A Panorama of the Christian Church What in the World Has God Been Doing? Part 1: Resurrection to Renaissance Phase 1. The Growth and Survival of the Church: 30 -313 AD Issues faced by the earliest Christians: • What is the Church? o The Church is the people bound to Jesus Christ under a new covenant. Luke 22:19-20 o A covenant is a solemn agreement between God and man. o The Church includes all true believers in Jesus, from its birth on the Day of Pentecost until the end of the Age. •

Can Gentiles be included? In Acts 15:28-29, the Jerusalem Council decided that Gentiles may be included in Christ’s Body by faith (just as Jews may) without submitting to Old Covenant regulations (Galatians 3:27-28).

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The completion of Scripture. o The Church began already using Israel’s scripture (the Old Testament) o They accepted 27 new books as an inspired “new” testament. o Eventually Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox churches officially added to the Old Testament, additional books called the Apocrypha.

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Persecution and growth. o Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire because:  They were accused of being disloyal: “Jesus is Lord”  They were accused of atheism  They were accused of gross immorality  They were accused of cannibalism o Christianity survived and spread because:  They proclaimed a simple gospel message  They accepted all classes  They cared for the neglected  They offered hope  They had God’s blessing

What was God doing during this time? God was preserving his Church: John 10:14-16; 27-28 Phase 2. The Building of the Church: 313-800 AD • Constantine’s partnership of Church and State. New factors: o Temptation to corruption o Access to power o Mixed motives of converts o Greek thinking

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Battling heresies and clarifying biblical teaching. Biblical teaching was defined by creeds and defended by councils.

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Leadership in a collapsing Empire. Barbarian invasions and the collapse of Rome’s western provinces created a vacuum, which was filled by visionary and capable Church leadership. Examples: Leo I and Gregory the Great.

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Conversion of the barbarians. Barbarian tribes were Christianized and civilized using both persuasion and force.

What was God doing during this time? God was building his Church: Ephesians 2:19-22 Phase 3. The Dominance of the Church: 800 -1500 AD • The use and abuse of power. Church leaders used power to control politics. The Vatican was the single wealthiest institution of the Middle Ages. •

Providing for internal options. Monasticism was a powerful force in renewing civilization and providing an outlet for reform movements.

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Dealing with internal disagreements. Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism split permanently in 1054.

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Dealing with external threats. Reaction to and confrontation of Islam in the shrinking Byzantine Empire. In the Crusades and in Spain and Portugal.

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Seizing new opportunities. o The rediscovery of ancient Greek thought in the Renaissance (1400s) caused a questioning of Catholic medieval culture and a debate about options for change. o European colonization of new lands and Christianization of new peoples.

What was God doing during this time? God was expanding his Church: Matthew 24:14 Phases 4-6 will continue in the next session. As we deal with the issues of our own time, we need to keep several things in mind: o God is never surprised o His plan is never ruined o It is up to us to be faithful and courageous o Christ’s Kingdom will surely come!