Doctrine of Humility

Doctrine of Humility
DATE: October 21, 2007

SCRIPTURE: Galatians 5:22-23; EXODUS 18:1-27; NUMBERS 12:3; HEBREWS 11:24-28

INTRODUCTION [i]

Our study theme is "Becoming Who God Wants Me To Be.” Our scripture passage is found in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” We are examining each of these nine qualities over the nine-week study period. Keep in mind that the Fruit (notice that this is singular) of the Spirit is all nine of these qualities, not one or two. We do not get to pick out which we want; it is an all or nothing proposition. Some of the individual qualities may stand out at certain times, but each of the nine is to be present in the life of each and every Spirit-filled Christian.

This week we look at gentleness.
Galatians 5:22-23 uses the word gentleness. Both of these words are used in scripture in both the Old Testament and New Testament, but they do differ in their definition. Neither of these attributes is popular to describe a person in today’s world.

Webster defines each word as:
Humble – having or showing awareness of one’s defects; modest, lowly; unpretentious.
Gentle – refined; polite, generous, kind, tame, patient, mild, moderate.
The word humble is not found in Smith’s Bible Dictionary or Wickliffe Bible Encyclopedia.Gentle is not found in Smith’s Bible Dictionary and in Wickliffe’s, it is defined as “moderation in action, refinement in mannerisms and disposition.”

Scripture passages from the New Testament that pertain directly to being humble:
Matthew 18:2-4
Mark 10:43
Luke 18:13-14

Here are three illustrations of a person being humble:
First. Rick and Gidget Johnson, of Slidell, Louisiana, came out of a life of sin and hard living to be saved about ten years ago. The Holy Spirit changed both of these people in different ways, but both now live a humble life. Gidget was a practicing witch, very much into the occult, in her other life. Now she teaches aerobics and clean living. Rick was a drummer in a rock and roll band, with a life filled with drugs, fast living, money and sin. After Salvation, Rick went into sales and was very successful, but this put him back into that environment of evil temptations. Rick was convicted by the Holy Spirit to become the janitor of his church and humble himself into a very medial job that required hard physical labor. The best part of his job was being at church, which took him away from many of the sinful temptations that he had experienced in his day-to-day life. Being around his pastor, and others doing God’s work, gave him encouragement to remain clean.

Second. “A very good friend of mine has just resigned as the Minister of Music at a large church. He is headed to a different church in a different state with many unknowns ahead. He must be out of his mind because his ministry at the present church is growing. His people love him. His family is close by. His wife’s family lives in the same town. The church is about to build a new auditorium that he would help design as his dream facility. Why would a man, in his right mind, leave all this success and go far away to a church that has been experiencing some very serious problems? Why give up what is in hand to face so many unknowns? He would respond that he is doing it at the direction of the Holy Spirit. This is very true, but does being available require this man to give up seeing with his physical senses and humbling himself to the Holy Spirit?”

Third. “It was the month of May. Spring had arrived along with a chilling cold front in Indiana. I was having lunch in a quaint little corner restaurant when I first saw him.

The man appeared carrying all his worldly goods on his back with a sign that read, ‘I work for food.’ I stopped eating to focus on him. My heart sank in sadness and disbelief. My memory verse for that day was from Psalms: ‘I looked on my right hand and beheld there was no man that would know me; refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul’ (Psalm 142:4).

