7A. Origins of Christianity in the Acts

Spreading the gospel in antiquity was by the use of homes. It had positive advantages: the comparatively small numbers involved made real interchange of views and informed discussion among the participants possible; there was no artificial isolation of a preacher from his hearers; there was no temptation for either the speaker or the heckler to "play to the gallery" as there was in a public place or open air meeting. The sheer informality and relaxed atmosphere of the home, not to mention the hospitality which must often have gone with it, all helped to make this form of evangelism particularly successful. It was in private houses that the wool workers and cobblers, the laundry workers and the yokels did their evangelizing. Even the children were taught that if they believed "they would become happy and make their home happy as well".(9)

Houses as Meeting Places

The assembly of Christians in house churches was not fortuitous. Four reasons suggest themselves for the choice of the house as a meeting place.

First, the "upper rooms" and domestic residences were immediately available.
Second, the domestic structure provided a relatively inconspicuous meeting place. Although the house setting was not a guarantee against persecution (see Acts 8:3), in the early years when persecution was a threat, Christians used discretion in their choice of meeting place.
Third, the Jews in Palestine and across the Roman Empire assembled in house synagogues. Since most of the early believers were Jews and God fearers, it is not difficult to envisage the Christian communities adopting Jewish patterns, particularly since many of the activities in the house church resembled those of the house synagogue.
Fourth, the "house" provided the necessities of a Christian gathering, most importantly, the facilities needed for the preparation, serving and eating of the Lord's Supper. (5)

Acts Occurrences

The author of Acts locates many events of the early church's development in the houses of particular individuals. It was in a house that the first believers were baptized by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:2), and the earliest church met in people's houses (Acts 2:46, 12:12). Saul (Paul) raided these house meetings as a persecutor (Acts 8:3) and then later is healed in the house of Judas (Acts 9:11). Peter stayed in the house of Simon the tanner (Acts 10:6), upon whose roof he sees the vision that encourages him to go to Cornelius. Then, against Jewish practice, Peter enters the house of Cornelius, a Gentile (Acts 10:25). This became a point of contention (Acts 11:3) from which it was established that, as Paul later put it, the old walls of separation between Gentile and Jew were coming down in Christ. Paul stayed at the houses of many of his converts (Acts 16:15, 31; 17:7; 18:7). The book of Acts (see, e.g., Acts 16:40) makes it fairly clear that the early church's principal locus of operations was in the houses of individual Christians.(5)

Questions for Discussion

1. What advantages/disadvantages did the house church of the early centuries have over the corner church today?

2. Discuss the statement "The book of Acts makes it fairly clear that the early church's principal locus of operations was in the houses of individual Christians."

Bibliography

(5.) Selections from "Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Development" editors Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids. A Compendium of Contemporary Christian Scholarship Copyright All rights reserved.

"You are fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household." Ephesians 2.19

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