The Persecutions of the Church
Section Three
The Persecutions of the Church
It was not possible that such rapid growth
could occur without opposition, for the kingdom of darkness will continue open warfare
against the kingdom of light until Christ returns again. As we have seen, our Lord implied this
reality when He declared in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell would not
prevail against or overpower His church.
I. The Order Identified. Opposition was first initiated by the Jews,
although at some points they managed to rope Roman civil authorities into
helping them do their wicked deeds.[1] Only later in the first century, during the
latter part of the Apostolic Church period, did opposition initiated by Gentiles become more pronounced.
II. The Order Explained. Why did the unbelieving Jews react
first? For at least two prominent
reasons. First:
A. The
unbelieving Jews reacted in persecution first because the Gospel, which
inherently provokes opposition in the hearts of impenitent men, primarily went
to the Jews first. Remember that, in
Christ's own words, His earthly ministry was to be only to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6).
Even after the Lord Jesus had returned to heaven, the Apostle Paul could
write in Romans 1:16 that the gospel was to the Jew first and also to
the Greek. But secondly:
B. Those
Jews who rejected their Messiah reacted strongly because Judaism in its Old
Covenant form was in a real sense fulfilled and ended by the New Covenant order. Unbelieving Jews who clung to the
departing Old Covenant order out of a veneration for tradition most
obviously were the first to feel threatened by Christ's gospel and church.
Having
sought to explain why Jewish opposition largely broke out before Gentile
opposition did, notice in the third place:
III. The Order Unfolded. At this point we will just briefly survey the
first stage of opposition - that of the unbelieving Jews. And we will wait to pursue a more detailed
study of the primarily Roman, Gentile opposition until we study the Early
Church Period. For it was during that
period of church history that the Roman persecutions reached a climax.
The
opposition of God's largely apostate Old Covenant people to true heart religion
had repeatedly been seen before the church had even fully begun. It was clearly manifested in the rejection and
mistreatment and murder of Old Testament prophets, in the wicked beheading of
John the Baptist by the half-Jewish king Herod, and in the challenging and
rejecting and ultimate murdering of the promised Messiah Himself at the
instigation of the envious Jewish leaders after 3 1/2 years of His earthly
ministry.
Not
surprisingly then, this opposition of the unbelieving Jews to true religion was
to continue following Christ's ascension. The Jews at first did not know how to respond
to the newly-appeared church which first was established at Jerusalem. But trouble soon arose, and gradually
intensified. First of all, John and
Peter were arrested, put in jail for a night, and investigated by the Jewish
leaders, being sent away with a threat regarding what would happen if they did
not stop speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:1-22). Next, the Apostles were all put in the common
prison. An angel freed them and they
preached openly again. Then they were
arrested, tried, beaten, warned, and released (Acts 5:17-42). Finally
Stephen was martyred as a result of his bold teaching and preaching, and
the church was scattered (Acts 7:54 - 8:4).
One of the main Jewish persecutors
was Saul who proceeded to oppress the church until Christ personally stopped
him on the road to Damascus. Then there
was a period of calm while the shocked Jews were forced to regroup following
the sudden and amazing conversion of their champion to Christ (Acts 8:3;
9:1-22, 31). However, eventually King
Herod Agrippa I martyred James, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, and
imprisoned another, Peter, in order to please the Jews (Acts 12:1-4). We also must not forget the many afflictions
which the Apostle Paul endured at the hands of his own Jewish countrymen,
starting at Damascus and Jerusalem, and continuing nearly everywhere that he
labored. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-33, Paul
provides us with a list of what had happened to him up to the point in time in
which he wrote.
This
then is a brief survey of what the Bible says about the Jewish persecution of
the Apostolic Church. Let me also
mention one uninspired record as well.
According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, James, the half-brother of
our Lord and the human author of the epistle of James in our New Testaments,
was martyred along with some others by stoning at the hands of the Jews in
Jerusalem in 62 A.D.[2]
It
should also be noted that Jewish-inspired persecution of Christians did not end
with the conclusion of the Apostolic Church period. Secular historians record at least a couple
of later incidents. When the Jewish
leader, Bar-kokhba, rebelled against the Romans during the years of 132-5 A.D.,
nearby Christians who refused to join his revolt were cruelly murdered. And Jews instigated the Roman authorities to
put the eighty-six year old bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp, to death in 156
A.D.
However,
the Jewish opposition was but a drop in the bucket compared to the much more
difficult days which lay ahead when the Roman beast was more fully aroused. We will see more about later.
How
then shall we apply what we have seen about the persecutions of the Apostolic
Church as we conclude this section?
Please consider with me two lines of application:
1. We first of all learn that, when the door
of opportunity is opened wide by the Lord, much opposition and affliction
should also be expected. The Devil
does not take such losses to his kingdom lying down. The Apostle Paul certainly recognized this
reality when he penned the divinely-inspired words of 1 Corinthians 16:9: ". . . for a wide door for effective
service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries".
2. We also learn from what we have seen of the
surprising benefits of persecution for Christ's church. When the church in Jerusalem was scattered by
persecution, it was but God's gracious means by which his Gospel was spread far
and wide. Such unexpected results of
fiery persecution have often been repeated down through church history, and
will, Lord willing, be observed in our future studies. For "God moves in a mysterious way, His
wonders to perform".[3]
We
are now ready to consider a final topic of study regarding the Apostolic Church
- one upon which we will focus more attention than the last three:
Section Four
- Major Developments in the Church's
Understanding and Practice of God's Word. As we take up this study, we are not focusing
upon the quantitative growth (increase in numbers and geographical extent), but
rather upon an important dimension of the qualitative growth of the Apostolic
Church. I.e., we are focusing upon the
development of the Apostolic Church in her understanding and practice of God's
Word.