I couldn’t finish my food. I glanced toward the town square, in a half-hearted way, looking for him. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. ‘Oh well, they come and go,’ I thought.Something in my spirit kept saying don’t go back to the office until you have circled the square one more time. There he was, standing on the doorstep of a storefront church. There was one vacant parking space right in front and I eased into it. I made my exit and moved toward him.‘Looking for the preacher?’ I asked. ‘Not really,’ he sighed. ‘Just resting.’ ‘Have you eaten today?’ I inquired. ‘Oh, I had a little something this morning,’ was the cheerful reply. ‘Have lunch with me,’ I urged. ‘Do you have work that I can do?’ When I explained that my home was not in the city and that I commuted each day, he accepted. We would have lunch together. As we entered the little café, I asked, ‘Where are you headed?’ ‘St. Louis.’ ‘Where’re you from?’ I asked, making conversation. ‘All over, but mainly from Florida. But I’m on a mission. I’ve been walking for 14 years.’ His face was weathered slightly. His eyes were dark, yet clear. He spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket and revealed a bright red T-shirt that said, ‘Jesus is the Never Ending Story.’ His name was Daniel, and he began his story. Rough times early, wrong choices and a harvest reaping with sorrow and tears.Fourteen years ago while in Daytona, he signed on to help erect a tent. It was in the tent that his life would change. He attended each night of the gospel meeting. He responded the last night of the revival and, upon deep repentance, he was immersed into Christ. To him, Baptism was the death, burial and resurrection of his savior imitated by his obedience. ‘I started walking that night, and I’ve been walking ever since.’ My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission; one destined to be most uncomfortable all the way. ‘Ever think of stopping?’ I asked.‘Oh yes. Once in a while it tends to get the best of me. But God has given me this calling to pass out Bibles.’ ‘Could you use a few more?’ I offered. When we emerged from the Bible Book Store, his pack was full. ‘Would you please sign my autograph book? I like to keep messages from folks I meet.’ I wrote in his little book that his commitment and his calling had touched my life and I left him with a verse from Jeremiah. ‘I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you and plans to give you a future and a hope.’ ‘Isn’t it tough to walk into a strange town carrying all these things on your back and showing your sign?’
‘Oh yes. It’s humiliating at first. People stare and make comments. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to change people’s concept of other folks like me. Thanks, man. I know we’ve just met, and we’re really just strangers, but I love you.’‘I love you, too.’ I said. ‘God is good. By the way, how long has it been since someone gave you a hug?’ ‘A long time,’ he replied. So on a busy street corner in cold drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced. I felt deep inside that I have been changed. He put his things on his back, turned and gave me a winning smile and said, ‘See you in the new Jerusalem.’Then I remembered the word to the Hebrews. ‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares’ (Hebrews 13:2). I turned and shouted, ‘I’ll see you then,’ but he was gone. Then I remembered the words of Jesus: ‘I was hungry, thirsty, alone, and you gave me food and drink and invited me in…for when you do this to the least of my brethren you do this to me’ (Matthew 25:34-43). Who dares to be a Daniel?”

Taken from “I Work for Food, the Sign Read” by Jack H. Exum, Amy Writing Awards 2001Prize Winning Entries.

Have both of the characters in this illustration shown a humble spirit? The man doing the walking said, “it became humbling to realize that God was using me.” How about the person who bought lunch and the Bibles? Did that require being humble? Ask yourself what stops us from being a friend to someone who is walking, looking homeless, lost or cold. Is it our pride and if so, what is strong enough to help us reach the point of being humble enough to care and to show it?

GentlenessThree scriptures passages in the New Testament that deal with gentleness:
2 Timothy 2:24-26
Titus 3:1-2
James 3:17

Here are three illustrations of a person being gentle:
First. Fred lies on his bed in his bedroom in his home at the point of death. He has had nothing to eat or drink in eight days. He is so weak that he is unable to swallow and every breath is a struggle. It has been fifteen years that Fred has struggled with Alzheimer’s. His wife Mary has succeeded in caring for Fred even in the last six months when he has been totally out of it. Mary and their two sons, Ralph and George, have tended this husband and father, feeding, changing, turning and talking to him, but now it is the very end. Fred is remembered as a wonderful man who read his Bible and trusted his God to provide everything. Mary says, “I am not bitter, I am just happy to be able to keep my husband at home. As Fred loses weight and reaches the point where he can no longer care for himself, this little family has responded with love and gentleness that is strong enough to provide a clean home, excellent nursing care and a positive atmosphere. One morning, Ralph comes into his father’s room and realizes that his mother has spent the night singing to his father. Both seem to know that this will be the last day. His breathing changes. Each of the three spends time with their hands on their father and husband saying out loud, “I love you Dad.” By mid-morning, George walks into the kitchen. Putting his arms around his Mother, he says, “Mom, he’s gone.” This very sad story is being repeated right now in thousands of homes. I promise you that in your church and community, there are similar situations happening right now. Each situation is an opportunity for us to show gentle, humble love to all those involved.

