This 13-part series of classes has been many years in the making. About 25 years ago I began in earnest to examine the features, character and characteristics of the church as it existed in its earliest years. As I sometimes do, I kept my notes all along the way, and this series of classes is to a large extent the product of those years of on-and-off studying the subject. Several things in my experience contributed to my interest in making this 25-year study which I will mention along the way, and those go much further back.
There may be some difficulty in using the individual parts of this series separately, although viewer are free to do so if it serves their purposes. But to those whose interest is in knowing what the church was like in its earliest years, I recommend starting with Part 1 - Introduction to the Church of the New Testament and proceeding through the parts consecutively.
I have prepared some slides that I used in presenting the series in a classroom setting before adapting it to use as sermons. I have left my cues to advance slides or activate animations in the notes as posted on Sermon Central. If anyone is interested in having the PowerPoint files with the slides, I will be happy to send them. Send me an Email at sam@srmccormick.net and specify what part(s) you are requesting. Be sure that the word “slide” appears in the subject line. It may take me several days to respond, but I will respond to all requests.
THE CHURCH OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
I. Introduction
II. The Origin of the Church
III. What is the church?
IV. The First Christians
V. Authority in the First Century Church
VI. Problems in the New Testament Church
VII. How the Church Functioned
A. Introduction to Functions
B. Apostles, Prophets, and Teachers
C. False Apostles, Prophets, and Teachers & Various Gifts and Functions
D. More Gifts and Functions
E. Evangelists, Preachers, and Ministers, Servants and Deacons
F. Pastors, Elders, Bishops, etc.
VIII. How the Church Worshiped
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THE CHURCH OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
I. Introduction
II. The Origin of the Church
III. What is the church?
IV. The First Christians
V. Authority in the First Century Church
VI. Problems in the New Testament Church
VII. How the Church Functioned
A. Introduction to Functions
B. Apostles, Prophets, and Teachers
C. False Apostles, Prophets, and Teachers
D. Evangelists and Preachers
E. Pastors, Elders, Bishops, etc.
F. Supplying Christians’ Needs
VIII. How the Church Worshiped
1. APOSTLES: An apostle is one sent with a mission, having the credentials and the authority to accomplish the mission. The New Testament shows the apostles of Christ to be men who were set apart and empowered with special gifts which they could impart to others, to perform their apostolic mission (Acts 8:18, 1 Tim 4:14).
The apostles were the twelve disciples who accompanied Jesus in his ministry, minus Judas Iscariot, plus Matthias and Paul. The apostles appointed attaches', or hand-picked associates, and the Holy Spirit empowered them with gifts to carry on parts of the work assigned by the apostle. Two such aides we know of are Timothy and Titus. These aides were given powers of healing, etc., like those the apostles possessed (1 Tim 1:18; 4:14), and were sometimes called "apostles." Barnabas is one example (Acts 14:14). We know little about Andronicus and Junia (Rom. 16:7), but they appear to be in this group. There is no biblical basis for the idea that the apostles, in the usual New Testament usage of the word, established a line of descent to later generations. When they died, the work of the apostles was done.
It was essential that the apostles be recognized as apostles of Christ. Paul defended his apostleship vigorously against skeptics, not because he craved prestige and glory, but because his authority, and the fact that it exceeded the authority of other first century Christians, had to be recognized for his work to succeed (2 Cor 11:1; 12:12).
2. PROPHETS: The Greek word for prophet is prophetes, which is derived from the Greek pro meaning before, or advance, and phemin, meaning say, or declare.
Consistent with the literal meaning of the word, we associate a prophet with prediction of future events, or declaring revelations given to them by supernatural means; i.e., by inspiration from the Holy Spirit. However, revelations did not always pertain to future events, but other information or instruction as the Holy Spirit revealed them.
Prophets demonstrated the phenomenon of foretelling future events to confirm that they were directly connected with God.
The word “prophesy” and its associated forms is also used in reference to those declaring the word of God in a non-miraculous way—simply expounding truths previously revealed by others. But our purpose today is to focus on the function that did involve miraculous revelations.
We will return to the “proclaiming” prophet, who was equivalent to teachers, later in this series.
For now, we are considering those prophets who received divine revelations.
If you would like to know what a prophetic revelation is like, turn to the last book in your Bible. It is a revelation that was given by supernatural means to John. The first verse of that writing tells us that it was communicated from Christ “by his angel to his bond-servant John.” Being a “revelation,” it “revealed” things not previously known.