As
we take up this subject, it is vital to remember that the Apostolic Church
period was both unique and foundational in comparison with the later periods of
church history.[4] During this period, God's special revelation now contained in the
Bible was completed - that which would provided the basis for all of the
positive doctrinal and practical developments of all of church history. Also, the example of the Apostles functioning as the highest earthly leaders
in the Apostolic Church, as recorded in Scripture, is in many ways the will of
Christ for the church in every age. So
in one sense, all of the future advance of the church in the understanding and
practice of God's Word was present at least in seed form in the Apostolic
Church.
However,
this unique and foundational place of the Apostolic Church in church history does
not negate other aspects of the historical setting of the Apostolic Church. There were peculiarly burning issues
confronting the Apostolic Church which were to some extent unique to that
period of church history, and which led to specific developments in doctrine
and practice. So at this point I ask you
to go with me back to the 1st Century, A.D.
Try to put yourself in the place of Christians living then, and ask
yourself, What were the issues of doctrine and practice which were of the
greatest concern at that time?
We
will be helped in identifying these issues by focusing upon the two major
human driving forces which were behind the positive developments in faith and
practice in the Apostolic Church, and which also ended up producing two major
streams of error in the process.
(Refer at this point to the chart - "The Two Major Human Driving
Forces Behind the Developments in Faith and Practice in the Apostolic
Church" (9B).) We first identified
these two driving forces when we studied the setting prepared by God for the
church. They were Jewish forces and
Gentile forces or influences. Let us
consider each of these influences in turn, observing the doctrinal and
practical issues which were brought to the forefront by each. First of all, consider with me:
I. The organic Jewish source. The New Testament church did not come out of
nowhere. It arose from the Old
Testament, Jewish order which was still actively functioning in Palestine (and
elsewhere) in the 1st Century A.D. A
Jewish Messiah was initially sent to essentially Jews only, His first disciples
and converts were basically Jews, the 1st local church was located in the
Jewish capital of Jerusalem, and the Bible of the Apostolic Church was the
Jewish Old Testament. There could not
have been a much more Jewish origin for the church than this.
However,
the church which organically grew out of the Jewish Old Covenant order (which
was passing away) was distinct from that order and not identical with it. Although illustrations always have their
limitations, this Jewish origin of the church might be pictured in the way
found in the illustration entitled, "The Origin of the Apostolic Church -
Organic Relationship Yet Radically New Entity" (9C). The old tree of Old Covenant Israel was
ultimately cut down. But from its stump
grew a new tree which in a real sense was a totally new entity - the New
Covenant Church.
However,
there was a further reality which illustration 9C fails to convey. The Old Covenant order had not yet clearly
been ended during the early years of the New Covenant church. The temple still stood in Jerusalem until 70
A.D., and even Jewish Christians continued to engage in temple worship until
that date.[5] Therefore, from outward appearances there was
a period of transition from Old Covenant order to New Covenant order. I have attempted to picture this transition
through the illustration entitled, "The Origin of the Apostolic Church -
Organic Relationship and Temporary Transition" (9D). Here we see that while one distinct branch of
God's Covenant people (the New Covenant branch) was growing and flourishing,
the earlier branch was withering and eventually was definitively cut off in 70
A.D. Again, this illustration has its
limitations and faults, but it is an attempt to picture the fact that the New
Covenant church had an organic Jewish source.
This
organic Jewish source of the church was a major driving force behind the
Apostolic Church's developing understanding and practice of God's Word. Notice with me three things about this
Jewish-inspired development. First
there was:
A. The
stimulus of this development. It had
been hundreds of years since the last Old Testament Jewish prophet, Malachi,
had spoken words from God. Then
suddenly, a major new epoch or period in redemptive history arrived. It was accompanied by new revelation from
God. God revealed Himself in the coming
of His Son to earth. Through the words
of angels, John the Baptist, and Zechariah his father, and through the works
and words of Christ and of His Apostles, God spoke anew to man. The prophecies of the Old Testament were
in part being fulfilled before the very eyes of the Jews, and new revelation
was being given. Such momentous
events of necessity forced new developments in the understanding and practice
of God's truth.
What
were some areas where there would have been such development in the Apostolic
Church flowing from its organic Jewish source?
Here it is important to step back and look at the big picture, for in a
real sense the entire New Testament is our field of study. When we do so step back, several areas of
development may be identified. At this
point, let us focus in upon that which to me is probably:
B. The
most prominent concern in this development.
It was the correction, clarification and expansion of Old Covenant,
Jewish eschatology.[6] As we take up the study of this development
in the Old Covenant eschatology, we will seek first of all to answer the
question:
1. Why was this correction, clarification and expansion needed?
a. Correction was needed because the Jews, including
Jesus' own disciples, had selective hearing and vision when it came to the Old
Testament prophecies. To a large
extent they had missed the emphasis upon coming deliverance from Satan and sin
in the first redemptive promise of Genesis 3:15. (Read this promise at this point.) They had also apparently missed the
significance of the suffering Messiah described in the Messianic Psalms, and in
Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12. Instead they
had focused upon the seemingly Scripturally-based hope of an earthly kingdom in
which the Jews under their Messiah triumphed over all the enemy nations
including Rome which presently dominated them.
Throughout His ministry and beyond, Christ was seeking to correct the
false and imbalanced elements of the Jewish eschatology. In fact, it was this skewed focus upon an
essentially temporal Jewish kingdom which provided a degree of seeming
legitimacy to the murderous false charges that Christ had committed a
rebellious, revolutionary act against Rome by claiming to be king of the Jews,
since they were unable to see the spiritual kingdom which He had come to erect
initially.
b. But also, clarification and expansion of the biblical
eschatology of the Old Testament were needed because present redemptive events
were revealing and unfolding the flattened perspective of the Old Testament
prophets. Depending upon where they
stood in history, these prophets saw all the future events predicted as if on
one plane. I.e., they generally had no
depth perception regarding the lengths of time which were between the events
foreseen as they looked in to the future.
