HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE N.T. CHURCH
- Lesson Three -

INTRO:
Good evening. This is the third in a series of lessons on the history of the New Testament church.

Last week we looked how the church of the New Testament was foretold and established. Let’s look again at what we observed about Isaiah and Micah:

1. The word "mountain" is understood in the sense of “that which rules over”, government; and this government of the Lord's House, his church, is to be exalted above all other institutions.
2. The Lord's House is "the church of the living God," the church that Jesus built (1 Timothy 3:15).
3. All nations shall have an opportunity to be a part of the coming kingdom, both Jews and Gentiles ("all nations shall flow to it").
4. That the church is to be established in the last days, the closing days of the Mosaic dispensation, the days of the Messiah (Hebrews 1:1,2 – “God, ...has in these last days spoken to us by His Son”; Acts 2:16,17 – “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh”).
5. The place for the beginning of the Lord's House (church) was Jerusalem, "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. " In connection with this prediction see Luke 24:47 – “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” and also Acts 2:1-4 – “1. Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”.
6. From verse 4 in Isaiah we learn who is to be the "judge" or "ruler" in that coming kingdom. "And He will judge between the nations, and shall rebuke many people. " It is the same "he" of verse 3, "and He will teach us of his ways, and we shall walk in His paths."
7. In verse 4 we are told of the peaceful nature of those who become citizens of the kingdom, "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." This indicates the peaceful spirit of the men and women who make up the kingdom, its citizens (Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”; Romans. 12:18 – “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”).
8. Isaiah prophesied that the Lord's House or his Kingdom would begin in the last days and the law would go forth from the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2-4; Luke 24:47). The Law went forth on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-38). This was the beginning of the Lord's Church, the establishment of the Messiah's Kingdom, in the days of the Roman Kings as prophesied by Daniel (Acts 2:1-4; 11:15).

Next let’s look again at what we observed about Daniel:

1. In the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he, as king of Babylon, was the head of gold and after him would arise another kingdom inferior to his kingdom (cf. v. 39). Then a third kingdom would arise followed by a fourth (cf. v. 40).
2. Since the stone cut without hands was to strike the image in his feet, and since the feet represent the fourth kingdom, it follows that the kingdom of God was to be set up during the existence of the fourth kingdom. We observed verse 44 in this connection, " And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. " (Daniel 2:44).

It is not too difficult to identify the kingdoms in the prophecy because we have a definite starting point in history and know the nations which ruled most of the known world and the dates:
1. Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar, king, app. 600 B.C. The kingdom fell about 536 B.C. "Represented by the head of gold."
2. Medo-Persia: Established by Cyrus, king of Persia, and Darius, king of Media, fell about 330 B.C. "Represented by the breast and arms of silver."
3. Macedonia (Greek Empire): Established by Alexander the Great. Divided among his generals about 323 B.C. "Represented by the belly and thighs of brass."
4. Roman Empire: Established as a world empire by Octavius Caesar about 30 B.C. "Represented by legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay."

"In the days of these kings,” therefore refers to a time when Rome ruled the world, "And smote the image upon its feet" therefore signifies that the event would definitely occur during the reign of the fourth kingdom (i.e., Rome).

The New Testament begins its story while Caesar still ruled the world. "In those days came John the Baptist" (Matt. 3:1,2). In what days? "In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Luke 3:1,2). Then in Mark 9:1 Jesus says; “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”

Summing up the prophecy of Daniel we notice the following five facts about the kingdom he foretold would come in the future:
1. It was to be established during the Roman Empire and in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar John came saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Luke 3:1-6; Matt. 3:1-3).
2. This kingdom is to be established by the Lord. This kingdom (the church) was established by the Lord and is governed by him alone (Matt. 16:18 – “I will build My church,”; Eph. 1:20-23 – “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”).
3. The kingdom to be set up by God was to supplant all other kingdoms in that it is to become the last and final world power. According to Daniel's prophecy there will never be another earthly kingdom with world-wide dominion; that distinction indeed belongs to the kingdom of God.
4. This kingdom will never be destroyed. The kingdom Jesus built (i.e., his church), is to continue to the end of the world. Jesus is king in his kingdom now, Head of his Church now, and will reign until “the last enemy that will be destroyed is death” 1 Cor. 15:24-28. ; Heb. 12:28 – “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
5. The kingdom described by Daniel was to have a small beginning and later fill all the earth. Jesus spoke of his Kingdom as having a small beginning like the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31,32 – “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,”); he also refers to it as leaven in Matthew 13:33 – “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven”.

