Churches of the 1^st Century

By Doug Schofield

Generally, when we speak of church history, we tend to move quickly from the establishment of the church in Jerusalem, discuss some of the persecution and on to the great apostasy and the emergence of the Roman Catholic Church. From there we usually jump to the Reformation movement sparked by men like Martin Luther and others, and then to the Restoration work of the early 19^th century. Perhaps it would be good to take a closer look at the congregations of the first century, those established by Peter and Paul and others, and get to know a little more about the people who were among the first to believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Essentially what we are able to learn from the scriptures about the church in the first century comes from the time frame beginning on the 1^st day of Pentecost following the resurrection and going through approximately the time Paul was imprisoned at Rome. In these brief accounts there are approximately 50 different congregations mentioned, some only in passing, and others with considerable detail.

The contemporary writings of various uninspired men, sometimes referred to as the early church fathers, provide some informative glimpses into the lives of early Christians. These men were among the believers who were baptized by the apostles and were leaders in their local congregations. At least some of them very likely had the apostles hands laid on them and received the ability to perform miracles, (Acts 6:6,8; 8:14-17); and the guidance of the Holy Spirit as they preached and taught. Their writings are uninspired correspondence and have no Biblical authority nor any place in the cannon of scripture, but they do give us much insight into the minds of these early Christians.

{It is important to note that this special measure of the Holy Spirit was not transferable, i.e. it could only be conferred by the apostles. Simon recognized that fact (Acts 8:19). That special provision for the spreading of the gospel and the confirmation of its authenticity died out with the last of those upon whom the apostles laid their hands to confer the gift; by that time the New Testament cannon of scripture had been written and widely distributed. The fact that none of these gifts continued beyond those who had direct contact with the apostles proves that the Catholic theory of apostolic succession cannot be true. It was necessary for the apostles to personally lay hands in order to confer the extra measure of the Holy Spirit, (Acts 19:6).}

Barnabas, Hermas, Clement, Ignatius and Polycarp are among the most well known of these men. Besides having been taught by the Apostles they may have received the laying on of the Apostles hands. Some examples of their writings include a letter written by Clement, who was an elder in the church at Rome, to the church at Corinth sometime around AD 96; it states that Paul “had traveled to the utmost bounds of the west.” Although the name Clement was a fairly popular name, there is support for the suggestion that this could have been the same individual mentioned by Paul in Philippians 4:3. Clement of Rome passed away in about the year 101. Ignatius, who was martyred during the reign of Trajan between 98 and 117, wrote a letter to Polycarp from which we gain more insight. Polycarp served as an elder in the church at Smyrna, probably having been taught by the Apostle John; he died in 155 AD.

It wasn’t enough that un-believing Jews opposed and persecuted the church from its very beginning, but following the Jewish rebellion the Roman government targeted Christians as well as Jews. After Vespasian and his son Titus destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70, they continued to persecute Jews and Christians alike in the years that followed. After a brief respite, Domitian, Vespasian’s other son, became Emperor in AD 94 and set out to promote the Roman religion of emperor worship, and thus he renewed persecution of Christians who refused to worship any but the God of Heaven. Domitian was succeeded by Trajan.

Letters written by Pliny, governor of Pontus and Bithnyia, to the Roman Emperor Trajan between 111 and 113 AD give some of the most powerful testimony on the activities of the church during that time. What better source of information than from one who was a career enemy of the church? In one of his letters he wrote that Christians “were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food.” He wrote further, “the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms.” During this time Christians met secretly in catacombs beneath the cities and in caves, in hidden rooms, usually with a guard or lookout posted near the door. The Roman authorities opposed the public practice of any religion other than worship of the emperor; those caught or accused of being Christians were given an opportunity to renounce Christ and be pardoned, or face death in the arenas. Also, remember that at this time, Sunday was a day like any other in their society – it was a work day. Since many of the early Christians worked in the service of others they had to meet at night or very early morning. Did Paul begin his sermon in Troas (Acts 20:7) at 10 or 11 o’clock in the morning and preach all day until midnight? Probably not – he preached until midnight probably because he didn’t start until after the work day had ended.

