The Literature And History Of New Testament Times - free ebook by J. Gresham (John Gresham) Machen

PART I:

The Historical Background of Christianity The Early History of Christianity By John Gresham Machen PHILADELPHIA, PA. THE PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION AND SABBATH SCHOOL WORK Copyright, 1915, by John Gresham Machen...

2 minute read

Read Chapter

INTRODUCTION

The general purpose of this course of lessons has been set forth in the introduction to the Student's Text Book. There is a tendency in the modern Church to neglect the study of Bible history. Such neglect will inevitably result in a loss of power. The gospel is a record of something that has happened, and uncertainty about the gospel is fatal weakness. Furthermore the historical study of the apostolic age—that age when divine revelation established the great principles of the Church's life—is t

3 minute read

Read Chapter

THE NEW TESTAMENT

This is an introductory lesson. It should be used, first of all, to answer intelligent general questions about the New Testament. Some of these questions will be discussed briefly under Sections 1 to 3, below. The historical study of the New Testament, based upon a study of the circumstances under which the individual books were written, will probably be new to many of the students. The new point of view should be used to awaken interest. The climax of the lesson should, however, be a presentati

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE ROMAN BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY

Christianity is not a human product. It is not to be explained by what preceded it on the earth. It is a new beginning in history, an immediate exercise of the divine power. But though Christianity was not produced by men, it operates upon men, and upon men subject to all the ordinary conditions of earthly life. Primitive Christianity, then, which we shall study this year, cannot be understood fully without an examination of the historical conditions under which it arose. In the class, the lesso

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE GREEK BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY

The purpose of the present lesson is to make the student feel that the gospel was from the beginning a real gospel in a real world. If we isolate the early preaching from its environment, we make it seem like an unreal thing. Study of New Testament times makes the New Testament itself become a more living, a more interesting book. In the Student's Text Book an outline of the Hellenistic age has been provided. It has been supplemented below by illustrative material. But in the class the lesson ca

10 minute read

Read Chapter

THE JEWISH BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY

The New Testament is one of the chief sources of information about the Palestinian Judaism of the first century. Other important sources are the works of Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, and the Mishna. The Mishna is a collection of Jewish interpretations of the Mosaic law. In its written form it is thought to have been produced at the end of the second century, but it contains a mass of earlier material which had been preserved by oral tradition. After the conclusion of the Old Testa

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE JEWISH BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY

The presentation of the lesson in class may be begun somewhat in the manner suggested in the Student's Text Book. The student should be made to appreciate the practical problem of a missionary in a new city. Various solutions of the problem may be adopted. The missionary may simply engage in conversation with individuals in the street, or he may hire a room and advertise his preaching. In any case the securing of an audience is usually no easy matter. It is difficult to know how to begin. The ca

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE MESSIAH

The teaching of this lesson may be begun with Acts 2:17-21. Surely the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was something new. Yet even that was explained by a reference to prophecy. And the reference is of remarkable aptness and beauty. The Pentecostal speech of Peter is full of the appeal to prophecy. Primarily, indeed, the claims of Jesus are supported by the direct testimony to his resurrection. Without the facts, of course appeal to prophecy would have been useless; for it was j

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE BOOK OF THE ACTS

The teaching of the lesson may be begun with some very simple questions. If rightly put, they will open up a fresh way of looking at a New Testament book. The way will thus be prepared for considering the deeper elements of the lesson. If interest can be aroused in the book itself, the contents of the book, in the lessons which follow, will be studied with much livelier attention. Who wrote the book of The Acts? How do you know? The former question will probably be answered without difficulty, b

9 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CROSS AND THE RESURRECTION THE FOUNDATION OF APOSTOLIC PREACHING

Which of the books of the New Testament contain the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus? That question will serve to begin the teaching of the lesson. In answer to it, the students will probably mention the four Gospels. To the Gospels, however, should be added especially the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The passage in First Corinthians is deserving of very careful attention. For, unlike the Gospels, that epistle can be dated to within a year or so. It was written only about twenty-five

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The author of The Acts has given a wonderful picture of the early days of the Christian Church. The teacher should endeavor to present the picture before the mental vision of the class. History should not be studied merely as a dry record of events. The events should be seen as well as understood. They can be seen by what is called the historical imagination. The term "imagination" often contains a suggestion of unreality. But that is a secondary use of the word. "Imagination" means "picturing."