Second. Ernest Hemingway wrote a story about a Spanish father and his teen-age son, who ran away from home. The father began a journey in search of his rebellious son. Finally, in Madrid, in a last desperate attempt to find the boy, the father placed an ad in the newspaper. It read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon. All is forgiven. I love you, Your father.” The next day, outside the newspaper office, 800 Pacos showed up. They were all seeking forgiveness. They were all seeking the love of their father. Most of us would say the son was at fault for running away from home, but notice it was the father who displayed gentleness and forgiveness. These qualities are so unlike most of us. When someone wrongs us, we demand that they first seek our forgiveness.

Third. Anne Sullivan had lost the majority of her sight at the age of five. By the age often, her mother had died and her father deserted her. She and her brother Jimmie were sent to the poorhouse in February 1876. Anne's brother died in the poorhouse. It was October 1880 before Anne finally left and went to commence her education at the Perkins Institution. One summer during her time at the institute, Anne had two operations on her eyes, which led to her regaining enough sight to be able to read normal print for short periods of time. Anne graduated from Perkins in 1886 and began to search for work. Finding work was terribly difficult for Anne, due to her poor eyesight, and when she received the offer from Michael Anagnos to work as the teacher of Helen Keller, a deaf-blind mute, although she had no experience in this area, she accepted willingly. On 3 March 1887 Anne arrived at the house in Tuscumbia and for the first time met Helen Keller. Anne immediately started teaching Helen to finger spell. Spelling out the word "Doll" to signify a present she had brought with her for Helen. The next word she taught Helen was "Cake". Although Helen could repeat these finger movements she could not quite understand what they meant. And while Anne was struggling trying to help her understand, she was also struggling to try and control Helen's continuing bad behavior. Anne's attempts to improve Helen's table manners and make her brush her own hair and button her shoes led to more and more temper tantrums. Anne punished these tantrums by refusing to "talk" with Helen by spelling words on her hands. Over the coming weeks, however, Helen's behavior did begin to improve as a bond grew between the two. Then, after a month of Anne's teaching, what the people of the time called a "miracle" occurred. Helen had until now not yet fully understood the meaning of words. When Anne led her to the water pump on 5 April 1887, all that was about to change. As Anne pumped the water over Helen's hand, Anne spelled out the word water in the girl's free hand. Something about this explained the meaning of words within Helen, and Anne could immediately see in her face that she finally understood. Helen later recounted the incident: "We walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honey-suckle with which it was covered. Someone was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten, a thrill of returning thought, and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me."
Helen immediately asked Anne for the name of the pump to be spelt on her hand and then the name of the trellis. All the way back to the house Helen learned the name of everything she touched and also asked for Anne's name. Anne spelled the name "Teacher" on Helen's hand. Within the next few hours Helen learnt the spelling of thirty new words. Most of us think of gentleness being weak and not strong willed, but his illustration shows a very strong form of gentleness. Think about what was required of Miss Sullivan to break into Anne’s dark and silent world. Do we have the same persistence of long-term gentleness when we deal with others around us.





Compiled by Anthony A. Ponceti, AnthonyPonceti@aol.com
[i] THIS MATERIAL IS USED WITH THE PERMISSION OF WWW.SUNDAYSCHOOLHELPS.COM FOR NON-PROFIT REASONS ONLY; http://sundayschoolhelps.com/L3-02-07-21.htm