This perspective was like looking at the end of a broom handle. By way of illustration of this point, look at
the "Time Line of Redemptive History" (9E). If we go to any point on this time line where
prophecies from God were received and communicated to men, many, if not most,
of the events which were yet future were often included in such
prophecies. But generally the prophecies
themselves did not reveal how much time was between those future events. However, with the coming of Christ,
significant prophesied events were actually taking place - a reality which was
showing much more detail as to the amount of time between events.
c. Finally, clarification and expansion were needed because of
the Old Covenant, Jewish context of the Old Testament prophets. These prophets spoke to the Old Covenant
people in terms which they could understand.
Thus, future realities were described in terms of what were, at the time
of the original declaration of the prophecy, present, Old Covenant
realities. The newness and
distinctiveness of the coming New Covenant age was not yet clearly seen,
although there had been allusions to it (Jeremiah 31:31-4).
For
these three reasons, the correction, clarification and expansion of Old
Covenant, Jewish eschatology was needed.
But next, we need to answer a second question:
2. What specifically were the areas where this correction,
clarification and expansion of Old Covenant Jewish eschatology took place in
the Apostolic Church? It first of
all took place regarding:
a. The identity and work of Messiah (which was really the
key to all of the other issues).
(1) Consider first of all the identity of
Messiah. The Jews were looking for a
true man, but most had apparently missed the indications in the Old Testament
that this man would also be God incarnate (Psalm 45:6-7; 110:1;
"Immanuel" (God with us) in Isaiah 7 & 8; Isaiah 9:6). Thus they were ready to stone Jesus Christ
for blasphemy because He made Himself equal with God. Observe this in John 10:31-33. During the Apostolic age, Judaisers[7] continued
to deny the deity of Christ, and would be followed by many others in future
periods of church history who taught such damning error.
The
Jews also were looking for a mighty earthly king to be their Messiah. Therefore, many rejected the humble,
suffering Servant and the sacrifice for sin which appeared before them.
In
contrast, the Apostolic Church came to see clearly and embrace and proclaim
Jesus' identity as Lord and Christ (or Messiah) (Acts 2:36; 9:20&22). These First Century Christians defended
Christ as truly being the Messiah by continually testifying to His resurrection,
for a dead Messiah could do no one any good (Acts 2:29-32; 3:14-15, 26;
13:30-37; etc,). And they continually
declared Christ's present exaltation at the right hand of the Father, for only
a reigning Messiah can do good for sinners now that redemption has been
accomplished (Acts 2:33-36; 10:42; etc).
This
then was the issue of Messiah's identity.
Consider with me secondly:
(2) His work. That which even Jesus' disciples were
initially unable to distinguish in the Old Testament was that Messiah's coming
and work would take place in two stages.
As the events of Christ's first coming became more clear, and as more
revelation was given, the early Jewish Christians came to see that Christ came
the first time to offer Himself a sacrifice for sin, and to seek and to save
those who were lost. Only at a second
coming yet to take place would Christ return in glory and triumph over all His
and His people's enemies. Notice the
portrayal of these two comings on the chart entitled, "The Two Stages of
the Kingdom of God" (9F).
The
two comings of Christ provided the necessary framework for the expanded
understanding of another area of eschatology:
b. The dual stages, and therefore present nature, of the Kingdom
of God. An understanding of the dual
stages of the kingdom of God was vital in order for the church to see both the
continuity and the distinction between the present and the future.
The
Jews had looked forward to the establishment of a victorious Jewish state once
the Messiah arrived. Then Messiah did
come, announcing that the kingdom of heaven was near (Matthew 4:17). Some of the people were ready to make Him a
king by force. Notice this in John
6:14-15. Jesus denied that His kingdom
was like the one for which the Jews were looking. Look at John 18:33-36 regarding this
reality. The present stage of Christ's
kingdom was quite different from a later, second stage which was taught
elsewhere by our Lord. These two stages
were clearly outlined in the parable of the tares (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43)
where both the growing season and the harvest were presented as two aspects of
the kingdom of heaven. From this parable
and other Scriptural passages, we learn that the first stage of the kingdom
was to be an internal, spiritual, developing stage; and the latter stage would
be an openly visible, universal and consummate stage.
As
Christ returned to heaven, the disciples were still wrestling with their Jewish
perspectives regarding Messiah's kingdom.
Notice this in Acts 1:6-8.
Furthermore, at the end of the book of Acts, Paul the Jew is found
declaring the truth regarding this central theme of his preaching and
teaching. Observe this in Acts 28:17;
23-24. This issue would continue to be one
with which the church wrestled down to the present time. But it was introduced during the Apostolic
age. At this point refer once again to
the chart entitled, "The Two Stages of the Kingdom of God" (9F).
There
was a third area of development in the understanding of eschatology by the
Apostolic Church. It was:
c. The continuity and distinction between the Old Covenant and
New Covenant orders. I.e., the
Apostolic Church wrestled with the issue of the continuity and distinction
between the present and the past.
Due
to the Old Covenant context and descriptive terminology of the Old Testament
prophets, the Jews had largely looked for the Old Covenant, Mosaic framework
to continue on into the new age to come.
They were looking for a large degree of continuity in that future era of
what was true for them during the time of the Old Testament. They did not fully see the changes which the
coming of Messiah and of the New Covenant would bring (at least not
initially).
(1) They did not see clearly that the kingdom
of God which Messiah would bring would be so new and different that it
would be as if it had never existed before (Mark 1:15). The Jews were rather looking for a
restoration and heightened form of the Old Covenant theocracy.
(2) The Jews did not see clearly that the people
of God would no longer be distinguished by Jewish bloodlines, but rather by
the second or new birth (Acts 2:41; Hebrews 8:7-13). (Just ask Nicodemus (John 3), and the Jews
who tangled with the Lord in John 8:39-41a, 44.) However, during John the Baptist's ministry
leading up to the revelation of Messiah, during Christ's earthly ministry, on
the day of Pentecost and throughout the book of Acts, there was a great sorting
out taking place between believing and unbelieving Jews. It was a sorting out which continues to this
day.
