The meaning of the church

This word church has two meaning in English, (1) the building where the Christian worship to
god .(2) and also it means that the group of Christian who worship and meet together .This
book which I use book use mostly the church is that “Group of Christian believers, such a group
will be small number of people who live in the village, town, or very large of Christians from
many place who belong to one denomination .It also mean all Christians, of all place ,who
belong to the one church of Jesus Christ .

1.0 How the church was developed?

1.1 Church was developing in persecution
When we read gospel of Matthew, Simon peter was the first person who acknowledge very
well Jesus as the son of God. And Jesus sees God’s hand in his acknowledgement , and he
appoint him or called as “Rock “which He would build church that even the gate of hell would
not able to defeat. This saying imply three things (1) Christ will have a church in this world ,
(2) Church would be persecuted ,not only by the world ,but also by the power of the hells (3)
despite it church will survive. This prophesy has been continuing come true. From the church
/Christ started the ruler of the world have used their strength and persecuted the church. But
still church hold on developing.
1.2 God provides the church security in persecution so that they may develop

Actually, all people of Pharisees and scribe should have been the first accept Christ speech,
for they were very aware of God’s law, but instead of doing that, they persecuted him and reject
him and insisted to palate to destroy Him. But also God’s punishment heavily fell on the
Romans .When emperor Tiberius heard that , Christ’s works , and death ,and resurrection ,he
tried to rib the Romans senate that He be worship as God ,but the senators rejected and select
the emperor to the king of heaven . So God began to rib their own emperors against them
causing them to be destroyed and city of Roman to be suffered for 300 years. Tiberius become
horrible leader, he killed his own mother, his nephew the prince of the city and his counsellor.
Suetonius reported he was killed by twenty people. Also Pilate, under whom Christ was
crucified, was sent to Rome and expel to the town of vienne , in Dauphiny , where eventually
committed coincided . After Tiberius death Caligula came who demanded he himself to be
worship. he expelled Herod Antipas , the killer of John the Baptist and condemner of Christ
, and was killed the fourth year of his reigns .And also Nero was killing to most of Roman
senate and did destroyed Roman order of knighthood . Nero was untolerate man and inhumane.
He even killed his own mother, his brother in-law, his sister, and his instructor. and he ordered
rom to set fire in twelve place, then he blame to Christians that it was burned by Christians, so
that he may avoided Christians .So now we can catch from this statement is that how Christians
develop in persecution and God made suffered to those who refused, persecute and reject Him
as well as his children who are called Christians.1

1
John Foxe, Foxe’s Christian Martyrs of the world (Telangana:Gs Books, 1989),9 – 10.
1.3From Jewish Palestine into the Roman Empire (about AD 30-100)
The first Christian church were living in the Palestine. They were also the group of believer
their spoken langue was Aramaic. Especially the church were developing in the Jerusalem in
that time. They were also opposed by the high priest and Pharisees .But still Christians hold on
closely their togetherness with their temple and they used Jewish scripture. During Stephen’s
persecution Christians made decision that to share about Christ. And at the great Roman of
Antioch, the church consider Gentile, none Jews, into Christian community for the first time.
And the church sent out missionary to Cyprus elsewhere. By their work and the witness of
Christian ordinary Christian, Christian could establish in many different cities of Roman
Empire. The Greek replace Aramaic and it used in the church. So Christian used the new idea
to spread their message of good news. Before time Christian were Jews for Christians come
from Jews. But now Christian church was no longer sect within the Jews religion. Rather it
become as more Catholic or worldwide, and it teaching and membership. When Roman Empire
destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70, the togetherness between Christian church and Jews Jerusalem
was finally broken.

1.4 The establishment of the church in southern (About 100-313)

In those day, the Roman forced it Christin to worship roman emperor as if he was divine being.
But most Christian were refused to worship and join it this kind of ceremonies. They rather
claimed that the authority of Christ was supreme. Because of their Rejection, the face of Roman
authority were darken cruel toward the church. And this century become, when the roman
authority government cruelly persecuted the Christian, many were put to death. Whether they
were despite and persecuted the church were placed in many cities within the province of the
Roman Empire both north and south of Mediterranean. The church exchanged many converted,
including educated and wealthy man and men. In those day there were problem .Problem was,
in roman there was who wanted right to be emperor. In AD 313 after some year of this problem,
Constantine defeated his rival and become emperor. His mother was a Christian, he issued the
Edict of Milan, a decree in which he formally recognized Christianity as lawful religion. It soon
become the most important religion of the empire, and the countries of southern Europe have
been Christian from the 4th century onward. The coastal area of North Africa were also
Christian for a time, until the Muslim invasions of 7th and 8th centuries AD.2

2
David A. Brown, A Guide to Religions(London: SPCK, 1975),p166-167