House Churches of Paul's Day

In the Apostle Paul’s time, Jesus’ disciples met for worship in their homes – probably more than elsewhere. See, e.g., Ro. 16:4-5 (“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus . . . [and] the church that meets at their house” in Rome); 1 Cor. 16:19 (“Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house” - in this reference, probably one in Ephesus); Col. 4:15 (“Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house”); Philemon 2 (Paul’s letter addresses “Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker—  also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home”).

What happened when these faith communities gathered? On what  ideas did they rest their social structures and practices? These questions are especially important for congregations like ours that count early Christian practices as archetypal.

A book that explores these issues is Paul's Idea of Community: Spirit and Culture in Early House Churches (2020) by Robert Banks, a theologian and author who has taught in universities in Australia and the United States. Banks explains that in his letters, Paul emphasizes the importance of Christian gatherings, mutual ministry, love, and active participation in congregational life. These revolutionary concepts remain relevant.

Here are this book’s key concepts as distilled mostly from Paul’s letters. Freedom in Christ involves independence from sin and alienating powers but dependence on God and interdependence with others in the faith community. Believers’ households provide not just a meeting location, but also a metaphor for Christian relationships: with God as their Father, believers as adopted children need to provide love and mutual care to each other. The human body serves as a metaphor to emphasize the diversity of a Christian community’ gifts and ministries, and these should contribute to its unity and wholeness. Such communities embrace diversity of nationality, social status, and gender, with women actively praying, prophesying, and contributing, provided neither their speech nor attire interfere with orderly worship assemblies. Baptism (by immersion of believers) and shared meals (the Lord's Supper) promote community identity and fellowship.

On December 5, the Reading Circle will discuss this book. See me for details on how to participate; you can do this via video conference and even if you’ve not read the book! And you can enjoy part of the book here: an appendix of historical fiction that reconstructs the gathering of a house church in Rome.

-Lloyd