belongs to God, and He is sovereign over it. The land given to Israel is a shadow, as are many, many things in the OT, not the least of which is the Exodus, just as much as are the sacrifices. Jesus is conquering His enemies and taking back the land----all of it---through His people. We are His foot soldiers and servants---but also His children. We see the promised accomplishment of this in Rev 21:1-6 where He again dwells among us as He did at creation.

 

[Carbon]

In the first century, persecution and poverty made church buildings impossible. Christians met for worship in private homes. From Paul's epistles, especially those to the Corinthians, we learn that there were two sorts of meetings of worship. One was of the nature of a prayer meeting. It was carried on by the people, who took part as the Spirit moved them. Prayers were offered, and testimony and instruction were given. There was singing of psalms, and also of Christian hymns, which began to be written in the first century.
The Old Testament scriptures were read and expounded, and there was reading or reciting from memory of accounts of the deeds and words of Jesus. When the Apostles sent to churches letters, such as we have in the epistles of the New Testament, these also were read.


The other meeting was the love feast. This was a joyful and sacred common meal, the symbol of Christian brotherly love. Only Christians were allowed to be present. Everyone brought provisions for a meal, and these were to be shared by all alike. Paul rebukes the selfishness of those who ate what they themselves brought, refusing to share with those who could not bring things as good. During the meal prayers of thanksgiving were offered by the preciding brother. At its close, the Lord's supper was celebrated. This meal was held on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, which the Christians kept as the weekly festival of their Lord's resurection. Although there is a good deal of uncertainty about the matter, it is probable that at first the love feast was held in the evening, the ordinary evening meal taking this form among Christians. Later in the first century, it seems, the Lord's Supper was separated from the love feast and observed at a morning meeting.
We know that in the second century the Lord's Supper. or Eucharist, was celebrated on the morning of the Lord's Day.

 

[Carbon]

Also, no creeds or other formal statements of its belief were composed by the church in the first century. The Apostle's creed was not used before the second century. For knowledge of the beliefs of the early Christians, we must go to the NT. They believed in God the Father, in Jesus as the Son of God and Saviour, in the Holy Spirit of whose presence they were conscious. They believed in the forgiveness of sins. They accepted Jesus' teaching of love to all men as their moral ideal. They looked for his speedy return, for final judgment exercised by him, and for eternal life as the destiny of those who believed in him. Their doctrinal ideas, if such they may be called, were very simple. All their thoughts about religious truth were dominated by Jesus, in whom their religion was wholly wrapped up.

 

[Alive]

In the first century, persecution and poverty made church buildings impossible. Christians met for worship in private homes. From Paul's epistles, especially those to the Corinthians, we learn that there were two sorts of meetings of worship. One was of the nature of a prayer meeting. It was carried on by the people, who took part as the Spirit moved them. Prayers were offered, and testimony and instruction were given. There was singing of psalms, and also of Christian hymns, which began to be written in the first century.
The Old Testament scriptures were read and expounded, and there was reading or reciting from memory of accounts of the deeds and words of Jesus. When the Apostles sent to churches letters, such as we have in the epistles of the New Testament, these also were read.


The other meeting was the love feast. This was a joyful and sacred common meal, the symbol of Christian brotherly love. Only Christians were allowed to be present. Everyone brought provisions for a meal, and these were to be shared by all alike. Paul rebukes the selfishness of those who ate what they themselves brought, refusing to share with those who could not bring things as good. During the meal prayers of thanksgiving were offered by the preciding brother. At its close, the Lord's supper was celebrated. This meal was held on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, which the Christians kept as the weekly festival of their Lord's resurection. Although there is a good deal of uncertainty about the matter, it is probable that at first the love feast was held in the evening, the ordinary evening meal taking this form among Christians. Later in the first century, it seems, the Lord's Supper was separated from the love feast and observed at a morning meeting.
We know that in the second century the Lord's Supper. or Eucharist, was celebrated on the morning of the Lord's Day.

This is what we did for years and knew others who did also.

 

[Carbon]

During these times, two influences caused some of the first-century Christians to have mistaken religious ideas and somewhat threatened the purity of the gospel. The "Judaizers" taught that Christians ought to perform all the ceremonies required by the Jewish law.
Against them Paul contended sharply; for he saw that if their teaching prevailed, Christianity could not be the religion of the people of all races.

In the NT there are also warnings against the errors of what is called Gnosticism. This took its rise in the first century and later became very powerful. It was a strange mixture of Christian, Jewish, and heathen ideas, enough like Christianity to confuse the minds of some Christians.

