A chronological review of the Epistles reveals a transition in the early Christian communities from a charismatic model to a more institutional model. These shifts are the result of many factors including; a growing and widely spread membership, an assembly that began to include more wealthy and socially powerful persons, the perception of Christianity as a threat to the order of society, the delay in the return of Christ and the need to address the challenge of sustaining of a community in the absence of it’s original leaders.
The early Pauline letters reflect a dynamic and exuberant character. These letters, present a sense of urgency and excitement, whether discussing the joy of faith and salvation or anger and disappointment. The authentic letters of Paul reflect the dynamism of the early Christian communities. In this context “faith” is an action word. The later pseudonymous letters present a less spirited dialogue with the community. The character of these letters is more static. Faith becomes a definition or description of belief. Smith states that, “Ephesians reads like a legal document detailing a corporate merger of two major bodies”.
Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:28 that, “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female, for you are all one in Christ”, captures the character of the early communities and manifests the power of the original message. This message of liberation and equality in Christ was received and embraced by those who had been marginalized by society; slaves, women, and the poor. In his commentary on Romans, Hoyt notes that “’saints’” is Paul’s favorite way of referring to members of the Christian community… It means those set apart.” This would appear to say that being apart from the general community was a positive thing in early Christianity. . Smith states that Paul’s “use of apocalyptic traditions incorporated political diction and presupposed a ‘critique of this age and it’s values,’ including those of the Roman imperial order” These statements indicate that originally that Christian community was resistant to the influence of and assimilation into the society of the Roman Empire. Tamez confirms that Paul, “ by affirming that ‘there is no longer Greek or Jew, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female for all of you are one in Chris’ (Gal. 3:28) Christians professed the values that contradicted those of the reigning society “
What began as a small group of believers with a message of salvation, liberation and equality gradually spread and grew and attracted new adherents. By the end of the first century being assimilated into society becomes a positive thing. It would be difficult to maintain an organic, revolutionary, charismatic type of religion on a large scale and the Christian community was growing. The church and its message were attracting members of means. When a significant segment of the community included the wealthy and socially powerful, their presence had an effect on the character of the community. These wealthy members had a different investment in the status quo compared to the marginalized of that system. There was an advantage to having the church include all levels of society but the inclusion of the powerful changed the focus. The impact of a powerful constituency influenced the essence and practices of the communities. Towards the end of the first century the pseudonymous writings show us a different approach to the prevailing culture of the time. For example, the household codes reinforce the status quo and the standards of Greco Roman society. The adherence to these codes by the Christian community became a part of the practice of the faith. Non-compliant behavior of women and slaves was looked upon with suspicion in the general culture. The Greco Roman world believed that the household was the foundation for the city, which was the foundation for the country, which was the foundation for the empire. All of this society rested on the observance of the household codes. The Christians at the end of the first century began to integrate the observance of these concepts into the message. This was a way to protect the community from suspicion and also to accommodate the increasing number of wealthier and more influential members of the communities.
There were additional challenges to the early church. Initially, it was expected that Christ would return soon, probably within the lifetime of his contemporaries. Tamez notes that the early church “ began institutionalizing itself and faced challenges when it realized that the second coming of the reign of God was not imminent” As time passed there was the need to develop a way for the early Christians to be sustained and allow them to continue strong and unified until the return of Christ, whenever that may be. Challenges due to the growth of the community created the necessity to provide a more formal understanding of Christian theology. Additionally, threats from heresies and misinterpretation of the message provided impetus to create a more institutional type of faith.
This transition has positives and negatives. It would be ideal if the church could maintain that sense of freedom and exuberance experienced in the small communities of the early church without restrictions on the understanding of faith or interference from a hierarchy. But in order to survive and in order to maintain unity with the Christian communities spreading throughout the Roman empire it was necessary to provide a vision of faith which was more codified and static. It appears that the early church is treading on treacherous ground here. On one hand, there was the need to preserve the charismatic expression of redemption and salvation for all and, at the same time, to preserve the message and protect the community from societal oppression and persecution.
By the end of the first century the Epistles reflect an institution that is more “organized “. With organization comes a tendency towards uniformity and the increased influence of predominant cultural understandings of organization. The new “organization” of the church was not created of whole cloth. It reflected a model of the cultural organization of its time. This organizational model was well known, understood and accepted by the larger community.
Church leadership was also changing. Tamez notes that in the earlier church, “leadership had to do with the gift of the Holy Spirit and not an institutional assignment, persons of any social class or gender could become leaders…. before the institutionalization of the church of responsibility for leadership in the community was seen as a gift of the holy spirit.” Later, this condition for leadership was amended because of concern the “community would be in danger if the supervisor did not follow the rules the values of the society in which they lived.“ Tamez notes that the author of Timothy is “transferring the values of the patriarchal household to the church “ There is recognition in these writings that a change is taking place regarding administration.
As the wealthy began to increase their membership with in the churches the author of Timothy is concerned that the members of the early Christian community have values consistent with the Greco Roman world in which they lived. He did not want them to be perceived as dangerous or threatening. In speaking about the household codes, Tamez comments that the author of Timothy believes that “conduct within the church must be the same as the conduct of the patriarchal household.”. The author of Timothy is suggesting the model of household as a model for the church to emulate. These later Christian communities were living in a hostile context with regards to the community. Hill notes that in the Pauline churches the ministries and offices had not been formalized. By the end of the first century the identity of the church is transitioning into a community that is more reflective of the hierarchy and culture of the Roman Empire. The traditionally marginalized; slaves, women and the poor are being repositioned from equals to a place that reflects the standards of the society at that time. The church begins to mirror the character and the dynamics of the culture where it exists. It is becoming less of an assembly of people “set apart” and more of a congregation of members of the general population and culture. This move towards assimilation was meant to provide safety and security for the Christian communities.
While these changes do reflect some loss of the dynamism and revolutionary characteristics of the earlier church, as Professor Ringe reminds us in her lecture on “Building on Paul”, the Holy Spirit provides regular powerful eruptions of grace to keep the church vibrant and focused on the original liberating message of Jesus Christ.
Bibliography
Hays, Richard B. “Interpretation Commentary on I Corinthians.” p245-249.
Hill, Craig C. “Paul and Power, Revisited”. The 10th Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies. Philadelphia: The Fortress Press, 1980.
Hoyt, Thomas. L, Jr. “Romans.” True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary. Ed. Brian K. Blount. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007.
Nave, Guy. “2 Corinthians.” True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary. Ed. Brian K. Blount. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007.
Ringe, Sharon H. “Building on Paul.” Introduction to the New Testament: Epistles. Wesley Theological Seminary. Washington, DC. Feb. 2010. Lecture.
Smith, Abraham. “Paul and African American Biblical Interpretation.” True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary. Ed. Brian K. Blount. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007.
Smith, Mitzi J. “Ephesians. ” True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary. Ed. Brian K. Blount. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007.
Smith, Mitzi J. “Slavery in the Early Church. ” True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary. Ed. Brian K. Blount. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007.
Tamez, Elsa. Struggles for Power in Early Christianity. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2007
