--- title: "25 Early Church Quotes by 25 authors" description: "Browse 25 Early Church quotes by 25 authors. Discover the best Early Church sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/david-d-flowers-41160_early-church_the-early-church-didn-t-experience-explo_419039.jpg" --- > [“The early church didn't experience explosive growth in the face of relentless persecution for believing the resurrection was a metaphor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-flowers/the-early-church-didn-t-experience-explosive-growth-in-the-face-of/) [David D. Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-flowers/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/david-d-flowers-41160_early-church_the-early-church-didn-t-experience-explo_419039.jpg) > [“How can we have revival when we value a book the early Church didn’t have over the Holy Spirit they did have?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-vallotton/how-can-we-have-revival-when-we-value-a-book-the-early-church-didn-t/) [Kris Vallotton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-vallotton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/726/kris-vallotton-32733_books_how-can-we-have-revival-when-we-value-a_2174734.jpg) > [Much of today’s church relies more on a book the early church didn't have, than the Holy Spirit they did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/much-of-today-s-church-relies-more-on-a-book-the-early-church-didn-t/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/bill-johnson-1147_book_much-of-today-s-church-relies-more-on-a_1793508.png) > [The early Church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-early-church-was-married-to-poverty-prisons-and-persecutions/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/leonard-ravenhill-1175_christian_the-early-church-was-married-to-poverty_2839353.png) > [The early church didn’t say, ‘Look what the world is coming to!’ They said, ‘Look what has come into the world’!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-f-h-henry/the-early-church-didn-t-say-look-what-the-world-is-coming-to-they/) [Carl F. H. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-f-h-henry/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/carl-f-h-henry-29638_christianity_the-early-church-didn-t-say-look-what-th_552431.png) > [The early Church had nothing but the Old Testament. The New Testament lies hidden in the Old; the Old Testament lies open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-terry/the-early-church-had-nothing-but-the-old-testament-the-new-testament/) [Randall Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-terry/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/randall-terry-12421_church_the-early-church-had-nothing-but-the-old_1333128.jpg) > [We sometimes idealize the early church and want our churches to go back to the simple, old ways. We need to carefully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-b-jenkins/we-sometimes-idealize-the-early-church-and-want-our-churches-to-go/) [Jerry B. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-b-jenkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/jerry-b-jenkins-13769_church_we-sometimes-idealize-the-early-church-a_430597.jpg) > [Women are the first witnesses to the resurrection and pillars of the early church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/women-are-the-first-witnesses-to-the-resurrection-and-pillars-of-the/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/john-ortberg-932_church_women-are-the-first-witnesses-to-the-res_2629334.png) > [If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/if-the-church-of-today-does-not-recapture-the-sacrificial-spirit-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/martin-luther-king-jr-127_century_if-the-church-of-today-does-not-recaptur_2095884.jpg) > [It was a real surprise to me to come across the evidence that Christianity might once have been a danced religion. Certainly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/it-was-a-real-surprise-to-me-to-come-across-the-evidence-that/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_christianity_it-was-a-real-surprise-to-me-to-come-acr_550394.jpg) > [The more we study the early Church, the more we realize that it was a society of ministers. About the only similarity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/the-more-we-study-the-early-church-the-more-we-realize-that-it-was-a/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/d-elton-trueblood-26225_catholic_the-more-we-study-the-early-church-the-m_202385.jpg) > [I want people to help me reanchor the church to undeniable, mind-boggling, culture-shifting demonstration of compassion and generosity. Because, generosity was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/i-want-people-to-help-me-reanchor-the-church-to-undeniable-mind/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/andy-stanley-737_church_i-want-people-to-help-me-reanchor-the-ch_2410744.png) > [There is not much we can say with absolute confidence about the early church, but we can be fairly sure that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/there-is-not-much-we-can-say-with-absolute-confidence-about-the-early/) [Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/neil-macgregor-16366_about_there-is-not-much-we-can-say-with-absolu_2886829.png) > [“The evidence of the early church suggests that the community of followers ate together regularly and often, and that in their eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-wirzba/the-evidence-of-the-early-church-suggests-that-the-community-of/) [Norman Wirzba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-wirzba/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/norman-wirzba-41338_nature_the-evidence-of-the-early-church-suggest_1743121.jpg) > [I had always owned them to be the Word of God... the careful reading of the Acts afforded me a practical picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-nelson-darby/i-had-always-owned-them-to-be-the-word-of-god-the-careful-reading-of/) [John Nelson Darby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-nelson-darby/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-nelson-darby-16880_acts_i-had-always-owned-them-to-be-the-word-o_1741673.jpg) > [Certain things happened in the early church. Women who had never had any freedom suddenly have the ability to stand up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/certain-things-happened-in-the-early-church-women-who-had-never-had/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/tony-campolo-2506_ability_certain-things-happened-in-the-early-chu_122306.png) > [“...the early church fathers provide abundant evidence that gifts such as prophecy and miracles continued in their own time, even if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-keener/the-early-church-fathers-provide-abundant-evidence-that-gifts-such-as/) [Craig Keener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-keener/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/craig-keener-229411_church-fathers_the-early-church-fathers-provide-abundan_3045449.jpg) > [The early church was strikingly different from the culture around it in this way - the pagan society was stingy with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-early-church-was-strikingly-different-from-the-culture-around-it/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/timothy-keller-240_body_the-early-church-was-strikingly-differen_596960.png) > [I write about this in The Last Temple, the early church knew that Christ has risen from the dead, and so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/i-write-about-this-in-the-last-temple-the-early-church-knew-that/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/hank-hanegraaff-23819_christ_i-write-about-this-in-the-last-temple-th_584939.jpg) > [The church is like any large corporation in one respect. In its early days, either the early church or the early years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lowney/the-church-is-like-any-large-corporation-in-one-respect-in-its-early/) [Chris Lowney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lowney/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/chris-lowney-18790_all-kinds_the-church-is-like-any-large-corporation_244787.jpg) > [In the near future we will not be looking back at the early church with envy because of the great exploits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-joyner/in-the-near-future-we-will-not-be-looking-back-at-the-early-church/) [Rick Joyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-joyner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/rick-joyner-11089_able_in-the-near-future-we-will-not-be-lookin_2809457.jpg) > [“Do you have a weekly prayer meeting in your church? Your answer reflects how spiritual you are and how much you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mack-tomlinson/do-you-have-a-weekly-prayer-meeting-in-your-church-your-answer/) [Mack Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mack-tomlinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/mack-tomlinson-54691_first-priority_do-you-have-a-weekly-prayer-meeting-in-y_3125990.jpg) > [“Too often scholars have thought and even suggested that what happened during and after Constantine was that the church sought to replace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/too-often-scholars-have-thought-and-even-suggested-that-what-happened/) [Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/ben-witherington-iii-33766_christian-religion_too-often-scholars-have-thought-and-even_843903.jpg) > [Saints of the early church reaped great harvests in the field of prayer and found the mercy seat to be a mine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/saints-of-the-early-church-reaped-great-harvests-in-the-field-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/charles-spurgeon-82_church_saints-of-the-early-church-reaped-great_1143250.png) > [“In The Ante-Nicene Fathers (8 vols.) the reader will find most of the writings of the Early Church under the Pagan Empire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hodges/in-the-ante-nicene-fathers-8-vols-the-reader-will-find-most-of-the/) [George Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hodges/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/george-hodges-84049_books_in-the-ante-nicene-fathers-8-vols-the-re_2176017.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-church/#itemlist", "name": "Early Church Quotes", "numberOfItems": 25, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The early church didn't experience explosive growth in the face of relentless persecution for believing the resurrection was a metaphor.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David D. Flowers" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-flowers/the-early-church-didn-t-experience-explosive-growth-in-the-face-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/david-d-flowers-41160_early-church_the-early-church-didn-t-experience-explo_419039.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/david-d-flowers-41160_early-church_the-early-church-didn-t-experience-explo_419039.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/david-d-flowers-41160_early-church_the-early-church-didn-t-experience-explo_419039.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The early church didn't experience explosive growth in the face of relentless persecution for believing the…” — David D. 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Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leonard Ravenhill" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-early-church-was-married-to-poverty-prisons-and-persecutions/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/leonard-ravenhill-1175_christian_the-early-church-was-married-to-poverty_2839353.