A Look At The New Testament Church

A New Testament Church
Grace 101

Week Topic Page


1. What Does The New Testament Church look like in the Bible? 3
A Look at the Early Church[1] 3
Whatever Happened to the Twelve Apostles? 3
Appendix 1. The List of the Apostles in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts
When a "church" wasn't a building 5
Appendix 2. The Biblical Basis of a New Testament Church
From the First Apology of Justin (c. AD 150) 6
How Did the Early Christians Describe Themselves? 7
The Epistle to Diognetes, c. AD 130 7
From the Apology of Tertullian, AD 197 8
Governor Pliny "The Christian Problem," AD 112 9

Appendix 3. Prayer Requests for the BGC Mission 9-1 to 9-10-07

2. The Power Every Believer in Christ Should Exercise.
Apostasy is Why Believers Fail to Exercise Power
Thirty Things Grace Cannot Do
Faith & Works

3. Christian Doctrines and Experiences Seldom Seen in Modern Churches.

4. Questions the Modern Church Must Answer.
Is the church the bride of Christ?

5. How To Work The Works of God.

6. What Does It Mean To Fully Believe?

7. Ten Important Bible Questions Answered.

8. What the New Testament Church is not.

9. What the New Testament Church is.

10. Names and Appellations of the New Testament Church.

11. The Calling and Purpose of the New Testament Church.

12. The Formation of the New Testament Church.

13. The Origin of the New Testament Church.

14. Who belongs to the New Testament Church?

15. Was the New Testament Church founded on the “Day of Pentecost”?

16. Organization of the New Testament Church.
a) The Facts of Church Organization.
b) Nature of Church Organization.
c) Government of Church Organization.
d) Officers of Church Organization.
e) Duties of the Officers of the Church.
f) Ordination of Church Officers.

17. Laws and Ordinances of the Church.
a) The Ordinance of Christian Water Baptism.
b) The Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper.

18. Questions About the New Testament Church.

19. Grace Church 101 – What We Believe.

Appendix
1. The List of the Apostles in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts
2. The Biblical Basis of a New Testament Church
3. Prayer Requests for the BGC Mission 9-1 to 9-10-07

What Does The New Testament Church look like?

A Look at the Early Church[2]
Have you ever noticed that the Bible gives us no clue as to what Jesus looked like? All our paintings of Jesus are merely the artist's idea of how he might have looked. The first representation of Christ on record is actually a derisive graffiti on the wall of a house on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It pictured the body of a man being crucified but with the head of an ass. The inscription reads: "Alexamenos worships his god."

Christianity's Jewish Roots
Christianity began as a movement within Judaism. Much of the earliest proclamation of the Gospel took place in the synagogues. The Christians did not side with the Jews in their revolt against Rome beginning in 66 A.D., and by the end of the first century the church had largely separated from the synagogue.

Whatever Happened to the Twelve Apostles?
They were not the kind of group you might have expected Jesus to send forth on his mission to reach the world. There was nothing special or spectacular about them. They were just ordinary workingmen. But Jesus formed them into the backbone of the church and gave them the most extraordinary task imaginable: calling the entire world, including the mightiest empire ever known, to repentance and faith in the risen Christ. You can be sure that any educated, first-century Roman citizen would have laughed at any prediction that within three centuries the Christian faith would be the official faith of the empire.

The New Testament tells of the fate of only two of the apostles: Judas, who betrayed Jesus and then went out and hanged himself, and James the son of Zebedee, who was executed by Herod about 44 AD (Acts 12:2).

Into All the World
Reports and legends abound and they are not always reliable, but it is safe to say that the apostles went far and wide as heralds of the message of the risen Christ. An early legend says they cast lots and divided up the world to determine who would go where, so all could hear about Jesus. They suffered greatly for their faith and in most cases met violent deaths on account of their bold witness.

PETER and PAUL were both martyred in Rome about 66 AD, during the persecution under Emperor Nero. Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified, upside down at his request, since he did not feel he was worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.

ANDREW went to the "land of the man-eaters," in what is now the Soviet Union. Christians there claim him as the first to bring the gospel to their land. He also preached in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and in Greece, where he is said to have been crucified.

"Doubting" THOMAS was probably most active in the area east of Syria. Tradition has him preaching as far east as India, where the ancient Marthoma Christians revere him as their founder. They claim that he died there when pierced through with the spears of four soldiers.

