Have you ever experienced the glorious architecture of a grande cathedral (like Notre Dame {pictured})?
Even the grandest of church buildings — ancient monument of faith or contemporary construction of a multiplying church — cannot convey fully the glory of Christ Jesus or the grace received by so many members of that local church.
Take a look at the investments of Christians in these seven churches.
Today’s Summer Scriptural Rerun takes us back to the church of the first century
How did these LOCAL churches look to the risen Christ Jesus?
The NAME on your local Church
Have you seen these church buildings?
Should you see some similarity to the reputation of your own LOCAL church?
The map from first century Turkey may seem irrelevant as you build your bigger building in this 21st century of these last days, but NOTE the INSCRIPTION of these seven churches etched in the New King James Version of the Bible.
link above to NASB, KJ21, Orthodox Jewish Bible, SBL Greek New Testament; MOBILE Friendly LINK to ACTS 11 21st Century King James Version only
Peter has no sooner returned to Jerusalem from his first mission trip to Joppa, Lyda and Caesarea when traditional worshipers of the Lord question what he has done.
Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
This is a VERY BIG DEAL to the Jews!
I remind us here (and now in this 21st century A.D.) that followers of Jesus (by now, hundreds of them) were Jews, a chosen people of the LORD.
Furthermore, due to centuries of division after Israel and Judah fell to foreign empires from both East and West a partially-restored Judea claimed faithfulness to Abrahamic covenants formerly abandoned by most Jews.
Peter is leading a diverse and large group of believers in Christ Jesus. Judea and Jerusalem will soon be crushed by its Roman captors.
And when Peter had come up to Jerusalem, those who were of the Circumcision contended with him, saying, “Thou wentest in to uncircumcised men and didst eat with them.”
since by the rite of circumcision a man was separated from the unclean world and dedicated to God, the word is transferred to denote the extinguishing of lusts and the removal of sins
Contending for the faith
Once again, Peter will tell his story and orders from the Holy Spirit not to contend with gentiles who led him to Caesarea.
Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting G1252 nothing: for I have sent them. – Acts 10:20
These men of Jerusalem who Peter led were Jews from varying religious traditions: Pharisee, Sadducees, Esenes, Hellenists (Greeks), proselytes worshipping as Jews and even men of little consequence unsought by any jewish traditions of worship.
Yes, they contended with the faith while some zealously contended for the faith. BUT which ‘jewish’ faith?
ALL, however, would agree that ‘gentiles’ had NO place among men and women who worshiped the Lord God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 But Peter began and explained at length to them in an orderly sequence, saying,
“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision.
A certain vessel descended as though it had been a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners, and it came even to me.
I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’
“But I said, ‘By no means, Adoni, because nothing common or tameh (unclean) has ever entered into my stomach.’
But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.’
This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky.
Is there any contention in your church?
Who should worship?
What evidence does the Holy Spirit provide that something new is from the Lord?
Or that some tradition we have held near no longer applies?
JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED AND RISEN IS AN ENTIRELY NEW TESTAMENT OF GOD’S WILL FOR WORSHIPERS AND THE WORLD.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com + on the inclusion of gentiles in the Church
Peter’s summary of events in Caesarea
Three men (Romans/Gentiles) from Caesarea came up to him at the very moment of his vision. [v.11]
The men and women of the Church in Jerusalem, ORTHODOX in practice or HELLENIST in their return to the faith of Judaism had all experienced the power and signs of the HOLY GHOST!
It is a great mystery of the Lord God the Father and Christ Jesus that is a NEW TESTAMENT of the Gospel of the Resurrection.
So the Apostle Peter (with all these witnesses) continues:
Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.’
On one of the days while He [Jesus] was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him,
(Contention, just like Peter faced now.)
“Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”
(Their questions about the Holy Spirit coming to the gentiles seem familiar to the Apostle.)
“I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me:
“Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”
They discussed among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
After this Luke’s Gospel records the parable of the vine-growers, a parable now fulfilled by the gentiles replacing jews in the paradise of the Father.
Their first century BAPTISM of John for repentance and cleansing and a temporary forgiveness of sins now regenerated since Pentecost becomes something more — something MUCH MORE + the Baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT promised by the SON of GOD!