(3) The Jews did not see clearly that there would
be a new worship of the people of God, with the Old Covenant ceremonial
laws fulfilled and ended in Christ (Hebrews), and with the introduction of new
ordinances (baptism and the Lord's Supper), a new holy day (the Lord's Day on
the first of the week) and a new organic institution (the Church of Jesus
Christ). The unbelieving Jews reacted
violently against any notion that the old order was passing away (Acts 6:12-14;
18:12-13; 21:27-28). And although Jesus
had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple during His earthly
ministry, even Jewish Christians continued to worship at the temple and observe
the Old Covenant ceremonial laws as we noted earlier (Acts 21:20-24). For some time, these Jewish Christians did
not fully recognize the radical change which had taken place with regard to
the kingdom, people and worship of God.
In fact, this radical change was evidently not fully brought home and
effected until the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. by the
armies of Rome. After this point in
time, Jewish Christianity clearly ceased to be a branch of Judaism in any
sense, and became distinct from so-called "Orthodox" Judaism which at
this time totally renounced and opposed the Christian faith and their Messiah.
(4) The Jews also wrestled over a more
clearly-focused, and even somewhat restructured, lifestyle for the people of
God. Indeed there was the clear
continuity of the legitimate demands of the Old Testament moral law upon
New Covenant Christians (Romans 13:9-10; I Timothy 1:9-11; etc.). However, the life and teachings of Christ had
portrayed more clearly that such law-keeping was a matter of the heart
and not just a matter of externals which was the error of the Pharisees
(Matthew 5:21-22; 27-28; etc.).
Also,
polygamy (multiple wives) was now clearly wrong for a Christian
to practice (I Timothy 3:2a). God's laws
of divorce were restored from rabbinical errors, and were restructured
for the new order being established (since there was no longer a theocracy to
implement the death penalty for adultery) (Matthew 5:31-32). The seeds of the abolition of slavery
were probably sown as well (Philemon, etc.), although in a very subtle way.
With
so many areas of discontinuity or change evident between the Old Covenant and
New Covenant orders, we must not lose sight of the fact that the Apostolic
church did see much continuity between the two as well. The Old Testament was their Bible, along with
Apostolic teaching. And the Apostolic
Church constantly pointed out that the New Covenant order had clearly been
fore-told and typified in the Old Testament (Acts 2:14-16; Hebrews 8; etc.).
Early
on, the Apostolic Church wrestled over these issues of continuity and
discontinuity between the Old Covenant and New Covenant orders. The church of Christ continues to wrestle
with them to some extent to the present day, and must continually keep in view
that which first became openly evident during the Apostolic age. At this point observe the transition from Old
Covenant order to New Covenant order pictured in the chart entitled; "The
Two Stages of the Kingdom of God" (9F).
There
indeed has been a definite change from one order to another which was initiated
by Christ's earthly ministry, death and resurrection.
The
correction, clarification and expansion of Old Covenant, Jewish eschatology not
only meant dealing with the identity and work of Messiah, the dual stages and
present nature of God's Kingdom, and the continuity and discontinuity between
the Old Covenant and the New Covenant orders.
It also ultimately led to wrestling with and coming to see more clearly:
d. Present (or yet-to-be-fulfilled) eschatology. As the old Jewish hope was partially
fulfilled by the first coming of the Messiah, there was a correction,
clarifying and expansion of the church's knowledge of the events which yet
remain to be fulfilled. This increased
understanding regarding eschatology flowed out of, and included, the issues
which we have just studied. However,
there was much more detail about the future which also became clearer. The Apostolic Church grappled with and came
to see more clearly the following eschatological truths:
(1) The intermediate state, i.e., the
period between physical death and the return of Christ (Luke. 16:19-31; 2
Corinthians 5:1-8; Philippians 1:21-23; etc.).
(2) The second coming of Christ including
signs and events preceding it (Matthew 24 & 25; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1 & 2; etc.).
(3) The resurrection of the dead (John
5:28-29; 11:23-26; 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; etc.).
(4) The final judgement (Matthew 24 &
25; several parables; Revelation 19:11-21; 20:7-15; etc.)
(5) The new heavens and new earth (2 Peter
3:13; Revelation 20 & 21; etc.).
Although
there was development of understanding regarding these aspects of eschatology
during the Apostolic Church period, there has continued to be development in
the church's understanding of this area to the present day. We will trace out some of this developing
understanding later in this study.
This
then was the most prominent concern among the doctrinal and practical
developments in the Apostolic Church which sprang most directly from the Jewish
source of the church. It was the
correction, clarification and expansion of Old Covenant, Jewish eschatology.
What
are lessons from what we have already seen which we should consider
before taking up other doctrinal and practical developments which also most
directly sprang from the Jewish source of the Apostolic Church? Notice two with me:
1. We are called to fresh diligence in
studying our Bibles. The Old
Testament canon had been completed for hundreds of years when Christ arrived on
earth, yet basically the entire Jewish nation including true Old Covenant
believers had totally missed or incorrectly interpreted major elements of truth
already contained in it. There was yet
much more which remained to be learned from the Old Testament even though it
had already been fully given to God's people.
There
is a similar situation facing those of us who have now completed Bibles with
both Old and New Testaments. As the
centuries pass, and as we study our Bibles, we find that we are dealing with a
treasure that has not yet been exhausted, and which indeed cannot be exhausted
in this present life. There is so much
that we do not know. And regarding most
of that yet unknown truth in our Bibles, we do not even know that we do not
know it! There are new treasures waiting
to be uncovered by the diligent student.
This should encourage us to study on, especially as we mature as
Christians and hold in our hands a Bible through which we have read many times
before.
2. We are also called to dependent humility
in studying our Bibles, especially when we study eschatology or future
things. The First Century Jews looked at
prophetic passages of Scripture which provided only a rough and somewhat
indistinct outline of the events which lay ahead, and they missed much of what
was there. Only when God gave new
revelation while partially fulfilling the prophecies already given did
believing Jews begin to see more clearly.