PHILIP possibly had a powerful ministry in Carthage in North Africa and then in Asia Minor, where he converted the wife of a Roman proconsul. In retaliation the proconsul had Philip arrested and cruelly put to death.

MATTHEW the tax collector and writer of a Gospel, ministered in Persia and Ethiopia. Some of the oldest reports say he was not martyred, while others say he was stabbed to death in Ethiopia.

BARTHOLOMEW had widespread missionary travels attributed to him by tradition: to India with Thomas, back to Armenia, and also to Ethiopia and Southern Arabia. There are various accounts of how he met his death as a martyr for the gospel.

JAMES the son of Alpheus, is one of at least three James referred to in the New Testament. There is some confusion as to which is which, but this James is reckoned to have ministered in Syria. The Jewish historian Josephus reported that he was stoned and then clubbed to death.

SIMON THE ZEALOT, so the story goes, ministered in Persia and was killed after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god.

MATTHIAS was the apostle chosen to replace Judas. Tradition sends him to Syria with Andrew and to death by burning.

JOHN is the only one of the company generally thought to have died a natural death from old age. He was the leader of the church in the Ephesus area and is said to have taken care of Mary the mother of Jesus in his home. During Domitian's persecution in the middle 90's, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. There he is credited with writing the last book of the New Testament--the Revelation. An early Latin tradition has him escaping unhurt after being cast into boiling oil at Rome.

For Pete's sake
The names of Jesus' apostles have become the most common names for males in the Western world. How many do you know named John, Pete, Tom, Andy, Jim, Bart, or Phil?

At least four of the apostles were fishermen. Can this be part of the reason that one of the earliest and most prominent Christian symbols was the fish? The Greek word for fish, ichthus, formed an acrostic: Iesous Christos Theou Uios Soter, which means "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior."

After the death of the apostles, we do not find great missionary figures of the stature of Paul. Yet the faith continued to spread like wildfire -- even though Christianity was declared an illegal religion.

No professional clergy. None of the apostles were called from the priesthood or the "professional clergy" of Jesus' day.

When a "church" wasn't a building
These early believers did not have church buildings to meet in. They met mostly in homes. The first church buildings did not start to appear until the early 200s.

Debate but not denominations
The early church did not have denominations as we think of them today. But that does not mean they had no serious disagreements within the ranks. They did. And they did not find this surprising. They felt they were dealing with matters of ultimate truth and error - matters to be taken with the utmost seriousness even when it meant dissension.

Torn by dogs, nailed to crosses...
CatacombsThe early Christians were the targets of repeated persecutions - some of unspeakable cruelty. For example, the emperor Nero blamed the Christians for the great fire that destroyed 10 of the 14 city wards at Rome in 64 A.D., a fire that Nero apparently had ordered himself. The historian Tacitus, not a Christian, said that Nero had the believers "torn by dogs, nailed to crosses, . . . even used as human torches to illumine his gardens at night."

But Christians were not under persecution everywhere and all the time. The persecutions were sporadic, with peaceful intervals in between. They varied in their intensity and were mostly localized.

Just Get your Certificate!
There were two all-out empire-wide persecutions intended to utterly destroy the church. The first, under the emperor Decius, began in December, 249. Everyone in the empire had to get a certificate from a government officer verifying that he or she had offered a sacrifice to the gods - an act that most Christians in good conscience could not do.

Three fourths non-white Researcher David Barrett reports that by the year 300, or nine generations after Christ, the world was 10.4% Christian with 66.4% of believers Non-whites. The scriptures had been translated into ten languages. More than 410,000, representing one in every 200 believers from the time of Christ, had given their lives as martyrs for the faith.