In the second century, Gnosticism was widespread in the East as well as in Asia Minor. Gnosticism was near enough to Christianity to be dangerous. But it was far enough from Christianity in that it denied that God was the creator of the world and of men, and that Christ had a real physical life.

In order to instruct catechumens, or candidates for baptism, and to defend Christianity against Gnostic errors, short statements of what Christians believed were framed. Creeds much like the Apostles Creed appeared in several places in the second century. Evidently something substantially the same as this was widely accepted as the Church's rule of faith.


Christ was the main object of the thought of Christians since he was the new thing in Christianity. In the ideas about him which were shaped, we can see the church trying to do two things - to hold to the belief in one God and to give Christ the place which Christians felt was his due.

 

[Carbon]

This part here and going forward our Roman Catholic friends may not like, but it's history.

The government of the early church.

These earliest churches were independent and self-governing, each managing their own affairs. (No pope) The Christians did realize vividly that they all belonged to one universal (catholic) church, for all were one in Christ. But no general organization had control over the widely scattered churches. The origional Apostles were revered because of their relation to Jesus, and they exercised a certain authority, as is shown by their decision concerning Gentile Christians and the Jewish law, reported in Acts, ch 15, Paul had authority because of his place as an apostle and his extraordinary service. But the authority of these men was not such as comes from office in a formal way.

@donadams @Arch Stanton Your thoughts on this?

 

[Carbon]

The world in which the church lived was during Rome's greatest extent under Trojan A. D. 98-117. Eventually, during these times the Roman empire was showing weakness, and was breaking down. It started to receive blows from the barbarians. These were chiefly the German tribes.

The Church during the time between A. D. 100 and Constantine's reign, made wonderful advances. At 313 it was the prevailing religion in Asia Minor, then very important in the world, in Thrace and distant Armenia. It was very strong, influencing civilization, in Antioch and Syria about it, the coasts of Greece and Macedonia and Greek Islands, Northern Egypt, the providence of Africa, Italy from Rome southward, southern Gaul, and Spain.


Christianity eventually spread in all classes of society, it was no longer found chiefly among the poorest and unlearned. The churches contained not a few men and women of high rank and wealth. Christians were numerous in the imperial court and government.

 

[Carbon]

The world in which the church lived was during Rome's greatest extent under Trojan A. D. 98-117. Eventually, during these times the Roman empire was showing weakness, and was breaking down. It started to receive blows from the barbarians. These were chiefly the German tribes.

The Church during the time between A. D. 100 and Constantine's reign, made wonderful advances. At 313 it was the prevailing religion in Asia Minor, then very important in the world, in Thrace and distant Armenia. It was very strong, influencing civilization, in Antioch and Syria about it, the coasts of Greece and Macedonia and Greek Islands, Northern Egypt, the providence of Africa, Italy from Rome southward, southern Gaul, and Spain.


Christianity eventually spread in all classes of society, it was no longer found chiefly among the poorest and unlearned. The churches contained not a few men and women of high rank and wealth. Christians were numerous in the imperial court and government.

Who brought about this extraordinary spread of Christianity? At the beginning of this period, as in the first century, there were traveling missionaries, pioneers of Christianity; but by A. D. 200 few of them remained.

The apologists, or literary defenders of Christianity, gave missionary service. One of these was Justin Martyr (about 100-165). He was a Greek born in Palestine and showed his Greek blood by spending his youth in going from one school to another in search of truth. Somewhere he met a man, a venerable Christian man, who led him to see the truth which he had found came to its climax in Christ. For the rest of his life he spent traveling around teaching Christianity as the perfect philosophy.

Another apologist was Tertullian (about 160-230) a Carthianian lawyer, who converted to Christianity in middle life.

 

[Carbon]

The men who did the work of teachers in the churches were useful in spreading knowledge of Christianity. An example of these was Origen of Alexandria (185-253). He was born to Christian parents and received the best education to be had. In learning and power of thought, he had no superior in his day. He and Tertullian were the two greatest men in the Church of the second and third centuries. When only 18, Origen became head of the catechetical school of the church of Alexandria. There he was a teacher of remarkable power, doing much to make Christianity known to non-Christians as well as to Christians.


But most of the work that so greatly forwarded to the cause of the cross was by the Christian people generally. By their lives, especially by their brotherly love to each other and also to non-Christians.

 

[Tambora]

There were many thousands from all over the world in Jerusalem during Pentecost, who were saved. Those folks went back home carrying Christ with them. There is a great deal more to Church history than commonly read!

YES!
Pentecost was a reversal of the Tower of Babel.
All those at Pentecost heard in their own language, which was a reversal of separating the languages at the Tower.
It was the exile of the Jews that would eventually be the cause of gathering all nations back as one, which was a reversal of separating the nations at Tower.

