Many Christians today look back to the church of the first century, the church we find in Acts and the letters of Paul, as the model to emulate. Some denominations aim to be “restorationist,” that is they seek to restore the purity of that early church.
Whether or not that should be the aim of the modern church, to even consider it requires some knowledge of the first century church. Here are five things that you should know about that early church.
- The central doctrine seems to be the resurrection of Jesus. Some skeptics argue that the resurrection was something that developed over a period of time. However, the textual evidence suggests that a belief that Jesus return to life after his crucifixion was there from the very beginning.
- The Scriptures that the early church used were what Christians call the Old Testament, probably in the form of the Septuagint. In addition, there were stories about Jesus that were authoritative. We do not know exactly when they were put in written form (See ). Paul’s letters also seem to have been copied and duplicated soon after his death.
- There was tremendous turmoil concerning the mixed ethnic makeup of the church, specifically between Jews and Gentiles. The earliest Jesus followers were Jewish. The question that caused the conflict was whether Gentiles had to convert to Judaism, taking on the Law with the sign of circumcision before becoming a Christian. Even after the Jerusalem council, which determined that Gentiles had direct access to Jesus, there were those who questioned the way in which Gentiles should become Christians. The Jewish part of the church probably began to diminish after the Jewish war of 67-70 AD.
- There was some diversity of theology and practice within the early church. While not as diverse as the second century, when there were many sects, the lack of a central authority allowed for some differences of interpretation.
- Christianity was unique in the first century in that other (Gentile) religions were not exclusive. One could worship Zeus and Isis and the Emperor without any inherent problems. Only the Christians required full commitment to Jesus, tolerating no companions. This would bring them into conflict with their neighbours around the Roman Empire.
For more information about the first century, listen to episodes 7-12 of the podcast.
