SBS | 1st Quarter of 2024 | CPAD Adults | Theme: THE BODY OF CHRIST - Origin, Nature and Mission of the Church in the World | Sunday Bible School | Lesson 1- The Origin of the Church Slides created by Celso Napoleon

1. January 7, 2024
Lesson 1
The Origin of the Church

2. GOLDEN TEXT
“And Peter said unto them, Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
(Acts 2:38)

3. PRACTICAL TRUTH
The Church is the family of God,
purchased with the blood of Christ
and sealed with the Holy Ghost.

4. DAILY READING
Second – Dt 4.10 The people of God gathered under the Old
Covenant
Tuesday – Acts 20:28 The Church was purchased with the blood
of Christ
Wednesday – Eph 1.3-6 The Church idealized in God
Thursday – Mt 16.18 The Church as the exclusive property of
God
Sixth – Acts 2.42-47 The Church as a community of the saved
Saturday – 1 Co 12.13 The Church sealed with the Holy Ghost

5. BIBLE READING IN CLASS
Acts 2.1,2; 37.38
1 - On the day of Pentecost, they were all gathered in the same place;
2 - and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, like a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
37 – When they heard this, they were pierced in their hearts and
asked Peter and the rest of the apostles: What shall we do, men and
brethren?
38 – And Peter said to them: Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you
will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

6. Lesson Objectives:
I) Describe the trajectory of God’s people in the Bible and in
history;
II) Present the Church as a divine creation;
III) Identify the Church as the community of the saved.

7. INTRODUCTION
A quick reading of the New Testament is enough to understand
what the Church really is and how important it is. For the
apostles and the first Christians, the Church was relevant. Paul,
for example, called it the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim
3:15); and Peter called it the “chosen generation” (1 Peter 2:9).
In this lesson, we will show what the Bible actually reveals about
the Church of God. We will see that the ekklesia, the Church of
God, far from being merely an association of people, is a divine
institution. KEYWORD: Church

8. I – THE PEOPLE OF GOD IN THE BIBLE
AND IN HISTORY
1. In the Old Testament. The Hebrew term qahal is used to
refer to a gathering of God's people under the Old Covenant. In
this aspect, its use is “a summons to an assembly” or “the act of
meeting in an assembly”. In this way, qahal is described as the
gathered people (Dt 4.10); congregation of the people (Jz 20:2);
crowd (1 Sam 17.47 – NAA); congregation (1 Rs 8.22);
congregation of Israel (1 Chr 13:2) and great gathering (Ne 5:7).
The term qahal, therefore, in the context of the Old Testament,
refers to ethnic Israel, a nation that came together or gathered for
both cultic and non-cultic purposes.

9. 2. In the New Testament. The Greek term ekklesia
refers to the Christian church. However, in the New
Testament context, its meaning will differ from that given
in the Old Testament, both in form and function. It is not
just one race or nation, but all those, from different races
and nations, who were purchased by the blood of Christ
(Eph 3:6; Acts 20:28; Rev 5:9). Thus, its meaning in the
New Testament is mostly sacred, that is, of an assembly
of believers who came together to worship God (Acts
12.5; 13.1).

10. It is not just a gathering of people, but an assembly of
regenerated believers who come together to worship God.
Jesus, for example, used the term ekklesia in an exclusive
sense – the people acquired by his blood (Mt 16:18). Thus,
Paul's use of ekklesia, in his epistles, always designates the
community of the saved. Thus we see Paul greeting the
church (1 Cor 1.2); teaching the churches (1 Cor 7.17);
disciplining the use of gifts in church worship (1 Cor
14.4,5,12,19,23,28,33,34,35) and giving guidelines to the
church (1 Cor 16.1).

11. 3. In Christian history. There are those who believe that
the Church continues to be governed by Peter's successor
and the bishops in communion with him. Evidently, the
Protestant tradition rejects this concept, since it does not
reflect the context of the New Testament where the figure
of Peter's successor is totally strange and unknown. After the
Reformation of the 16th century, the Protestant tradition
sought to give a more precise, biblical sense of what a church
actually is. In a large historic Protestant denomination, the
Church is defined as “a local congregation of regenerated
persons baptized after profession of faith.”

12. On the other hand, according to a document from a large
American Pentecostal denomination, we understand the
Church as “the body of Christ, the dwelling place of God
through the Holy Ghost, with divine appointments for the
fulfillment of his Great Commission where each believer,
born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the Universal
Assembly and the Church of the firstborn, who are
enrolled in Heaven” (Eph 1.22,23; 2.22; Heb 12.23).

13. SYNOPSIS I
The development of God's people is
shown throughout the Bible and
Christian history.

14. II – THE CHURCH AS DIVINE CREATION
1. The Church as an ideal of God. From eternity, the Church was
in the heart of God and was designed by Him. In essence, it is a
divine project: “Just as He chose us in Him [Christ] before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before
Him. in love” (Eph 1:4). In his Letter to the Ephesians, the apostle
Paul speaks of a “mystery” that was hidden (Eph 3:3-6). This mystery
that had been revealed was exactly the Church! In the mind of God,
therefore, the Church already existed. God's love caused Him to
provide a plan to save fallen man. Thus, Christ loved the Church and
gave himself for her (Eph 5:25).

15. 2. The Church as a concrete reality. As we have seen, the
Church did not just remain in the mind of God; it came into
existence in a concrete way. The beginning of the Church
takes place in the fullness of time: “but when the fullness of
time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born
under the law” (Gal 4:4). In this way, God “gathers all things
together in Christ in the dispensation of the fullness of
times” (Eph 1:10). Then the question arises: “When did the
Church actually come into existence? When did it establish
itself in its concrete form?” Most theologians argue that it
was at Pentecost. The Church, for example, is not
mentioned in the Gospels of Mark, Luke and John. Matthew
speaks of its existence, but as a future event (Mt 16.18).

16. 3. The Church at Pentecost. After Pentecost, Luke
highlights that “every day the Lord added to the church
those who would be saved” (Acts 2:47). In this way, the
Church, which existed only in the heart and mind of God,
became a concrete reality when the Holy Ghost is poured
out at Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2.1,2).

17. SYNOPSIS II
The Church emerged as God's ideal in
eternity and became a concrete reality
at Pentecost.

18. III – THE CHURCH AS THE COMMUNITY
OF THE SAVED
1. Regenerated by the blood of Christ. At Pentecost, the
apostle Peter said: “Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins”
(Acts 2:38). With these words, the apostle Peter was saying
how a person enters the Church, that is, through repentance
and baptism.

19. The Church is a Christian community formed by
regenerated people who have made a public profession of
faith. Someone's entry into the Church is not through
membership, but through conversion. This is exactly the
meaning of the Greek word metanoeo, translated here as
repentance. It means a change of mind. Thus, the Church
is made up of people who were in sin, on the path to
eternal damnation, but who, thanks to the Gospel, had
their lives transformed.

20. 2. Sealed by the Holy Ghost. It has already been said
that the Church has its origins on the day of Pentecost.
Through the Spirit of God, we are baptized into the Body
of Christ, the Church, then we become part of it. This is
exactly what the apostle Paul says to the Corinthians in his
First Letter: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into
one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free,
and we have all drunk of one Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:13).

21. 3. The Baptism of Christ and the Spirit. The apostle
Peter, who exhorted those present on Pentecost to repent,
also said: “and you will receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Thus, we can affirm that Christ
baptized believers with the Holy Ghost and with fire, a
baptism of empowerment (Acts 1.4), while the Spirit
baptized them into the Body of Christ, a baptism of
initiation, forming the Church (1 Cor. 12.13).

22. SYNOPSIS III
As a community of the saved, the Church
is the gathering of those regenerated by the
blood of Christ and sealed by the Spirit.

23. CONCLUSION
In this lesson we saw how the Church founded by Jesus
Christ emerged. It first existed in God's plan until it was
established in the New Testament after the death,
resurrection of Christ and the infusion of Christians into
the Body of Christ through the Holy Ghost. The Church,
therefore, was not idealized by any man, nor is it founded
on human theses. Its foundation is Christ, who is the head
of the Church. Therefore, it is a great privilege to be part
of the Church, the Body of Christ

24. REVIEWING THE CONTENT
1. What does the Hebrew term qahal refer to in the
context of the Old Testament?
The term qahal, therefore, in the context of the Old
Testament, refers to ethnic Israel, a nation that came
together or gathered for both cultic and non-cult
purposes.
2. What does the Greek term ekklesia refer to in the
New Testament sense?
The Greek term ekklesia refers to the Christian
church.

25. 3. Where was the Church from eternity?
From eternity the Church was in the heart of God and
was idealized by Him.
4. How does a person join the Church?
Someone's entry into the Church is not through
membership, but through conversion.
5. Through whom are we baptized into the Body of
Christ and become part of the Church?
Through the Spirit of God we are baptized into the
Body of Christ, the Church, then we become part of
it.

26. REFERENCES
CPAD. O CORPO DE CRISTO - Origem, Natureza e Missão da Igreja
no Mundo. Rio de Janeiro: Casa Publicadora das Assembleias de Deus
(CPAD), 2024. (Lições Bíblicas, Adultos CPAD).
SOCIEDADE BÍBLICA DO BRASIL (org.). Bíblia De Estudo Plenitude
Revista E Atualizada. Barueri, SP: SBB, 2005.

27. Slides created by Celso Napoleon
SBS | 1st Quarter of 2024 | CPAD Adults |
Theme: THE BODY OF CHRIST - Origin, Nature and
Mission of the Church in the World | Sunday Bible
School | Lesson 1- The Origin of the Church

28. LESSONS:
Lesson 1- The Origin of the church
Lesson 2 - Biblical Images of the Church
Lesson 3 - The Nature of the Church
Lesson 4 - The Church and the Kingdom of God
Lesson 5 - The Mission of the Church of Christ
Lesson 6 - Church: Organism and Organization
Lesson 7 - The Ministry of the Church
Lesson 8 - Discipline in the Church
Lesson 9 - Baptism – The First Ordinance of the Church
Lesson 10 - The Lord's Supper – The Second Ordinance of the Church
Lesson 11 - The Worship of the Christian Church
Lesson 12 - The Role of Preaching in Worship
Lesson 13 - The Power of God in the Mission of the Church