When did the Church begin

[RefCath]

Dan P asked me

where does Covenant Theology begin the Body of Christ

Well the phrase 'Body of Christ' is a New Testament metaphor for the Church, so in Romans 12:5 Paul writes, "so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul writes "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit."

However there are other metaphors in the NT used for the Church, for example it is called the 'Bride of Christ' the 'Family of God' and the 'house of God' or 'Temple of God'. So (HT: Justin Taylor)

The church is made up of many different members that comprise the one body of Christ.

• “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Rom. 12:4-5)
• “We who are many are one body” (1 Cor. 10:17).
• “Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12).
• “You are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27).
• “Equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12).
• “Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior” (Eph. 5:23).
• “We are members of [Christ's] body” (Eph. 5:30).
• “In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col. 1:24).

The church is the bride of Christ.

• “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:9).
• “The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” (Rev. 19:7-8).
• “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:12).
• “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:31-32).

The church is the family of God.

• “I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:18).
• “Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother’” (Matt. 12:49-50).
• “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19).
• “As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).
• “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Tim. 5:1).

The church is God’s house.

• “Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope” (Heb. 3:6).
• “I am writing these things to you so that . . . you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:14-15).
• “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God” (1 Pet. 4:17).

The church is the temple of God, built with living stones, with Christ as the foundation and cornerstone, and the Holy Spirit indwelling it.

• “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).
• “The household of God [is] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22).
• “‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’ . . . ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’” (1 Pet. 2:6-7 [Isa. 28:16; Ps. 118:22).
• "You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5).
• "Do you not know that you [plural] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3:16-17).
• “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own” (1 Cor. 6:19).

When did this Church begin? Well these NT metaphors apply post-Pentecost however the church has existed since Adam, the Westminster Confession of Faith says

The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the Gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.

So if we applyu the term 'Church' to the NT age only then we have to say the Church began in Acts 2.

 

[Biblicist]

As we can only be a part of the Ekklesia if we are born again of the Spirit of God this means that the Church begain on the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit was given.

 

[akaspooky]

the church has existed since Adam

Not even close.

The Church began when the Holy Spirit came and gave Spiritual life to Jesus' Believers... who were dead relatives of Adam's, before.

Adam's sin WAS imputed to all of mankind... but Jesus' righteousness is NOW imputed to His Believers. And it's only Jesus' Believers who are members of the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ... the Church.

Nor is the OT Lawkeeper a member of the Church... even Moses was not able to enter into the Promise(d Land).

 

[RefCath]

Not even close.

It depends how we define church, after all in Acts 7 Stephen said "This is the one who was in the congregation [i.e. church] in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us." If we define church as the people of God then that existed prior to Pentecost, if we are talking specifically of the Church as distinct from Israel than that indeed began in Acts 2.

 

[freezerman2000]

Pentecost

 

[CryptoLutheran]

I think it's fair to offer several answers.

Did the Church begin on Pentecost? Yes, the Spirit was poured out on all flesh and thus began the great mission of Christ's Church.

And yet...

The Church began on the first Easter Sunday, when Christ rose from the dead, the same Body that rose on Easter is the same Body we are members of and partakers of as those who have fellowship with Jesus our crucified and risen Lord.

And even still the Church does not just include the Apostles and those who came after them. In the Creed there is confessed belief in the Communion of Saints, the holy unity of all the Faithful, of all the People of God. Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah and all the Prophets are counted among the Saints and we are one Body in Jesus Christ sharing in our one and common hope of resurrection and eternal life together with God.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[heymikey80]

As we can only be a part of the Ekklesia if we are born again of the Spirit of God this means that the Church begain on the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit was given.

Huh. So Jesus was being pre-judgmental against Nicodemus?

John 3 is prior to Pentecost.

Jesus confronted Nico saying as a teacher of the Jewish people, he should know what Jesus is talking about.

So Jesus fully expects the Spirit of God to be bearing spirits in His day.

 

[Jazer]

When did this Church begin?

Before Pentacost the Spirit would fall on people. After Pentacost the Spirit would dwell in people. Jesus said John the Baptist was the greatest before Penatcost. Yet after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit those who are least are greater then John. Just like Solomon had more wisdom than any other man, yet he did not have the mind of Christ as we can.

 

[johnwarner75]

The church was Promised way back in the OT, but was born on the day of Pentecost, that’s when the Spirit was given the church marched out into the world.

As Jazer says, (last post) the Spirit was previously given to men of God in certain circumstances, but they didn’t have access to the continuous indwelling that we have today

 

[riverrat]

johnwarner wrote:

The church was Promised way back in the OT

Please provide scripture. thanks

 

[williamjacob]

Reformed/Covenant Theology teaches (with some variation in details) that the Church is made up of the elect of all ages, and therefore the Church must have begun with the first person who was saved. This is the common view, although some begin the church with the nation Israel. In either case, Reformed men are unanimous in teaching that the Church was present in the Old Testament period. This is illustrated by the headings found at the top of The Thompson Chain Reference Bible in the book of Isaiah: "God's mercy to the Church" "God avengeth His church" "His great mercies to the Church" "The church comforted" "The restoration of the Church" "The church exhorted" "God will comfort His church" "The prophet's zeal for the church" "Confession and complaint of the church" etc.
Reformed/Covenant men stress that throughout all history there is but one people of God, and that these saved people comprise the Church.
Dispensationalists teach that the Church is a unique body of believers that began on the day of Pentecost and will be removed from earth on the day that Christ comes for His own (the rapture). It is made up of both Jews and Gentiles united together into one body and enjoying equal status in the body of Christ (Eph. 3:5-6). This is the “one new man” of Ephesians 2:15 and the “one fold” of John 10:16.

Others hold to differing positions as to when the Church began. Some Baptist groups believe that the Church began with John the Baptist or at some time during the Lord’s earthly ministry. Others whom we consider ultradispensational, begin the Church years after Pentecost (some in Acts 13 and others in Acts 28).

 

[johnwarner75]

Im going to plumb for the hour of Pentecost. Im sorry but any other date/time is not in line with the rest of scripture.