LESSON XLIV
THE CONGREGATION
1. CONGREGATIONAL MEETINGS IN PALESTINE
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 before Pentecost, the Church was not without some outward expression of its distinctive life.
(1) As Indicated in The Acts.—The circumstances of such early meetings of the congregation are, however, obscure. The very considerable numbers of the converts, Acts 2:41,47; 4:4; 5:14, would perhaps sometimes make it difficult to gather the whole congregation together in one place; if, however, that were done, it would perhaps be usually in some part of the temple area. There seem to have been general meetings—for example, Acts 15:1-29—but it is perhaps not necessary to suppose that they included every individual member of the Jerusalem church.
Certainly, however, no members of that first Christian community neglected the assembling of themselves together. Evidently the sense of brotherhood was strongly developed, and evidently it expressed itself not only in the regular relief of the needy, Acts 6:1, but also in meetings for instruction and worship and prayer. Ch. 2:42; 4:23-31. These meetings were only outward indications of a wonderful unity of mind and heart. Ch. 4:32. The cause of that unity was the common possession of the Spirit of God.
As might have been expected in a book which is interested chiefly in the outward extension of the kingdom, the book of The Acts gives us little detailed information about the conduct of these earliest Christian meetings. Probably, however, the example of the Jewish synagogue made itself strongly felt. There was no violent break with Judaism; a new spirit was infused into ancient forms. The resemblance between the synagogue service and even the fully developed Christian meetings of to-day was noted in connection with Lesson IV.
(2) As Indicated in the Epistle of James.—The Epistle of James perhaps helps somewhat to supply the need of detailed information. That epistle, as was observed in Lesson XXXII, was written by the head of the Jerusalem Church, and probably to Jewish Christians before A.D. 49. Apparently, therefore, we have in James 2:1-6 some welcome information about Christian assemblies, if not in Jerusalem, at least in other Jewish Christian churches. In v. 2, the word "synagogue" is applied to the meeting which is described, but that word in Greek means simply "gathering together"—almost the same word is used in Heb. 10:25. The use of the word by James shows simply that at that early time "synagogue" had not become purely a technical designation of a non-Christian Jewish assembly.