The second, called "The Great Persecution," began on February 23, 303, under Emperor Diocletian. Galerius, the empire's second-in-command, was behind this persecution policy and continued it after Diocletian's death. For eight long years, official decrees ordered Christians out of public office, scriptures confiscated, church buildings destroyed, leaders arrested, and pagan sacrifices required. All the reliable methods of torture were mercilessly employed - wild beasts, burning, stabbing, crucifixion, and the rack. But they were all to no avail. The penetration of the faith across the empire was so pervasive that the church could not be intimidated nor destroyed. In 311, the same Galerius, shortly before his death, weak and diseased, issued an "edict of toleration." This included the statement that it was the duty of Christians "to pray to their god for our good estate."

Baptism
The Christian writer Hippolytus, writing about 200 A.D., describes baptism at Rome. Candidates took off their clothing, were baptized three times after renouncing Satan and affirming the basic teachings of the faith, and put on new clothes. Then they joined the rest of the church in the Lord's Supper.

Baptism was not entered into lightly. First one went through an extensive period of preparation as a "catechumen." This lasted as long as three years, involving close scrutiny of the catechumen's behavior. The church would only admit those who proved to be sincere in seeking a totally new life within the Christian community.

Slave makes good!
Christians drew members into their fellowship from every rank and race, an affront to proper, class-conscious Romans. A former slave who had worked the mines actually became the bishop of Rome -- Callistus in 217.

"Send me your letters and gifts"
Misusing the Gospel for financial gain is by no means the invention of 20th-century religious hucksters. One of the earliest Christian documents after the New Testament, The Didache, a kind of manual on church practice, warns about traveling preachers who come and ask for money. The satirist Lucian in the second century ridiculed Christians for being so easily taken in by charlatans, often giving them money. Lucian recorded the notorious case of the philosopher Peregrinus, who attracted a devoted following among Christians (and a lot of money) before he was found out. The showman instincts of Peregrinus reached their climax when he died by publicly cremating himself at the close of the Olympic games in 165.

The early Christian church in the first three centuries after Jesus’ resurrection brought about the most amazing transformation of diverse social and religious cultures ever achieved by peaceful means in the history of the world. How did it happen? What kind of people were these? What was special about their way of living and believing?

It would be a mistake to romanticize the early church as an age of purity to which we should seek to return. The churches always had their problems and internal struggles. Nevertheless, the early churches as a whole did represent something different in their world. It attracted both devoted followers and brutal persecutors. To see what these early believers were like, let's go to the sources and hear what they were bold to proclaim about themselves.

From the First Apology of Justin (c. AD 150)
First, an early philosopher, Justin Martyr, wrote to the Roman emperor, Antonius Pius around AD 150 to defend the Christians. In the excerpt below we see how the believers were eager to invite the most intense scrutiny of their lives. At the same time note how he reminds the most powerful man in that world that he may not really be as much in charge as he thinks.

Since you are called pious and philosophers, guardians of justice and lovers of learning, pay attention and listen to my address. If you are indeed followers of learning, it will be clear. We have not come to flatter you by this writing nor please you by our address, but to beg that you pass judgment after an accurate and searching investigation . . .. As for us, no evil can be done to us unless we are convicted as evildoers or proved to be wicked men. You can kill us. But you cannot hurt us.

To avoid anyone thinking that this is an unreasonable and reckless declaration, we demand that the charges against the Christians be investigated. If these are substantiated, we should be justly punished. But if no one can convict us of anything, true reason forbids you to wrong blameless men because of evil rumors. If you did so, you would be harming yourselves in governing affairs by emotions rather than by intelligence . . .. It is our task, therefore, to provide to all an opportunity of inspecting our life and teachings . . .. It is your business, when you hear us, to be good judges, as reason demands. If, when you have learned the truth, you do not do what is just, you will be without excuse before God.

How Did the Early Christians Describe Themselves?
The Epistle to Diognetes, c. AD 130
Here is a gem we are most fortunate to have as only one copy survived the centuries. We do not know who wrote it. It came from the second century. It was, like the New Testament, originally written in Greek. In this brief excerpt we have preserved a magnificent description of Christian living in what was expected in the early church community.

For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life, which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct, which they follow, has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life.