We don’t know if revelations were all similar in style and content to the revelation given to John, but we do know that revelations were a part of Christian assemblies in the first century, as Paul gave instructions for how they were to be handled (1 Cor 14:26-33 - read).
Paul received the gospel by revelation.
Gal 1:11-12 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Eph 3:3 “...the mystery was made known to me by revelation...”
Because of a revelation, Paul went to Jerusalem, taking Barnabas and Titus, and presented to “those who were of reputation,” the gospel he was preaching to gentiles. (Gal 2:2)
Paul once received a revelation so great that he said:
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! 2 Cor 12:7
1 Cor 14 shows prophesying to have higher value than tongue-speaking, and gives insight to the way Paul, under the Spirit’s guidance, saw the function of prophets.
Prophesying was directed to the church for building up the body and not for heralding the gospel to the lost.
1 Cor 14:4 says, "one who prophesies edifies the church."
1 Cor. 14:22 shows that prophesying is to believers, not unbelievers.
The prophets spoke and wrote the things they received by revelation.
We deduce that they had some control over the reception of a revelation, since the spirits of the prophets were subject to them (1 Corinthians 14:32).
Agabus was a prophet, and he prophesied that Paul would be bound at Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles (Acts 21:10 11). We watched it happen as we read the last 7 chapters of Acts.
Apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church (Eph 2:20).
Many commentaries say the prophets in this verse are the Old Testament prophets.
I do not see it that way. We will see that the Old Testament prophets are not the foundation of the church, but rather the apostles and New Testament prophets.
Consistent with the members having more than one gift, the apostles themselves, as far as we possess information about them, had the gift of prophecy, and therefore were both apostles and prophets.
But there were some who were not apostles who had the prophetic gift.
*Show building blocks slide
Together the apostles and prophets constituted the avenue through which new truth was revealed:
• the recorded accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection,
• his words,
• a history of the early church
• the full doctrinal interpretation of the gospel
• and instructions to the churches.
Before the New Testament was written, the apostles and prophets were the unwritten New Testament. Only they had the function of receiving and declaring divine truth.
Eph 3:1-7 – read
It was through the working of the Holy Spirit through the gifts he gave to apostles and prophets that the New Testament came to be written.
That New Testament, of which Christ is the cornerstone, is the work of apostles and prophets, and for every generation the New Testament is the foundation of the church Jesus built.
*Building block slide
I am convinced the apostles and prophets were described as “the foundation” because they were the channel through which Jesus Christ spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit, making his will known to man. What the prophets received by revelation came from Jesus Christ, the head, who called himself “the truth,” (Heb 1:1-2) and by Christ’s own arrangements, came to men through the Holy Spirit, the revealer of truth:
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (Eph 3:4-5)
We are assisted in understanding the work of New Testament prophets by Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, chapter 14, where he explains, rather elaborately, the superiority of prophecy over tongues.
1 Cor 14:2-5 - Prophesying builds up the church (v4)
Vs 13-17 Prophesying is better than tongues because communication occurs
Vs 29-33 Prophets (plural) were to speak one by one to maintain order. One who has a revelation supersedes a prophet who is speaking (not from revelation but things previously revealed?)
The prophetic function had a sunset
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. (1 Cor 13:8-10)
Just as the Old Testament writing prophets fell silent when their work was done at some time after the return from captivity, the work of New Testament prophets would one day be completed, and prophecy would cease.
In my view, when the writing of the New Testament was complete, the gift of prophecy by revelation ended.
Then I will know fully, even as I also have been fully known. 1 Cor 13:12
*Advance to list with Prophetesses bold
2a. PROPHETESSES:
The word prophetesses in our list is a little jarring.
Why?
Because we don’t have any prophetesses.
Were there really prophetesses in the New Testament church?
*Advance to PROPHETESSES? slide
Almost everyone would agree that the church had its beginning on the day of the Pentecost after Jesus ascended to heaven.
At the beginning of Peter’s address on the day of Pentecost, he explained that what was occurring had been foretold by the prophet Joel:
"...and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy...even upon my bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of my spirit and they shall prophesy" (Acts 2:17-18).
In saying their sons and daughters would prophesy, Joel had used the Hebrew word naba, of which Vines says: Most frequently naba is used to describe the function of the true prophet as he speaks God's message to the people, under the influence of the divine spirit.
The word naba was used in reference to the prophetic work of Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets (1 Kings 22:8; Jer 29:27; Ezek 37:10). Therefore, Joel made no distinction in the work the prophesying daughters were to do, from the work of their male counterparts.
Women as prophets was not a new concept. Women were identified as prophets, or prophetesses, in the Old Testament.
Miriam, Aaron’s sister (Exo 15:20)
Deborah, a judge of Israel (Jdg 4:4)
Huldah, in the time of king Josiah, was a prophetess (2 Kin 22:14)
Just before Paul concluded his third missionary tour at Jerusalem, he passed through Caesarea. There he stayed in the home of Philip the evangelist (one of the seven chosen in Acts 6 to take care of the Hellenistic widows in the serving of food). In Acts 21:9 the scripture says of Philip,
"Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses."
The verb for propheteuo is used in the original language. Its meaning according to Vines Bible Dictionary is "to be a prophet, to prophesy," with the primary meaning of telling forth the divine counsels.
The writer (Luke) made no bones about it; no hemming and hawing—that’s what he called it because prophesying was what Philip’s daughters did.
Gender of the word “prophetess” is distinguishable from “prophet” in the Greek; the feminine form is prophetis. With the single exception that it is specific to the female gender, its meaning is exactly the same as the masculine form prophetes.
The feminine form was used to describe Anna, the elderly prophetess who served in the temple day and night with fasting and prayers at the time of Jesus’ circumcision (Luke 2:36).
For information on what a prophetess did early in the gospel age, we look to 1 Cor. 11:4-5, where Paul tells the church at Corinth,
Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying, disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying, disgraces her head; for she is one and the same with her whose head is shaved."
Our purpose in this study is not to settle the sticky questions about hair length and head coverings, but to recognize that the function of prophesying plainly belonged to both men and women.
Notice that what the woman does in verse 5 is no different from what the man does in verse 4; the contrast Paul makes is in the effect of a man and a woman having their head covered or uncovered while they did what they were doing. So, right along with Joel, the New Testament leaves no room to doubt that women were praying and prophesying.
With this limited amount of knowledge, the challenge for us is to figure out how and where they were accomplishing it, and consider whether there is application in our time without running afoul of other New Testament guidance.
In my view, the most logical conclusion is that the prophetesses referred to in the foregoing passages were women who had the spiritual gift of receiving divine revelations and foretelling the future. To deny it is to dispute the scriptures.
It is equally plain, however, that the women’s use of their Spirit-given gifts, whether natural or supernatural, was reserved for times and circumstances that did not run afoul of other guidance about women keeping silence in the assembled church. 1 Cor 14:34-35, says:
“The women are to keep silence in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak…”
Paul does not deny the existence or usefulness of such women’s gifts, but prohibits their use in the assembly. He emphasizes the importance of this instruction in verses 37-38 by writing:
“the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord, but if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.”
Many commentators insist that the prophetesses were prophesying to the assembled church, and therefore the instruction in vs34-35 means something other than it appears to.
But proof that they prophesied in the assembled church does not exist.
The context of the prohibition of women speaking is with respect to prophesying when the church is assembled (see 1 Cor. 14:1, 24,29,31,32,39).
*Slide with functions list with apostles, prophets, prophetesses, & teacher highlighted
3. TEACHERS
In the New Testament, teacher is from the Greek didasko which means an instructor, doctor, master, or teacher. The capacity of the teacher is somewhat puzzling.
Teaching is coupled with its counterpart, learning. Without learning there is no teaching.
The process of teaching and learning is around about us in every activity of life--it is the natural result of being alive, alert, receptive, and exposed to people and circumstances from whom learning can be obtained.
We can learn things we don’t need to know, or ought not to know.
We can learn things we wish we didn’t know.
We can learn things that turn out to be erroneous, and have to be unlearned.
Teaching is not confined to any particular time, format, or circumstance. It can occur with
• a speaker addressing an audience,
• a group studying together,
• it occurred a couple (e.g., Aquila and Priscilla) taking a man (e.g., Apollos) aside to impart knowledge and improve understanding,
• parents teaching their children,
• children teaching their parents,
• or as Paul wrote to Titus, mature women teaching younger women.
Generally in life we consider the experience of teaching and learning to be a good thing as it pertains to matters of faith. We would like to learn everything we can about God, and his desires and how his desires can be realized in our lives.
Yet Jeremiah prophesying about the new covenant wrote:
And they shall not teach again, every man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:31f)
James cautioned against proliferation of teachers:
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment." (James 3:1)
Why do these passages seem to downplay the place of teaching?
The passage from Jeremiah may simply show that the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the Father, would be more fully revealed in the time Jeremiah wrote of (the gospel age - see Hebrews chapters 8 and 12).
God’s identity would then no longer be vaguely formed in the minds of the people, but known and fully comprehended by means of the advent of Jesus Christ. Thus the necessity for teaching about him in the manner of prophets teaching about unrevealed things would no longer be necessary--Jesus would be known to the greatest and the least by his life - both as he lived it and those who would live later by the written record of it.
The passage in James may also be intended to caution those who delight in teaching their own dogma, rather than sharing divine truth, or who want to be teachers to elevate themselves over others.
Jesus was called "Teacher" on numerous occasions. Matt. 7:28-29 shows that he taught as one having authority, unlike the scribes who prided themselves on their knowledge of minute details of the scriptures.
Paul was appointed a preacher, apostle, and teacher to the Gentiles in faith and truth (1 Tim 2:7 and 2 Tim. 1:11).
Paul instructed Titus to have the older women teach the younger ones to love their husbands and children, be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, and to be subject to their husbands (Titus 2:4 5). In so doing, the older women were to function as teachers.
Paul instructed Timothy to commit the things he had heard from Paul to faithful men "who will be able to teach others also." (2 Tim. 2:2)
He directed that the elders who rule well be considered worthy of “double honor,” especially those who work hard at teaching and preaching (1 Tim 5:17).
Therefore, the functions of older women, elder and teacher overlap with respect to teaching, and yet “teachers” are distinctly listed as a separate gift in all three passages where the church body’s functions are listed. And Paul says
All are not teacher, are they? (1 Cor 12:29)
Apollos was both a teacher and a student (Acts 18:24-26). Though he knew only the baptism of John, Luke wrote that he “taught accurately the things concerning Jesus.” But when Aquila and his wife Priscilla heard him, they took him aside (privately, it seems) they expounded, or taught, the way of the Lord to him more perfectly.
It is interesting that Apollos was not reproached as a false teacher either by the scriptures or by Aquila and Priscilla. He was simply shown as a teacher in need of teaching. Teachers should never stop being students.
Teachers are not the same as prophets as we shall see in a moment. The definitions of the words used in the original language are different, and they are consistently listed separately in lists that contain both functions.
*Advance to Vines’ definition slide
Vines’ definitions of the various original words and word forms used for teaching and teachers in the New Testament:
A. Verb.
didasko is used (a) absolutely, "to give instruction," e.g., Matt_4:23; Matt_9:35; Rom_12:7;
1 Cor_4:17; 1 Tim_2:12; 1 Tim 4:11; (b) transitively, with an object, whether persons, e.g., Matt_5:2; Matt_7:29, and frequently in the Gospels and Acts, or things "taught," e.g., Matt_15:9; Matt_22:16; Acts_15:35; Acts_18:11; both persons and things, e.g., John_14:26; Rev_2:14, Rev_2:20.
B. Adjective.
didaktikos, "skilled in teaching" is translated "apt to teach" in 1 Tim_3:2; 2 Tim_2:24 (KJV).
Note that the original word and its forms used for teach, teaching, and teacher do not require the one administering the teaching to do so by inspiration, as the words prophetis and prophetes do.
*Advance to First, Second, Third slide
In all three of the main passages from Romans 12, 1 Cor 12,and Eph 4 that we have had under consideration in this series, Paul lists teaching as separate from prophecy, each time showing that it is a separate and distinguishable gift. But as in Paul’s own case, a person could have both gifts. Paul listed the functions separately in referring to himself:
...I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. (2 Tim 1:11)
I want to emphasize that a person may have had both gifts, as the apostles did, but they are distinct functions. Every prophet may have been a teacher, as the apostles were, but not every teacher was a prophet.
Our purpose is not to patrol boundaries of the functions we have studied. Paul wrote:
“one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he wills.” (1 Cor 12:11)
It is not our business to second-guess the Spirit’s actions in allocating gifts to members of the body, often giving multiple gifts to a member. Ours is to recognize what the gifts are insofar as they are revealed to us, and thusly the work of the first century church, our ancestors in the faith.
Unlike some of the words we will come to later, the function of teaching is easy to understand. We use the word today in much the same way as its Greek equivalent was by the first Christians.
Yet it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the teachers. Their task was, and is, to instruct and build up the converts in the great, towering doctrines of the Christian faith.
The word “doctrines” means teachings.
So we had teachers teaching teachings. In principle, it’s pretty simple.
But in the early church teaching was a daunting task.
• Teachers were to instruct men and women who knew literally nothing about Christianity.
• Mass printing did not exist.
• Copies and collections of the manuscripts that would later come to be recognized as the New Testament were scarce and precious.
• People of ordinary means could not own a copy.
• The teachings of Jesus, his earthly ministry, the sacrifice of his life and resurrection, and the way to life was disseminated largely by word of mouth, and Paul makes it plain that there were some—teachers--who were especially gifted in that work.
Today, by volume of hours spent in the activity, teaching is done to people who already know a lot about Christianity, especially those in the church, some for many decades.
And whether or not the people of the world accept the teaching, practically everyone - at least in the United States - has some knowledge and grasp of Christianity’s claims.
The environment is different now, but the activity is the same. The teacher teaches the doctrines of the words of God.
The numerical designations
In 1 Cor 12:28 Paul says God has placed in the church:
First apostles. They were chosen by Christ himself (including Matthias and Paul) and sent by him to preach the gospel. They received what they taught from no man, but directly from Jesus (1 Cor. 9:1, Gal. 1:15-17).
Second, prophets. These were not sent directly by Christ, as the apostles were, but were empowered to their work by the Holy Spirit. They received extraordinary powers, including the ability to receive divine revelations and foretell the future, when it was needed in the performance of their function.
Third, teachers. Their function is to instruct people in the doctrines and elements of the Christian religion. Did apostles and prophets perform this? Of course. But others also performed the teaching duty who were not apostles and did not coincidentally have the same gifts of the Spirit that the apostles and prophets received.
First, Second, and Third says Paul. In what? Honor? Presentableness? Pre-iminence? Chronology?
We have seen that some members of the body are deemed to be more honorable or presentable, and some less honorable or presentable. And we also saw that upon those seen as less honorable, we bestow more abundant honor.
In the body of Christ, there is no question of relative importance of members.
There are no unimportant members in the body of Christ!
If any organ or limb is damaged or out of place, the whole body suffers with it. So it cannot be true that this numbering has anything to do with the value of the souls of the persons performing the respective functions.
And it cannot be that the first Christians were to care more about the persons in these functions than the members who as Paul described them, who seem less honorable, or presentable. Paul had just said 3 verses before this:
But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. (1 Cor 12:24-25)
So what is the meaning of the numbers, if anything, and the fact that the other functions listed afterward are unnumbered?
One possible view, which I consider reasonable, but about which I am not dogmatic:
It was by the function of these three functionaries that the will of God for men became fully known to the human race.
1. The apostles were first to speak the gospel, and associated revelations on the day of Pentecost.
2. The New Testament prophets received gifts that enabled them to operate in the function of revealing, to the church in their locales, previously unrevealed truth. 1 Cor 14 gives us a window into the early church exercising that function.
3. Teachers, by definition of the word, taught and expounded the revealed truth. The definition of the word didaskalos does not include a miraculous method of receiving what was taught although some teachers did receive it miraculously, by being also apostles and prophets. So teaching was teaching without the word “teacher” specifying the method by which the taught method was received.
Thus it was a flow, or progression, of knowledge and understanding of the things of God from those who received it by inspiration to those who received it, not by inspiration, but by hearing. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the word of God.
What we hear to this day, we hear from people who do not speak by inspiration, but who speak the word of God as delivered years ago the Holy Spirit’s gift of inspiration.
Paul continues to cite other gifts:
Gifts of healing, helps, administrations, governments, and diversities of tongues as a group follow, unnumbered. Paul stops using numbers, which could mean that the descending ranking is implied to continue, or it could mean that these gifts are all on the same level relative to honor.
It hardly matters. The point of this stream of thought is that all members of the body are necessary because of the function, or service, each performs.
It is vitally important that we recognize that the importance of a member of the body is not determined by the functions that member is gifted to serve in.
While some members serve in more visible ways (more honorable or presentable), members ourselves are equally important and valuable.
But we should never, never think of the more visible functions as being more glamorous or prestigious than others.
The head of the body is Christ, and he did not see his position as prestigious.
Paul does not list every gift and function in 1 Corinthians 12. Some that are not mentioned here are included in other letters.
Whatever we may believe about the meaning of Paul’s numbers,
In the early church apostles, prophets, and teachers were important in exactly the same way the New Testament is important to us today!
The role of those functions was key to getting God’s word and his will planted in the minds and hearts and actions of people, leading to redeemed and transformed lives, and preserving the word for us and our grandchildren and their grandchildren!