At
the present time we have no reason to expect further new revelation from God
until the final revelation of Jesus Christ at His return. The canon of Scripture has been completed and
we have all of God's Word which He has determined that we need. However, we are no less dependent upon
the Lord to shed light upon His Word in our hearts than were the First Century
Jews.
We
should still especially walk humbly in our studies of eschatology -
unlike some brethren who seem to think that they already have (or should have)
a clear understanding of every prophetic passage in Scripture. The outlines presented in the biblical
materials which we have been given are still somewhat indistinct. We are not provided in our Bibles with a
detailed and orderly calendar of future events.
Therefore, we must humbly recognize that in a real sense we will not see
those predicted events with great clarity until they are being fulfilled by the
Sovereign God who gave the prophecies in the first place.
But
now we are ready to consider:
C. Other
concerns in the Jewish-inspired development of the Apostolic Church's
understanding and practice of God's Word.
In listing some other concerns following what I have labelled the most
prominent concern, I am not intending to imply that these other concerns were
unimportant developments in the Apostolic Church. In fact, a pretty good case might be made for
labelling some or all of these other concerns as the most prominent of
concerns. The bottom line is that they
all had to do with God's revealed truth, through which the church was coming to
better understand "who God is and what He requires of us" (Catechism,
p. 2, quest. 7).
There
were at least four other issues which the Apostolic Church was forced to
address. The first two were essentially
corrections of then present Jewish errors, and were in the realm of
apologetics. First, there was the matter
of:
1. The reality of the supernatural. Before Christ arrived, it had been hundreds
of years since miracles were common in Israel.
One group of the Jews, the Sadducees, denied the resurrection of the
dead and the existence of angels and spirits.
They were first century rationalists who said that something does not
exist if I cannot comprehend it with my mind.
Christ told them that they were mistaken and had failed to properly use
the minds God had given them in that they did not know the Scriptures nor the
power of God (Matthew 22:29).
Furthermore, Christ's and the Apostles' miracles, including the raising
of dead people to life, flew in the face of, and effectively discredited this
error. Unfortunately, this was not the
last of this error as the 18th and 19th Centuries would prove.
The
Apostolic Church grappled with another error which also was to long persist in
the church to the present day. It was an
attack upon:
2. Our ultimate standard of authority.
a. A common and serious error of the Pharisees, another prominent
Jewish group of which Paul was originally a part, was that they had added the
traditions of men to the commandments of God as their ultimate authority. In the process, they had actually neglected
and invalidated God's Word (Mark 7:6-13).
Christ in dealing with these folks clearly established God's revealed
Word as the sole ultimate authority
for men. Unfortunately this was just
the first round of what has been repeated dealings by the church of Christ with
various forms of adding to and/or negating the genuine Scriptures.
The
Gnostics had their supposed secret, superior knowledge in addition to
Scripture. (More on these heretics
later.) There have been Roman Catholic
claims for the authority of supposed "Apostolic" tradition in
addition to Scripture. There have been
claims of some charismatic groups, and of some cults like the Mormons, to the
reception of supposedly new direct revelations from God during the period since
the time of the Apostles. And there have
been modernistic claims for the authority of the minds of men over the
Scriptures.
However,
2 Timothy 3:16-17, written by the Paul of the Apostolic Church to Timothy, has
withstood the errors of history. "All Scripture is inspired by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training
in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." The
Scriptures, and all the
Scriptures, are sufficient as given.
b. Another related matter of ultimate authority was that of the
authority of the new revelation given through Jesus and His Apostles. Christ was challenged regarding His authority
to do what he did (Luke 20:1-8). The
Jews tried to silence the mouths of the Apostles (Acts 4:17-20; 5:27-32;
etc.). But still they spoke God's
Word. And written Apostolic testimony
was recognized as being the Lord's commandment (1 Corinthians 14:37) and the
Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15-16), even while Apostles still lived. During the years which followed, the totality
of the New Testament was recognized by the church to be Scripture as we will
see.
But
now, consider with me a third area of development in the Apostolic Church which
was provoked by the organic Jewish source of the church:
3. This issue was pointedly forced to the surface by the coming of
Christ and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.
As we have seen, when the Jews wrestled with the identity of Jesus
Christ, they were confronted with His deity, and thus they were also forced to
grapple with the triune being of God.
Until now, the Jewish emphasis had been upon the oneness of God. In their synagogue services they recited the
words of the great Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!" This was their great badge of true religion
in the face of the polytheism[8] and
multiplied idols of the Gentiles all around them. Therefore, many Jews accused Christ of
blasphemy when He claimed to be God. For
as they saw it, the one God was the Father who was in heaven - the One to whom
even Jesus prayed. Thus the Apostolic
Church from the beginning was confronted with the issue of the Trinity, and had
to deal with it in at least a preliminary way.
However
do not find a systematically articulated doctrine of the Trinity in the New
Testament, although the raw materials for that doctrine were possessed by the
Apostolic Church within the contents of their Bibles. A more systematic level of development
awaited a later time, when, in the heat of conflict against soul-damning error,
the church of Christ would come to a crystallized understanding of the God who
is both one God and three persons.
There
remains one final, crucial area in which there was correction of Jewish error
and further clarification and expansion as well in the Apostolic Church. It was the area of:
4. The essential character of the salvation of man. At this point most of the Jews in Jesus' day
had fallen into serious error. They had
become bogged down in the details of the requirements of the Old Covenant laws,
and had lost sight of great redemptive realities which were taught under the
Old Covenant, although in a somewhat veiled way. They had lost sight of the significance of
the description of Abraham in Genesis 15:6 that ". . . he believed
in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness". They had failed to understand the
significance of the name by which the righteous Branch raised up for David
would be called, "The LORD our righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:6;
33:16). Many of the Jews failed to see
that the animal sacrifices in the temple were only types and shadows which
pointed ahead and declared that another must act in their behalf if their sins
would be cleansed. I.e., many had
abandoned the truth that a man's salvation is ultimately all of God, and all of
grace through faith.
