Communion With the Christ:: A Very, Very Brief History of the Church: Part 13

"Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it." Mark: 16:15-20

From the very beginning of the Christian movement which is established by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church, that is , those who have come to believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, peoples from many nation were now participating with the ministry with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.

The Church had weathered many storms and dealt with issues internally and externally as it made it way through history being transforming as it went.

The Church, had felt the heavy hand of persecution at the cost of blood and suffering and great sacrifice, yet even among the sacrifice and suffering there were times that were glorious and the power of the Holy Spirit was evident and the great God, the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, were glorified in the person of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the years many great things had occurred, the Gospel was preached, the people came to experience the forgiveness of God and the Holy Spirit moved to confirm that the word which was preached was truth.

The Church's focus had been for centuries the proclamation of the name of Jesus and the advancement of his Holy Kingdom into the lives of people. We can read histories of the power of the Spirit moving in people’s lives: healings, deliverance, prayer answered miraculously.

These things were accomplished not just by the clergy but members of the body of Christ ordained and laity alike. Such things were common even amidst the hardships which the Church faced.

With eyes toward Heaven and always looking to Jesus the Church went forward boldly proclaiming the Gospel, the miraculous happened. But then, as we look at the history of the Church we note a change in the moving of the Holy Spirit among his people, of course there were still events which miraculously occurred but we see a change.

What would cause this? Was it by divine purpose or was something other transpiring? What would have altered the blessed state and the power which the Church moved in even among hardship?

Edict of Milan

The Emperor Constantine conquered with a Christian symbol ablaze upon the shields of his legions and had won the victory over his opponents at the Milvain Bridge, 312 AD and consolidated his control over the Empire.

Constantine and Licinius then met in Milan Italy and came to an arrangement of power which led to the issuing of the Edict of Milan in 313 AD putting an end to the persecution of Christians in the Empire for the most part.

With the end to persecution in most of the Empire, the Church now found itself free to openly engage the people of the society of the Empire. In so doing, the Church began to once again transform. Whether this transformation was an expression of the divine will of God or sprang from the human component of the Church we may never fully know this side of eternity.

Constantine Gathers Power

Within the Empire things were shifting, in fact, the shift had begun long before the civil war which led to Constantine ascension to the pinnacle of power within the Empire. Power was shifting east away from its ancient seat in Rome. As time would pass the east would be more influential and seat of power became more firmly established toward Byzantium

Constantine, however still ruled out Rome with the east being a divided administration between Licinius and Maximinus Daia.These two rulers found themselves at odds and even warred against one another allowing Constantine time to consolidate his power.

Constaintine and Licnius became related through marriage. While Licinius was in the west Maximinus invaded the city of Byzantium, he was however, defeated leaving the Empire in the control of Constantine in the west of Europe and a great area of North Africa, while Licinius ruled the east and Egypt.

The long hoped for peace ended in another civil war which ultimately left Constantine holding great power in the Empire. Constantine was able to seize control over the city of Byzantium. A peace was established around 314 AD.

The peace between the two rulers was short lived. In 322 AD Constantine invaded the territory ruled by Licinius claiming that he was searching for "Barbarians" who had crossed the Danube River.

There was difference which were between the two rulers. There were divides even within the Church found within Licinius' territories leading even to civil unrest at times. Licinius moved to keep the peace. This caused some Christians to believe that they had been wronged by the government.

Those Christians who felt wronged began to consider Constantine as the true defender of their faith, and one Church leader of the time called Constantine "the Emperor whom God loved" .

The war which erupted between the Constantine and Licinius came. Constantine again adorned his legions with the symbol of the Labarum, which Licinius feared believing that it held "power". Licinius order his legions not to look upon the "Labarum" or to directly assault it.

A violent storm damaged most of Licinius' ships. Licinius found himself fearing that he would be isolated crossed into Asia Minor. Constantine pursued Licinius into Asia Minor. After losing several battles Licinius became distraught.

Licinius' wife, Constance, who was the sister of Constantine, went to her brother possibly along with the Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, asking her brother to spare her husband Licinius if he would abandon his hold on any power. This Licinius did giving Constantine the throne of the Empire and control over all of Rome and beyond shifting the power center further to the east toward the city of Byzantium, which would be renamed Constantinople meaning the "city of Constantine" which would in time become the true capital of the Empire.

Constantine sought to restore the glory of the Empire whereas those who had come before him attempted this very thing using the pagan worship of the traditional "gods" of Rome. Constantine, however, sought to do so through Christianity seeing it as a powerful social force which would unite the Empire providing social cohesion and balance.

The Church Imperial

Most Scholars are in agreement that Constantine was not a genuine Christians, yet he did provide at least a semblance of justice and fairness toward the people over which he now ruled.

Constantine maintained the freedom of assembly and unobstructed worship for the people which included Christians. With this new found freedom the Church began to move within society of the Empire in a new way, it now had the tactical support of even the very Emperor himself.

Under the new freedom of the "Constantinian Era" the Christian Church as it began to effect the society of the Empire began a process of transformation into not just being a "spiritual organism", but into becoming a "religious institution".

The mission of the Gospel proclamation, which fueled the miraculous, was being redirected into transforming the Empire itself. the Christian Church was becoming the "Imperial Church" with a goal of extending "Christendom" in a territorial sense, in short, the Church was attempting to civilize the pagan Empire into a Christian image.

As the focus went toward Imperial civilizing there was a noted diminishing of the miraculous as the focus went more to sacramental duty and emphasis toward the "authority" of the "bishops".

The Church even found itself elevated to being council of the Emperor.

To Be Continued...

Benediction: May we each and all give glory to God for his gracious guidance throughout history, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen