If you attempt to label the denomination of the early church, you will quickly realize it is difficult to do. When you consider the differences today from one denomination to the next, there is not one denomination that compares perfectly to what the early church looked like. What further complicates the conversation is that there were no denominations in the early church. Those came much later. While the underpinnings of denominational affiliation were there, especially thinking about the church in Corinth, where they took pride in who they followed (ref. 1 Cor. 3:3-4), there are no denominations mentioned anywhere in the Bible. The original converts were known as followers of the way, and it wasn't until Antioch in Acts 11 that people were even referred to as Christians.
When we consider the history of denominations, we see that many were not born out of unity but often because of disagreement. Differences in doctrinal positions or practices are often what spurred the formation of a new denomination. While we can say that some denominations attempt to reflect certain aspects of the early church, it is hard to find one that is a perfect match.
An Overview of the Early Church and its Practices
When talking about the early church, I am referring to the first century church as recorded for us in the book of Acts and what we learn from reading the epistles. It is critical to note that this was a church in its infancy, and these early Christians experienced growing pains. It was also quite different from the Old Testament because, with few exceptions, most of those who followed the requirements of the law were Jewish. This New Testament church comprised Jews and Gentiles, and many Gentiles had no connection to the traditions or customs of those who were Jewish. This new church came with new practices including communion, baptism, and even how they worshipped.
What Were Some Characteristics of the Early Church?
One of the most important verses that gives a perspective of this early church comes from Acts.
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:42-47).
Let’s break down the characteristics that were present in the early church.
Devoted to the apostles teaching - The devotion to the apostles' teaching was a form of discipleship. One of Jesus’ last instructions was to make disciples and teach them to obey everything he had commanded them (Matt. 28:19). The apostles in the early church were committed to teaching and those who were following were committed to learning and more importantly putting into practice what they learned.
Fellowship - Another hallmark of the early church was their commitment to fellowship. They were constantly breaking bread together (which is a reference to communion more on that later) and spending time together. As the book of Acts recorded it, this was a source of great joy for this church.
Prayer - One thing this church believed in was the power of prayer. It was not just individual prayer, but corporate prayer was a staple in this church. In fact, the church was birthed in a prayer meeting as they were praying and waiting on the promised Holy Spirit. As you read through the book of Acts, you see the many things God did through the church in response to prayer.
Community - The early church was all about community. The community took care of everyone and generously met the needs of those who had them.
Evangelism - The Bible says the Lord added daily to the number of people who were being saved. This means they were not only living in community but actively sharing this good news with those around them. This commitment to sharing the message of the gospel along with living lives that reflected the gospel caused growth to happen in this new church.
Unity - This was not a perfect church, but it was a unified church. Their unity was evident in the community they shared and in the joy they experienced from fellowshipping with each other.
The power of the Holy Spirit - The last element of this church to highlight is they were filled with the Holy Spirit. He moved in miraculous ways in the lives and hearts of the people in the church. This led them to not only do great exploits but to be bold witnesses for Jesus.
How Do Different Christian Denominations Reflect Early Church Practices?
It is difficult to compare all denominations to the practices of the early church. Denominations today are just too wide and too varied to make a complete comparison. However, there are three areas we can compare: communion, baptism, and worship.
Communion
The sacrament of communion is practiced by just about every denomination. The manner and frequency of this practice will vary within each denomination. Although Scripture does not specify how often we should partake in communion, it seems that communion was observed weekly according to Scripture.
"On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight" (Acts 20:7).
Acts 2, which we looked at earlier, mentions the breaking of bread, and here in Acts 20 we learn more about the frequency of it. I have been part of denominations that practice communion once per month, usually on the first Sunday, and have been in churches where there was not a consistent schedule of when communion would be served. However, denominations that practice it weekly are most likely best aligned with the early church. Among the denominations that commonly take communion weekly are Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, and Roman Catholic.
Baptism
"Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Rom. 6:3-4).
From all indications, we see that baptism in the early church was by submersion and was reserved for those who had decided to follow Christ. For this reason, they restricted baptism to those who could make a full confession to follow Christ. Denominations that practice this are best aligned with the early church. Those include Baptist, Pentecostal, and Charismatic denominations, Seventh-day Adventists, and many non-denominational Evangelicals.
Worship (church service)
Worship and services were a little different in the early church compared to today. Early Christians often met in homes, and their meetings included singing, teaching and instruction, communion, prayer, and fellowship, which is similar to Acts 2. Many of the elements we include in our services align with what happened in the early church. Denominations today include most, if not all, these elements in their services to some degree. Since this is true of just about every denomination, then most denominations would align with the early church on this part.
What are Some Key Differences between the Early Church and Modern Denominations?
There are many differences between the early church and the modern denominations of today. I won’t mention all of them, but here are a few key ones.
The absence of corporate prayer - Prayer was a central focus of the early church but many churches today don’t engage in corporate prayer. Corporate prayer is when there is a specific time set aside for the church to come together and pray. While this is how the church was born, there seems to be less commitment to corporate prayer today. Just check your church and ask some of your friends if their church practices corporate prayer. Sadly, even if they do, these services are often the least attended services.
Lack of discipleship - While we are called to make disciples, there has been less emphasis placed on what this means and how we do it effectively. If we remember the Great Commission, we see that discipleship is not just about teaching people how to believe, it is about teaching people how to live as believers in this world. This element of discipleship is sorely missing in many denominations today.
Dependence on the Holy Spirit - The early church depended completely on the power of the Holy Spirit for them to live and function. In many churches today, the Holy Spirit is more of an afterthought. We spend more time arguing over how he moves today than we do praying for him to move today. The early church moved in power because these early Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit. This is a lesson we need to take from them and apply it today.
Engagement in worldly affairs - Finally, churches today, at least in Western cultures, are more engaged with worldly affairs. Many seek political influence and power, wealth, status, or are solely focused on social issues without bringing it back to the gospel. The is far different than the early church who understood their primary mission and lived to fulfill that mission. They recognized that political influence, status, or wealth would not affect their ability to share the gospel. However, they knew that being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and focusing on eternal things would make a difference, and the way they lived proved it.
Further Reading
What Were Early Christians Like?
A Look at the Early Christian Church
Which Denomination is the “Right” Denomination…Is There One?
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