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FIRST PERSECUTION

The persecution which arose in connection with Stephen marks a turning point in the history of the Church. Up to that time, the disciples had been content, for the most part, with laboring in Jerusalem. Now they were forced out into a broader field. One result of the persecution was the geographical extension of the Church. Another result was perhaps even more important. The extension caused by persecution was not merely geographical; it was also, perhaps, intellectual and spiritual. The Church

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FIRST GENTILE CONVERTS

This lesson treats of a number of steps in the extension of the gospel. The beginning is the purely Jewish Church that is described in the first chapters of The Acts; the goal is the Gentile Christianity of Paul. Gentile Christianity was not produced all at once. The extension of the gospel to Gentiles was a gradual process. The present lesson is concerned only with the early stages. The teacher should present the lesson in such a way as to emphasize the main feature of the narrative. The main f

6 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CONVERSION OF PAUL

Christianity a supernatural thing and a gift of God's grace—that is the real theme of the lesson. The theme is brought home by means of an example, the example of the apostle Paul. The religious experience of Paul is the most striking phenomenon in the history of the human spirit. It really requires no defense. Give it sympathetic attention, and it is irresistible. How was it produced? The answer of Paul himself, at least, is plain. According to Paul, his whole religious life was due, not to any

13 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHURCH AT ANTIOCH

Christianity originated in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire, in the midst of a very peculiar people. At first, it was entirely out of relation to the larger life of the time. The atmosphere of the Gospels is as un-Greek as could be imagined; the very conception of Messiahship is distinctively Jewish. Yet this Jewish sect soon entered upon the conquest of the empire, and the Jewish Messiah became the Saviour of the world. Starting from Jerusalem, the new sect spread within a few decades almo

8 minute read

Read Chapter

PART II:

Christianity Established Among the Gentiles The Principles and Practice of the Gospel...

4 minute read

Read Chapter

THE GOSPEL TO THE GENTILES

It was a dramatic moment when Paul and Barnabas, with their helper, set sail from Seleucia, on the waters of the Mediterranean. Behind them lay Syria and Palestine and the history of the chosen people; in front of them was the west. The religion of Israel had emerged from its age-long seclusion; it had entered at last upon the conquest of the world. The message that crossed the strait to Cyprus was destined to be carried over broader seas. A mighty enterprise was begun. It was an audacious thoug

10 minute read

Read Chapter

THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM

The lesson for to-day deals with one of the most important events in apostolic history. At the Jerusalem council the principles of the Gentile mission and of the entire life of the Church were brought to clear expression. If the original apostles had agreed with the Judaizers against Paul, the whole history of the Church would have been different. There would even have been room to doubt whether Paul was really a disciple of Jesus; for if he was, how could he come to differ so radically from tho

9 minute read

Read Chapter

THE GOSPEL CARRIED INTO EUROPE

From the rich store of to-day's lesson only a few points can be selected for special comment. At Lystra, Paul had Timothy circumcised. Acts 16:3. This action has been considered strange in view of the attitude which Paul had previously assumed. At Jerusalem, only a short time before, he had absolutely refused to permit the circumcision of Titus. Evidently, too, he had regarded the matter as of fundamental importance. Had Titus been circumcised, the freedom of the Gentile Christians would have be

10 minute read

Read Chapter

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR RECENT CONVERTS

The Pauline Epistles fall naturally into four groups: (1) the epistles of the second missionary journey (First and Second Thessalonians); (2) the epistles of the third missionary journey (Galatians, First and Second Corinthians and Romans); (3) the epistles of the first imprisonment (Colossians and Philemon, Ephesians and Philippians); (4) the epistles written after the period covered by The Acts (First Timothy, Titus and Second Timothy). Each of these groups has its own characteristics. The fir

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CONFLICT WITH THE JUDAIZERS

Before the arrival of Paul at Ephesus an important event had taken place in that city—the meeting of Aquila and Priscilla with Apollos. Apollos was a Jew of Alexandrian descent. He had already received instruction about Jesus—perhaps in his native city. Of all the great cities of the Roman Empire Alexandria alone was approximately as near to Jerusalem as was Syrian Antioch. The founding of the church at Alexandria is obscure, but undoubtedly it took place at a very early time. At a later period

11 minute read

Read Chapter

PROBLEMS OF A GENTILE CHURCH

Christianity, according to Paul, is an escape from the world. Gal. 1:4. All human distinctions are comparatively unimportant. "There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female." Gal. 3:28. Such a doctrine might seem logically to lead to fanaticism. If the Christian is already a citizen of heaven, may he not be indifferent to the conditions of life upon this earth? Such a conclusion was altogether avoided by Paul. In First Corinthians Paul is

10 minute read

Read Chapter

THE APOSTLE AND HIS MINISTRY

In First Corinthians the obscure Sosthenes is found to be associated with Paul in the address of the epistle; in Second Corinthians it is Timothy, one of the best-known of the helpers of Paul. Even if that mission of Timothy to Corinth which is mentioned in First Corinthians had resulted in failure, Timothy's usefulness in the church was not permanently affected. After the address, comes, as is usual in the Pauline Epistles, an expression of thanksgiving to God. This time, however, it is not tha

11 minute read

Read Chapter

THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION

The Epistle to the Romans, though it is not merely a systematic treatise, is more systematic than any other of the Pauline Epistles. Unlike the epistles that preceded it, it was written in a period of comparative quiet between two great stages in the apostle's work. Not unnaturally, therefore, it contains something like a summary of Paul's teaching. The summary, however, does not embrace the whole of the Pauline theology, but only one important department of it. The nature of God, for example, a

9 minute read

Read Chapter

PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME

The material of this lesson is so extensive that only the barest summary can be attempted in the class. The great features of the narrative should be made to stand out clear—the bitter opposition of the Jews, the favorable attitude of the Roman authorities, the journey to Rome. Before the lesson is over the student should have a deeper impression of the character of Paul—his perfect ease and tactfulness in the various relations of life, his unswerving boldness where the gospel was concerned, his

7 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST

With the lesson for to-day, we are introduced to the third group among the epistles of Paul. The epistles of the second group, which were written during the third missionary journey, are concerned with the problem of sin and salvation; the epistles of the third group are interesting especially for their teaching about the person of Christ and about the Church. A period of about three or four years separates the last epistle of the second group from the first epistle of the third. Most of this in

9 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST

The special effort in the lessons of the second quarter has been to produce some lively impression of the wonderful variety among the letters of Paul. That variety is due largely to the variety in the occasions of the letters. Just because Paul entered with such sympathy into the varying circumstances of his many churches, the letters of Paul reflect the wonderful manifoldness of life. Nevertheless, it is also an advantage that at least one letter is largely independent of any special circumstan

7 minute read

Read Chapter

CHRIST AND HIS FOLLOWERS

The Epistle to the Philippians is the only one of the letters of Paul which is addressed to an approved church with whom he stood on terms of untroubled intimacy and affection. In Galatians and both the Corinthian epistles, serious errors in the churches addressed, as well as unscrupulous personal criticism, lend a tone of bitterness to the apostle's words; Romans, Colossians and perhaps "Ephesians" are addressed to churches which he had never seen. In some ways the little letter to Philemon is

8 minute read

Read Chapter

TRAINING NEW LEADERS

The emphasis which the Pastoral Epistles lay upon sound instruction and upon orderly government is sometimes looked upon with distaste. Orthodoxy and organization are thought to be destructive of religious fervor. In the New Testament, however, the two aspects of the Church's life appear side by side. In the New Testament, enthusiasm and sanity are united. And the New Testament is right. Religion is a concern of every individual soul—the final decision must be made by every man in the immediate

11 minute read

Read Chapter

PART III:

The Presentation and Defense of Christianity...