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/leonard-ravenhill-1175_christian_the-early-church-was-married-to-poverty_2839353.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/leonard-ravenhill-1175_christian_the-early-church-was-married-to-poverty_2839353.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The early Church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. 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Henry" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-f-h-henry/the-early-church-didn-t-say-look-what-the-world-is-coming-to-they/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/carl-f-h-henry-29638_christianity_the-early-church-didn-t-say-look-what-th_552431.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/carl-f-h-henry-29638_christianity_the-early-church-didn-t-say-look-what-th_552431.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/carl-f-h-henry-29638_christianity_the-early-church-didn-t-say-look-what-th_552431.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The early church didn’t say, ‘Look what the world is coming to!’ They said, ‘Look what has come into the…” — Carl F. H. Henry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The early Church had nothing but the Old Testament. The New Testament lies hidden in the Old; the Old Testament lies open in the New.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Randall Terry" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-terry/the-early-church-had-nothing-but-the-old-testament-the-new-testament/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/randall-terry-12421_church_the-early-church-had-nothing-but-the-old_1333128.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/randall-terry-12421_church_the-early-church-had-nothing-but-the-old_1333128.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/randall-terry-12421_church_the-early-church-had-nothing-but-the-old_1333128.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The early Church had nothing but the Old Testament. 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Jenkins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-b-jenkins/we-sometimes-idealize-the-early-church-and-want-our-churches-to-go/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/jerry-b-jenkins-13769_church_we-sometimes-idealize-the-early-church-a_430597.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/jerry-b-jenkins-13769_church_we-sometimes-idealize-the-early-church-a_430597.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/jerry-b-jenkins-13769_church_we-sometimes-idealize-the-early-church-a_430597.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We sometimes idealize the early church and want our churches to go back to the simple, old ways. We need to…” — Jerry B. Jenkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Women are the first witnesses to the resurrection and pillars of the early church.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Ortberg" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/women-are-the-first-witnesses-to-the-resurrection-and-pillars-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/john-ortberg-932_church_women-are-the-first-witnesses-to-the-res_2629334.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/john-ortberg-932_church_women-are-the-first-witnesses-to-the-res_2629334.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/john-ortberg-932_church_women-are-the-first-witnesses-to-the-res_2629334.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Women are the first witnesses to the resurrection and pillars of the early church.” — John Ortberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/if-the-church-of-today-does-not-recapture-the-sacrificial-spirit-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/martin-luther-king-jr-127_century_if-the-church-of-today-does-not-recaptur_2095884.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/martin-luther-king-jr-127_century_if-the-church-of-today-does-not-recaptur_2095884.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/martin-luther-king-jr-127_century_if-the-church-of-today-does-not-recaptur_2095884.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its…” — Martin Luther King, Jr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was a real surprise to me to come across the evidence that Christianity might once have been a danced religion. Certainly, some of the early church leaders thought this was great and spoke of what seems to have been circle dancing, perhaps around an altar.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Ehrenreich" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/it-was-a-real-surprise-to-me-to-come-across-the-evidence-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_christianity_it-was-a-real-surprise-to-me-to-come-acr_550394.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_christianity_it-was-a-real-surprise-to-me-to-come-acr_550394.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/barbara-ehrenreich-1204_christianity_it-was-a-real-surprise-to-me-to-come-acr_550394.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was a real surprise to me to come across the evidence that Christianity might once have been a danced…” — Barbara Ehrenreich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The more we study the early Church, the more we realize that it was a society of ministers. About the only similarity between the Church at Corinth and a contemporary congregation, either Roman Catholic or Protestant, is that both are marked, to a great degree, by the presence of sinners.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "D. Elton Trueblood" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/the-more-we-study-the-early-church-the-more-we-realize-that-it-was-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/d-elton-trueblood-26225_catholic_the-more-we-study-the-early-church-the-m_202385.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/d-elton-trueblood-26225_catholic_the-more-we-study-the-early-church-the-m_202385.