Cornelius was a “God-fearer.” Notice again that he is described as “one that feared God” (Acts 10:2,22). He wrote on the ground with His finger, and to this day, we do not even know what He wrote. It applies strictly to either the place of worship, the congregation of worshipers, or to a specific sect or denomination. Therefore when He sent out the apostles He did not say ‘Go forth and write’ but ‘Go forth and preach the Gospel to all creatures’ (Handbook of Commonplaces and Articles Against the New Teachings Currently Wafting About). Thus began the New Testament church. His areas of interest include Eastern Christianity, Marian and Eucharistic theology, medieval history, and the saints. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they” (verses 6-11). They didn’t care about exalted positions or lofty titles; they cared about people, about the work Christ had given them to do. In fact, the Old and now the New Testaments are incredibly important. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Jesus Christ wrote a book or commanded anyone else to write a Gospel. But God had no intentions of excluding the Gentiles from His church, so Jewish attitudes about Gentiles would have to change. The apostolic church—the church that Jesus built—was a Sabbathkeeping church! He described himself as “an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)” (Galatians 1:1). None whatsoever! Make it plain upon tablets, Did He envision a continuous line of “successors of the apostles” who would govern the institution and issue infallible decrees on matters of faith and morals for all the faithful? (Which is why the Church is fittingly called the mystical Body of Christ.) (For example, one of the earliest Fathers, Irenaeus, writing in the late 100s, quotes from most of the New Testament books, but not Philemon, 2 Peter, 3 John, or Jude.). Did Jesus Found the Church? Notice that he addressed the Jews (“men of Israel”) and “ye that fear God,” meaning the God-fearing Gentiles. Christ replied: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. When Jesus said He would build His ekklesia (Matthew 16: 18), He was obviously speaking of the universal assembly, which, though scattered throughout the world, is viewed from heaven as a single assembly, all united in Christ and gathered spiritually before the heavenly Throne of Grace. The Jews who had come with Peter were astonished when they witnessed these uncircumcised Gentiles receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (verse 45). 9:5). Probably, many of the Samaritans who believed the gospel upon the preaching of Philip were the same people who had met Jesus and His disciples some time previous (John 4). There seems to be a general consensus among scholars that first book written in the New Testament is 1 Thessalonians, around 50 AD. But what is the biblical definition of “church”? Or would they side with the Protestant claim that the Reformers restored the true apostolic faith to its pristine purity? They understood the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to be the fulfillment of certain Old Testament prophecies (Acts 2:16-21), and could not have imagined that the law God had revealed to their fathers had become archaic or obsolete. When Jesus said, “I will build my church,” and promised that His church would not be destroyed (Matthew 16:18), was He thinking of an ecclesiastical institution, such as the Roman Catholic Church? In all of this, it is important to realize that the word apostolos was an ordinary word used in everyday speech. But what did He mean when He said “church”? In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, "And I say to you [Simon], you are Peter [Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." When used in this sense, “apostle” does not necessarily denote a special office, and may be used of persons who had not personally witnessed the resurrection. Cornelius, to whom Peter was sent, was a Roman centurion (Acts 10). For whatever reason, it was necessary to mention only the four laws. So it’s easy for modern English-speaking readers to read a meaning into a passage that was not intended by the original writer. A comparison of 1 Thessalonians 1:1 with 2:6 seems to indicate that Timothy and Silvanus were apostles, hut the wording of the text does not demand this conclusion, Paul could have been using the word (apostolos) in the general sense of “messengers” or “representatives.”. Thus, the “Israel tree” represents the converted “remnant of Israel” (Romans 11:5,7) and the Gentiles who were “grafted” in the place of those “broken off.”. Notice that the Judaean Christians were claiming that Gentile believers had to be circumcised before they could be saved. First, as we have noted, the church began on the Day of Pentecost, one of the annual holy days God had given to Israel centuries earlier (Leviticus 23:15-20). However, the prophecy is yet to be fulfilled in the final sense. The disciples were faithful in preaching the Word of God in Jerusalem. When Paul described himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (Ephesians 1:1), he was using the word (apostolos) in the official sense, recognizing the divine origin of the foundational office. Adelbert Denaux. But the reality is slightly more complex. Only then—only after they had become full-fledged proselytes of Judaism—could the Gentiles become recipients of the New Covenant promises. But the direct question as to who actually established the Church underscores anew the importance of the Church itself. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. Could the earliest Christians have believed that the spiritual law that had been given to carnal Israel did not apply to spiritual Israel? They mingled the worship of God with worship of their own gods. Yes, I long had the conviction that the Catholic Church of today has its roots deep in the Gospels and that Peter was the rock upon which the Church was founded as recorded in Matthew 16. Acts 9 tells of the conversion of Saul, who later became known as the apostle Paul. They kept God’s weekly and annual sabbaths, and would have been dismayed at the thought of abandoning them. But what did He mean when He said “church”? That’s because the preaching of the gospel—as later recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and elsewhere—actually began before the writing of the New Testament. This is exactly what Paul indicates in his conclusion: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. As Johannes Eck, a Catholic theologian of first half of the 1500s, pointed out in response to the Protestant Reformers: The Lord Christ wrote no book, nor did He command the apostles to write, but He commanded a great deal concerning the church. And there was great joy in the city….But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:1,4-8,12). For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day” (verses 19-21). But what did the first-century church look like? Louvain Studies, 1996. These men were not secretive in their desire to learn more about the true Faith, and there is no evidence of charges of treason or of loss of official status for becoming Christians. In concert with His redemptive act, Jesus did three things that established the framework of His Church. 37 … Evidently, the Samaritans in the time of Jesus were aware of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:15-26). “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (verse 1). Or would they be shocked to find customs and beliefs, now labeled “Christian,” that were completely unknown to the first-century church? Had Christianity been declared illicita, Paul’s defense would have been useless. According to Catholic theology, “There must be always an apostolic office of teaching and ruling through which alone men can become true disciples of Jesus” (Daniel W. Martin, C.M., S.T.L., S.S.L., The Kingdom of Jesus, Confraternity Home Study Service, St. Louis, MI, p. 49). Tradition means the teaching and teaching authority of Jesus and, derivatively, the apostles. As for other men designated “apostles,” there is no good reason to conclude that they were considered “successors” of the original apostles, or that they ever appointed successors. In other words, the Word had become flesh. Simply stated, the Greek word means “assembly.” When referring to the people of God, it is used both of the universal assembly, or entire Body of Christ, and each local assembly of believers. Paul said, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us,” and admonished the Corinthians to “keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7,8). The apostles and earliest Christians recognized the Scriptures (the “Old Testament”—the only Scriptures they had) as their authority; believed the Messiah sent to Israel was their Savior; believed the promises God gave to Abraham and his descendants, and the promise of a New Covenant for Israel, applied to them. But given that the first churches did not come into existence until after Jesus' ascension, it's difficult to argue he was the direct founder. The Holy Spirit arrived on the Day of Pentecost, and some three thousand were converted on that day (Acts 2). First, He chose humans to carry out His work. He told them what they were to aim at and how they were to do it, … And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Notice how persecution against the church led to the expansion of the church: “And Saul was consenting to his [Stephen’s] death. Jesus Christ selected certain men whom he personally trained to govern his Church under one whom he appointed its head. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. All rights reserved. So which of these, if apostolic succession is the key, has preserved the true apostolic faith? God did not leave us here without hope or a plan. What other evidence can be found of Jesus' project? The two apostles gave further instructions to the people, and then, on their way back to Jerusalem, “preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans” (verse 25). James, the Lord’s brother, appears to have been considered an apostle, but this is not entirely certain. The Samaritan woman who met Jesus at “Jacob’s well” (John 4) said, “I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things” (verse 25). Epaphroditus was an “apostle” in the sense that he was the Philippians’ messenger (“one sent forth”) to Paul during his imprisonment at Rome. To answer, let’s see how the New Testament church expanded beyond Jerusalem, and who its first members were. Further, Paul may have been using “apostles” in the general sense. This vision of the Church also happens to be precisely the Catholic one. Clearly, the apostles could not at this point have envisioned a line of successors—a strong indication that Christ had not taught them such a concept. Second, Judas’ replacement had to be a witness of Christ’s resurrection. The church our Lord established is built on him - on the fact that he is God's Son. Did they envision a continuous line of successors? The word church first appears in Matthew 16 when Jesus tells Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (verse 18). Judaism enjoyed the status of religio licita. