Lesson 1 : ORIGIN AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

Lesson 1

ORIGIN AND BRIEF HISTORY

OF THE CHURCH
(FROM CHRIST TO THE CHURCH)
Right from the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, the
Church was already taking shape. Intimately linked with
Jesus and his saving mission was the community of
Narrates the origin & brief
disciples that would continue that mission until the
history of the Church
present time.

I.GOD’S MESSAGE
Recognizes the demands & 17
From that time Jesus began to preach his message:
challenges of the Church as “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of
baptized members heaven is near!” 23Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in
the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the
Kingdom, and healing people who had all kinds of disease
and sickness. 25Large crowds followed him from Galilee
Prays for the leaders and and the Ten Towns, from Jerusalem, Judea, and the land
members of the Church on the other side of the Jordan.
-Mt. 4: 17, 23, 25

II. EXPOSITION
A. Jesus’ mission was focused on the Reign of God. Right after
being baptized and after overcoming temptation in the desert (cf. Mt.
3:13-17; 4: 1-10), he started to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was at
hand – the rule of a Father who is rich in mercy and love. He also called
on people to change their ways if they wanted God to rule their lives.
Since this theme was not easy to grasp, he spoke in a language that
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his audience could understand. He used parables to tell his audience
that God’s rule would mean fullness of life (a plentiful harvest), that it
was an undeserved gift but which asked for receptivity and joyful commitment (parables of the wheat, pearl of
great price, the treasure in the field), that it would surely grow beyond what we could imagine (wheat growing
secretly, mustard seed), and that God’s transforming power, though unseen, would surely make things happen
in the midst of human life (leaven in a dough).
B. He spoke of the Kingdom as God’s desire to make us enjoy fully the love that is ours as children of God who is
our Father. Jesus told his hearers to ask for God’s forgiveness, to pray without ceasing, addressing God as
“Abba, Father!” with the trust that he would answer their prayers. He told them to share and serve. God’s rule
was a rule of love where no one was found wanting, because those who had enough unselfishly gave to those
who had none.
 Lesson 1 : ORIGIN AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

C. Jesus’ deeds proved the truth of his preaching. The blind, the lame, and the lepers were made whole.
His healing miracles revealed a God of love and compassion. The good news of God’s reign came upon the
poor and needy. God was serious, indeed, in restoring life and wholeness to anyone who was broken and
suffering.
D. To show that the rule of God was what mattered most, Jesus led a lifestyle that pointed to the passing
value of wealth, fame, and worldly power. As he was born poor, so did he live and die poor. His total
devotion to God’s will was shown in his prayer, a prayer full of confidence, which he taught as through his
disciples to be our own prayer (Mt. 6: 9-15). His was a life that sought first the Kingdom of God and all
other things besides (cf. Mt 6:23).
E. All these attracted people to Jesus, people who
were willing to follow him, his teaching, and lifestyle.
The Kingdom of God that Jesus preached started
then to show itself in a gathered and renewed
people. The spiritual and invisible rule of God over
the world and humanity became visible in a
community that allowed God to rule their lives.
F. From among these followers, Jesus chose Twelve
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who became eye-and-ear witnesses to his words and
deeds. Their number c0rresponded to the 12 tribes of Israel, a number that meant
total or universal. Their number suggested that the good news of salvation proclaimed by Jesus was for
all and was meant to gather all people into Christ’s embrace. It was Jesus who called them, and like in
most cases where it was a disciple who chose his master. One of them, Peter, was handpicked by Jesus to
be his “brothers’ strength,” the “rock” upon which Christ was “to build his Church” (cf. Mt. 16:18).
G. These disciples were to be the nucleus, the seed
from which the Church would grow. They, who at
this point had not shown signs of readiness to take
part in Jesus’ work of proclaiming God’s Kingdom,
were to be renewed by Christ’s resurrection and
empowered by the Holy Spirit to spread to all nations
“what they have heard and seen with their own eyes,
what they have watched and touched with their
https://bit.ly/3cV9HsT hands” (cf. 1 Jn. 1:1). Indeed, the Church is a
community called together by God – a community of
love whose source is the Father who sent Christ to be our Redeemer in the unity of the Holy Spirit. This is why
the Church is called Banal na Iglesya from the Spanish word Iglesia which comes from the Greek word
ekklesia, meaning “a people called together.”
In addition, the Catechism of the Catholic Church #751 states that the word "Church" (Latin
ecclesia, from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to "call out of") means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the
assemblies of the people, usually for a religious purpose. Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old
Testament for the assembly of the Chosen People before God, above all for their assembly on Mount Sinai
where Israel received the Law and was established by God as his holy people. By calling itself "Church,"
the first community of Christian believers recognized itself as heir to that assembly. In the Church, God is
"calling together" his people from all the ends of the earth. The equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from
which the English word Church and the German Kirche are derived, means "what belongs to the Lord."
 Lesson 1 : ORIGIN AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