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/d-elton-trueblood-26225_catholic_the-more-we-study-the-early-church-the-m_202385.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The more we study the early Church, the more we realize that it was a society of ministers. About the only…” — D. Elton Trueblood", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I want people to help me reanchor the church to undeniable, mind-boggling, culture-shifting demonstration of compassion and generosity. Because, generosity was the hallmark of the early church.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andy Stanley" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/i-want-people-to-help-me-reanchor-the-church-to-undeniable-mind/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/andy-stanley-737_church_i-want-people-to-help-me-reanchor-the-ch_2410744.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/andy-stanley-737_church_i-want-people-to-help-me-reanchor-the-ch_2410744.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/andy-stanley-737_church_i-want-people-to-help-me-reanchor-the-ch_2410744.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I want people to help me reanchor the church to undeniable, mind-boggling, culture-shifting demonstration of…” — Andy Stanley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is not much we can say with absolute confidence about the early church, but we can be fairly sure that the first Christians would not have dreamed of making a likeness of Jesus.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil MacGregor" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/there-is-not-much-we-can-say-with-absolute-confidence-about-the-early/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/neil-macgregor-16366_about_there-is-not-much-we-can-say-with-absolu_2886829.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/neil-macgregor-16366_about_there-is-not-much-we-can-say-with-absolu_2886829.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/neil-macgregor-16366_about_there-is-not-much-we-can-say-with-absolu_2886829.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is not much we can say with absolute confidence about the early church, but we can be fairly sure that…” — Neil MacGregor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The evidence of the early church suggests that the community of followers ate together regularly and often, and that in their eating they tried to bear witness to Christ’s way of dwelling on earth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Wirzba" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-wirzba/the-evidence-of-the-early-church-suggests-that-the-community-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/norman-wirzba-41338_nature_the-evidence-of-the-early-church-suggest_1743121.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/norman-wirzba-41338_nature_the-evidence-of-the-early-church-suggest_1743121.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/norman-wirzba-41338_nature_the-evidence-of-the-early-church-suggest_1743121.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The evidence of the early church suggests that the community of followers ate together regularly and often…” — Norman Wirzba", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had always owned them to be the Word of God... the careful reading of the Acts afforded me a practical picture of the early church; which made me feel deeply the contrast with its actual present state; though still, as ever beloved by God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Nelson Darby" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-nelson-darby/i-had-always-owned-them-to-be-the-word-of-god-the-careful-reading-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-nelson-darby-16880_acts_i-had-always-owned-them-to-be-the-word-o_1741673.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-nelson-darby-16880_acts_i-had-always-owned-them-to-be-the-word-o_1741673.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c61/john-nelson-darby-16880_acts_i-had-always-owned-them-to-be-the-word-o_1741673.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had always owned them to be the Word of God... the careful reading of the Acts afforded me a practical…” — John Nelson Darby", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Certain things happened in the early church. Women who had never had any freedom suddenly have the ability to stand up and speak and be treated as equals within the life of the church.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Campolo" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/certain-things-happened-in-the-early-church-women-who-had-never-had/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/tony-campolo-2506_ability_certain-things-happened-in-the-early-chu_122306.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/tony-campolo-2506_ability_certain-things-happened-in-the-early-chu_122306.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/tony-campolo-2506_ability_certain-things-happened-in-the-early-chu_122306.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Certain things happened in the early church. Women who had never had any freedom suddenly have the ability…” — Tony Campolo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...the early church fathers provide abundant evidence that gifts such as prophecy and miracles continued in their own time, even if not as abundantly as in the first century. Christians in the medieval and modern periods continued to embrace these activities of the Spirit. It is, in fact, cessationism that is not well documented in earlier history; it seems no coincidence that it arose only in a culture dominated by anti-supernaturalism.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Craig Keener" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-keener/the-early-church-fathers-provide-abundant-evidence-that-gifts-such-as/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/craig-keener-229411_church-fathers_the-early-church-fathers-provide-abundan_3045449.