What would motivate those people to defy the government and risk their lives meeting in uncomfortable and inconvenient circumstances – when most people today won’t venture out to a nice heated or air conditioned building if it’s raining? Exactly what is it that those early Christians had that is lacking in us?

One thing which made Christianity unique in ancient times was its exclusivity; there was no room to accommodate paganism, idolatry or even the continued practice of Judaism. Christianity, of necessity, must supplant all other religions. God had commanded, “Thou shall have no other gods before me,” and as the one true God He had established His church – there is no place for any other. It is no wonder then that practitioners of pagan religions quickly became bitter enemies of the Lord’s Church.

The church in Antioch of Syria - It was here that members of the Lord’s church were first given the name “Christian”, (Acts 11:26). Many of them had fled the persecution in Jerusalem and settled in this ancient city, located near the Mediterranean coast and the mountain ranges of Lebanon. (8:1; 11:19-20). Although not mentioned in the Old Testament, this city was established about the year 301 B.C., and served as a major capitol of Syria. The city was famous for its official tolerance of Jews, and thus became a sanctuary for them. Because at that time most pagans and non-believers considered those who were disciples of Christ as merely another sect of the Jews, they too enjoyed this measure of religious freedom. It is notable that it was from here that Paul and Barnabas set out on their first missionary journey, (Acts 13:1-4).

The church in Antioch of Pesidia- Acts 13:13-52 This city was a very important crossroads, established about 281 BC in the central plateau of Asia Minor. It served as a principal trade route between the seacoast city of Ephesus and the cities of Mesopotamia in the Euphrates Valley. In the 3^rd century BC the Romans fortified the city and constructed an aqueduct which may still be seen there today.

It was customary for Paul to visit the local synagogue when he came to a new city; this provided a ready made audience for him to preach the gospel of Christ. (It is notable to observe that in many places Paul established the church by preaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath day, but later we observe them practicing New Testament worship on the First Day of the Week – clearly, the apostles taught First-Day-of-the-Week worship). One of the difficulties in the early church was that the Jews who believed were slow in giving up many of the habits and rituals they had been accustomed to practicing under the Mosaic Law.

In the typical synagogue service, there was the reading of the scriptures followed by one or more men speaking. In Antioch, at the appropriate time, those in charge invited their visitors Paul and Barnabas to speak, so Paul addressed the assembly. He began, as he frequently did, by recounting the historical background of the Promised One of God, telling about John the forerunner, then of the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. The God-fearing gentiles in the congregation asked for more preaching, and in the remaining verses of chapter 13 we see the beginnings of the church in Antioch of Pesidia.

The church at Thessalonica, Acts 17:1-10 - The scriptures give an excellent summary of the beginnings of the church in Thessalonica. After being released from the prison in Philippi, Paul and Barnabas traveled on to Thessalonica, and, as they customarily did they went to the local synagogue to teach. On his second missionary journey, Paul established a congregation of the Lord’s church there. Later, he sent Timothy from Athens back to Thessalonica to encourage them in the face of their persecutions, (1 Thessalonians 3:1-3). The city itself is the second largest city in Turkey, and capital of the province of Macedonia. It was built around 315 BC, and later renamed for the step-sister of Alexander the Great. The church here is notable in that most of its first members were gentiles, and in that it continued to be a great influence for good in the region. In Paul’s letters to them he makes no reference to any Jewish background, not Old Testament quotations, and no problems of holdovers from Jewish traditions. Yet, they were not without problems of their own; it would appear that they neglected daily responsibilities, perhaps because they were of the impression that Christ’s second coming was immediately imminent. Also, they lacked understanding about the dead in Christ, and some of the elementary principles of the faith. Acts 17:11 points to a casual attitude, perhaps even indifference toward the scriptures and their authority. There was an old Jewish saying, “none was of a noble spirit who did not employ himself in the study of the law.” Paul says that those in Berea ‘received the word’, indicating that they had a ready mind to be taught by the scriptures; and that they searched the scriptures daily – they wanted to make certain of the authority to which they submitted. This nobility, or lack thereof, had nothing to do with status of birth or social rank; it reflected their attitude toward the word of God. However, we must not leave Thessalonica thinking that the church there was weak; Timothy evidently reported back to Paul good things about them, (1 Thessalonians 3:6). Paul’s assurance of their faith is reflected in the remainder of the chapter.

