THE CHURCH Lesson 1

Various theories about the establishment of the church of Christ have been advanced. Some say that it began in the Garden of Eden when God declared that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). Others say that the church was established when God said to Abraham " I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:16-18).

Again, some say that the church was set up when the Jews were organized into a nation by Moses at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-20). Still others will contend that the church began in the days of John the Baptizer, when he preached "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2), and great multitudes came to hear him and to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Others say that the church has not been set up yet, but that its establishment is still in the future.

Obviously, all these theories cannot be right; in fact, all of them may be wrong! The way to settle the matter is by an appeal to the Scriptures. If by doing this we can find when the church began, we need not spend any more time on these confusing theories. In order to discover the church in purpose, in promise and in prophecy, a few Scriptures will be noted, and others suggested for further study. This information from the Bible should give us the final answer to when the church began.

When was the Church Established?

Theories of men:
1. In the Garden of Eden
2. During Abraham's Time
3. At Mount Sinai
4. While John the Baptist Lived
5. Yet in the Future

The Church as Existed

The apostle Paul in the Ephesian letter makes reference to the church as being in the eternal purpose of God: "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence" (Ephesians 3:10-12). This Scripture clearly demonstrates that God has always intended to make known through the church His manifold wisdom. Some people today incorrectly teach that the church was merely an "accident" or "afterthought" in the mind of God and was established only after the Jews rejected Christ. An attempt is made to support this falsehood by distinguishing between the church and the kingdom and to contend that the kingdom was in God's eternal purpose, but that the church was substituted in its place. This is an error. The truth is that the church and the kingdom are the same as far as this earth is concerned, and Paul states clearly in Ephesians 3:10 -12 that the building of the church in this world was in the eternal purpose of God.

As amazing as it may sound, the church existed in the purpose of God before He created mankind. And during the Old Testament period of time, before Christ came, there are many promises and prophecies which look forward to the establishment of the church. In a very real sense, it can be said that every prophecy of Christ, every promise of His coming to redeem man, included His church. Let us consider a few examples.

Isaiah 2:2-3

Notice now an example of an Old Testament passage which speaks directly about the establishment of the church. The prophecy is from the book of Isaiah and was written in the eighth century before Christ: "In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:2-3).

1.	This prophecy concerns Judah (the Jews) and Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1) in the "last days," a phrase pointing to the Christian age.
2.	The main subject of the passage is the "mountain of the Lord's house." This refers to the rule or the government of the Lord's spiritual kingdom.
3.	This "mountain of the Lord's house" is to be established "in the top of the mountains." Or, in other words, God's rule will extend over all other rules; His kingdom will be supreme above all kingdoms.
4.	God will be the instructor in this kingdom.
5.	"All nations shall flow unto it." Gentiles as well as Jews shall be subjects in God's kingdom.
6.	"Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord for Jerusalem." "Zion" is a synonym for Jerusalem because the "hill of Zion" was located in that city. In some sense, according to the passage, the Word of the Lord will go forth from the city of Jerusalem in the last days.

How can we tell that this Scripture refers to the church and its beginning? This is answered by the fact that Jesus applied and used this Scripture to refer to the beginning of His rule and reign. In this connection read Luke 24:45-47. Here Christ showed that everything he said and did was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. He declared that his suffering and death were predicted by the prophets. He said that it was a matter of prophecy that "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Jesus is referring to the very words of Isaiah 2. He shows that the Isaiah prophecy was about to come to reality beginning in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. It is important at this point that Acts 2 be carefully studied.

Look at Acts 2 and see the prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled!

1.	On the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ, the apostles are in Jerusalem, where a great number of Jews have assembled for a religious feast. They are "men of Judea (Jews) and Jerusalem (Acts 2:14)," and from every nation (Acts 2:5), just as Isaiah said.
2.	In Acts 2, it is evident that the government, or reign or rule, of Christ is proclaimed by His resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:22-26; note especially verses 30-36, where Christ is raised up to sit on David's throne, and is exalted to God's right hand as Lord and Messiah). He is King (Lord) over the kingdom which Isaiah prophesied.
3.	On Pentecost God, through the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), was the instructor in reference to this kingdom.
4.	The fact that Peter declared in Acts 2:39 that the promise of forgiveness is "to you (the people present)...and to your children, and to all that are far off," shows that all people in all nations for all time are involved. The great commission of Jesus confirms the same fact: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel" indicates that the subjects of this kingdom include all nations.
5.	On Pentecost in Jerusalem, the gospel was first preached as a reality: the apostles declared in fact the Good News of Jesus as resurrected Lord and Savior. On the basis of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, salvation was offered to the people on Pentecost. It was the beginning of the "last days" (Acts 2:16-17) in which they could have the remission of sins through Christ (Acts 2:37-40). This Good News, the Word of the Lord for salvation, went forth from Jerusalem into all the world (Acts 1:8, 8:1).

