I have decided to take a break from my Genesis series and begin this new series of 20 sermons on Church history.
In this series I will focus on an entire century of church history in each sermon, and today we will focus on the first century.
AD 1 was a very special year of great importance for God’s church: It was the year our Lord Jesus Christ was born, and without Him there would surely be no church.
Also in that first year John the Baptist was born.
Much of the history we will study today will be found in the Gospels and Acts, and since I only have the length of a sermon to discuss this most important subject, I recommend that you diligently read those books of the Bible, as I more fully expound what I’m trying to teach this day!
Years 1 – 30 AD
Very little is known about these years, when our Lord Jesus Christ was in his youth. We know that Christ never sinned, and I’m sure he never wasted any time, so those early days must have been very important, however, because so little is said about them in Scripture, it seems that the events that transpired , if it were said, it would not be of so much benefit to us.
However, there are apocryphal books about the first 30 years of Jesus that are generally referred to as “Infancy Gospels”, the best known being the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, where Jesus performs a series of miracles and instead of being taught by their teachers, teaches them. . No doubt much of what is written in these infancy gospels is true, but since they were not given to us by our Bible, it probably means that God did not see them as useful to our souls.
John the Baptist began his ministry in the latter part of this period.
Years 31 – 33 AD
These years are the years of the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ on this earth. These 3 years are the foundation of all Christianity and of our most holy faith!
You can read about these years in the four infallible gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Here is a brief summary:
Jesus calls 12 disciples near the beginning of His ministry, the most important being Peter, James, and John.
Then Jesus begins to preach and perform many miracles.
So the last week of Jesus’ life is what we call the Passion of Christ. Jesus is betrayed by his own Disciple, one of the 12, Judas Iscariot. Jesus dies on a cross for lazy for our sins. And 2 days later, Jesus rises from the grave and lives again.
After the resurrection, Jesus was on earth for about 40 to 50 days, and in that time he performed many more miracles.
Then our Lord leaves this world and ascends to Heaven.
Then, on the 50th day after our Lord’s Resurrection, not long after His ascension, the disciples were gathered for praise and prayer in the city of Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit descends upon all of them and anoints them to preach.
the spread of the gospel
The Disciples begin to spread the Gospel to the Jews living in and around Jerusalem.
It seems that at first the Disciples thought that the good news about Jesus should only be given to the Jews, as it always had been before the birth of Christ. But the Disciples were shown that they too should preach to the Gentiles and that the whole world should know about Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross.
The ministries of the 12 Disciples
Judas Iscariot had no ministry because he was the betrayer of our Lord and after betraying Jesus, he repented a lot and went out and hanged himself.
fart
Peter was the first disciple to preach and he preached to a very large congregation after he was anointed by the Holy Spirit.
After that, Peter mainly preached to the Jews, but apparently spent time in Rome, where tradition tells us he was crucified.
Andrew
Tradition tells us that Andrew was a missionary and may have even reached as far as Scotland, where he was made a patron saint. The Scottish flag is the flag of Saint Andrew.
Tradition also says that Andrés, like his brother Pedro, was crucified.
There is an apocryphal book called “The Acts of Andrew” that talks about the miracles and the preaching of Andrew, although many people doubt the veracity of that book.
James
Santiago was the first of the Apostles to be martyred. His murder is told in the Book of Acts, where Herod orders him to be put to death with the sword.
John
John was the disciple loved by Jesus, and his mission was mainly in the Mediterranean area.
John wrote 3 letters that we have in our Bibles.
And he also wrote the book of Revelation, which he wrote while in prison on the island of Patmos (in the Mediterranean).
John lived to a very old age. Tradition tells us that he died a natural death in Ephesus. If this is true, he may well have served with Timothy, who was an elder in the church at Ephesus.
Philip
Not much is known about Philip, other than the Philip mentioned in Acts 8. (More on him later)
Tradition tells us that he was crucified upside down or beheaded. His grave has recently been found in a village in modern Turkey. http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/07/27/tomb-st-philip-apostle-discovered-in-turkey/?test=latestnews
Barnabas (also known as Nathaniel)
It is traditionally said that Barnabas went as a missionary to India. And like any other Apostle, Barnabas is said to have been martyred.
Matthew
Matthew is best known as the author of the Gospel of Matthew. It is said that he died as a martyr.
Thomas
Thomas, often referred to as “Unbelieving Thomas,” went as a missionary to India. There is an apocryphal book entitled “The Acts of Thomas” which tells of Thomas’ mission in India.
James (brother of Judas)
Very little is known about the Apostle Santiago, but it is believed that he wrote the Epistle of Santiago.
Thaddeus (aka Lebbaeus, aka Jude)
Again best known for his Epistle: the book of Jude.
Simon the Zealot
Very little is known about this disciple and it seems that he occupies the place of the least, but we know that God will always exalt those who occupy the lowest place.
Other important figures at this time
Pablo
Paul was and is the best known missionary, and all God’s servants aspire to be like him.
Paul went on 4 major missionary journeys that we read about in the book of Acts.
He was the main influence in Timothy’s life.
Tradition has it that Paul was martyred in a Roman amphitheatre.
Barnabas
Barnabas also traveled as a missionary with Paul during the early part of his ministry. They separated after an argument.
Silas
Silas was Paul’s partner after Barnabas left him.
Philip the Evangelist
Philip is the one we read about in Acts 8 where he preaches to the Ethiopian eunuch.
The Ethiopian church is still alive to this day, and is the source of many of our apocryphal works, including the lost book of Enoch.
Timothy
Timothy traveled with Paul and learned from him. He became an Elder in Ephesus.
make disciples of all nations
Jesus’ words at the end of Matthew chapter 28 speak of the great commission. He tells the disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. This the disciples did, and within 100 years, the gospel had spread to every known corner of the world. And you know what was so amazing about that? They were not allowed, the world was against them, but still they went to the whole world, most of them were even killed because of it, but they spread the Gospel.
Now look at yourself, there are no laws against telling people about Jesus, we even have laws that say you have freedom of belief. So tell me, where have you spread the Gospel? If the Apostles were able to spread the Gospel so much under persecution, how much better should we, who have complete freedom of religion?
Well, I hope this sermon has been informative. In our next sermon, we will look at the second century and how the Gospel advanced in that time.
I pray that the Lord will add His blessing to what has been said today, and that something will remain for the benefit of your soul.
Amen!