The Christian Sabbath Part 5: The Early Church

BLJ: It is important to look at the early church and how they gradually changed the day of worship to the first day of the week.

THE EARLY CHURCH AND THE SABBATH

Thus far we have emphasized that the Jewish memorial Sabbath was to that nation the application of the Sabbath principle given in creation and confirmed in the Decalogue, namely, a sacred day of rest after six days of toil. In the last chapter we noted that this Jewish memorial Sabbath, along with ceremonial practices, which were a shadow of things to come were fulfilled and done away by Jesus in the cross, but the Sabbath principle remained and a new memorial was suggested. Now we will consider the early church and the Sabbath.

It must ever be kept in mind that the leaders and most of the members of the early Christian Church were Jews. The full recognition of the Christian light did not dawn upon them instantly, it came gradually. True they received much light with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, but they had much to learn down through the coming years. An example is their slowness to comprehend that the scope of the Christian Church was universal -- it was not to be confined to Jews. Even their leader, Peter, had to experience divine instruction in a vision on a housetop in Joppa before he would cross over racial barriers and preach the gospel to a devout Gentile, Cornelius, and his house. The fulfillment of the "shadow of things to come" -- those ceremonies and memorials of the Jews -- was accomplished in a short time; the recognition of this fulfillment by the Church and the transition from the old "shadow" to the true substance came gradually.

It is not strange that we find the early church leaders attending Sabbath services in the synagogue; not strange because they were still Jews and the full significance of the new light had not dawned upon them, and further, because their vision of the gospel was "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Hence they would take the gospel to the place where worshipping Jews were found, and in the Acts of the Apostles occasional reference is made to the fact that the apostles and others preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. No more significance can be placed upon their attendance at and preaching in the synagogue than their evangelistic passion to reach the people with the gospel, and the fact that they were Jews as well as Christians.

It is evident that their worship as Jews on the Jewish Sabbath was not entirely satisfying to these Christians, for there are indications that they observed another stated time of worship, namely the first day of the week. Several scriptures mention the first day of the week and imply that worship meetings were held on this day. Paul met with the brethren at Troas on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). The manner in which this meeting is stated indicates that this first day of the week meeting was an established custom. That it was the custom of the early Christians to break bread -- in love feast -- is stated (Acts 2:42), and it is here apparent that this breaking of bread was on the first day of the week. Paul exhorted the Corinthian Christians to make their contributions on the first day of the week, and this implies a service on that day.

Where did this first day of the week custom originate? It is apparent that it was closely connected with the memorial of the resurrection of Jesus. The risen Lord met with the assembled disciples on the evening of His resurrection, the first day of the week (John 20:19-23). Also He met with them eight days later, which would be the first day of the next week (John 20:26-29).

Jesus nowhere stated that there would be a new memorial Sabbath, although He did emphasize that the old shadow would be fulfilled. He did tell His disciples, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." To the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit was committed the formulation of doctrine, the settlement of problems relative to the observation of the law of Moses, the compilation of the New Testament canon, and the establishment of a Christian Sabbath.

The first church council settled the question of the Christian Church being burdened with the Jewish law, its ceremonies and its customs. It is significant to note that their findings make no mention of the Sabbath (Acts 15:28, 29). In post-apostolic days the Christian Church, through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, gradually recognized inspirational value in the writings of the books which we now have as the New Testament. We have not one statement in these New Testament books to indicate that they were ordained of God to be included in the Scriptures, the formation of the scripture canon was left to the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But we accept without question this New Testament canon as scripture -- God's Word to us.

The observation of Sunday, the first day of the Julian calendar week, was also gradually adopted by the Christian Church as the Christian Sabbath under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This Christian Sabbath became a memorial of the resurrection of Jesus, who arose on the first day of the week, and also of the official advent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which was also the first day of the week, and in reality Pentecost marked the birthday of the Church. The old Jewish memorial Sabbath had been fulfilled and done away (Col. 2:13-17), in its place under the leadership of the Holy Spirit the Church accepted a new memorial, the resurrection, and thus the Sabbath principle -- that of a sacred day of rest after six days of toil -- given at creation and confirmed in the Decalogue is preserved in our Christian memorial Sabbath. We have as much grounds for rejecting the inspiration and authority of any of the books of the New Testament as we have for rejecting the Christian Sabbath, a memorial of the resurrection, for both were accepted and established by the same process, namely, by the Church through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.