Apologetics Courses

When did the Church begin?

In the same way that there can be disagreement about what the church is, so too there can be disagreement about when the Church began. For example, there are some who suggest that since Adam and Eve both believed in God, that they must have been the original Church. Others have claimed that God’s promise to bless Abraham, was the starting place of the church. (Genesis 12:1-4) Still others suggest that the church began when Jesus spent time speaking to those who believed in him at Sychar in Samaria. (John 4:39 – 42) These are just a few of several theories that exist about when the church began. So what does the Bible say?

The first mention of the church in the New Testament is found in Matthew 16:18. It is perhaps surprising that there are only three mentions of the church in the gospels. All three of these occur in the book of Matthew, and consequently the term church is not found in the other three gospels. In this first reference in Matthew 16:18, Matthew records Jesus words when Jesus says, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Sadly there has been a great deal of debate and controversy over what Jesus meant by the words, “on this rock”. Sometimes this debate has overshadowed the more important points of this verse, which include that Jesus was going to establish his church, and that it was yet to occur. Since Jesus is referring to a future event, his church could not have been established at this point.

In the previous study we saw how the baptism of the Holy Spirit was necessary to bring people into the body of Christ, which is the same as the church. Luke writing in Acts records Jesus words to his disciples, just prior to when Jesus ascended back to heaven. Amongst this dialogue Jesus says, “For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” When Jesus says this to the disciples, the experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was still a future event. Therefore since the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was necessary to bring people into the church, then the church could not have begun beforehand.

Almost certainly the initial baptism of believers by the Holy Spirit occurred at Pentecost, which occurred as Jesus had predicted soon after his ascension back to heaven Although the actual term “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is not used in the Pentecost account in Acts chapter 2, the Bible does say that the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:4) Also prior to the Pentecost account, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is always referred to as a future event. After Pentecost it is always referred to in the present tense. (Acts 11:15 – 17) Therefore it seems reasonable to surmise, that since the baptism of the Holy Spirit first occurred at Pentecost, that this was also the first time and place where there were those who became the church.

Although Pentecost was almost certainly the beginning place of the Church that the Lord Jesus Christ would establish, this view is not without its problems. Of particular note are the references to the church in Matthew 18:17, where Matthew records Jesus words about how to discipline a sinful fellow believer. As Jesus explains the procedure for discipline, he says, “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector”. Whilst Jesus words are clearly understood, the problem arises that if the church was not formed until Pentecost, then Jesus instructions to take the matter to the church could not be followed, since there was no church at that time. In responding to this view, there are several possibilities. These are that:

- Jesus was giving instructions for the future. However this still leaves the question of why he is speaking in the present tense, rather than the future tense.

- The Greek word that is translated to mean “church” could also be translated to mean synagogue. Therefore Jesus could be giving instructions to be followed in the synagogue.

- Congregations had been established of those who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. This may have occurred after events such as Jesus visit to Sychar in Samaria, where many people came to believe in him. (John 4:39 – 42) Indeed even the gathering referred in Acts 1:15 where 120 believers came together, could be referred to as a church gathering. This would not be in contradiction to what Jesus said about establishing his church, since these would have been established for Christ, not by Christ.

We can only speculate as to which of these possibilities, if any, is correct. However, on reflection none of these possibilities do anything to contradict the evidence that the church that Christ was planning to establish, began at Pentecost. Indeed some Bible versions include a mention of the church at the end of Acts chapter 2, which records the Pentecost events. However, there is dispute over whether the word church is actually used in Acts 2 in the early copies of the Bible manuscripts. As a result of this, the earliest universally accepted evidence that the church existed is found in Acts 5:11.

In conclusion does it really matter when the church began? In response to these questions, it would seem less important to know when the church began, than it is to know how the church began. The reason for this is that it is important to be aware that the Church was not established by men, but by Christ. Therefore let there be no doubt, that no man or woman has a right to exercise ownership over the Church, it must unreservedly belong to Christ. The principle that the church belongs to Christ, is perhaps one of the most important of all, and should never be forgotten or neglected.