Origin Of Christianity
“What is the origin of Christianity?”Colossians 1:18, 26-28Christ is also the head of the church,which is his body.He is the beginning,supreme over all who rise from the dead.(Or the firstborn from the dead.)So he is first in everything.………….This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God's people.For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect(Or mature.) in their relationship to Christ.
Discussing the origin of Christianity requires the review of an intricate story spanning time and eternity. Instead of a simple beginning, we consider Christianity’s origin from several points of view.Acts 2 records the birth of the church at Pentecost. This was indeed a Feast of Harvest
Exodus 23:16 "Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, (Or Festival of Weeks. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth). ) when you bring me the first crops of your harvest."Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest(Or Festival of Ingathering. This was later called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Tabernacles (see Lev 23:33-36). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).) at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields.
This was a harvest of about 3,000 souls that took place on that day when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and disciples
Acts 2:1-41. On the day of Pentecost(The Festival of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover (when Jesus was crucified)all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,(Or in other tongues.) as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. "These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are-Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!" They stood there amazed and perplexed. "What can this mean?" they asked each other. But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, "They're just drunk, that's all!"
Peter Preaches to the Crowd
Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, "Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this.These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o'clock in the morning is much too early for that.No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants-men and women alike- and they will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the heavens aboveand signs on the earth below-blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood redbefore that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'(Joel 2:28-32.)"People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene(Or Jesus of Nazareth.)by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.King David said this about him:'I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead(Greek in Hades)or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life,and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.'(Ps 16:8-11)"Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn't referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David's own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah's resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave."God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies,making them a footstool under your feet."'(Ps 110:1) "So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!"Peter's words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" Peter replied, "Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles(Or and to people far in the future; Greek reads and to those far away)-all who have been called by the Lord our God." Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!" Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day-about 3,000 in all.
Biblically, Christianity is not a building or religion but the church, or household of God. It is embodied in Christ and His people, individually and collectively. Before time began, the church was conceived in the mind of God.
Galatians 4:4
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.
His Son was to be the church’s true founder, foundation, and head
1 Corinthians 3:11
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have-Jesus Christ.
As the first of the chosen ones
1 Peter 2:6As the Scriptures say,"I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,(Greekin Zion) chosen for great honor,and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced."(Isa 28:16 (Greek version))
Jesus, the anointed one (that is, the Christ) died as the perfect Passover lamb fifty days before the events of Acts 2. Before that, He prepared the apostles for three years, giving them the Father’s Word and keeping them in His name
John 17:12, 14
During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
After His resurrection He breathed into the apostles the breath of eternal life in the form of the Holy Spirit, who was to indwell them
John 20:22Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
John 14:25-26
I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative-that is, the Holy Spirit-he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
They became the seeds of the new church, which sprouted into thousands when the Holy Spirit came upon them, empowering them to witness, preach, and carry out the mission Jesus gave them. Rising from the dead, Jesus was the first fruits of God’s Kingdom;
John 11:25-26
Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life.[a] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?"
Thus, Jesus is the one foundation and source of the church. The Old Testament had prophesied that a "shoot" would come from the "stump" of Jesse (King David’s father) and that this "branch" would bear fruit
Isaiah 11:1, 10Out of the stump of David's family (Hebrew the stump of the line of Jesse. Jesse was King David's father) will grow a shoot- yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
Jesus is that Messiah or Christ. He is the hope of Jews and Gentiles.
Romans 15:12And in another place Isaiah said,"The heir to David's throne (Greek The root of Jesse. David was the son of Jesse.) will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles.They will place their hope on him."(Isa 11:10 Greek version)Revelation 5:5; 22: 16But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, "Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David's throne,(Greek the root of David. See Isa 11:10.)has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals."
Peter learned that Jesus is not merely a human being, the Son of David, when God showed him that Jesus is “the Son of the living God.”
To this, Jesus added that He Himself is the Rock or foundation upon which He would build His churchMatthew 16:16-18Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah,(Or the Christ. Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean "the anointed one.")the Son of the living God."Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John,(Greek Simon bar-Jonah; see John 1:42; 21:15-17)because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock') and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell(Greek and the gates of Hades.)will not conquer it.
Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
The building of the church upon Jesus, the Rock of Israel
Isaiah 30:29
But the people of God will sing a song of joy, like the songs at the holy festivals.You will be filled with joy, as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord-to the Rock of Israel.