Therefore,
in Jesus' day, He had to correct those Jews "who trusted in themselves
that they were righteous . . ." (Luke 18:9). And the Apostle Paul spoke of the Jews as
missing salvation because they were pursuing a law of righteousness by works,
and were seeking to establish their own righteousness (Romans 9:31-32;
10:1-3). In the book of Galatians, we
find that Paul not only had to combat the error of the Judaisers which would
require the continued observance of all of the ceremonial laws of the Old
Covenant. He at the same time was forced
to attack the error that the keeping of these ceremonial laws was essential to
one's salvation (cp. Acts 15:1). In
response, he declared ". . . that a man is not justified by the works of
the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus . . ." (Galatians 2:16). And of course, the cross-work of the Lamb of
God, in contrast with the types and shadows of the Old Covenant, portrayed in a
vivid and clear way just how a man could be forgiven and declared righteous
before God.
Thus
the Apostolic Church grappled with the eternally vital issue of the essential
character of the salvation of man.
However, the church's understanding of these truths was not fully
crystallized and systematically stated until much later during the
Reformation. More on that later in this
study.
This
then has been a brief attempt to consider the development of the understanding
and practice of God's Word in the Apostolic Church as chiefly spurred on by her
Jewish source. Now we turn to the second
major human driving force in the Apostolic church which led to both positive
development and error:
II. The pagan Gentile addition. As we did regarding the organic Jewish
source, notice:
A. The
stimulus of this development. In the
Old Testament, Naaman and the repenting Ninevites had, along with specific
prophecies, pointed ahead to the coming of Gentiles to Zion. During the ministry of Christ, there were
hints of a major change in the wind as He interacted on a spiritual level with
the Samaritan woman and members of her city (John 4:1-42), the Gentile
centurion (Matthew 8:5-13), the demon-possessed man in the mainly Gentile
country of the Gadarenes (Matthew 8:28-34), and the Gentile Syro-Phoenician
woman (Matthew 15:21-28). The presence
of many uncircumcised God-fearers in the Jewish synagogues during these days
pointed to a coming change as well.
Then, as we have seen, in the early days of the church following
Pentecost, the Gospel came with saving power to Samaritans who were rejected
half-breed (if that) Jews who claimed to worship the God of the Jews. However, these events were but the initial tremors
of a mighty earthquake to come in God's redemption of the fallen sons of Adam.
The
initial jolt of the earthquake was the events recorded in Acts 10. At that time, by God's direction, the Apostle
Peter preached the Gospel to the uncircumcised Gentile centurion Cornelius. As a result, Cornelius and his household were
converted, and the Holy Spirit was amazingly poured out upon them. Read this account in Acts 10:44-48. As we continue on in Acts, we find that this
is but the first of a mighty host of uncircumcised Gentiles who were added to
the Apostolic Church, and who eventually outnumbered the Jews.
What
was happening here? At this point please
read Romans 11:13-24. Notice the
illustration entitled, "The Origin of the Apostolic Church - Organic
Relationship but New Composition and Member Characteristics" (10B). The unbelieving Jews were cast out of the
realm of God's people on earth when the New Covenant was initiated, and
believing Gentiles began to be grafted in along with previously unbelieving
Jews who later believed. Not only did
God sort out between believing and unbelieving Jews, and include only believing
Jews among His New Covenant people.
There was a pagan Gentile addition as well. It was this addition which was to be the
driving force behind further major developments in faith and practice in the
Apostolic Church. This driving force
operated in two ways. There was first of
all:
B. The
development directly stimulated
within the Apostolic Church.
Suddenly, the largely Jewish church found uncircumcised Gentiles in their
midst. How would they respond to this
new turn of events? Consider with me:
1. The initial response.
Notice here Acts 11:1-4; 15-18. The
Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were grappling with the fact that the
God-created barrier which had previously existed between Jew and Gentile -
especially as far as salvation was concerned (except for a few exceptions) -
had been totally broken down. Notice
again verse 3 and 18 in this regard. If
you remember, even Peter initially struggled with the changes taking place
before going to the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:9-20). Gentiles were no longer unclean for the
Jews. Jews and Gentiles were to interact
with one another now, and eat together.
Nationality and bloodlines were to no longer have a bearing in determining
the proper recipients and beneficiaries of the Gospel. Thus the next development in the Apostolic
Church should not surprise us:
2. The Gospel began to be preached more widely to Gentiles in
obedience to Christ's Great Commission (Acts 11:19-26, 13:1-3). Evangelism was greatly expanded, and thus
local churches began to be a combination of Jews and Gentiles, or even mainly
Gentiles. Not surprisingly, this rapid
Gentile addition sparked:
3. Further controversy among Jewish Christians. At this point please read Acts 15:1-31. Here the burning question arose, Are Gentile
Christians required to be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses? The response of the Apostles and elders and
whole church at Jerusalem was that circumcision and the observance of the
Old Covenant, Mosaic administration were not required of Gentile believers in
the church. Notice this especially
in 15:1, 5, 28.
However,
this response to the Gentiles did not settle the issue of what believing Jews were required to
do. Notice how this was still an issue
in Acts 21:17-25. As we have already
observed, it took the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. to
make it totally clear that Jewish Christians also were no longer required to
observe the Old Covenant Mosaic administration with its many ceremonial
requirements. But the seeds of this
profound change were sown in the freedom granted the Gentiles in this matter,
because Gentile and Jewish brethren had to dwell at peace and in fellowship
together in the same churches, including eating together.
The
Gentile addition also had a further direct effect upon the church's developing
understanding and practice of God's Word - one which is closely related to a
development stimulated by the Jewish source of the church which we saw earlier.
4. It became more and more apparent that Jews had the same need
for the Gospel of Christ as the Gentiles due to their sin (Romans 2 &
3), and that Jews would be saved exactly the same way as the Gentiles were -
through the grace of our Lord Jesus.
