The First Church

In the last two posts that I made here I wrote of the prophet Joel and King David; these were two important characters in the Old Testament.  One commonality that they share is that they were both quoted by Peter in the first gospel sermon given by Peter and the rest of the apostles, recorded in Acts 2.  The setting for this sermon, or speech, is that the apostles were in Jerusalem speaking to a totally Jewish audience.  Jesus has just ascended into heaven, as recorded in Acts 1. What follows is the response by some of the Jews who heard this harsh teaching by Peter and the others.  The response is one of shame and hurt; the hearers, being told that they just killed the Messiah, said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?  Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' " 

Note verse 41, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.  This is the first church that we read about in the Bible; it begins right here in Jerusalem.  Read verses 37-47 of Acts 2 and you will get a good picture of what the first Christians were doing.  It concludes with verse 47, "praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

As we read on through Acts, we learn of the movements of these early Christians.  Initially, they stay in Jerusalem, but begin to scatter when we get to chapter 8.  But then, this is what Jesus had said to them, this is what had to happen, that they were to go into all the world, and teach all men--see Matthew 28:18 and Mark 16:15-16.

The early church is established and begins to flourish as a result of persecution.  And it grew by leaps and bounds because people could see that these Christians had the truth; that Jesus is real; and that salvation was being offered through the good news of the gospel. These characteristics are still true today for those who follow Jesus.

Thanks for reading.  See you next week.