What Did the Early Christian Meetings Look Like?
Are you aware that for the first 300 years, the Lord's Congregation did not have the complete New Testament? In fact, the first words of the New Testament were not penned until approximately 20 years after Jesus' ascension. There were no "church" buildings, no Bibles, no Bible schools, no Bible study, no pews, no pulpits, no sermons, and no "pastors." So what did the early believers do in their meetings? How did they function? At the heart of their meetings was fellowship, comprised of upbuilding, admonishing, discipline, edification, service, instruction, and reconciliation. They continued in the apostles' teachings, prayer, and the breaking of bread (Acts. 2:42), which consisted of a full meal (not a shot glass and a wafer/cracker/crumb of bread). They were learning how to live as a community, looking out for and caring for one another. (There are 58 “one another” statements contained in the New Testament as to how we are to conduct ourselves toward others.) This is vastly different from the "services of worship" (so-called) that take place every Sunday within the organized religious institutions falsely called "churches." (The Church is the people; not a building. You cannot "go to" something that you are!)
How to Achieve Unity in the Lord's Congregation:
• Ephesians 4:1-3: Check your own attitude first. There are seven specific attitudes listed here to check ourselves on.
• Ephesians 4:4-6: Focus on all the things you have in common. There are seven characteristics listed here that all believers have in common.
• Ephesians 4:7-10: Regarding the things you do NOT have in common, praise Jesus for those, because He made you all different by giving you different gifts. Three words introduce this paragraph: "grace was given." This is how we are to deal with the differences between us. Grace is unmerited favour; receiving something good that we do not deserve. Our differences are good, and they are given to us by the Lord Jesus.
Instructions on How to Walk:
• Ephesians 4:1-16 is about walking in unity.
• Ephesians 4:17-32 contains instructions about walking in purity.
• Ephesians 5:1-6 is about walking in love.
• Ephesians 5:7-14 is about walking in light.
• Ephesians 5:15-21 is about walking carefully.
• Ephesians 5:22-6:9 about how to walk in this world.
ALL of the instructions about how to walk properly as a follower of Jesus have one main focus in mind: The reason we are to walk as Jesus walked is so that we can show the world the best way to live.
"[Jesus] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as shepherd-teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of [teaching], by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the Head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." Ephesians 4:11-16
The measure and fullness consists of:
Width: Unity
Depth: Maturity
Height: Christ-likeness
Jesus was concerned more with community, with behavioural practice, right living, the kind of fruit you produce, than with a list of beliefs. God is not concerned with our theological dogma; He is concerned with our fruit! He taught His disciples how to live in community and love one another. There are 58 "one another" statements in the New Testament, but 0 information about the "pastor" or even the "sermon." Challenge yourself to read through the New Testament again and note everything Jesus and the apostles command you concerning community living. Then produce such fruit in keeping with repentance.