Dr. Phillip Brassfield
As 21st Century Christians, we often lack an appreciation for the simplicity of Christianity in its foundational form. And I have no doubt we over complicate the process of becoming a Christ follower. We wrestle with things like, “How do you baptize? What’s your position on the gifts of the Spirit? Do you celebrate communion once a month or every Lord’s Day? What about the doctrine of sanctification?”
While I certainly understand and appreciate the importance of these issues, all these disputes and disagreements over doctrinal positions would have seemed very strange to the first followers of Jesus. For the first couple hundred years following Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, believers had precious little theological detail to go on. There were the Old Testament prophecies, of course, and there were the occasional visits from an itinerant teacher, preacher, or prophet – maybe even one of the Lord’s apostles (whom most never saw in person). Yet, without the benefit of two thousand years of theological interpretation and elaborate doctrines that have developed as a result, the church exploded with life, strength and power.
As I recently contemplated these things, I became very interested in what the first Christians believed – before the New Testament, before there was anything written. Questions began to emerge in my thought process. Were there oral traditions, sayings, songs or rituals that are mentioned in the New Testament, but seemed to predate the New Testament that give us a clue? As it turns out, there are.
There are a number of early statements of a creedal and confessional nature recorded in the New Testament that textural evidence suggests predate the New Testament. These early statements apparently formed the basis for what the first Christians believed.
Here is an example from the writings of the Apostle Paul. This passage and the one that follows from Colossians are believed to have been hymns sung by early Christians. If you examine the original language and style of writing, it is clear as Paul writes these passages he is not writing extemporaneously, but rather is inserting the words from another commonly recognized source into the larger body of his letter to prove a point.
For example:
Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, – v6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, – v7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, [and] coming in the likeness of men. – v8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to [the point of] death, even the death of the cross. – v9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, – v10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, – v11 and [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Paul, in another passage, also considered a creedal Hymn (In ancient times, songs allowed for easy memorization.)
Colossians 1:15-20
NKJV v15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. v16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. v17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. v18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. v19 For it pleased [the Father that] in Him all the fullness should dwell, v20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
These songs carried powerful theological truth and amazing understanding.
Another, not considered a hymn, but supposedly used as a baptismal confession is recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7.
v3 “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, v4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, v5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. v6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. v7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.”
Here’s one considered to be a communal confession.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
v23 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the [same] night in which He was betrayed took bread; v24 and when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” v25 In the same manner [He] also [took] the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink [it], in remembrance of Me.”
Later, the writer of Hebrews also inserts creedal material into his letter to the Hebrews.
Hebrews 1:1-3
v1 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, v2 has in these last days spoken to us by [His] Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; v3 who being the brightness of [His] glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
Considering these passages, and others, that the textual evidence suggests predated the writing of the New Testament, what can we assume the earliest followers of Jesus held to be true? Here are three basic ideas:
- From the earliest days of the Church, Jesus’ followers believed that He was killed as a sacrifice for sin and physically raised from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is the central foundational stone of Christianity. Therefore, they made the belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead a central part of Christian faith from the earliest times.
- The earliest Christology is the highest Christology. The belief that Jesus was divine was not a later added concept or an evolving idea. In fact, the earliest creedal statement was apparently, “Jesus is Lord”. Jesus was believed to be the divine Son of God from the earliest days of Christianity. The statement “Jesus is Lord” points to the divine nature of Jesus. The Septuagint translated the personal name of God (“YHWH”) as the Greek equivalent to “Adonai,” which was “kurios.” To proclaim “Iesous es kurion” (“Jesus is Lord”) was to associate Jesus’ identity with that of the Father (God). Peter in his Pentecost Day message says to the crowd, “God has made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:36 Here Peter asserted that God has approved Jesus as both divine and as the Jewish Messiah.
- Jesus was the only way to get to God. From the earliest times of the church, Jesus was believed to be the exclusive way to salvation. The earliest believers accepted the fact that since Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, then He was the exclusive way to the Father. (Amazing, considering the multitude of gods that were worshiped in those days.) For many of them, this firm belief would lead to their martyrdom. Roman culture was okay with Jesus being a God, just not the only one. To proclaim this to be the case and to deny Caesar was divine would bring a death sentence.
While these three ideas are not the only ones that seemed to be commonly accepted prior to the writing of the New Testament, they are three of the foundational and reoccurring themes that were passed from believer to believer and from house church to house church. And today, they remain central to the Christian faith.