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/craig-keener-229411_church-fathers_the-early-church-fathers-provide-abundan_3045449.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/craig-keener-229411_church-fathers_the-early-church-fathers-provide-abundan_3045449.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...the early church fathers provide abundant evidence that gifts such as prophecy and miracles continued in…” — Craig Keener", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The early church was strikingly different from the culture around it in this way - the pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with its body. A pagan gave nobody their money and practically gave everybody their body. And the Christians came along and gave practically nobody their body and they gave practically everybody their money.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Keller" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-early-church-was-strikingly-different-from-the-culture-around-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/timothy-keller-240_body_the-early-church-was-strikingly-differen_596960.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/timothy-keller-240_body_the-early-church-was-strikingly-differen_596960.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/timothy-keller-240_body_the-early-church-was-strikingly-differen_596960.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The early church was strikingly different from the culture around it in this way - the pagan society was…” — Timothy Keller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write about this in The Last Temple, the early church knew that Christ has risen from the dead, and so they didn't live their lives with earthly vanities, but they lived their lives for eternal verities. And I think that if we might catch that enthusiasm and the reality of resurrection, we would live by a completely different standard as well.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hank Hanegraaff" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/i-write-about-this-in-the-last-temple-the-early-church-knew-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/hank-hanegraaff-23819_christ_i-write-about-this-in-the-last-temple-th_584939.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/hank-hanegraaff-23819_christ_i-write-about-this-in-the-last-temple-th_584939.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/586/hank-hanegraaff-23819_christ_i-write-about-this-in-the-last-temple-th_584939.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I write about this in The Last Temple, the early church knew that Christ has risen from the dead, and so…” — Hank Hanegraaff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The church is like any large corporation in one respect. In its early days, either the early church or the early years of Microsoft, you see all kinds of creativity, innovation, invention, people have nothing to lose, they're trying to find what works. Then you wake up and you're a vast enterprise, and it's very hard, when you have all kinds of buildings and structures and hierarchy and so on, to hang on to these very creative impulses that helped you get your great success in the first place. As a church we're going to have to figure a way out from under this.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chris Lowney" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lowney/the-church-is-like-any-large-corporation-in-one-respect-in-its-early/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/chris-lowney-18790_all-kinds_the-church-is-like-any-large-corporation_244787.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/chris-lowney-18790_all-kinds_the-church-is-like-any-large-corporation_244787.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64f/chris-lowney-18790_all-kinds_the-church-is-like-any-large-corporation_244787.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The church is like any large corporation in one respect. In its early days, either the early church or the…” — Chris Lowney", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 21, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the near future we will not be looking back at the early church with envy because of the great exploits of those days, but all will be saying that He certainly did save His best wine for last. The most glorious times in all of history have not come upon us. You, who have dreamed of one day being able to talk with Peter, John and Paul, are going to be surprised to find that they have all been waiting to talk to you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Joyner" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-joyner/in-the-near-future-we-will-not-be-looking-back-at-the-early-church/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/rick-joyner-11089_able_in-the-near-future-we-will-not-be-lookin_2809457.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/rick-joyner-11089_able_in-the-near-future-we-will-not-be-lookin_2809457.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57d/rick-joyner-11089_able_in-the-near-future-we-will-not-be-lookin_2809457.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the near future we will not be looking back at the early church with envy because of the great exploits…” — Rick Joyner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 22, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Do you have a weekly prayer meeting in your church? Your answer reflects how spiritual you are and how much you are depending on God or on human ability and organization. The first thing the early church did was pray. It’s the last thing the modern church does today. The early church saw mighty things in answer to prayer. We see little today because of the neglect of prayer. Prayer was their first choice. Today it’s our last resort. Before the early church did anything else, they prayed. We do everything else but pray. It was their first priority. It’s our last priority. The New Testament saints had divine enduement without any equipment. Today we have the equipment but not the enduement. If we are weak in prayer, then we are weak everywhere.