The Church Since PentecostPentecost to The Council of Nicea, AD
30 325Beal Heights Presbyterian Church Adult Sunday School Class
December, 2009 February, 2010
Course outline12/06/09 What Is Church History? Why Study It?
12/13/09 The earliest churches 12/20/09 The crazy '60s 12/27/09 The
end of the apostolic age 01/03/10 The early church fathers 01/10/10
The practices of the early church 01/17/10 Early heresies 01/24/10
The next 200 years 01/31/10 The New Testament Canon 02/07/10
Defining the Faith 02/14/10 The Late Persecutions 02/21/10
Constantine 02/28/10 The Council of Nicea
Early Church History
12/06/09 What Is Church History? Why Study It?
1. What is church history?The Church Defined: The Westminster
Confession of Faith, Chapter 25 What is the church? WCF 25 1. The
catholic or universal church, which is invisible, consists of the
whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be
gathered into one, under Christ the Head thereof; and is the
spouse, the body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
The Church2. The visible church, which is also catholic or
universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation, as before
under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that
profess the true religion; and of their children: and is the
kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out
of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.
The Church
3. Unto this catholic visible church Christ hath given the
ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and
perfecting of the saints, in this life, to the end of the world:
and doth, by his own presence and Spirit, according to his promise,
make them effectual thereunto.
The Church4. This catholic church hath been sometimes more,
sometimes less visible. And particular churches, which are members
thereof, are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the
gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public
worship performed more or less purely in them.
The Church5. The purest churches under heaven are subject both
to mixture and error; and some have so degenerated, as to become no
churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there
shall be always a church on earth, to worship God according to his
will. 6. There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus
Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome, in any sense, be head
thereof.
The Church
Visible / invisible Visible
The Marks of the church Word, Sacraments, Worship,
Discipline
More or less faithful
2. Why Study Church History?
Spiritual growth Understanding the issues of our day Knowledge
of how Scripture came to be Theological tools which allow you to
evaluate and combat errors Practical tools which you may not have
heard of before
Why Study Church History? (cont'd)
Knowledge of how your particular church tradition came to be
Humility and perspective and charity Caution when confronted with
"new" ideas Why this topic can never be covered adequately in this
class
3. Source Material For Church History
Historical sources
Scripture Inscriptions Documents Art
Ways of interpreting history
Secular/materialistic
Optimistic Pessimistic Roman Catholic Orthodox Catholic
Protestant Denominational Bias
Sacred
4. Periods of Church History
Ancient
Apostolic 30-100 Ante-Nicene 100-313 Nicene 313-590
Medieval 590-1517 Modern
Age of Reformation 1517-1648 Age of Reason and Revival 1648-1789
Age of Progress 1789-1914 Age of Ideologies 1914-
5. Background of the NT Church
Very cultural and cosmopolitan Recently established Empire
One Empire, one law. Free movement all around the Mediterranean
Roman system of roads
Greek as a universal language (and culture)
Background of the NT Church (cont'd)
Greek philosophy had also weakened the old religions New
religions, superstitions, magic and astrology were on the increase
in the empire
Background of the NT Church (cont'd)
Jewish residency throughout the Empire helped the Christians in
several ways
The Greek Scriptures became the Bible of the early Christians
Legality of their religion aided the early Christians since they
were seen as Jews The synagogue system was a ready made model for
the early churches