CHURCH TEACHING
That the Church has its roots in Christ and in his proclamation of the Kingdom is also expressed in the
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no. 5:
The mystery of the holy Church is manifest in her foundation, for the Lord Jesus inaugurated her by
preaching the good news, that is, the coming of God’s Kingdom which, for centuries, had been promised in the
Scriptures. “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15; cf. Mt 4:17). In Christ’s words, in
his works, and in his presence, this Kingdom reveals itself to men and women.
Thus, the Church is a community of disciples that came about as a natural result of Jesus’ mission to
proclaim the good news. She exists not for her own sake but to continue the mission of Christ which is her
reason for being. On the other hand, Jesus desires to continue drawing all people to the Father through this
community of disciples and apostles – people who are called and sent.

III. POINTS FOR REFLECTION

1. In what sense is the Church the natural result of Jesus’ mission to proclaim the good news of God’s
reign?
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2. Jesus described the rule of God by using parables. Using a Bible, read the parables indicated below.
Write the letter corresponding to the characteristics of God’s reign in Column B on the line before the
parable in Column A that expresses it.
Column A Column B
_____1. The Mustard Seed a. One who discovers God’s will joyfully commits
[Mt 13:31-32] himself/herself to follow it.
b. The world and society can be transformed by even a few
_____2. The Dragnet
who let God rule their lives.
[Mt 13:47-50]
c. The spread of God’s reign does not depend on human
_____3. The Sower effort but on God’s power and goodness.
[Mt. 13:3-9, 18-23] d. God reigns in the lives of people who welcome God’s Word
and allow it to bear fruits.
_____4.The Seed Growing of Itself
[Mt 4:26-29] e. The reign of God may look small and insignificant but can
take in everyone who seeks shelter under it.
_____5. The Pearl of Great Price f. God deals with everyone with patience. The final sorting
[Mt. 13:45-46] out of the good and evil will take place in the end time.

_____6. The Leaven in the Dough

[Mt. 13:33]
 Lesson 1 : ORIGIN AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

IV. INTEGRATION
Learner’s Activity
Creed/Aral:
Through a concept map, describe how the Church was established by Jesus Christ and her
nature.

CHURCH

Code/Asal:
If the Church came about as a result of what Jesus said and did to bring about God’s rule, what can
you do as a member of the Church to participate in Jesus’ on-going work of bringing about God’s
rule of love and compassion?
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Cult/Dasal:
At the heart of the prayer that Jesus himself taught us, we ask, “Your Kingdom come, your will
be done.” Considering what Jesus did to accomplish God’s will, write a prayer paraphrasing
that part of the “Lord’s Prayer”.
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Reference:
Manabat, J., Munsayac, J., Astorga, M.C., Balgan, J.M., & Coralejo, E. (2009). The Church on the Move (4 th Edition). Quezon City: FNB Educational, Inc.
ISBN 978-971-514-649-4