They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death and restored to life. They are poor yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things and yet abound in all; they are dishonored and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are evil spoken of and yet are justified; they are reviled and blessed; they are insulted and repay the insult with honor; they do good yet are punished as evildoers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred. To sum it all up in one word -- what the soul is to the body, is what Christians are to the world.

From the Apology of Tertullian, AD 197
The "apology" was not saying "sorry" but was a defense of a viewpoint. One of the most colorful early church scholars was the North African Tertullian, who lived from around AD 160-225. He commended the Christian faith to the pagan world. In this excerpt we get priceless insight into the practices of early Christian worship, discipline, leadership selection and financial giving. But most significantly, Tertullian preserves the amazing pagan observation of the Christians: "See how they love one another."

We are a body knit together as such by a common religious profession, by unity of discipline, and by the bond of a common hope. We meet together as an assembly and congregation, that, offering up prayer to God as with united force, we may wrestle with Him in our supplications. This strong exertion God delights in. We pray, too, for the emperors, for their ministers and for all in authority, for the welfare of the world, for the prevalence of peace, for the delay of the final consummation. We assemble to read our sacred writings . . . and with the sacred words we nourish our faith, we animate our hope, we make our confidence more steadfast; and no less by inculcations of God’s precepts we confirm good habits. In the same place also exhortations are made, rebukes and sacred censures are administered. For with a great gravity is the work of judging carried on among us, as befits those who feel assured that they are in the sight of God; and you have the most notable example of judgment to come when anyone has sinned so grievously as to require his severance from us in prayer, in the congregation and in all sacred intercourse. The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honour not by purchase but by established character. There is no buying and selling of any sort in the things of God. Though we have our treasure-chest, it is not made up of purchase-money, as of a religion that has its price. On the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation; but only if it be his pleasure, and only if he be able: for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are . . . not spent on feasts, and drinking-bouts, and eating-houses, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined now to the house; such, too, as have suffered shipwreck; and if there happen to be any in the mines or banished to the islands or shut up in the prisons, for nothing but their fidelity to the cause of God's Church, they become the nurslings of their confession. But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another, for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred. See, they say about us, how they are ready even to die for one another, for they themselves would sooner kill.

Governor Pliny writes Emperor Trajan for advice in dealing with "The Christian Problem," AD 112
Pliny, the Roman governor in Bithynia, in present day Turkey, had a problem. What was he to do with the Christians who were spreading rapidly? He wrote to his emperor Trajan in Rome, seeking advice. He describes the Christian problem and shows how some under pressure were willing to renounce their faith and others were not. He then gives valuable description of Christian life, practice and worship at that time.

An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ -- none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do -- these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years, They all worshipped your image and the statues of the Gods, and cursed Christ. They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit, fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food -- but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses.

But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.

And, finally, the observations of a prominent present day researcher. Sociologist Rodney Stark analyzed the survival and growth of the early church in the first few centuries. Here is his fascinating summary of the Early Church.

". . . Christianity served as a revitalization movement that arose in response to the misery, chaos, fear, and brutality of life in the urban Greco-Roman world. . . . Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent problems. To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachment. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fire, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services. . . . For what they brought was not simply an urban movement, but a new culture capable of making life in Greco-Roman cities more tolerable." Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity, Princeton University Press, 1996, page 161.



NOTES AVAILABLE for this study:

Do you know that the Church is not the Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God? The church is the wheat-part of the Kingdom of Heaven and only a part of the true servants of the universal Kingdom of God. In other words the tares in the Kingdom of Heaven and the angels and other subjects of God in the Kingdom of God, as we shall see in our future studies.[3]

A number of false religions today are getting people healed and are bringing men certain benefits, but their deceived followers never get to know the true source of these manifestations. Just because men get some benefit they are convinced that the source must be of God, this is not true, as can be seen in the Scriptures.
(Matt, 12:22-32; Luke 10:18-20; Acts 19: 11-17.) It stands to reason that if they can put diseases upon men, they can also take them off when it is to their advantage.