3 minute read

Read Chapter

A PRESENTATION OF JESUS TO JEWISH CHRISTIANS

The Gospel of Matthew is probably, as has been said, the most important book that was ever written. Its importance is due to the information which it contains about Jesus Christ. More fully perhaps than any other one book, the Gospel of Matthew has preserved the knowledge of Jesus. Whatever be the future of the Church, the life of Jesus will now always remain the central fact of history. Even the secondary influence of Jesus is incalculable; even if none were left to own him as Lord and Master,

12 minute read

Read Chapter

A GRAPHIC SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF JESUS

The Gospel of Mark contains scarcely any material which is not also contained in one or both of the other two Synoptic Gospels. The loss of Mark would not diminish appreciably the number of facts that we know about Jesus. Nevertheless, the Second Gospel is of the utmost importance; for although it narrates for the most part only the same facts as are also narrated elsewhere, it narrates them in a different way. Indeed the very brevity of the Gospel adds to its special value. A picture is sometim

6 minute read

Read Chapter

A GREEK HISTORIAN'S ACCOUNT OF JESUS

The purpose of the Gospel of Luke was, the author says in his prologue, that Theophilus might know the certainty concerning the things wherein he had been instructed. These words involve recognition of a fundamental need of the Church, which is to-day often ignored. After interest in Christianity has been aroused, after faith has been awakened, the Christian feels the need of a deeper intellectual grounding of the faith that is in him. This feeling is perfectly legitimate; it should not be stifl

13 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TESTIMONY OF THE BELOVED DISCIPLE

The author of the Fourth Gospel was a great man. He was great, however, not as a philosopher or as a religious genius, but as an apostle; not as the originator of great ideas, but as one who received the teaching of another. He was great, not as one who created a profound theology, but as one who could understand the Lord Jesus Christ. The "Johannine theology" is the theology not of John but of Jesus. So at least John himself represents it. He claims to be not a theologian, but a witness. The va

17 minute read

Read Chapter

THE JESUS OF THE GOSPELS

It is possible to speak of "the Jesus of the Gospels" only if the Gospels are in essential agreement. If the features of the four portraits are so different that they never could have been united really in the same person, then there is no such thing as a Jesus of the Gospels, but only a Jesus of Matthew and a Jesus of Mark and a Jesus of Luke and a Jesus of John. Among the Synoptic Gospels, at any rate, no such difference exists. Though every one of these Gospels possesses its own characteristi

7 minute read

Read Chapter

A DOCUMENT OF THE JERUSALEM CHURCH

The Epistle of James has been called the least Christian book in the New Testament. Superficially this judgment is true. The name of Jesus occurs only twice in the epistle, James 1:1; 2:1, and there is no specific reference to his life and death and resurrection. A close examination, however, reverses the first impression. ( 1 ) James and the Synoptic Discourses. —In the first place, the ethical teaching of James is permeated by the spirit of Jesus. Even the form of the epistle displays a marked

11 minute read

Read Chapter

JESUS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

( 1 ) The Tradition. —At Alexandria in the latter part of the second century Paul was thought to be the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews; but in North Africa a little later Tertullian attributed the epistle to Barnabas, and in other portions of the Church the Pauline authorship was certainly not accepted. In the west, the Pauline authorship was long denied and the inclusion of the epistle in the New Testament resisted. At last the Alexandrian view won universal acceptance. The Epistle to the

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHRISTIAN FORTITUDE

The First Epistle of Peter is the epistle of separateness. The modern Church is in grave danger of forgetting the distinctiveness of her gospel and the glorious isolation of her position. She is too often content to be merely one factor in civilization, a means of improving the world instead of the instrument in creating a new world. The first readers of the epistle were subject to a similar danger, though it arose from a somewhat different cause. To-day we are no longer subject to persecution;

