References

Expectations of
members Bruce, F. (1964). The Church of Jeru-
salem. Christian Brethren Research
Fellowship Journal , 5-14.

New believers needed faith, Jackson, D. L. (1992, 1996). Lay Mem-

courage and dedication. The
expectations of new believers
were to have faith, the Holy
Spirit, love for others and a vi-
sion of a new life (Jackson, 1992, 1996).
Ananias was a new believer and he re-
sponded to the call of the Lord in Acts 9.
Ananias went and found Saul (later Paul) and
told him that he was sent to help Saul see
again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Then Saul could see again and Ananias bap-
tized him.
bers’ Role in the Early Church. Re-
trieved October 2, 2009, from http://
www.wcg.org/lit/church/ministry/
The early
ministry2.htm church in
Life Application Study Bible. (1997).
Grand Rapids: Tyndale House Pub-
Jerusalem
lishers.
Niswonger, R. L. (1988). New Testa-
ment History. Grand Rapids: Zonder-
van Publishing House.

Phillip went to Samaria and preached the

gospel. He was also led by the Holy Spirit to
witness to an Ethiopian.

Acts 11:19-21 states those who had been

scattered by the persecution in connection
with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia,
Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only
to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Jennifer Felsberg
Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and
began to speak to Greeks also, telling them Grand Canyon University
the good news about the Lord Jesus. The
Lord's hand was with them, and a great BIB 123, New Testament History
number of people believed and turned to the
Lord. October 4, 2009
 The early church & its ministries
THE MAIN PURPOSE
OF THE EARLY
CHURCH ARE THE
SAME FEATURES THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
IS BASED ON TODAY:
Teaching the lessons
learned from Jesus Christ, fellowship,
breaking of bread or communion,
prayer, mutual care of one another in-
cluding material wealth and healing,
and lastly the gospel witness.
Acts 2 gives the birth of the early
church, when the holy spirit came
down during Pentecost. This is in ac-
cordance with the promise of Christ in
acts 1:8 (Bruce, 1964).
Peter preached such an awesome les-
son that 3,000 men form all over felt
led to repent of their sins and get bap-
tized in the name of Jesus. During this
period of time the holy church of the
whole world was one local church. As
word started spreading and they in-
creased in numbers this did not last
long. The first church of Jerusalem
lasted about 40 years.
Human Need
The believers in the early church pooled their
resources. People voluntarily sold their prop-
erty and material items, then they gave the
money to the church. The money was a fund
for any new Christian that needed help or had
a need to be filled. This sharing was done with
spontaneity and abandon. It was also conta-
gious. However, it wasn’t a perfect situation.
Barnabas sold a field and gave the money to
the church. This was done in all sincerity. A
couple named Ananias and Sapphira decided
to do the same but hold some of the money
back for themselves. For their in sincerity
God struck them down dead. The giving of
money and possessions was totally voluntary
but needed to be given with total sincerity.
The believers broke bread together daily. They
would share a meal in each others homes and
also partake in communion as they did during
the last supper with Jesus.
There was also healing taking place in the early
church (Acts 3:6-10). The
apostles were healing in Jesus’
name, not their own name.
Ministries of the Word
The teaching was simple: forgiveness of
sins, proclaim Jesus was Messiah and was
raised from the dead, and He was resur-
rected (Niswonger, 1988).
Preaching and teaching about Jesus added to
the numbers of believers. The apostles also
shared Jesus’ life, ministry, and teachings.
The Old Testament was their only bible but
their teaching was all about the gospel.
The apostles still continues to attend temple
and synagogue. This caused tension with the
Jews who did not believe Jesus was the Mes-
siah. They were forced to meet in homes
and witness in public places like Solomon’s
Colonnade (Acts 3:11). This was especially
true when the gentiles were converted to
Christianity.
This also led to persecution of believers. In
some ways it helped Christianity to grow:
when the people were persecuted they ran to
other parts, but continued to spread the
message of Jesus. "Those who had been
scattered preached the word wherever they
went" (Acts 8:4, (Life Application Study
Bible, 1997)).