The Common Hope of the Early Church

The early church was very diverse. Many were Orthodox Jews who believed in Jesus, while others were polytheist pagans who had never even heard of the God of Israel prior to receiving the Gospel. While this fact alone sets the rapid advance of the Gospel in the 1st century apart as the most significant grass-roots movement in all of history, something even more extraordinary occurred within this context. The unique backgrounds, worldviews, and values from which they all came were all subjected to one common hope.  

“The early Christians hold firmly to a two-step belief about the future: first, death and whatever lies immediately beyond; second, a new bodily existence in a newly remade world… within early Christianity there is virtually no spectrum of belief about life beyond death… whereas the early Christians were drawn from many strands of Judaism and from widely differing backgrounds within paganism, and hence from circles that must have held very different beliefs about life beyond death, they all modified that belief to focus on one point on the spectrum… We have plenty of evidence of debates about all sorts of things, and the virtual unanimity on resurrection stands out. Only in the late second century, a good 150 years after the time of Jesus, do we find people using the word resurrection to mean something quite different from what is meant in Judaism and early Christianity, namely, a spiritual experience in the present leading to a disembodied hope in the future.  For almost all of the first two centuries, resurrection in the traditional sense holds not just center stage but the whole stage.”  N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (New York: HarperOne, 2008), 41-42

The reason why this took place (and why it DOESN'T happen today) is very simple - the Apostles from whom they received the Gospel had a common hope. The hope in the resurrection of the body at the coming of Jesus took, as Wright puts it, "the whole stage" within the early Church because this was the Gospel preached to them by the Apostles.  Take the Apostle Paul for example:

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, (Tts 2:11-13 NIV)

20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom 8:20-23 NIV)

  The reason that Paul could say "THE Blessed Hope" (the presence of the definite article 'τὴν' in Greek before 'hope' indicates that he is speaking of 'the one hope'. Not one hope among many.) referring to the coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the body in another passage is because they were understood as one event.  

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1Th 4:16-17 NASB)  

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (Phl 3:20-21 NASB)  

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. ... 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, (1Cr 15:20, 23 NASB)

  Likewise, Peter affirmed the singularity of the hope throughout his writings.

13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1Pe 1:13 NIV)

19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. 21 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. (Act 3:19-21 NIV)

  Beloved, we need shepherds like this. The message which anchors the hope of our faith in the age to come will never win a popularity contest here in America. It probably won't even win a popularity contest amongst those who believe it! However, the persistence of so many leaders of the church in America to place the hope of men in this perverted age is not without consequence. Paul encountered it, and wrote Timothy about it.  

16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. (2Ti 2:16-18 NASB)

  What may have seemed an innocent error of spiritualizing the resurrection was disturbing the faith of believers there. Why? Because their hope was in the resurrection to come!  Paul, recognizing the appeal of the message, says that it will spread like gangrene amongst the believers there.  


   Brothers, my desire is for you all to remain steadfast in your faith through the times that are coming. There are many unknowns ahead of us, but we must have clarity on the main things. Right now, your 'thing' or 'passion' is not important to me. Set your hope on this age (whether in riches, influence, transformation, etc...) and you will be disappointed.  Teach others to set their hope in this age and you will suffer loss along with them.  

9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire ('fire' is a common description for the coming tribulation), and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1Cr 3:9-15 NASB)

  If you are looking at this for the first time, then I know it might seem pretty different. You may have defined hope differently. However, anything less than the absolute assurance of the coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the righteous, and everlasting life, is a fading and fleeting hope. Everything else will disappoint simply because nothing else is guaranteed.  The fact is that as long as humans die there will be longing in the human heart for deliverance. The human body was made to live forever, but there is only ONE MEANS by which creation will be restored - the ONE MAN that God has appointed judge of the living and the dead. This is our ONE AND ONLY TRUE HOPE.