9 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHRISTIAN'S ATTITUDE TOWARD ERROR AND IMMORALITY

The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude are among the least known and most seriously questioned parts of the New Testament. Even in ancient times their authenticity was disputed; in the third and fourth centuries there were some at least who desired to exclude them from the New Testament. These ancient doubts have been continued in the modern Church. By very many scholars of the present day, Second Peter and Jude are assigned to second-century writers who falsely assumed the names of

7 minute read

Read Chapter

THE LIFE OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD

The First Epistle of John does not contain the name of its author. According to tradition, however, it was written by the apostle John, and tradition is here supported by the characteristics of the epistle itself. The author of the epistle was evidently the same as the author of the Fourth Gospel. The marked similarity in style can be explained in no other way. Even the careless reader observes that the style of the Fourth Gospel is very peculiar. Short sentences are joined to one another with t

9 minute read

Read Chapter

THE MESSAGES OF THE LIVING CHRIST

In the Student's Text Book it was maintained that the Apocalypse was written by John the son of Zebedee. The strongest objection to this view is to be found in the striking difference of language and style which exists between the Apocalypse on the one side and the Gospel and Epistles of John on the other. The style of the Apocalypse is extraordinarily rough; in it the most elementary laws of Greek grammar are sometimes disregarded. Such peculiarities appear scarcely at all in the Gospel; the la

10 minute read

Read Chapter

A VISION OF THE FINAL TRIUMPH

The interpretations of the Apocalypse may be divided into four classes. ( 1 ) Unfulfilled Prophecies. —According to one method of interpretation, the prophecies of the book are all unfulfilled. In the last days there will be a mighty revival of evil like that which is symbolized by the dragon and the beast and the false prophet, there will be plagues and woes like those which are described in connection with the seals and the trumpets and the bowls, and there will be a triumph of God's people an

7 minute read

Read Chapter

REVIEW

This review lesson is fully as important as any other lesson of the first three quarters. Without reviewing, the study of history is unproductive; only a review can make of the facts a permanent possession. The story of the apostolic age, as it is narrated in the work of Luke, is really very simple; it becomes confusing only when it is imperfectly mastered. A little time spent in turning over the pages of the Lucan narrative, or even of the Student's Text Book, will accomplish wonders. The New T

4 minute read

Read Chapter

PART IV:

The Apostolic Church and the Church of To-Day...

3 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD

The apostolic Church, as was observed in the Student's Text Book, found itself from the beginning in the midst of an environment more or less actively hostile. If we had been in Jerusalem at about the year 30, we should have observed a small group of disciples of Jesus, outwardly conforming to Jewish customs, but inwardly quite different from their countrymen. In Corinth and in other pagan cities of the Greco-Roman world, the contrast between the Church and its environment was even more striking

11 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE

In the Student's Text Book the Christian message has been represented as primarily a piece of good news, a story of something that happened. That representation does not pass unchallenged to-day. Many suppose that the message of the apostles was concerned simply with reflection upon eternal truths. For centuries, it is said in effect, men had been reflecting upon the problems of God and the world and sin; what the apostles did in Jerusalem and elsewhere was simply to provide better instruction o

10 minute read

Read Chapter

THE WORD AND THE SACRAMENTS

This lesson and the two following are intended primarily to encourage in the student the diligent use of "the means of grace." The wise teacher will keep the practical purpose steadily in view. That practical purpose may now be examined a little more in detail. Why should the example of the apostolic Church be followed in the matter of Bible-reading, of the sacraments, of prayer, of Christian meetings? What was God's purpose in providing these simple exercises of the Christian life—what benefit

13 minute read

Read Chapter

PRAYER

The prayers of the apostolic age reveal with startling clearness the apostolic conception of God; and one chief reason why our prayers fall short of the apostolic standard is that our idea of God is different. (1) God Is a Person. —In the first place, true prayer always conceives of God as a Person; whereas much of modern religious thinking conceives of him as only another name for the world. Human life, it is said, is a part of the life of God; every man, to some degree, is divine. Such a philo