2 Corinthians 6:16And what union can there be between God's temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:"I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.(Lev 26:12; Ezek 37:27.)Ephesians 2:21-22 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.Some writers mention that the word for "church" in the original Greek is ecclesia, meaning "a called-out assembly" (Ôò¼├üÔò¼ÔòæÔò¼ÔòæÔò¼ÔòùÔò¼├Ç┬ñ├óÔò¼ÔòúÔò¼ÔûÆÔò¼┬ó)Matthew 16:18Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock'), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.and that the church is formed by the "elect" or chosenMark 13:20In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.Luke 18:7Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?Romans 8:33Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one-for God himself has given us right standing with himself.Yes, the elect have been called out from the kingdom of darkness, but we have also been called into God's family as adopted children.Romans 8:16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children.Ephesians 5:1, 8Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.We are chosen, but Jesus is the first of the chosen1 Peter 2:6As the Scriptures say, "I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced."(Isa 28:16)John 8:31Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.and He lives in us as we live or abide in HimJohn 15:4-9 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love..Christians are individually in Christ even as the church as a whole is in ChristRomans 12:5so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.1 Corinthians 1:2, 30I am writing to God's church in Corinth,(Corinth was the capital city of Achaia, the southern region of the Greek peninsula) to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus (Or because you belong to Christ Jesus.) just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…….God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.The mystery of Christ and the church is brought out in Paul's discussion of the mystery by which two become "one flesh" in marriage, in Ephesians 5. There the apostle writes that "this mystery is profound," referring to Christ and the ChurchEphesians 5:32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.The tense of the Greek word translated "mystery" (Ôò¼ÔòØ┬ñ├á┬ñ├ó┬ñ├ñÔò¼├Ç┬ñ├╝Ôò¼ÔòúÔò¼ÔöÉÔò¼┬ó) is singular. This grammatical detail shows that in their unity Christ and the church are one mystery. They are not a mixture or compound; rather, their union is like that of a man and woman in holy matrimony who become "one flesh" or a new family unit without giving up their individualityGenesis 2:24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. In marriage a couple becomes legal "kin," even though they are not blood relatives as Adam and Eve were. Similarly, through Christ God legally adopts the chosen as childrenEphesians 1:5God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.Because of this, and because Christ lives in each member of the church, His spiritual body, He is our hope of gloryColossians 1:18, 26-28Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead.(Or the firstborn from the dead.) So he is first in everything………….This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God's people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect (Or mature.) in their relationship to Christ.Christ's presence in Christians answers Jesus' prayer in John 17:John 17:20-21 "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one-as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.John 17:11Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;(Some manuscripts read you have given me these [disciples].) now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.The connection between the words "church" and "Christianity" is old and complicated, but we can simply say that Christians do not go to church; rather, they are the church. Most disciples who first joined the growing church were Jews. Like Paul (Philippians 3:5Romans 11:1), they considered themselves Israelites, descendants of Abraham, to whom belonged the covenants, the giving of the law, etc. (Romans 9:4-5). They acknowledged the Lord Jesus as Messiah and God but did not (at first) call themselves "Christians." At Antioch in the first century, outsiders first called the followers of the Christ "Christians" (Acts 11:26). They thought "Christ" was the proper name of the God whom they worshipped, not aware that "Christ" means "anointed" and that Jesus is the Christ. As for "church," some early Christian writers used this word to refer to the place where people worshipped (i.e., the church building). But in the New Testament, the word translated "church" refers to the "household of God." In Ephesians 2:19, the Greek word translated "household" is Ôò¼ÔöÉ├ƒÔòØÔûæÔò¼ÔòæÔò¼├ü├ƒÔöÉ├╗Ôò¼ÔöÉÔò¼Ôòú. This plural form refers to the all those who belong to the immediate family of God, i.e., those who are spiritually family in the faith (Galatians 6:10Ephesians 2:19). As members of this universal household, Christians have taken root and blossomed among the various peoples and in almost every language group in the world. Now, let's look beyond history to reflect on the eternal origins of the church (i.e., "Christianity") in the mind of God. Even as God chose Israel (Deuteronomy 7:626:18), He also elected the church in Christ "before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4). In eternity past, God willed that the elect would be saved and made part of His household by adoption. "He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will" (Ephesians 1:5). However, the church born on Pentecost has not yet realized its ultimate purpose in its development. The church is not yet the spotless bride of Christ (Revelation 19:6-8), in accord with God's purpose for it, as we read in Ephesians 1:4: "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." The fulfillment of this prophetic purpose which God set forth in Christ (Romans 8:289:11) "to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment" (Ephesians 1:10) does not depend on "├ö├ç┬¬ anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time" (2 Timothy 1:9).One reason the "visible" church is not perfect is because within its ranks there are false Christians. Jesus told the apostles that within the church there would be a mixture of "wheat and chaff," genuine saints and secret, unrepentant, self-deceived sinners (hypocrites). Considering that Christ has not yet returned in power and glory (Matthew 26:64Mark 13:26), and that the elect have not yet been revealed as God's children (Romans 8:191 John 3:2), the mystery of Christ and the church, kept secret for long ages (Romans 16:25), remains partially concealed. The unveiling of the church will not take place until the moment we are changed, as 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 says. The real hope for Christians is not that we will be immortal (the damned in hell will also be immortal, but they will be without Christ), but that Christ lives in us now (Colossians 1:28).This brings us to a final thought about the church's present hidden-ness and ultimate unveiling. We have been redeemed, we are no longer slaves to sin, and death no longer has dominion over us (Romans 6:5-9). Nevertheless, our "body of sin" or "body of death" (Romans 6:67:24) has yet to be "brought to nothing." We still await the resurrection and redemption of our sin-stained flesh. This will take place when the Lord returns for us. Then "we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is" (1 John 3:2). Then, our glorious, imperishable spiritual bodies will be revealed (Philippians 3:20-21), and we will no longer be burdened by what remains of the carnal or sinful mind. Thus, in a real sense, the church or Christianity in its perfection, as the undefiled and glorified bride of Christ, continues to wear a discrete veil, until she is called to heaven in glory at the marriage supper of the Lamb. This event is prophesied in Revelation 19:6-8, where we read, "Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: 'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.' (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)"