The New Testament records the rapid growth of the church in Acts. The Holy Spirit guided the apostles as they taught the early Christians how to worship and what to practice in religion. Worship in the church of Christ was nothing like Jewish worship or the pagan religions of that day. It was done in spirit and truth. The first Christians, taught by the apostles, converted others. Soon many churches of Christ were planted throughout the country. All of them used the same pattern of worship. The truth of Christ was delivered to the churches through miracles by the Holy Spirit, until the New Testament was finished, to take their place. The church is not a physical building. The word church means "called out." It refers to those who are separated from the world and given a new relationship with God.
When we obey the gospel, we become members of Christ's true church, God's family. (How to obey the gospel will be covered in the next lesson.) Christians met together in homes, on the first day of the week, to worship and eat the Lord's Supper in memory of Christ. As the truth of Christianity spread in the first century, it became a threat to the governing powers of that day. Christians were tortured and killed in an attempt to turn their allegiance from Christ and stop Christianity. They faced cruel persecution. It caused many of them to deny Christ, but that didn't stop it. Before Christ died, He had told his disciples, " Do not fear those who can kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell," Matthew 10:28.
Copyright 1989 by Carmen D Hilliard. Used by permission