A person becomes a member of the church simply by … Either the Church did or did not exist in the years stretching from Pentecost to 1 Thessalonians. Jesus founded the Apostolic Church that is that church built on the Apostle Peter and those in communion with him. The gathering there is a mix of the invested, the curious and the skeptical. First, the apostles were not appointing new apostles to continue their ministry after them. There are yet other churches whose bishops claim legitimacy through apostolic succession: the Old Catholic and Anglican churches, for instance. A large number of the Gentiles who were converted through Paul’s ministry were God-fearers. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:15-26). Indeed, Christ’s resurrection appearances did take place on a Sunday, but that Sunday was the day of the “wave sheaf’ offering (Leviticus 23:10,11), which took place on the “morrow after the Sabbath” during the Days of Unleavened Bread. The Church founded by Jesus must have the apostolic group of Bishops who are the successors of the Apostles themselves. Paul was defending his apostleship because he was being discredited. A crowd has been listening to Jesus teach on a remote hillside, and the nearest Chick-Fil-A is still 2,000 years away. This is exactly what Paul indicates in his conclusion: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Fare ye well” (verses 28,29). Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few” (Acts 17:10-12). Both Scripture and history reveal that great animosity existed between the Jews and the Samaritans. Was He speaking of an organized entity run by bishops, archbishops, and other prelates? Converted Israelites are not pictured as being grafted into a brand new olive tree (representing the church); rather, unbelieving Israelites are depicted as being broken off the tree representing Israel! In 2 Corinthians 8:23, certain unknown brethren are called “messengers [apostolos] of the churches.” The word, used in connection with “the churches,” probably should be understood as “messengers,” or “representatives,” either sent by, or to, the churches. Jesus said little about the church. Notice that the olive tree represents Israel! He appointed Peter to be the visible head of the Church. They understood the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to be the fulfillment of certain Old Testament prophecies (Acts 2:16-21), and could not have imagined that the law God had revealed to their fathers had become archaic or obsolete. Many see the church and Israel as two entirely separate and completely unrelated entities. Some have cited the example of Matthias’ replacement of Judas as evidence of apostolic succession. During his address, Paul again identifies the two groups: “Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham [i.e., the Jews], and whosoever among you feareth God [i.e., the God-fearing Gentiles], to you is the word of this salvation sent” (verse 26). The truth that the Church was founded by Jesus Christ means that we better make sure we really understand what the Church is and that we belong to it. In concert with His redemptive act, Jesus did three things that established the framework of His Church. But when uncircumcised Gentiles began converting to Christianity, the subject did become an issue, especially among believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees. By his Cross, Jesus gave birth to the Church: A native of Topsfield, Massachusetts, he graduated from Brown University in 2004 with a degree in classics and history. These detached branches are no longer part of the tree—no longer part of Israel, except in a physical, fleshly sense. According to the traditional timeline, the last was the Gospel of John, around 85 AD or later. In Berea, Paul “went into the synagogue of the Jews” and preached Christ. Download with Google Download with Facebook. 37 … Does this account in any way suggest that the apostolic office was to continue beyond the first century? Barnabas was called an “apostle” (Acts 14:4, 14) because he was “sent forth” by the church at Jerusalem (Acts 11:22), and later, along with Paul, by the church (guided by the Holy Spirit) at Antioch (Acts 13:24). This means that the Church was not something that just happened to evolve after the resurrection—that it was not a human institution formed in response to the message of Christ. When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for them, laid their hands on them, and the believing Samaritans received the Holy Spirit (verses 15-17). Evidently, the Samaritans in the time of Jesus were aware of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. (Which is why the Church is fittingly called the mystical Body of Christ.) Further, a certain “abomination of desolation” did “stand in the holy place,” as Christ said. The term does not mean legends or mythological accounts, nor does it mean transitory customs or practices that come and go as circumstances warrant, such as styles of priestly dress, particular forms of devotion to saints, or even liturgical rubrics. Did their entry into the church introduce new customs to Christianity? There are yet other churches whose bishops claim legitimacy through apostolic succession to. 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