Communion With the Christ:: A Very, Very Brief History of the Church: Part 4

"I Will Build My Church"

When and where does Church history truly begin? The Church which emerged in the History of Salvation is more than an “institution” or “organization” it rather is a living organism which is filled with the very Spirit life of the Great God through the Holy Spirit, who came to us and reveals himself to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ.

The History of the Church does not belong to any one denomination but is the common heritage of all believers in Jesus Christ.

"The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Acts: 11:1-3

The Early Jewish Church thought that there would be a Jewish Messiah for a Jewish Church

With the conversion of the household of the Gentile Centurion Cornelius and their acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah, (not just of the Jews, but of all peoples everywhere, if they will but freely receive him, their conversion) at first, raised fears in the minds of some Jewish Christians and opened many questions as to "just what did this mean?" to the Jews and how they were, and anyone, was to relate to Jesus?

The Jewish Christians instinctively knew that this entrance of gentiles into the Church signaled a change which they might find unsettling.

Peter is Confronted

In these Jewish Christian's minds, they always saw Jesus as a Jewish Messiah for a Jewish nation/church, but now it was beginning to appear that this view may not hold to be true. Some of them, upon hearing of St. Peter's contact with a Roman Centurion were angered and confronted the Apostle wanting an answer from him.

"So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” Acts: 11:2-3

St. Peter then recounts his experience how it was evident that the Holy Spirit had, and was now calling Jew and gentile alike.

"Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story:"(4)

After St. Peter's story is told there was agreement among them that now God had opened the way for all peoples to come to believe in Jesus. The objections of the Jewish Christians were now dropped as the evidence of the Spirit confirmed the truth in their hearts and minds.

"When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (18)

Changes

With the Gentiles coming to believe in Jesus this raised many questions that demanded answers. What had now changed in humanities relationship with God? Just what did God expect from believers?

They had lived all their lives under the shadow of the Temple or in the synagogues, but now, with the coming of Jesus, his death and resurrection, and the manifested Holy Spirit and the calling of Gentiles, they wondered "what had changed in humanities relationship with God"?

One change was that believers in Jesus now had a name for themselves, they would be called Christians. This happened first in the city of Antioch.

"The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." (26)

Paul To the Gentiles

With the proclamation of the message of Jesus many Jews reacted to counter and opposes the growing Christian movement. Jews rose up and now contended with Saul who now was known as Paul.

The contention was so sharp between St. Paul and the Jews and how harden was the hearts of St. Paul's critics that he and St. Barnabas both were led to focus their ministry and mission to the Gentiles who had responded favorably to the message about Jesus.

"As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed."Acts:13:42-48

St. Paul and St. Barnabas found the Gentiles fertile ground for the Gospel message as many came to accept Jesus as the one and only Savior of all humanity.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas arrive in Antioch and gave a report as to what the Holy Spirit was doing among of Gentiles.

"From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." Acts: 14:26-27

Council at Jerusalem

With even more Gentile converts becoming Christians pressure and even opposition grew. Some, were holding onto past understanding as to how Christians were to live. Some wanted to retain tenets of the Old Covenant and wanted to force Gentile converts to accept these tenets as they came to believe in Jesus.

The church had to resolve these issues as more Gentiles were coming to Jesus. The Apostles and others Church Elders gathered at Jerusalem to discuss the matter.

"Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question."Acts:15:1-2

What we read in the Biblical Record in Acts:15 regarding this council is a very condensed account. The actual council probably took place over several days., The Holy Spirit inspired the Scripture so that we receive enough though the narrative what we need to understand the dynamic and tenner of the discussions.

In essences, what was being considered was this; what has changed in humanities relationship with God? due to the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension of Jesus and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. How were those who believed in Jesus now to live?

Some Jews who were of the party of the Pharisees and had become Christians wanted to hold onto the Law and join it to their faith in Jesus . What this was really saying was, that the Pharisees believed something needed to be added to the perfect Grace of God which was being extended to humanity in and by the complete sacrifice of Jesus. The Pharisees were saying Jesus' atoning work was not enough, that there was something which humanity had to contribute to the Salvation which had been accomplished for us through Jesus.

"Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses."Acts:15:5

It was not until the Apostle St. Peter stood and recounted his experience with the household of Cornelius. That the assembled leaders saw that God's grace was for all people even those who lived apart from the Old Covenant. God accepted them by His perfect unconditional love and grace alone by and through Jesus.

The Jewish people could not keep the Law so why force it upon others? Jesus has come and made salvation available for any and all who would but freely receive it, therefore the Church should show the same grace and place no burden upon new believers.

"The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to use he did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”(6-11)

The floor was then given to St. Barnabas and St. Paul as they too recounted their ministry and what they saw the Holy Spirit doing among the Gentiles. The two Apostles also now saw that Scripture is understood through who Jesus is and his saving work, the Scripture now takes on an even greater meaning, clarity and power when viewed through Jesus.

"The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. Simo has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

“ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ — things known from long ago.

“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” (12-21)

The Decision

It was decided by the gathered Apostle and Elders to send a letter addressing this issue. This letter had been sent to the Gentiles and presented by St. Paul and St. Barnabas so that there be no confusion regarding what the Church leadership came to understand, and, if anyone preached something other than what was found outlined in the letter, then the Gentiles could know it was not the understanding which was arrived at by the Apostles.

"Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and S ilas, men who were leaders among the believers. With them they sent the following letter:

The Letter's Content

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.

We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell." (22-29)

This recognition by the leadership of the Church that the Old Covenant tenets were not to be enjoined upon believers, would change the culture of the Church for all ages to come. This change would be a big factor in the advancement of the Christian movement beyond the confines of Palestine and make inroads into the lives of the people within the Roman world.

Without this understanding that the Old Covenant Law was no longer binding, the Church would most likely have been confined to the area of Palestine and never spread much further. It also caused the Church to take on a very different appearance as Jesus was given his place as the focus of the corporate life of the Church.

The understanding emerged that the Christian's identity was found in Jesus alone not in the Law. This understanding was arrived at through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and would position the Church to expand throughout the Roman Empire and beyond as the message about Jesus was proclaimed.

Benediction: May we each and all give glory to our God who has reached out to any and to all who will but freely receive it, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.