11 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CONGREGATION

In studying the congregational meetings of the apostolic churches it must be remembered that the Christian community in Jerusalem continued for many years its participation in the worship of temple and synagogue. Specially Christian meetings, therefore, were at first not the sole expression of the collective worship of the Jerusalem Christians. Nevertheless, such meetings were undoubtedly held, even from the beginning. From the days when the one hundred and twenty brethren were gathered together

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE RELIEF OF THE NEEDY

In the Student's Text Book, special emphasis was laid upon the relief of the needy as it was practiced in the Jerusalem church. Here it may be well to supplement what was there said by a somewhat more detailed treatment of the great collection that was undertaken by Paul. The exposition will serve to illustrate the apostolic principles of Christian giving. (1) The Beginning in Galatia and in Corinth. —Writing from Ephesus during his long stay in that city, Acts 19:1 to 20:1, Paul tells the Corin

11 minute read

Read Chapter

ORGANIZING FOR SERVICE

Whatever the organization of a body of Christians may be, the body itself is a true branch of the Church if it consists of those who believe in Christ. Nevertheless, if the Church is to be more than an aggregation of individuals, if it is not only to be something, but also to do something, it requires some sort of organization. This fundamental need was clearly recognized in the apostolic age; and it was met by certain provisions which we believe ought still to be followed. These provisions, how

10 minute read

Read Chapter

A MISSION FOR THE WORLD

In teaching the lesson in class, it might be well simply to review the principal steps in the geographical extension of the apostolic Church. This geographical advance, however, was made possible only by an advance in principles which should not be ignored. The really great step in the early Christian mission was not the progress from Jerusalem to Antioch, or from Antioch to Asia Minor and to Greece, but the progress from a national to a universal religion. Judaism, despite its missionary activi

9 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL OF PERSONAL MORALITY

In treating the lesson for to-day, the teacher will be embarrassed by the wealth of his material. It is important, therefore, that the chief purpose of the lesson should not be lost amid a mass of details. That chief purpose is the presentation of Christianity as something that has a very definite and immediate bearing upon daily life. Christianity is first of all a piece of good news, a record of something that has happened; but the effect of it, if it be sincerely received, is always manifest

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHRISTIANITY AND HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

Two apparently contradictory features appear in the life of the apostolic Church. In the first place, there was an intense other-worldliness; the Christians were regarded as citizens of a heavenly kingdom. In the second place, there was careful attention to the various relationships of the present life; no man was excused from homely duty. The two sides of the picture appear in the sharpest colors in the life of the apostle Paul. No one emphasized more strongly than he the independence of the Ch

11 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHRISTIAN USE OF THE INTELLECT

The last two lessons have emphasized the duty of consecration. The enjoyment of simple, physical blessings, the opportunities afforded by earthly relationships, are all to be devoted to the service of God. Exactly the same principle must be applied in the lesson for to-day. If physical health and strength and the companionship of human friends may be made useful in the Christian life, surely the same thing is true of intellectual gifts. The most powerful thing that a man possesses is the power o

9 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHRISTIAN HOPE AND THE PRESENT POSSESSION

A type of religious effort has become prevalent to-day which is directed chiefly to the present life; the improvement of worldly conditions is often regarded as the chief end of man. All such tendencies are strikingly at variance with apostolic Christianity. The apostolic Church was intensely other-worldly. The chief gift that the apostles offered was not a better and more comfortable life in this world, but an entrance into heaven. Only the great outlines of the events connected with the end of

9 minute read

Read Chapter

RETROSPECT: THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CENTURY

The apostolic example can be applied intelligently to the problems of our time only if there be some understanding of the intervening centuries. We are connected with the apostolic Church by an unbroken succession. A study of Church history would help us to apply the New Testament teaching to our own age. The Christian writings which have been preserved from the early part of the second century show a marked decline from the spiritual level of the apostles. Evidently the special inspiration whic

3 minute read

Read Chapter