There are no examples of separate buildings set apart for the worship of the church within the Roman Empire before the third century. Starting with a long Jewish history to the bringing in of the new covenant, we find examples of buildings set aside for worship. But, in the teaching of Christ and His apostles,…
The purpose of togetherness is the benefit of mutual encouragement. That this became the reason for their meetings is clear from 1 Corinthians 14:26. It reads, “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening…
We see this pattern in the very beginning of the church in Acts 2. Believers understood the need to come together. 1) Acts 2:42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship…” 2) Acts 2:44, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common.” 3) Acts 2:46, “So continuing daily…
Earlier, emphasis was given that the called-out exists in any given area whether gathered together or not gathered, but that this does not negate the importance of brethren being together. Let’s turn our focus on the emphasis of this pattern, also. Over fifty times, the Bible uses the phrase “one another” as it describes the…
Some propose the idea that a universal church is nowhere taught in the Bible so that every reference to the church (assembly) is a reference to the physical gathering of people. Abrams writes, “However, it can be argued that Matthew 16:18 is referring to Christ founding the institution of local churches, not to the establishment…