This evening I would like to look at the first sixty-five years of the New Testament church:
1. First we will look at the Growth & Strengthening of the church.
2. We want to notice the Warnings & Problems noted in the early church.
3. And finally we should examine the Beginnings of Apostasy

I. THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH GROWTH AND STRENGTHENING
A. In Matthew 28:19-20 we see the instructions Jesus gave to His disciples; “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen”
1. The gospel was to be brought to everyone. Those that believed were to be baptized and were to be taught to observe all things commanded of the disciples. The spread of the gospel had an effect and many who heard understood the truth of it and obeyed. We read in Colossians 1:5 – “ because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel”. The early spread of the gospel was mostly to the Jewish population who already had a background in the knowledge of God.
2. What Happened To The Church Once It Has Been Established? The book of Acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Its narrative supplies a bridge connecting the life and ministry of Jesus to the life of the church and the witness of the earliest believers.
i. After Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts chapter 2 the church grows and multiplies.
(a) Acts 2:41 – “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” – 3000 souls were added to the church.
(b) Acts 4:4 – “However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”.– 5000 more believes were added.
(c) Acts 5:14 – “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,”
(d) Acts 6:1 – “Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.” The word I have in this translation as “Hellenists” in other translations is “Hellenistic Jews” or “Grecian Jews”. These were Greek speaking Jews rather than Aramaic speaking Jews.
(e) Both classes of these "Jews" were Christians, but there was a language barrier. When the number of the disciples was multiplied there were still only 12 Apostles doing the teaching. For some reason some of the widows were being neglected and the Apostles saw the need for additional oversight that had the potential to take time away from their ministry. The Apostles installed a group of men to take on that oversight. We see this as the first problem the young church had to face.
(f) Acts 6:7 7 – “And the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” We should note that the success of the gospel in bringing many priests of the old order into the church was not an unmixed blessing. The presence of such a group would tend to meld the old and the new institutions, a melding that was contrary to God's will.
(g) In Acts 8 we see that a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem and they were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. And so the Word spread.
B. We see the early church being further organized & strengthened. In Acts 14:21-23 – “21. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22. strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'' 23. So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” Acts 18:23 – “After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.”
1. In Acts 9 tells us how Saul was persecuting the church. But then he sees the light.
i. According to history Paul later became a victim of his own previous work. The Bible does not tell us the exact time or manner of the Apostle Paul's death, and secular history has yet to provide us with any definitive information.
ii. Historians say about 68-69 AD Paul was put to death by some of Nero’s men because of false accusations of the Jews. Evidence highly suggests the apostle Paul's death occurred after one of his missionary journeys ended in about 67 A.D. Paul was likely beheaded by the Romans, under Emperor Nero, sometime around May or June of 68 A.D. Nero himself died by suicide on June 9th of the same year.
C. Gospel and Epistles were written. Matthew -Revelation
II. THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH - WARNINGS AND PROBLEMS
A. Departures from the Faith Were Predicted. There are warnings issued and I want to look at some.
1. In the book of Acts we see the warning of this in Acts 20:28-31 – “28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. Savage wolves will draw away disciples”. The warning was not only of outsiders that would come among them but that even among the disciples people would rise up to try and corrupt the church.
2. In his second letter to the church in Thessalonica Paul warns about a deceiver; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 “3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” A warning that there will be a “Falling away”.
3. Paul issues another warning to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:1-3 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
i. Paul says here that the Spirit expressly gave the warning that there will be a “departing from the faith”. These words tell us that there was neither doubt nor vagueness about it.
ii. The faith simply means the Christian faith.