A pattern of the first exile of mankind (from the Garden) that was promised through the seed to be restored.

 

[Carbon]

We do not rightly appreciate the conquests made by the Church in these centuries unless we remember that they were made under persecution. From the time of Nero (54-68) the Roman government was hostile to Christianity.
Why was this?
The government Roman allowed many kinds of religion to be practiced freely. But Christianity was unlike other religions. Christianity gave supreme allegiance to their Lord Jesus. But for the Romans the state was supreme. For them, religion was a matter of patriotism. The gods recognized by the state were worshipped for the sake of the states welfare. Adherents of other religions were willing to pay homage to the national gods, while at the same time practicing their own worships. But Christianity was exclusive. Christians held that all gods except the God they worshipped were nothing. They would not worship the Roman gods at the behest of the state; they would not put Cesar above Christ.

 

[Carbon]

We can see why to the Roman officials Christianity seemed a teaching of disloyalty and a danger to government and society, and why the Christians were charged with anarchism, sacrilege, atheism, and treason. The Roman government was hostile to Christianity because it was considered a threat to the supreme state.

There was a convenient way to test the loyalty of Christians. They would be brought into court and required to take part in ceremonies of the state religion, the worship of Rome, and the imperial statues. This Christians refused to do, and thereby, in the view of officers of government, they convicted themselves of disloyalty. It came to be enough that a man or woman said, "I am a Christian." that meant disobedience to the state.

 

[Carbon]

There was not a continuous persecution during the time from Nero to Constantine. The treatment of Christians varied much according to the attitudes of emperors and local officials. There were many times of peace, in particular regions or generally. But all the time Christianity was under the ban of the law, and at any time Christians might be arrested and accused before a magistrate. Refusal of the worship of the state religion meant torture and, for the obstinate, death. No Christian in these centuries lives out a natural life without knowing persecution.

 

[Carbon]

There was not a continuous persecution during the time from Nero to Constantine. The treatment of Christians varied much according to the attitudes of emperors and local officials. There were many times of peace, in particular regions or generally. But all the time Christianity was under the ban of the law, and at any time Christians might be arrested and accused before a magistrate. Refusal of the worship of the state religion meant torture and, for the obstinate, death. No Christian in these centuries lives out a natural life without knowing persecution.

A good proof that we are presently in the tribulation period. Being an Amennialist, I believe such.

 

[Carbon]

Until the early third century, the attacks on Christianity were largely local. Then after a generation of peace, came by far the worst persecution yet experienced, under Decius and his two successors (250-260)

They used all their power in a systematic and ruthless attempt to stamp out Christianity from the empire. thousands were martyred and thousands fell away from the faith. The church was seriously weakened and was in mortal danger when persecution was stopped by the emperor Gallienus. There followed "the long peace," 260-303, during which the Church gained much in numbers and strength of organization. Thus it was able to withstand the last persecution, under Diocletian. This was carefully organized and savage, but in most places short lived, and it did not greatly injure the Church.

In 311, an edict of toleration for Christianity, containing something like an admission that the persecution was a failure, was issued by Galerius, ruling in the East. Two years later the Edict of Milan, by Constantine and Licinius, emperors in the west and East, established religious liberty for all. This was done to end the persecution of Christianity.

 

[Carbon]

Life in the Church.

While the persecution lasted, it largely shaped the Church's moral character. Only earnest and faithful people would profess Christianity when to do so brought on the hostility of the government. In this way the life of the Christians was kept on a high moral level. In the times of peace, however, many entered the Church, and among these some of light character, whose presence lowered the average Christian conduct. Then when persecution began again, its terrors caused these weaker ones to desert the cause of Christ.

Thus the Church was purged of its unreliable members and made more worthy of its Lord and stronger for his work.

 

[Carbon]

Life in the Church.

While the persecution lasted, it largely shaped the Church's moral character. Only earnest and faithful people would profess Christianity when to do so brought on the hostility of the government. In this way the life of the Christians was kept on a high moral level. In the times of peace, however, many entered the Church, and among these some of light character, whose presence lowered the average Christian conduct. Then when persecution began again, its terrors caused these weaker ones to desert the cause of Christ.

Thus the Church was purged of its unreliable members and made more worthy of its Lord and stronger for his work.

In the second and third centuries, the general character of the Christians continued to be, as it was in the first, high enough to distinguish them from the world about them. Though there were serious blemishes, on the whole the Christians were acknowledged to be of superior morality. Brotherlyness, purity, and honesty were characteristic of them.