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mack Tomlinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mack-tomlinson/do-you-have-a-weekly-prayer-meeting-in-your-church-your-answer/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/mack-tomlinson-54691_first-priority_do-you-have-a-weekly-prayer-meeting-in-y_3125990.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/mack-tomlinson-54691_first-priority_do-you-have-a-weekly-prayer-meeting-in-y_3125990.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35c/mack-tomlinson-54691_first-priority_do-you-have-a-weekly-prayer-meeting-in-y_3125990.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do you have a weekly prayer meeting in your church? Your answer reflects how spiritual you are and how much…” — Mack Tomlinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 23, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Too often scholars have thought and even suggested that what happened during and after Constantine was that the church sought to replace the pagan temples, priests, and sacrifices with their own. This is at best a half truth. If this had been primarily what was going on, we would have expected to find priestesses showing up in the mainstream church in and after the time of Constantine, since there were certainly priestesses in the pagan temples. But this we do not find in the historical record. This is because the church of that period was not merely trying to supplant pagan religion with Christian religion, though some of that was going on. More to the point, there was a rising tide of anti-Judaism, and one of its manifestations was this Old Testament hermeneutic. The Torah had been claimed as the church’s book, Jews were being ostracized and then later ghettoized, and a hermeneutic of ministry was being adopted which co-opted the Old Testament for church use when it came to priests, temples, and sacrifices, and indeed sacraments in general. Thus ironically enough while the structure of the ecclesial church was becoming more Old Testamental, the church hierarchy was not only becoming less tolerant of Jews, it was forgetting altogether the Jewish character of Jesus’ ministry and his modifications of the Passover that led to the Lord’s Supper celebration of the early church in the first place.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Witherington III" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/too-often-scholars-have-thought-and-even-suggested-that-what-happened/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/ben-witherington-iii-33766_christian-religion_too-often-scholars-have-thought-and-even_843903.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/ben-witherington-iii-33766_christian-religion_too-often-scholars-have-thought-and-even_843903.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/ben-witherington-iii-33766_christian-religion_too-often-scholars-have-thought-and-even_843903.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Too often scholars have thought and even suggested that what happened during and after Constantine was that…” — Ben Witherington III", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 24, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Saints of the early church reaped great harvests in the field of prayer and found the mercy seat to be a mine of untold treasures.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Spurgeon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/saints-of-the-early-church-reaped-great-harvests-in-the-field-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/charles-spurgeon-82_church_saints-of-the-early-church-reaped-great_1143250.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/charles-spurgeon-82_church_saints-of-the-early-church-reaped-great_1143250.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/charles-spurgeon-82_church_saints-of-the-early-church-reaped-great_1143250.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Saints of the early church reaped great harvests in the field of prayer and found the mercy seat to be a…” — Charles Spurgeon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 25, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In The Ante-Nicene Fathers (8 vols.) the reader will find most of the writings of the Early Church under the Pagan Empire, to the year 325.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Hodges" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hodges/in-the-ante-nicene-fathers-8-vols-the-reader-will-find-most-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/george-hodges-84049_books_in-the-ante-nicene-fathers-8-vols-the-re_2176017.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/george-hodges-84049_books_in-the-ante-nicene-fathers-8-vols-the-re_2176017.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/george-hodges-84049_books_in-the-ante-nicene-fathers-8-vols-the-re_2176017.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In The Ante-Nicene Fathers (8 vols.) the reader will find most of the writings of the Early Church under the…” — George Hodges", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-church/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-church/", "name": "Early Church Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-church/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/david-d-flowers-41160_early-church_the-early-church-didn-t-experience-explo_419039.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 25 Early Church quotes by 25 authors. 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