iii. Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons ... It is not taught here that evil spirits actually teach, but that they "through men" deceived multitudes and are, in fact, themselves instigators of the false teaching. In the Old Testament, the evil spirit who stood before the Lord said, "I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets" (1 Kings 22:22); and the same evil power would be able also to corrupt Christian elders, change them into hardened hypocrites, speaking the most glaring falsehood, with no reproach whatever from their dead consciences “having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.” Of course, not elders alone, but ministers, preachers, and the whole echelon of religious hierarchies are included in this.
iv. “forbidding to marry” This heads the list of characteristics of the great apostasy that shall seduce and mislead the church of God. “commanding to abstain from foods” Is another characteristic and we can see both of these being developed in the church as corruption spread. There are many fanciful interpretations of this passage that one can find in commentaries. Yet there seems to be a total blindness to the one overwhelming, universal fulfillment of this very prophecy, namely, that found in the apostate church herself which there is no need to name, because every child on five continents already knows it.
4. This Apostasy or departing from the faith is the same that is in 1Timothy 4:1. Both words are from the Greek meaning to abandon, to rebel, to desert. It is translated “forsake” (Acts 21:21), and "fall away from" (Hebrews 3:12). Look at 2 Tim. 4:1-4 “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. Others will “turn away their ears from the truth and be turned to fables”.
i. Paul declared his solemn charge "in the sight of" God and of Christ Jesus; with attendant warnings as a powerful reminder of the eternal judgment.
ii. Preach the word! Speak the word of God in its completeness, not altering it in any way, nor adding to it.
iii. “For the time will come” begins the warning. The desire for pleasure is insatiable, and it is increased by indulgence. The desire will be for teachers that pander to this. When a child of God fails away from the truth, there is absolutely nothing too ridiculous or preposterous for them to receive. It then is that the most bizarre of doctrines are able to seduce the Christian who has lost their foundation.
B. Now I would like to turn our attention to some problems dealt with by Paul:
1. The congregation in Corinth had divisions, carnality, and immorality among its members. Some were eating meats offered to idols, abusing the Lord ’s Supper, and misunderstanding of spiritual gifts. Some even denied the resurrection.
2. In Galatia saints were turning away from gospel and listening to Judaizing teachers.
3. At Colossae there was preaching of philosophies of men, legalism and heresies such as Mysticism and Gnosticism.
i. Acts 20:28 and following Paul warns of the future. There will be grievous wolves in sheep’s clothing. Some of them will even come from within.
C. What are some of these threats to the church?
1. Judaic legalism taught that the Law of Moses was the highest form of Law and must be kept by Christians (at least Jewish ones).
i. Judaizing teachers claimed that the Jewish law was binding upon Christians, admitting that Jesus was the Messiah, but claiming that salvation must, nevertheless, be obtained by the works of the law. We see the effect of this often in the history of the church.
ii. They especially urged that all Gentiles be circumcised.
iii. In order to gain their point and turn the Galatians from their belief, they tried to weaken the position of Paul. They stressed he was not one of the twelve, and therefore, not one of the apostles, and his teachings were not of binding authority. They suggested that he had learned his doctrine from others not from the Spirit.
2. Gnostism is a form of Dualism. It was not new but was rooted in an old eastern dogma, that all matter is evil and its source also evil. If this were true, God, who is in no way evil, could not have created matter. Since our bodies are matter they are evil and God could not have created them. This is a philosophy that would haunt the church for centuries. From this notion that our bodies are evil two extremes of error arose.
i. That only by various ascetic practices, whereby we punish the body, can we hope to save it.
(a) Paul argues in Colossians 2:20-23 If you have died to the world why subject yourselves to the regulations of men "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle''.
(b) In this view of ascetic practice was the esoteric and exclusive theory which was a doctrine of secrets and initiation (Colossians 2:2, 3, 8). By this doctrine they declared that the remedy for man's condition was known to only a few, and to learn this secret one must be initiated into their company.
ii. That since the body is evil, none of its deeds are to be accounted for. License was, therefore, granted to evil conduct, and evil passions were indulged at pleasure and without impunity.
(a) Paul’s reply is in Colossians 3:5-8 saying that since we have our life in Christ’s we must stop the evil deeds of the flesh.
(b) That since God could not have been creator of these sinful bodies, they could not, therefore, come to him for blessing, and so they formulated, in their theory, a series of intermediary beings, such as angels, that must have created us and whom we must worship especially as a means of finally reaching God. Paul refutes this false worship in Colossians 2:18. “Let no one defraud you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels...”