The church in Berea was located in the province of Macedonia, about 30 miles or so from Thessalonica. This ancient city could possibly have been built as early as 432 BC, (though records are not precise). It was here that Paul, Silas and Timothy fled following the uprising of the Jews in Thessalonica. As was his custom, Paul preached in the synagogue and as a result the church was established there. There were many who believed in Berea, including prominent Greeks, men and women. Paul writes that those in Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica – but this wasn’t a matter of nobility of birth or social status, rather it was a nobility of spirit that caused them to have a genuine and sincere interest in the scriptures. Webster defines the word noble as ‘possessing outstanding qualities … arising from superiority of mind or character or ideals or morals’. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words points out that the Greek word eugenesteros means ‘noble-minded’. An honest seeker of truth will make every effort to verify and validate the things taught by others. Remember, they didn’t have the New Testament as we do; they had the Old Testament Scriptures in their entirety, including the prophets, so they had to listen to the preaching of the Apostles and then search the Old Testament scriptures to discover that what they were hearing was indeed true. You do know, don’t you, that you can do that same thing today? You can verify everything that the New Testament teaches in the Old Testament writings. Too many people today are simply not interested enough in spiritual matters, nor do they take them seriously enough to cause them to spend much time studying the Bible.

It wasn’t long before the non-believing Jews in Thessalonica heard what was happening in Berea and went there to stir up trouble. They were jealous of the success of the gospel, and became agents of Satan to try to stop it. The faithful there conducted Paul safely out of the city and sent him on his way to Athens, where he waited for Paul and Timothy to catch up with him. Acts 17:10-15. When persecution caused Christians to scatter, they went everywhere preaching the word, (Acts 8:4).

Of course, upon arriving in Athens, Paul didn’t play the part of a curious tourist and wait quietly for the others to join him, (Acts 17:16-34). Distressed over the idolatry of the city Paul began to talk with the Jews in the synagogues and with locals in the market places, to the point that some of the leading philosophers of the city insisted that he explain himself further; they even provided the forum for his famous sermon on Mars Hill, which he began by saying “Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious”, (Acts 17:22). Paul started at the creation and unfolded for them God’s great eternal plan, down to the resurrection. Along the way, he makes the beautiful statement that ‘we are God’s offspring’. Like most non-believers today, some mocked the idea of the resurrection, others said they would hear Paul again on the matter, and, as in most cases, some believed. As is frequently the case with intellectuals, philosophers and academicians, many of them probably had an arrogant attitude toward Paul’s message. Paul’s parenthetical note in Acts 17:21 is a comment on this fact, “(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)”

Here we see a graphic illustration of the lesson Jesus taught in the parable of the sower in that some of the seed Paul sowed fell into prejudiced hearts and was choked out by the thorns of pride and arrogance, other fell into stony hearts in which it could not take root; but some fell into good hearts and they became believers.

As an inland port on a gulf of the Aegean Sea, Athens was a major cultural and intellectual center. It was one of the four major cities of the Roman Empire, along with Alexandra in Egypt, Jerusalem in Palestine and Rome itself. Even though Athens was conquered by the Romans in 146 BC, it continued to enjoy political freedom within its locality.