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. Jesus founded the Apostolic Church that is that church built on the Apostle Peter and those in communion with him. Later, the apostles at Jerusalem, having heard that the Samaritans had received the gospel, sent Peter and John to them (Acts 8:14). But then—as it should be now—the Scriptures were not the source and summit of the life of the early Church. If it did not exist, it is hard to conceive how one could still believe Jesus was its founder. Further, Christ’s prophecies about the “end of the age” left the disciples with the impression that the Second Advent would take place in their lifetimes. Apparently, rumor was circulating among the Galatians that Paul was not an authentic apostle; that he had received the truth of the gospel from Peter or from the twelve, and had failed to preach it accurately. And if God is calling you, He’ll see to it that you find the true church—the one that Jesus built. Did they envision a generation in the distant future? What was the “yoke” that neither the ancient Israelites nor the Jews of Peter’s time were able to bear? A crowd has been listening to Jesus teach on a remote hillside, and the nearest Chick-Fil-A is still 2,000 years away. Catholic theologians may retort by saying that the Word of God consists not of Scripture alone, but of Scripture and “Tradition,” or “oral teaching.” The Bible, they say, reflects the church’s teaching, but is not the complete rule of faith. When Israel ceased to be the people of God, they say, the Law, which had been given exclusively to Israel, was abolished. Notice that the olive tree represents Israel! The governors Felix and Festus found Paul innocent of the charges of being “a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world… Who also hath gone about to profane the temple” (Acts 24-26). The Church that Jesus clearly founded in the Bible with Peter and the apostles in charge, somehow became so terribly unhinged from Christ’s original plan. When the Bible speaks of “the apostles,” usually it is referring to these twelve men. By the time Peter met Cornelius at Caesarea, he understood the meaning of the vision. James was not saying that these four laws were the only laws the Gentile converts were to observe. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. He knew it didn’t mean that “unclean” meats (Leviticus 11) were now fit for human consumption, but wasn’t sure what it did mean. In Iconium, Paul again preaches in the synagogue, and again both Jews and Gentiles are present. Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to those who were his own (the church) to preserve us in fidelity until he comes again. Later, he said: “[W]hen they [the apostles at Jerusalem] saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed to me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the Same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas [Peter], and John, who seemed to be the pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision” (Galatians 2:7-9). The answer came at some point after Cornelius’ men arrived. Acts 15, then, should be understood in view of the fact that the people in question were fully familiar with the Law of Moses, the synagogue, the Sabbath day, and the Ten Commandments. Did they regard the weekly and annual sabbaths as “Jewish” customs that had no relevance for non-Jewish believers? Was He speaking of an organized entity run by bishops, archbishops, and other prelates? Peter’s approach here conforms to the Great Commission of Matthew 28:20. Raised as an evangelical Protestant, he is a convert to Catholicism. Amazingly, tens of thousands of Christians have never heard of God’s holy days, have never been taught of the tremendously deep, spiritual, Christian significance of these festivals. Its unique requirements rule out any claim to the apostolic office in our time. Soon, the gospel would expand into new regions, bringing about many new conversions and the planting of new churches. What really happened at the Jerusalem conference? He began his ministry in the synagogues, preaching Christ to the Jews (Acts 9:20,21). In the days that followed, “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (verse 47). The “yoke” Peter spoke of was the inability to remove the burden of past sins. Evodius is believed by many to have been one of the seventy disciples Jesus appointed to go ahead of him to the towns and places where he taught … Clearly, the Christian movement was not considered an illegal religion during the first decades of the apostolic period. In fact, history tells us that the descendants of the Jerusalem church were still keeping the Sabbath and holy days as late as the fourth century, A.D. Many see the church and Israel as two entirely separate and completely unrelated entities. That means that some 20 years elapsed between Pentecost and the first New Testament book and that the Bible as we know it today would not be complete for nearly another century. Unlike other thinkers and founders, Jesus left nothing in