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, had a dream about a large statue standing before him: its head was made of gold, its breast and arms of silver, and its belly and thighs of brass (bronze), its legs of iron, and its feet of iron and clay. The king's dream was interpreted by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 2:31-45). Daniel's explanation of the king's dreams pictured four world kingdoms or empires which would appear on the stage of world history. According to Daniel, in the last days of the kings of the fourth empire, the kingdom of God was to be set up (Daniel 2:44).

Please read Daniel 2:31-45 and notice these historical facts:

1.	The Babylonian Kingdom, over which Nebuchadnezzar ruled, was in power from 612-539 B.C. This is the head of gold in Daniel's explanation.
2.	The Medo-Persian Kingdom, which came to power in 539 B.C. and fell about 330 B.C. is represented by the breasts and arms of silver.
3.	The Greek or Macedonian Kingdom, established by Alexander the Great and later divided among his generals in 323 B.C. is represented by the belly and the thighs of brass.
4.	The Roman Kingdom, with its first emperor (Caesar Octavian) from about 31 B.C., was a world power until its fall in 476 A.D. In Daniel's interpretation, the Roman Empire is represented by "legs of iron" and "feet part of iron, and part of clay." It was "in the days of these kings" that God would set up a "kingdom which shall never be destroyed" (Daniel 2:44). In other words, the Kingdom of God would begin after the start of the Roman Empire, some time during its existence from about 31 B.C. until about 476 A.D.
5.	The New Testament events happened while Rome ruled the world as a great empire. Jesus was born and died under the rule of Rome. John the Baptist began his preaching in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar: "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea" (Matthew 3:1; Luke 3:1-3). The burden of his message was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2). Tiberius ruled until 37 A.D. His years included Pentecost Day, when the church or kingdom of God began. Thus, just as Daniel had predicted, God's kingdom (the church) was established during the days of the Roman empire - "in the days of these kings."

In Zechariah 12:10, the Holy Spirit declares: "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." Again, in Zechariah 13:1, the Spirit says: "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity."

These prophecies contain some wonderful, specific promises.

1.	This prophecy in Zechariah was for "The house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem." These were the very persons present on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:5, 14).
2.	The prophecy says, "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced." Peter said to these people that they had taken Jesus and by wicked hands crucified Him and slain Him (Acts 2:22-23). These same people responded to Peter's inspired preaching by crying out, "Brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).
3.	The fountain had been provided on Calvary in the shedding of Jesus' blood. It was "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
4.	This baptism "for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:38) made forgiveness of sins available through the opened "fountain," that is, through the blood of Christ. Those people who accepted forgiveness through faith, repentance and baptism were saved and became the church. This happened on the Day of Pentecost after Jesus's death and resurrection. From then on, the church is in existence (Acts 2:47; 5:11; 8:1).

Thus it has been established from three prophets that the time for the setting up of the Lord's kingdom was on the day of Pentecost, following Christ's resurrection. Isaiah, Daniel and Zechariah all join in making this point clear. This is the church in prophecy, fulfilled on Pentecost in Acts 2.

It is essential now that Matthew 16:13-19 be read very carefully, for this is the direct promise of Christ that He would build His church. These words were spoken by Him probably about six months before His death on the cross.

1.	From the time Jesus spoke, the church was future: "I will (future tense) build..." The church was not in existence six months before Jesus died; it was in the future.
2.	The church was to belong to Christ: "I will build my church..."
3.	It was to be established by the Lord Himself: "I will build..."
4.	The church was to be His kingdom (see verse 19).
5.	No power, not even Death (the gates of Hades), could prevent the building of the church. In a short while Jesus would die, but His blood (death) would be the very basis for mankind's salvation. God would raise Him from the dead! Death, nor any other opposition, would ever stop or overcome the church.
6.	Here Jesus gives authority for the preaching of the apostles.

This part of Jesus' promise would begin on the Day of Pentecost when Peter and the rest of the apostles preached the Good News in reality for the first time! In fact, when we compare Jesus' promise in Matthew 16:13-19 with the events and words of Acts 2, we see His promise completely fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost.

Scriptures for Further Study:
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (Jesus as a Suffering Servant); Micah 5:2 with John 7:42 and Matthew 2:1 (the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem).