Session 1
The Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ
Imagine taking a course in US History that begins with the Declaration of Independence and then immediately jumps to the Viet Nam war. Obviously you would be shocked that the teacher had left out all the important content in between those two events.
Why is it then, with church history, that we don’t share the same amazement at the lack of information between the Book of Acts and contemporary Christendom? The purpose of this course is to in a very summarized way, fill in the gap between the church history we read about in the Bible and our own modern knowledge of Christianity.
Let us begin with Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone.
The Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ
“Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”
In this passage, we find a statement by the Lord that establishes the foundation of the church. However, the misuse of this passage has played a key role in a major falling away from the historic church. We will discuss this in full later on in the course.
The Orthodox church teaches that the “rock” to which Jesus refers is the confession of Peter when he proclaimed, ” You are the Christ, the son of the living God?
Jesus Christ who is both God and man is the head of the church which, in the words of St. Paul, is “His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
The Foundation Stones, the Twelve Disciples
“from them He chose twelve……”
Christ came to establish a Kingdom which the gates of hell would not prevail against. He Himself is the cornerstone of that Kingdom and for the foundation of that kingdom He chose twelve disciples.
Christ had many followers and disciples and from them He chose twelve for a specific leadership ministry. It is clear from scripture that this was not an arbitrary number nor was it a temporary and changeable office. The number twelve corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel.
The Twelve constitute a defined and limited body of disciples given particular authority in the kingdom of God.
In Matthew 16, Christ said to the twelve, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what ever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
After His resurrection, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit, whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them, whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained.” John 20: 22.
The calling of the Seventy
In addition to The Twelve, Christ appointed seventy others and sent them out by in pairs to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach the kingdom. These seventy constitute more building stones placed upon the twelve foundation stones and the one cornerstone Jesus Christ. Though distinct from the Twelve, they are endowed with great power and authority by Christ.
Filling the vacancy: the choosing of Matthias
The distinctive nature of the office of The Twelve is highlighted in the Book of Acts in the choosing of Matthias to fill the seal left empty by Judas. Out of all those gathered with The Twelve that day (approximately 120) one had to be chosen to replace Judas and be, as Peter stated, “a witness to the resurrection.”
This assembly of 120 included among others The Twelve, the seventy, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the other women who had accompanied Jesus in His ministry, stood by Him at his crucifixion, and witnessed His resurrection..
The choosing of the Seven Deacons
The Kingdom Continues to Be Built
Later in Acts 6 we find the choosing of the first deacons. Notice the passage reads, “the twelve called the multitude of disciples unto them…” We see that the twelve are a distinct group and disciple is used as a general term for all the members of the Christian community forming in Jerusalem.
Deacons are chosen to meet the physical needs of the widows and orphans who are part of this community and they are given the authority to do this through the laying on of hands by the twelve. (Acts 6:6)
This is the first official account in Acts of the twelve passing on ecclesiastical authority through the laying on of hands.
Whatever Happened to Those Guys?
In the Book of Acts we read about the life of Paul, the deacon Stephen, and some of the other key figures in the first century Jerusalem church, but for the most part the Bible does not cover the lives of that great company of disciples who followed Christ and set about to establish the Kingdom of God throughout the world. In the next lesson, we will study as Paul Harvey calls it, “The rest of the story.”
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
Bring a stone!
Freely Ye Have Received Freely GiveTags: educational, history