You have heard this day called Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday or perhaps Pascha. But today, on the 17th day of April in the year of our Lord, 2022, I would simply like to look back at celebrating ‘the Lord’s Day’ as followers of Christ Jesus have done since His resurrection.
CLICK the link above to read some of what I have said before about Holy and weeks and festivals.
ALSO, Feel free to comment on anything from my fiery EDITORIAL which I have moved to Comments to get to my perspective about the Lord's Day of the first century Christ followers. - RH
LENT, we once set aside as preparation of repentance preceding the death of Christ for our sins.
Yet in this NOT so HOLY time, now universally referred to as, the “COMMON Era” (as opposed to years we once called, Before Christ, now known as Beforethe Common Era); HOW intolerant are we who insist that JESUS IS LORD (and no other), as the world continues in its most common and ordinary daily sin! HOW insensitive of followers of CHRIST to PROCLAIM: JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN TODAY!
In the Holy Week of our Lord, A.D. 2022
(In case you missed these posts which lead us to this Lord’s Day Sunday)
This epistle was most likely written in the first half of A.D. 55 from Ephesus (16:8, 9, 19) while Paul was on his third missionary journey.
John MacArthur :: Bible Introductions – 1 Corinthians via BlueLetterBible.org
Easter: a narrowed narrative that missed the Church
Why do I start with a Scripture about the Cross, rather than a traditional narrative of Resurrection morning from the Gospels?
(Think about this, now…)
The Gospels were NOT written as an immediate message from the pulpit of A.D. 30.
Yes, that’s about when the Lord Jesus was crucified, buried and rose in body and spirit from the grave!
But the Apostles Matthew and John, and later disciples Mark and Luke recorded their GOOD NEWS of JESUS’s Resurrection for a much later following of the Church.
On this Lord’s Day, in the year of our Lord 2022, we glance at just a few events of THEIR Church life.
Why the Gospel was Good News on the Lord’s Day
A.D. 32 – Stephen martyred & Saul persecutes Christ followers
A.D. 37 – Caligula declares himself a god
A.D. 44 – the Apostle James, brother of John, is martyred
A.D. 46 – Julian calendar changes the year
A.D. 49 – the jews expelled from Rome
A.D. 50’s (~20 years after Jesus’ Resurrection)
+ Mark writes his Gospel;
+ Matthew writes his Gospel
A.D. 54-68 – Nero is Emperor
A.D 64-68 Nero persecutes Christians after burning Rome
A.D. 60 + Luke writes his Gospel
A.D. 62 – James, brother of Jesus and head of the Jerusalem church martyred
A.D. 66 – Jewish revolt against Rome
+ Apostle Peter martyred in Rome
+ Paul, Apostle to the gentiles, martyred in Rome
A.D. 70 – Jerusalem falls to Rome and is burned
A.D. 80’s + John wrote his gospel ca. A.D. 80–90, about 50 years after he witnessed Jesus’ earthly ministry. – J.M.
The saints of the A.D. first century church gathered each Lord’s Day to worship the Lord God by the grace of Christ Jesus and though the power of the Holy Spirit.
Do YOU?
For many centuries the Lord’s Day was set apart as Holy to the Lord for morning and evening worship, as well as study of doctrine from the Bible, as the business of the world (reluctantly) remained CLOSED on Sunday.
They gathered frequently in each others homes to hear the Gospel and receive the letters of the Apostles.
These saints (small ‘s’) of the church, “Christians” (as Christ followers came to be known), delighted to serve one another in Christ-like love.
The saints of THE WAY, knowing that as one of the Lord’s SAVED and REDEEMED ones, suffering in a world violently opposed to JESUS CHRIST and the LORD GOD, endured for these brief times because of HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION.
We have begun eternal life and need not suffer the WRATH of GOD’s punishment for our many, many sins against God and against man.
A.D. 90, The Lord’s Day
The aging Apostle, lone survivor of many trials for Christ among those who Jesus first chose some sixty years ago, concludes his Gospel; a fourth, following that which has already been proclaimed to tens of thousands throughout a world of Rome’s temporary ownership by Matthew and two faithful gentile servants of The Way.
The Apostle John writes of that glorious day:
Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be to you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side.
The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
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