What were the Teachings of Jesus Christ and the Doctrines of the Early Church?
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The Bible states Jesus Christ was sent to do the will of God, the Father, and to accomplish His work (Jn. 4:34). This work includes building and developing his church–those whom God is calling out of this world (Rom. 2:4; Jn. 6:44; 17:9; Jas. 2:5; Rev. 18:4). It’s not a physical building often referred as “the church”, but the people who are called by the Father for a particular work leading up to the return of Messiah.
Jesus Christ did not come to build multiple churches; he said, “I will build my assembly; and the gates of hades will not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18, RNT). He did build it–one assembly, commissioned to spread the good news, the very message of God, to the entire world (Mt. 24:14; Ac. 2:1ff). This church would not come to an end due to the natural death of its people, nor be taken over by deceit (Mt. 10:22; Mk. 13:13), despite the Adversary’s attempts to corrupt the truth, which Paul said some people were already trying to do in the early church (Gal. 1:6-9).
But what do we find today? The Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary regularly publishes and updates the Statistics of Global Missions online. Here you will find the current number of Christian denominations in the world to be in the order of some 39,000! All of these were founded by men, each professing to teach the truth of God while many of them contradict and disagree with one another. They can’t all be right, can they? The Bible says this is not possible, there is only one way to the Father (Jn. 14:6; 1Cor. 1:10-13; 2Pet. 1:20). So how does one identify the very church Jesus Christ said he would build? Does scripture provide a way to discern between the teachings of Jesus Christ and the early church, and those churches which claim to teach the truth but are mislead? (Mt. 7:21-23;
Rev. 12:9). Yes, the Bible does provide the means to test what is truth and what is not (Ps. 119:160; Isa. 8:20; *Mt. 4:4; 1Thes. 5:21; 2Tim. 3:16-17).
The true gospel of God was known and kept by the apostles and disciples of Christ in the early church during the first century CE. One fundamental teaching was that Christ alone is the head of the church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:23). No other being was appointed to this position. All of Christ’s responsibilities were delegated to him by his God and Father (Mt. 17:5; Jn. 14:28; 2Cor. 11:31).
It is written that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Heb. 13:8), only doing the will of his Father (Jn. 6:38). As the church and its doctrines were built upon Christ, who is the chief cornerstone (Ps. 118:22) and the apostles (Eph. 2:20; Rev. 21:14), it must be identifiable today by these same doctrines. In this study we will briefly examine some of the fundamental teachings of the early church, which, according to Christ, must remain today.
Who did the early church think Jesus Christ was prior to his birth as a man? What did the early church teach about God’s Holy Spirit? What does the New Testament say about elevating people to positions of authority in the church? Did the early church believe or teach that Peter was the chief apostle? Did the early church believe those serving and teaching were not to be married? Did the commission of the early church change? Did the early church believe in the doctrine of the immortal soul? Did the early church teach a different gospel message than what is prophesied in the Old Testament? What did the early church teach about variations of the gospel message? Did the early church teach obedience to God involved keeping only the ten commandments? Were there any other Holy Days that Christ and the early church kept? Did the early church observe God’s appointed times after Christ’s death and resurrection? How did the early church understand the law of God and grace? Did the early church believe that Christ abolished his Father’s law? Did the early church teach Christ nailed the Ten Commandments to the cross? Did the early church understand the need for a New Covenant? Did the early church teach that belief in Jesus Christ is all that is necessary for salvation? Do the writings of Paul teach that Christians are not required to obey the law? Did the early church teach that the Law of clean and unclean had changed?
This document is the collaborative work of individuals who believe God's truth should be given freely (Mt. 10:8; 1Cor. 2:12; 2Cor.11:7; Rom. 10:14-21) and the message of the one true God should be made available to all nations (Mt. 24:14) as a prerequisite to the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings (Mt. 17:10; 19:17; Mk. 9:11; Lk. 1:17; Rev. 19:11-16).
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