The Bible Speaks:The Church in Search of Itself - AFC 1996

A Community of Exiles

1 Peter 1:1; Acts 15; Eph. 4

The early church was a community of strangers and exiles.

The early church
small in number
urban
unofficial, almost secret
catholic
accused of being "atheists"
considered "odd, peculiar" by society

martyrs were very highly esteemed
membership required years of preparation before baptism

Identity
separating from Judaism
arguing over the role of the law
debating the relationship of faith and philosophy
"What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?"
"Is God at work in philosophy, or are his ways wholly beyond the understanding of humans?"
sorting out heresies
Marcionism‹denied continuity with the Old Testament and the law
Gnosticism‹special knowledge more vital than trust in God's grace
Montanism‹end of the world near, rigor in personal discipline required
resolving the canon of Scripture
There was a lot of extra stuff being circulated.

Ordinary Christians probably missed the debates though they were quite literate in their faith.
The faith displayed a "democratizing" tendency. It was clear to their pagan neighbors that all sorts of people in all sorts of conditions enjoyed an equality in the Christian communities. All were equal in the sight of God.

As a community of exiles, they could only point to God as the source of its strength.

What do you think?
€ Would you have been part of the early church?
€ What attributes are necessary for the existence of the church?
€ How is martyrdom honored today compared with the early church?

We stand on the shoulders of those who have worked out their faith with pain, joy, confusion, blood, sweat, tears, careful thought, and grace.
God in the World: The Church in Search of Itself

Without history, events simply happen; they have no context. The result is that we have no models or forebears who have walked this way before. We also cannot enjoy a sense of purpose; the moment is everything.

History is more than a record of the past. It is the flow of themes, visions, and purposes of individuals, societies, and God‹all intertwined.

We confess that God acts in history.

Slices out of Church History

Third Century Medieval Reformation 19th Century North America Late 20th
Century

movie Ben Hur The Name of a Rose ? Christy Star Trek IV

identity exiles "arrived"
rulers reformers missionary
evangelicals confused,
in a changing
world

struggle identity in
hostile
world own self absorption vision,
grace piety, experience, revival truth,
identity in
indifferent
world

	Third Century	Medieval	Reformation	19th Century North America	Late 20th Century
movie	Ben Hur	The Name of a Rose	?	Christy	Star Trek IV
identity	exiles	"arrived" rulers	reformers	missionary evangelicals	confused, in a changing world
struggle	identity in hostile world	own self absorption	vision, grace	piety, experience, revival	truth, identity in indifferent world