Remember again Acts 15:1; 8-11. There
were not two different Gospels - one for the Jew and another for the Gentile. This was a bitter reality indeed for many
Jews who, as we have seen, were proud and self-righteous (John 8:31-59). Many of these proud Jews tripped over the
Christ who became for them a stumbling block and rock of offense, because He
demanded that they humble themselves alongside of Gentiles. This was especially true of those who clung
to the Pharisaical error that one could merit or earn salvation by his own
righteous deeds in accordance with the Mosaic framework.
The
Gentile addition also directly led to the clarification of a further matter:
5. It was made clear that the Gospel of Christ still made ethical
demands upon the Gentile Christians so that they were required to live lives
distinctly different from their unconverted Gentile neighbors. Remember again Acts 15:19-21; 28-29. Although the scruples of the
"weaker" Jewish brethren of Gentile Christians apparently were a
factor in the Apostolic guidelines given, (since they had to fellowship with
one another in the same church), these directives also sent a clear
message. The abrogation of the Mosaic
Covenant with its unique obligations did not mean that there were no ethical
demands for the Christian life. Many
Gentile Christians were coming straight out of horribly wicked, pagan lives
with little exposure to the ethical demands of the Old Testament. Would they just continue the old
lifestyle? The directives of Acts 15 cut
at the heart of the sins of the pagan Gentile world. And they pointed to what was probably a
three-fold framework of ethical obligation for all those under the New Covenant. There were:
a. The continuingly regulative Moral Law summarized in the
10 Commandments which were given to Moses.
This was indicated by the command to ". . . abstain . . . from
fornication . . ." which was a direct reference to the seventh commandment
(Exodus 20:14).
b. The continuingly regulative creation ordinances and
requirements of the Noahic Covenant.
This was indicated by the command to ". . . abstain . . . from
blood and from things strangled . . ." which echoed a clear requirement of
the Noahic covenant (Genesis 9:3-4).
c. The obligations of love for one's brethren so that one should
be willing even to forego Christian "liberties" which are not
forbidden in Scripture in order to avoid causing a brother to seriously stumble
by tempting him to sin against his conscience. I believe this was probably the major element
of concern which motivated the Apostolic directive given here to ". . .
abstain from things sacrificed to idols . . ." In the earlier days of the church when Jewish
Christians did not yet see fully their liberty in Christ from Old Covenant regulations,
the flaunting by Gentiles of their liberty from such regulations before their
Jewish brethren would certainly have led to at least two serious problems. It would have surely threatened the peace and
unity of churches where both Jews and Gentiles were found. And secondly, such flaunting by Gentiles
would in many cases surely have tempted sensitive Jews to sin against their
consciences, and to partake of meat sacrificed to idols in the name of
maintaining peace and harmony and Christian hospitality (Romans 14:21-23).
The
specific directive to abstain from things sacrificed to idols was apparently
temporary, and no longer continued to be universally in force once Jewish
consciences began to be better instructed (at least in it
broader meaning). For Paul could later
say that there was no problem in eating meat offered to idols as long as it did
not destroy weaker brethren, and was not part of partaking in an idolatrous
feast observance (1 Corinthians 8 & 10:14-33; Romans 14 &
15:1-13). He even told Corinthian
believers to buy meat in the meat market without asking questions regarding its
source, although such meat often, if not usually, had first been offered to
idols.
While
all may not be clear regarding this last requirement of the Apostles from Acts
15, one thing was clear in all they required.
The Gospel of Christ made ethical demands upon Gentile believers
so that Paul later wrote:
This I say therefore, and affirm together
with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the
futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from
the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the
hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves
over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness. But you did not learn Christ
in this way (Ephesians 4:17-20).
This
then was at least part of the development directly stimulated within the
Apostolic church by the pagan Gentile addition.
But
there is also what I've called:
C. The
development more indirectly
stimulated by the pagan Gentile addition.
As more and more raw Gentile pagans were added to the churches, they
brought with them common pagan errors, and continued to be have closer contact
with the pagan Gentile world than had the more isolated Jewish
communities. These pagan influences had
a subtly polluting influence on the churches over time as we will see. But they also brought some positive results
as the church reacted against them. What
were these influences and their fruits?
1. The first influence was the prevalent syncretism of the
surrounding culture. What is
syncretism? It is the tendency to mix
together different religions and philosophies - taking a little from here and a
little from there. This syncretistic
tendency was due in part to the combining of many nations with their different
religions into one Roman empire. As a
result, there were terrific pressures to mix the Christian faith with the
incoming Eastern mystery religions and Greek philosophies - especially since
some of these were tending in a monotheistic direction as well.
How
did the Apostles respond to such pressures?
Please notice their responses in Acts 14:8-18; 17:16-31. When the Gospel encountered false religions
and philosophies, Christianity was not accommodated to fit in comfortably with
them, but rather was presented as being distinct and unique and exclusive in
comparison with the pagan religions.
To become a Christian meant to turn from one's old ways and beliefs in
order to begin serving the God who made heaven and earth, and who directs all
things.
However,
the exclusiveness of the Gospel was not able to totally keep out the inroads of
ungodly mystery religions and Greek philosophy.
In fact, we see early signs of these subtle inroads as the human authors
of the later books of the New Testament battled what were apparently early
forms of the heresy of Gnosticism.
The Gnostics emphasized "knowledge" and despised the biblical
notion of faith.[9] Quoting Schaff, "They (the Gnostics)
regarded Christianity as consisting essentially in a higher knowledge; fancied
themselves the sole possessors of an esoteric, philosophical religion, which
made them genuine, spiritual men, and looked down with contempt upon the mere
men of the soul and of the body".[10] The true humanity of Jesus was denied by
these Gnostics who were probably in view when the Apostle John spoke of
"many deceivers" who "have gone out into the world, those who do
not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh" (2 John 7).
The
Gnostics were not the only fruit of the syncretistic pressures upon the church
as we will see in later studies.
2. There was also a second influence upon the church which at least
in part indirectly sprang from the pagan Gentile addition to the church. It was the yet prevalent sacral
perspective of that day - the perspective that every state has its own
official, national gods and religion. In
a real sense the Old Covenant nation of Israel had fit this perspective. To some degree this was probably why the
scattered Jews were often tolerated in the Roman Empire and elsewhere. For after all, they were practicing their own
national religion.
But
now, as we have seen, boundaries between various nationalities were being
broken down by the Gospel of Christ.
Gentiles from many nations and Jews alike were being built into the
temple of God which was the church. This
advance of God's kingdom threatened the various national religions. Notice one such example in our New Testaments
in Acts 19:23-29. Here the believers in
Ephesus felt the persecuting fury of pagan Gentiles who felt that the worship
of their local pagan god, Artemis, was threatened.
This
sacralistic pressure also became evident in another way. Christians were increasingly pressured to
engage in the quasi-religious emperor worship of the Roman empire in order to
be considered good citizens. Persecution
would soon follow for those who would not bow before these pressures -
something which no true Christian could do.
As
a result of these pressures from a predominant sacral
perspective, and the godly responses of true Christians against them, the
Christian faith came to be seen as a universal faith which was not exclusively
attached to specific nations of men. It
proclaimed a Gospel of salvation for all men of every race and nation. But of course, as we have already observed,
fiery persecution also eventually resulted because Christians did not fit in
with the societies in which they were found.
We will study this more in the future.
This
then concludes our attempt to sketch out some of the major developments in the
understanding and practice of the Apostolic Church - developments which sprang
from the two major influences upon that church - the organic Jewish source, and
the pagan Gentile addition. What then
are some final lessons from what we have just studied?:
1. We should, as those who are primarily
Gentiles, give heart-felt thanks to God that the barriers between Jews and
Gentiles have been broken down, or we would be without hope in the world to
this day. Furthermore, we should
praise God that the heavy burden of the Old Covenant ceremonial laws has been
removed.
2. If you would follow Christ, you must make
a break with your sin in repentance; turn your back on your old ungodly
lifestyle, religious beliefs, and thinking; and plead the mercy of Christ. You cannot fit in with the world and still be
a Christian, anymore than First Century Christians could. You must be prepared to be publicly different
in order to follow Christ and inherit eternal life - not for the sake of being
different, but because the Christian life is different from the lifestyle and
thinking of a wicked world.
The
situation has not really changed that much from the syncretistic spirit by
which the Apostolic Church was surrounded.
In our day - especially in the United States - the two great watchwords
are "doing you own thing" and being tolerant of others who are doing
their own thing unless those people tell you that you are wrong. A primary example is the wicked practice of
abortion in the United States. Why does
the slaughter of unborn infants have such a grip in that society? It is because it has become the American way
to let each individual "choose" what is right and best for them, even
if the choice is a form of murder for selfish purposes. And it has become the cardinal sin of U.S.
society to tell someone else that they are doing wrong (unless they are telling
someone else that they are doing wrong!)
May God keep us from such a syncretistic spirit for our eternal
salvation.
3. Finally, we have been reminded that, whether
Jew or Gentile, if you would follow Christ, you must be saved by grace through
faith in Christ alone. Bloodlines,
past spiritual privileges, good deeds - none of these can help you. Jesus says to you, "I am the way, and
the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me" (John
14:6).
Materials needed:
Church
History Study Outline and Table of Contents (1C)
Chart
- The Place of the Church in History (2B)
Chart
- The Two Biblical Elements of the Church (7B)
Chart
- The Composition of the Visible Church in History (7C)
Chart
- The Two Major Human Driving Forces Behind the Developments in Faith and
Practice in the Apostolic Church
(9B)
Illustration
- The Origin of the Apostolic Church - Organic Relationship Yet Radically New
Entity (9C)
Illustration
- The Origin of the Apostolic Church - Organic Relationship and Temporary
Transition (9D)
Time
Line of Redemptive History (9E)
Chart
- The Two Stages of the Kingdom of God (9F)
Illustration
- The Origin of the Apostolic Church - Organic Relationship but New Composition
and Member
Characteristics (10B)
Sources:
Alexander,
Acts, p. 39
Bruce,
The Book of Acts, p. 53
Bruce,
The Spreading Flame, book 2, pp. 22-3, etc.
Children's
"Prove It" Catechism, Truth for Eternity Ministries, p. 2, quest. 7
Conybeare
& Howson, The Life and Epistles of Saint Paul, chapts. I & II pp.
102-107, 895-901
Edersheim,
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book II, Chapt. IX, pp 229f
International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) (1939 edition), "The Dispersion",
pp 855f; "Chronology
of the New Testament", vol. I, pp
644B-650
Martin,
Robert P., TMA notes from Biblical Theology class (part three)
Nichols,
TMA Ecclesiology notes, pp. 1.63 - 1.67, etc.
Schaff,
History of the Christian Church, vol. I, pp 56-89, pp. 196-9, 217-22, 564-8;
vol. II, pp. 444f
Waldron,
TMA HT1 notes, Part 2, Sect. 1: Its Classical Setting; also pp. 36-40
Walker,
A History of the Christian Church, pp 1-18
[5] Remember the description in Acts 21 of Paul's
involvement in temple activities which led to so much trouble for him including
arrest and imprisonment. This temple
worship by Jewish Christians took place in about 58 A.D., or about 28 years
following the ascension of Christ and only about 12 years before the
destruction of Jerusalem.
Spiritual warfare or religious war is not the war against the blood, flesh and the bone. It is a battle against the power and principalities of air (unseen power-demonic or satanic power). It is beyond the reach of human beings. But Satan has beguiled the notion of religion or spirituality as the physical things....so now one group is waging the war against another...
ReplyDeleteO Man, why are you fighting against God? Can moral win the immortal? If Christ is building the church on the Rock, then who can thwart His plan. And Christ Jesus is the cornerstone and foundation of the church. He is the solid Rock to build His church on Himself. Jesus Christ was before the creation of the world. He created the universe. If you have doubt...Read this article.....
ReplyDeleteAs the killing Christ was not the end of the Christianity, so the killing the Christians is not the end of the church
ReplyDelete