When will it be to their advantage? When they can deceive men with false doctrines and get them to accept false religions that deny the essentials of the gospel of salvation that will save their eternal souls. Jesus and others predict that in the latter days these demon powers will be increasingly active and will “shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very “elect”. (Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:8-12; 1 Tim. 4:1-8; 1 John 4:1-6; Rev. 9:20; 13:1-18; 16:13-16; 19:20)

These religions, without exception, deny the blood of Christ, the new birth, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and all the essentials of the gospel that will save the souls of men in eternity.

The devil backs up such preaching by taking off some sickness, and in other ways he helps men who follow these religions, and they are convinced that they have at last found the true religion. However, they do away with Christianity and the Bible and will be damned in the end because of rejecting Jesus Christ and the cross. (Acts 4:12)[4]

Do you know that the bride of Christ is a city and not the church? In Rev. 21-2, 9:10 it is as simply stated, as can possibly be that the bride of Christ is the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, The New Jerusalem. The bride then is not the church or a special part of the church. Neither is the bride Israel or a special company of Jews such as the 144,000 of Rev. 7 and 14. If the bride is a city, that should be accepted without any question. In no place is the church called the bride, a virgin, a lady, a woman, or referred to by feminine pronouns. On the contrary, the church is called a “man” because it is the body of Christ, who is a man (Eph. 2:15; 4:13).[5]

Question: "What does it mean that the church is the bride of Christ?"

Answer: The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church. These are those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal savior and have received eternal life. In the New Testament, Christ, the bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride (Ephesians 5:25-27). Just as there was a betrothal period in biblical times during which the bride and groom were separated until the wedding, so is the bride of Christ separate from her bridegroom during the church age. Her responsibility during the betrothal period is to be faithful to Him (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:24). At the Second Coming of Christ, the church will be united with the Bridegroom, the official "wedding ceremony" will take place and, with it, the eternal union of Christ and his bride will be actualized (Revelation 19:7-9; 21:1-2).

At that time, all believers will inhabit the heavenly city known as New Jerusalem, also called “the holy city” in Revelation 21:2 and 10. The new Jerusalem is not the church, but it takes on the church’s characteristics. In his vision of the end of the age, the Apostle John sees the city coming down from heaven adorned “as a bride” meaning that the inhabitants of the city, the redeemed of the Lord, will be holy and pure, wearing white garments of holiness and righteousness. Some have misinterpreted verse 9 to mean the holy city is the bride of Christ, but that cannot be because Christ died for His people, not for a city. The city is called the bride because it encompasses all who are the bride, just as all the students of a school are sometimes called “the school.”
As believers in Jesus Christ, we who are the bride of Christ wait with great anticipation for the day when we will be united with our Bridegroom. Until then, we remain faithful to Him and say with all the redeemed of the Lord, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).[6]


[1] Christian History Institute Box 540 Worcester PA 19490. Report problems to our webmaster. Copyright ©2000 - 2007 by Christian History Institute (CHI). Written permission must be obtained from CHI for further use or distribution of material found at this site. http://chi.gospelcom.net/site/ad0001.shtml
[2] Christian History Institute Box 540 Worcester PA 19490. Report problems to our webmaster. Copyright ©2000 - 2007 by Christian History Institute (CHI). Written permission must be obtained from CHI for further use or distribution of material found at this site.
[3] Dake, Finis Jennings; God’s Plan For Man; © Copyright 1949 by Finis Jennings Dake; © Copyright renewed by Finis Jennings Dake. Sixteenth Printing 1992. Page 299.
[4] Dake, Finis Jennings; God’s Plan For Man; © Copyright 1949 by Finis Jennings Dake; © Copyright renewed by Finis Jennings Dake. Sixteenth Printing 1992. Page 29-30.
[5] Dake, Finis Jennings; God’s Plan For Man; © Copyright 1949 by Finis Jennings Dake; © Copyright renewed by Finis Jennings Dake. Sixteenth Printing 1992. Page 298.
[6] Got Questions org http://www.gotquestions.org/Printer/bride-of-Christ-PF.html; © Copyright 2002-2007 Got Questions Ministries.