The results of Paul’s preaching in Athens were far-reaching. It is very likely that some of those who heard Paul’s preaching were visitors to the city, and may have carried the message of the gospel back home with them to other places. For example it is suggested that Stephanas may have been one such convert. We read of him in 1 Corinthians 16:15 where Paul states that he was among the firstfruits of Achaia – indicating that he may have been among those who believed in Athens.

The church at Corinth is especially notable in many ways. We have two letters written by the Apostle Paul to this congregation which provide a large amount of information of great value to us today. Paul spent a lot of time in Corinth, preaching and converting some Jews and many Gentiles. There were many problems in the church at Corinth, but still they maintained the basic elements of the faith. Paul referred to them as the ‘church of God’ and individually as ‘saints’, letting us know that although they struggled at times, they remained faithful. By the way, all Christians are saints. Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines saint as one separated from the world and consecrated to God. Paul urged the church at Corinth to separate themselves from the world, (2 Corinthians 6:17). It does not require a special beatification process to become a saint, it is not a special title of honor, (i.e. Mother Teresa), that system was invented in the 4^th century; all that is required is faith, repentance, confession and baptism. (Psalms 50:5; Daniel 7:18; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 2:19; Philippians 4:21; Jude 1:3 – more than 50 passages in the New Testament alone make it very clear that all Christians are saints).

Corinth is one of the oldest cities on earth, occupying a high plateau that overlooks a narrow isthmus between central Greece to the north and Pelopennesus to the south, between two large gulfs. For many years ships were dragged over the isthmus on sleds and later on wooden rollers, before a canal was finally dug. Located about 48 miles southwest of Athens this major seaport became the capital of the Roman province of Achaia, mentioned at lest 11 times in the New Testament writings. The sinfulness of the city is legendary, and some of the problems in the church there reflect this fact.

There were faithful Jews there, among them Aquila and Priscilla, having fled Rome in the deportation of Jews from there. They were tentmakers by trade, no doubt exporting their products worldwide. Paul worked with them to earn his living for a time, and of course taught them the gospel, baptizing them into Christ. Paul calls them his helpers, and we find evidence of this in Acts 18:24-26 when they took Apollos aside and taught him the way of the Lord more perfectly. These early Christians were ever about the business of teaching others the gospel.

There are two cities named Caesarea, both are very likely sties of early congregations of the Lord’s church. Caesarea Philippi, located at the headwaters of the Jordan River near Mount Hermon, in the north central part of Palestine, about 150 miles from Jerusalem. Mount Hermon was a significant landmark delineating territories, and is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament. The area was conquered by Joshua under Moses, (Joshua 13:1-5); and its beauty is mentioned by the Psalmist in 133:3. The locality had been an ancient pagan city, mentioned in Judges 3:31 and 2 Chronicles 5:23 for its worship of Baal. The first century city was built by Philip the Tetrach, son of Herod the Great in 20 BC. Jesus visited the area, and it was here that He asked His disciples “whom say ye that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-18). The locality is especially notable because of this the first public confession of Jesus as the Son of God. Phillip appears to have been the first to have preached the gospel here, (Acts 8:40).

The church at Caesarea- (Judea) was probably visited frequently by Paul as he passed through on his various missionary trips. This was the only seaport on the Palestinian coast, rebuilt by Herod the Great to become the largest harbor in the Mediterranean, and the site of his summer palace. Revenues from this port no doubt funded many of Herod’s building projects, including the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. It is notable to observe that one of the features of the land of Canaan was the fact that it had no seaport on the west, and was land-locked by the mountains of Lebanon to the north and by deserts to the south and east. This feature provided a safe and self-sustaining region in which God’s chosen people could flourish and be relatively protected from the influence of the pagan world. Yet, when the fullness of time was come, by His providence, God provided a magnificent seaport through which the gospel could be exported to the entire world, and favorable political conditions, a universal language of trade and commerce, and many other expediencies which aided in the spreading of the gospel.

