1- Early Christianity- The Beginning of the Church
The church began 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection (c. A.D. 30). Jesus had promised that He would build His church (Matthew 16:18), and with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), the church “ekklesia (the “called-out assembly”)”officially began. Three thousand people responded to Peter’s sermon that day and chose to follow Christ.
The initial converts to Christianity were Jews or proselytes to Judaism, and the church was centered in Jerusalem. Because of this, Christianity was seen at first as a Jewish sect, akin to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, or the Essenes. However, what the apostles preached was radically different from what other Jewish groups were teaching. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah (the anointed King) who had come to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17) and institute a new covenant based on His death (Mark 14:24). With its charge that they had killed their own Messiah, this message infuriated many Jewish leaders, and some, like Saul of Tarsus, took action to stamp out “the Way” (Acts 9:1-2).
It is quite proper to say that Christianity has its roots in Judaism. The Old Testament laid the New Testament groundwork. It is impossible to fully understand Christianity without a working knowledge of the Old Testament (see the books of Matthew and Hebrews). The Old Testament explains the necessity of a Messiah, contains the Messiah’s people’s history, and predicts the Messiah’s coming. Then, the New Testament is all about the Messiah’s coming and His work to save us from sin. In His life, Jesus fulfilled over 300 specific prophecies, proving that He was the One the Old Testament had anticipated.
11-The Growth of the Early Church
Not long after Pentecost, the doors to the church were opened to non-Jews. The evangelist Philip preached to the Samaritans (Acts 8:5), and many believed in Christ. The apostle Peter preached to Cornelius’s Gentile household (Acts 10), and they, too, received the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul (the former persecutor of the church) spread the gospel all over the Greco-Roman world, reaching as far as Rome itself (Acts 28:16) and possibly all the way to Spain.
By A.D. 70, Jerusalem was destroyed, most of the New Testament books had been completed and circulating among the churches. For the next 240 years, Christians were persecuted by Rome, sometimes at random, sometimes by government edict.
2- The instauration of Hierarchical leadership in the Church
In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the church leadership became more and more hierarchical as numbers increased. Several heresies were exposed and refuted during this time. The canon of the New Testament, which is the set of books Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the New Testament of the Christian Bible, was agreed upon. Persecution continued to intensify.
21-The Rise of the Roman Church
In A.D. 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine claimed to have had a conversion experience. About 70 years later, during the reign of Theodosius, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Bishops were given places of honor in the government, and by A.D. 400, the terms “Roman” and “Christian” were virtually synonymous.
After Constantine, then, Christians were no longer persecuted. In time, it was the pagans who came under persecution unless they “converted” to Christianity. Such forced conversions led to many people entering the church without a true change of heart. The pagans brought their idols and the practices they were accustomed to. The church changed; icons, elaborate architecture, pilgrimages, and saints’ veneration were added to early church worship’s simplicity. About this same time, some Christians retreated from Rome, choosing to live in isolation as monks, and infant baptism was introduced as a means of washing away original sin.
Through the next centuries, various church councils were held to determine the church’s official doctrine, censure clerical abuses, and make peace between warring factions. As the Roman Empire grew weaker, the church became more powerful, and many disagreements broke out between the churches in the West and those in the East. The Western (Latin) church, based in Rome, claimed apostolic authority over all other churches. The bishop of Rome had even begun calling himself the “Pope” (the Father). This did not sit well with the Eastern (Greek) church, based in Constantinople. Theological, political, procedural, and linguistic divides all contributed to the Great Schism in 1054. The Roman Catholic (“Universal”) Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church excommunicated each other and broke all ties.
22- The Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages in Europe, the Roman Catholic Church continued to hold power, with the popes claiming authority over all life levels and living like kings. Corruption and greed in the church leadership were commonplace. From 1095 to 1204, the popes endorsed bloody and expensive crusades to repel Muslim advances and liberate Jerusalem.
3- The Reformation
Through the years, several individuals had tried to call attention to the theological, political, and human rights abuses of the Roman Church. All had been silenced in one way or another. But in 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther took a stand against the church, and everyone heard. With Luther came the Protestant Reformation, and the Middle Ages were brought to a close.
The Reformers, including Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, differed in many finer points of theology. Still, they were consistent in their emphasis on the Bible’s supreme authority over church tradition and that sinners are saved by grace through faith alone apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Although Catholicism made a comeback in Europe, and a series of wars between Protestants and Catholics ensued, the Reformation had successfully dismantled the Roman Catholic Church’s power by restoring the Bible’s supreme authority church tradition. It helped open the door to the modern age.
4- The Age of Missions.
From 1790 to 1900, the church showed an unprecedented interest in missionary work. Colonization had opened eyes to the need for missions, and industrialization had provided people with the financial ability to fund the missionaries. Missionaries went around the world preaching the gospel, and churches were established throughout the world. Unfortunately, many of these missionaries worldwide had a different agenda than the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
5- The Modern Church
Today, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have taken steps to mend their broken relationship, including Catholics and Lutherans. The evangelical church is strongly independent and rooted firmly in Reformed theology. The church has also seen Pentecostalism’s rise, the charismatic movement, ecumenicalism, and various groups.
Different interpretations of Jesus Christ appear to be the MAIN cause of so much division in Christianity.
Teaching that deviates from the biblical revelation of The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the main reason why so many different interpretations of the Holy Scriptures occur in the Visible church today.
Recommended resource: https://www.gotquestions.org/history-Christianity.html