iii. Followers of gnostism hold the belief that two opposing yet equal forces or philosophies exist. We see this in pagan religious literature. This was a merger of Christianity and Hellenistic thinking.
3. Teachings about the good deity (the Unknown Father) leads people to think of God as remote and unapproachable except through secret knowledge.
i. This idea shows God as found in the Old Testament to be the evil side and having initiated creation. Within the physical created by the evil deity is man, with a soul trapped inside. This soul is thought to be a “divine spark” and a part of the good deity. The goal of the soul is to get back to the good deity with the help of special knowledge.
ii. Marcion (80 AD- 159 AD) supposed that the God of the OT was not really evil, simply inferior, imperfect and oppressive as opposed to the true and supreme God, Jesus.
4. What are the implications of Gnosticism?
i. It denies the sovereignty of God
ii. In Dualism, creation is always from something. In the Bible, it is from nothing.
iii. Gnosticism views evil as a cause rather than a choice.
D. John saw many changes during his lifetime and the influence of Gnosticism which still continues today in various religious bodies.
1. First John was written to expose the errors of Gnosticism.
2. 2 John 7 warns that many deceivers have gone out into the world. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
3. 3 John 9 warned of Diotrephes who abused his authority in the church. 9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.
4. The Last of the Scriptures are written. Let’s take a look at the Book of Revelation written around 96 AD and what was happening at the time.
i. Romans were persecuting Christians.
ii. Domitian was ruler in Rome when John was exiled to Patmos until 96 A.D.
iii. Domitian was killed in 96 by his own personal servant.
iv. He was a paranoid man, even suspecting his family to be after him.
v. Had become so afraid of those around him he locked himself in a room only allowing one of his trusted servants in.
vi. The young “trusted” servant plotted to kill him because Domitian had killed his own master and stolen him to be the Caesar’s own servant.
vii. With the death of Domitian the church was somewhat relieved of persecution for about 10-12 years.
5. Relieved of persecution yes, but note the condition of the churches:
i. Ephesus left first love – Revelation 2:4 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
ii. Pergamos tolerated error – Revelation 2:14,15 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate
iii. Thyatira allowed false teaching – Revelation 2:20 20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
iv. Sardis was dead – Revelation 3:1 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
v. Laodicea lukewarm – Revelation 3:15,16 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
E. The Beginning Of The Departures In Biblical Form
1. Departures in Biblical form would occur as soon as AD 110. There was the changing of the Biblical Order of things.
i. This began as early as 110 AD, when Ignatius of Antioch wrote, “Do ye all follow your bishop as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the apostles, and to the deacons pay respect?”
ii. The New Testament teaches a plurality of elders/bishops. Not singular.
(a) Acts 14:23 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.;
(b) Acts 15:4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.;
(c) Acts 20:17,28 17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God[c] which He purchased with His own blood.
(d) Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
(e) Titus 1:5-10 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— 6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a bishop (elder) must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8. but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. 10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
iii. Some have suggested Diotrephes may have been one of the first to try this single bishop approach, 3 Jn. 9-10 9. I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.
iv. This unapproved view of Biblical order would blossom into something far from what God intended.

CONCLUSION:
We see how as the early church grew the inevitable difficulties of size arose. The Apostles solved these things with organization and strengthening. We see that the gentiles were added to the church further expanding it.

There were warnings of those who would come to draw people away from the faith and those who would come to subvert the faithful and lead the believers into apostasy.

There were many ways this would be done and we can see some of this today.
False teaching – teaching that has no grounding in the word of God.
Placing other beings in authority between us and our Lord.
Commanding the eating or refusing of food.
Forbidding that which is not forbidden in the scripture.
Teaching false doctrine
1. Such as that man is innately evil and could not have been made by God.
2. Or salvation is only by secret practice. Or initiation into a select group.
3. Or God is remote and unapproachable.
4. Or creation was from something rather then from nothing.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.
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Reference Sermon
John Cripps