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...the Bible tells me so:
Lessons from Early Church History
Everett Ferguson, professor of Bible at
There are many similarities between our beliefs and practices and those of Christians living after the first century. These things also agree with the Scriptures. Those second-century Christians believed in the one God and the one Lord (cp. Acts 10:34-43; Ephesians 4:4-7). For them baptism was normally performed by immersion (cp. Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12) on adults only (cp. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38) and was for salvation (cp. Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21). It was later that some began baptizing infants and substituting pouring and sprinkling for baptism. Those early Christians assembled on Sunday (cp. Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). At those meetings they had singing, praying, Scripture reading and preaching. They partook of the Lord’s Supper and contributed of their means. At first, the church was organized according to the simple New Testament pattern of a congregation having its own elders to lead them (cp. Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2). Christian living was not an option for them (cp. Philippians 1:27-28). They were very benevolent (cp. Galatians 6:10). Like us, those early disciples were divided over the scripturalness of serving in the military (cp. Matthew 5:44 with Acts 10:1-2). Finally, there were women who were praised for their service (cp. Acts 9:36-41; 18:2-3, 26).
Although Dr. Ferguson stays away from the heretical writings of the early
centuries of Christianity, nonetheless he does discuss some of the departures
of the “orthodox” church. The simple confession of faith at baptism (cp. Acts
8:37) eventually developed into a full-fledged creedal system. The first
substitution for baptism was pouring. Later, infants were baptized. Church
organization gradually changed into a monarchal system in the West, becoming
the Roman Catholic Church, and into a patriarchal system in the East, becoming
Orthodox Churches, for example, the Greek Orthodox Church. From the Lord’s
Supper developed the
There are two notable differences between the practice of the early church and the church today. Such differences should not be viewed as unscriptural. They had a “president” in their assemblies, that is, someone who presided over the meeting to maintain and direct orderly worship (cp. 1 Corinthians 14:40). Also, the Lord’s Supper was conducted in conjunction with a meal, commonly called “the love feast” (cp. Jude 12; Acts 20:7, 11; 1 Corinthians 10:16-21).
What lessons can we learn in the study of the first three centuries of Christianity? With regard to departures from the simple teaching of the New Testament, we learn that many of them sprang from good intentions. Initially, pouring was used for immersion in emergencies. The necessity of baptism “justified” other ways to apply water when there was not enough water to immerse. Later, the exception became the rule. Infant baptism was introduced because infants “needed” grace, too. Later, since baptism brought forgiveness of sins, many began to teach that infants were born “in sin.” Creedal statements developed as tests of faith. Hierarchical church government came in to combat heresy more easily.
Digressions also arose out of true doctrine. The early church looked to the Lord’s Supper as one argument to combat the Gnostic doctrine that Christ did not come in the flesh. They correctly argued that Jesus’ statement, “This is my body” (Matthew 26:26 and parallels), means “This is my flesh.” Therefore, Christ has a fleshly body. However, after Gnosticism in the church had been defeated, they continued promoting the idea of “This is my flesh” by applying the word “flesh” not just to the physical nature of Jesus but to the bread of the Lord’s Supper as well. That is how this part of the teaching of the Mass came into being. They did not simply study the Scriptures, but they continued to teach and develop their traditions.
We must heed the lessons of the past. Every generation must study the Scriptures afresh. We can benefit from and should take advantage of the labors of past generations, remembering however, that those traditions, beliefs and practices are not our standard of authority. We are disciples of Christ and followers of His word. We also must recognize the danger of good intentions and over-developed teachings. These bring into the church deviations from the true teaching. As I study the early history of the church, I am amazed at how much we are like the second-century Christians!
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