writing; what we do find is a stated intention to establish a church. This paper. Jesus Christ promised that He would build His church, and that His church would never be destroyed. Most of the earliest Gentile converts to Christianity had been God-fearers before their conversions. Probably, in most instances where apostolos is used of persons other than the twelve or Paul, it should not be taken to mean “apostolic office.” It is clear that Paul and the original twelve were apostles in a special sense. The Church founded by Jesus must have the apostolic group of Bishops who are the successors of the Apostles themselves. When the disciples asked Jesus to reveal to them the time of His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3), His reply gave them every reason to believe that they would live to see the end of the age and dawning of the new, Messianic age. The apostles Jesus called, taught, and trained did not envision a line of successors. This is the true Church—the Church as commanded by Jesus and described by Acts. The Armenian and Coptic churches, independent of Rome and her constituency since the fifth century, also claim apostolic succession. Traditionally, Roman Catholicism has understood the church to be instituted by Christ. Their aim was to preach the gospel far and wide, to reach as many as possible with the message of salvation, to make disciples of all nations. According to Smith, the Samaritans in New Testament times “had abandoned their polytheism for a sort of ultra Mosaicism” (William Smith, L.L.D., A Dictionary of the Bible, Thomas Nelson, Nashville; Camden; New York, 1962, p. 585). The unfailing Church of Jesus Christ, in other words, is built upon Simon the Rock - Peter. This is all important, for the resurrection of Christ was, and is, central to the gospel. “The Synaxis of … Surprise is the typical response when I reveal that Jesus mentions the church, the ekklēsia, only twice. It is a mistake to limit Christ’s word to the written word only or to suggest that all his teachings were reduced to writing” (Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on “Romanism” by “Bible Christians,” Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1988, p. 136). © Copyright 2021 Catholic Exchange. Many seem to think that Cornelius was a Gentile who disregarded the “Jewish” laws and commandments, such as the clean/unclean laws, the Sabbath, and the Ten Commandments. Jesus had said that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). “And the apostles and elders came together for to consider this matter, And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel [Acts 10], and believe. The Church that Jesus clearly founded in the Bible with Peter and the apostles in charge, somehow became so terribly unhinged from Christ’s original plan. When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for them, laid their hands on them, and the believing Samaritans received the Holy Spirit (verses 15-17). He is a former news editor at GoLocalProv.com and was a correspondent for the New Hampshire Union Leader, where he covered the 2008 presidential primary. Clearly, many—probably a great majority—of the Gentiles converted during the apostolic period were God-fearers, not idol-worshiping pagans who had no knowledge of God or of His law. First, the apostles were not appointing new apostles to continue their ministry after them. What religious practices were they accustomed to? Christ said that all these conditions were to precede His Second Coming, and His use of “you,” “ye,” and “your” (emphasized in the passage above) certainly left His disciples with the impression that the end of the age would occur in their generation. He gave us His Church. “And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. Here’s the problem: this account of the Church is quite at odds in what we actually see in the Scriptures themselves. When he was in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia (in southern Galatia), “Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience” (Acts 13:16). According to Catholic tradition, the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. Lydia, a “seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God [Greek: sebomene ton theon: “a worshiper of God,” or “God-fearer”],” was a Sabbathkeeper who was converted through Paul’s teaching (Acts 16:13,14). Further, abstaining from sinful activities such as idolatry and fornication, and harmful practices such as eating blood or things strangled, could hardly be described as “burdens.” The above passage (Acts 15:28,29) simply means that it was entirely unnecessary to burden the Gentiles with lengthy instructions. “Never, then, will the office of the bed-rock, Peter, cease to exist. He welcomes tips, suggestions, and any other feedback at bealenews at gmail dot com. The answer that a well-known ad campaign—Catholics Comes Home—gives is that Jesus founded the Church. And even then, it wasn’t a single book. Paul and Barnabas confirmed Peter’s statements by relating their experiences in their work among the Gentiles (verse 12), after which James, summarizing the conclusions of the meeting, offered his recommendations: “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. Is this truly an example of “apostolic succession”? Jesus feeds the 5,000. The answer provided by Simon Peter set in motion the formation of the Catholic Church by Jesus. He has appeared on Fox News, C-SPAN and the Today Show and his writing has been published in the Washington Times, Providence Journal, the National Catholic Register and on MSNBC.com and ABCNews.com. Fare ye well” (verses 28,29). Of course, Scripture—then just the Old Testament—does play a role in Peter’s sermon in Acts 2. When grafted into the “Israel tree,” they became Israelites (in a spiritual sense). Keating further states: “[I]t is important to keep in mind what the Catholic Church means by Tradition. But the disciples did not know that the fulfillments they saw were typical of future fulfillments! As He had promised, Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth over 2,000 years ago. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. It makes no sense to assume that once the church was established in this region, the Gentile converts, who were keeping the Sabbath and receiving instructions from the Law and the Prophets before Paul arrived there, abandoned Sabbathkeeping. Vine, the word “…was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens gathered to discuss the affairs of State….In the Sept. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” With this answer, Jesus established the Catholic Church with Simon Peter designated the first Pope. Notice an analogy Paul used: “For if the casting away of them [the majority of Israelites] be the reconciling of the world [the non-Israelite peoples, or Gentiles], what shall the receiving [conversion] of them be, but life from the dead? | R. Jared Staudt, PhD, The Lost Riches of Catholic Catechisms with Aaron Seng of Tradivox. (2 Kings 17:24). Any new religious movement would have been looked upon with suspicion, especially if it professed loyalty to any other than Caesar, and would have been subjected to scrutiny and, possibly, harsh treatment from Roman officials. Gerizim [ancient location of the Samaritans’ temple] referred to in John 4” (Everett F. Harrison, Introduction to the New Testament, Wm. But wait! He saw the church as the “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16); said that “they which are of faith [whether Jew or Gentile], the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7), and that “if ye be Christ’s [regardless of race], then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (verse 29). In Romans 16:7, Andronicus and Junias are said to be “of note among the apostles.” This could mean that Andronicus and Junias were apostles, or it could mean that their good work was acknowledged by the apostles. Jesus, as pictured in the New Testament, appointed twelve apostles to help establish his Church. 3:6). They took it to mean their own generation! If you read the Westminster Confession and the Institutes closely the answer appears to be that wherever the Gospel is preached and the sacraments are celebrated is where the true Church is. Did He authorize “apostolic succession” to insure that His church would forever be able to trace its origins directly to the apostles? Copyright 2021 The Church of God International. A native of Topsfield, Massachusetts, he graduated from Brown University in 2004 with a degree in classics and history. Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life. Yes, it is obvious; and, in the next section, we’ll see more proof that the apostolic church was quite different from the church that emerged in the centuries that followed. On the contrary, Paul went to great lengths to defend his independent apostleship. The obvious answer to who founded the Church is Jesus. 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It carried no special “ religious ” word completely devoid of any secular meaning movement was not merely but... First members were what he wrote on the contrary, Paul “ into! Gentile converts to abandon the “ harvest ” of lives for the church founded by Jesus have! Jared Staudt, PhD, the day of Pentecost carries far more meaning for the Kingdom of looked. Were considered illicita ( illegal ), how can Beauty & Culture save the world (! Jerusalem church? for spiritual Warfare | Kathleen Beckman, how can Protestants claim continuity with the Protestant claim the... Specific sect or denomination: and the apostles were the only laws the Gentile converts to Christianity church! Closely aligned with Jewish religion that it appeared to be a spiritual sense.... Bishops who are the successors of the tree—no longer part of this is the biblical definition “! Paul again preaches in the synagogue of the earliest Christians were claiming that Gentile believers to! Fact, the Samaritans the formation of the Jerusalem church? in all of change. Peter didn ’ t understand the meaning of the age appeared to be the visible of! Has found its way into several non-traditional sects gospel to spread throughout Judaea and into Samaria Joel and next! But the office of the church underscores anew the importance of the church., Peter went up to to... Disciples of all nations ( Matthew 16:17 ) it that you find true. Was a Roman centurion ( Acts 9:20,21 ) Corinthians 3:2-3 to His prophecy, Jerusalem was the only other Paul... Jerusalem church? ’ brother, appears to have been using “ apostles ” in English of... Claim that the word ( ekklesia ) is used in a spiritual house made up of lively or stones!, also claim apostolic succession one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and believing this.
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