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The Beginning Of The Church
The beginning of the New Testament church is a subject of vital concern to all men. Unless we find its beginning, we cannot know its constitution and governing laws. A mistake concerning the time and beginning of Texas as a sovereign state means the difference between our constitution and that of the Texas Republic or of Spain. The territory now included in Texas has been under five flags yet no one thinks of going back to the constitution of Mexico, Spain, France, or the Texas Republic to determine the constitutionality of a law today. When the Republic threw off the yoke of Spanish rule, it denounced every vestige of its authority. Similarly, when it became a part of the United States, it became subject to the Federal Constitution. In like manner, there have been three principal ages in the history of man, and in each the people of God have been subject to a different system of law. The first began with Adam and ended when the law was given to Moses at Mt. Sinai. The second began with the giving of the law of Moses and ended when Jesus died on the cross. The third and last age began at the cross and will continue until the end of time. God's plan of dealing with man in every age has been the same. He has always demanded faith and obedience. The conditions in the plan i.e., the specific laws governing man's relation to God and his fellow man have differed in every age. Hence, we must find the beginning of the church in order to understand the terms of entrance into it, and the laws regulating Christian worship and Christian living.
When, then, did the New Testament church begin? Let us first note that it could not have been before the death of Christ. If it began prior to Christ s death, it was established under the law of Moses, for during his lifetime Christ observed the Mosaical law and taught his disciples to do likewise (Mt. 5:17- 20). But when the law of Moses was fulfilled in Christ's death on the cross, it was removed. Thus we read in Col. 2:14, "He hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross." Had the church been established before the cross, it would now exist without a law since the economy then in effect was taken out of the way. No kingdom can exist without a system of law. Therefore the church could not have been established prior to the death of Christ.
As the law of Moses came to an end when Jesus died on the cross, a new and better law was given to take its place. Thus we read that Christ is "the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it. For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth" (Heb. 9:15-17). The new covenant is the constitution of the New Testament church. It went into effect after the death of "him that made it" our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is to continue until time is no more.
Moreover, the beginning of the church could not have occurred after the time of the apostles. Paul says, The Father "delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love" (Col. 1:13). In the eleventh chapter of I Corinthians he gives instructions concerning the manner in which the Lord's supper is to be observed in the church, which Christ instituted to be observed in his kingdom. The terms, "kingdom" and "church" are used interchangeably throughout the New Testament to denote the same institution (Mt. 16:16-19). These and similar passages show that the apostles spoke of the church as a reality, already in existence; that they were already in it; and that the church was assembling to partake of the Lord's Supper, which was to be done after the establishment of the kingdom.
In the light of these facts, I would not want to entrust the salvation of my soul to an institution which claims to have existed on earth before the death of Christ, or with an organization which has come into existence since the time of the apostles.
The exact date of the beginning of the New Testament church is so definitely fixed by Christ and the Old Testament prophets that no room for doubt is left. About 700 B. C. the prophet Isaiah stated the time, place and conditions for the establishment of the church. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us. go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isa. 2:2, 9). In Micah. 4:1-3 we have almost identically the same language. Joel prophesied concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit which was to accompany the establishment of the kingdom, stating that it would take place in "the last days" (Joel 2:28). The expressions, "the Lord's house" and "The house of the God of Jacob" signify the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus Paul says, "The house of God. . . is the church of the living God" (I Timothy 3:15). The term "mountain" signifies government (Ps. 2:6; Dan. 2:35, 45). The government of the Lord's house was to be established above all human governments. The time was to be "the last days"; the place, Jerusalem, and the conditions, "all nations" would be included.
In 26 A. D., John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, commanded the people to repent "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Mt. 3:2). The time for the establishment was drawing near. But it did not take place during the lifetime of John, for several months after John's death, Christ spoke of the church as yet in the future, when he said to Peter, "I will build my church" (Mt. 16:18).
Some six to eight months before his death, Jesus said to his disciples, "There are some of them that stand by, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power" (Mk. 9:1). From this statement we learn: (1) that the kingdom had not yet come; (2) it was to come during the lifetime of some who were then present; (3) that some would probably die: (4) that it would "come with power." Unless we wish to admit that some of the apostles are yet living, we must agree that the kingdom has been established. We may note also that both Jesus and Judas died soon thereafter. If we can find the exact time when the "power" came, we will have located the time when the kingdom came because the kingdom and the power were to come together.
Shortly before his ascension Christ told his apostles to "tarry ye in the City (Jerusalem), until ye be clothed with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49). The disciples then asked, "Lord, dost thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?" Jesus replied, "It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has set within his own authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:6-8). Now turning to the second chapter of Acts we read, "And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4).
The apostle Peter said, "This is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:17). Luke states that "there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5), and Peter said that the promise was to them, and to their children "and to all that are afar off (Gentiles) even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him" (Acts 2:39).
Herein we have the fulfillment of all the prophecies made concerning the beginning of the church: (1) the power came upon the apostles as promised by the Lord; (2) the gospel which was for "all nations" began to be preached on this day: (3) Jews "from every nation under heaven" were present, and Peter said the promise of the gospel was also "to them that are afar off;" (4) Peter referred to the occasion as being the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, and the time as "the last days;" (5) eleven of the apostles, who were present when Christ foretold the coming of the kingdom with power during their lifetime, witnessed the beginning of the church; (6) "the word of the Lord" i. e., the Gospel which Peter preached went forth from Jerusalem, the proper place. The apostle Peter preached the first gospel sermon in the name of the resurrected Christ, and in response to it, three thousand souls were added to the church that day (vs. 41). Later Peter refers to the event as the "beginning" (Acts 11:15).
In the light of these facts, it is certain that the church was established on this particular occasion, the first Pentecost following Christ's resurrection, in 30 A. D., at Jerusalem.
In conclusion, let us observe the terms of entrance into the church as set forth in Peter's sermon on this occasion. After his resurrection, Christ said to his disciples, "Thus it is written, that Christ should suffer, and rise a-gain from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Lk. 24:46, 47). Here, on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ, Peter said to those who believed, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38). On this day then, the gospel for all nations the constitution of the New Testament church began to be preached. When the apostle Peter announced the conditions upon which God offered the forgiveness of sins, he used "the keys of the kingdom" which had been given unto him by the Lord Jesus Christ (Mt. 16:19). Hence, the law of entrance which he here announced was bound in the courts of heaven, and made compulsory on all subsequent generations who would enter the Kingdom of heaven.