The references to the church at Caesarea seem to indicate that it was a strong congregation with a full time preacher, (Acts 21:7, 8, 9-14). Of course the church at Caesarea was particularly notable because of Cornelius and his family and friends, (Acts 10:1-24).

Someone had preached the gospel in Ptolemais prior to Paul’s arrival, because Acts 21:7 says “…we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.” This is the only mention of this congregation in the New Testament, however from the Old Testament we learn that this was a city in the area that was given to the tribe of Asher. The name of it was Accho, and it was one of the cities from which the Israelites did not drive out the inhabitants, (Judges 1:31). The name was changed during the inter-testament period by one of the Ptolemys upon having conquered the territory. It was a seaport town in the region of Galilee near Mount Carmel. The sand on its shores is a high quality silica widely used in glass making, and was a principle export in the 1^st century. It is interesting that Luke simply writes that Paul saluted the brethren there and spent the day with them.

The island of Crete is one of the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, approximately 5,000 square miles, located in the approximate center of the sea. The people of Crete were known for their wickedness, lying and cheating, (Titus 1:12). There were said at one time to be a hundred cities on the island, certainly there were congregations of the Lord’s church in a number of cities. In his letter to Titus Paul tells Titus that he had left him there for the purpose of appointing elders in every city, (1:5), and he goes on in the following four verses to specify certain qualifications.

Certainly Crete would have been a likely port of call on the voyages Paul took, and he could well have preached there and established congregations. We read of one of those trips, known as the shipwreck voyage, in Acts chapter 27. But we also know that there were Jews from Crete who were in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost who heard Peter preach the first gospel sermon, (Acts 2:11), and we may be sure that they carried the gospel message home with them. That Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders, (plural), in every city clearly illustrates the autonomy of each local congregation of the Lord’s church. There is no hierarchical superstructure, no presiding bishop or Metropolitan in charge of all the churches in the region.

Another prominent island in the Mediterranean, is Cyprus, and it figured prominently in the early spread of the Lord’s church. It is located in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean, bounded by the Aegean Sea to the north, only about 60 miles from the coast of Syria to the east, and 46 miles to Cilicia on the coast of Asia Minor to the west, not far from Tarsus the hometown of the apostle Paul. The island of Cyprus was the home of Barnabas, (Acts 4:36); Christians fled there in the aftermath of the stoning of Stephen, (Acts 11:19), and Paul visited there, (13:4; 21:3), and in 21:16 we are introduced to one of the faithful Christians from the island who had apparently since moved to Jerusalem.

Troas figured prominently in early church history. The territory itself is the setting for Homer’s Iliad, dating to the 7^th or 8^th century BC. The city was rebuilt by successors of Alexander the Great in about 300 BC, coming under Roman rule in about 197 BC. The area is mentioned in Hittite writings discovered as recently as 1983. (The Hittites thrived from as early as 1750 BC to around 1180 BC). While in Troas on his second missionary journey Paul saw the vision of the Macedonian Call, (Acts 16:8-11). We also discover that it is apparently here that Paul met Luke. In 2 Corinthians 2:12 Paul says that a door was opened to him in Troas. He had left a garment there with someone named Carpus, which he asked Timothy to bring to him in Rome, along with books and parchments, (2 Timothy 4:13).

There are approximately 50 congregations mentioned in the New Testament, and we are able to know varying details about several of them. We have letters from the apostle Paul to the churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Colossee, Philippi and Ephesus; and, of course, there is the church in Jerusalem. Here is the list of those not yet considered in this study:

Spain Salamis Seleucia Paphos Perga

Iconium Lystra Derbe Attalia Galatia Tarsus

Cyprus Europe Ephesus Miletus Malta

Achaia Rome Neapolis Cenchreae Ephesus Assos

Amphipolis / Apolloina Mitylene Tyre Rome Colossee

Ephesus Smyrna Pergamos Thyatira Sardis Philadelphia

Laodicea Jerusalem Lydda Joppa Pontus Cappadocia Asia

Bithynia Spain Salamis