The Misso Ad Gentes begins with the community

 

Quest: 40. The Misso Ad Gentes begins with the community of Antioch. How did the evangelization develop itself in the two first centuries of Christianity?

 

Introduction: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19). The very commission Jesus reveals the very nature of the Church. The Church is the mystical body of Christ, a basic sacrament of salvation. This mission of the Church springs from a FOUNTAIN OF LOVE (the very Nature of Triune God), that is from the love of God the Father, as the principle without principle, from whom the Son is generated and made FLESH and from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds through the Son.  It brings forth the Salvific present of Christ in the world. This commission also reveals that the salvation is open for all. So the establishment of God’s kingdom entrusted on the Church. So the Church is not the manifestation static nature rather it is dynamic and missionary which will be discussed in the following description.   

 

The evangelization in the first two centuries of the Christianity at Antioch community: Antioch is the main city f Syria. It was at that time the third-largest city in the Roman Empire and the Christian community was a mixed community: from Jews and former pagans (Greek) alike. The people of Antioch and the Church were a model of harmony between Jews and Gentiles, a fact indirectly confirmed by Paul in Gal. 1-14. Here, for the first time, the followers of Jesus Christ were called “Christians (Acts. 11:26).” They had regular meetings at which the large congregation was “instructed” (Acts. 11:26 ).We can realize from the point of preaching, witnessing and baptizing.

Preaching: “Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists  also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus” (Acts 11:19-20). Their preaching was all about Christ death and resurrection. 

Witnessing: “When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion” (Acts 11:22). Prophets and teachers were active and the gifts of the Spirit were evident (Acts. 11:27; 15:32). They were very active in witnessing. It was from this community that Paul and Barnabas these two apostles were sent to carry the case against the Judaizers at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts. 15:1-29). Both attested to the marvelous work of God among the Gentiles (Acts. 15:12).

Baptizing: “For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:24). Thus it is found that many people were baptized which ultimately manifests her Church’s spiritual fecundity in giving birth to new Churches which is true for universal and local churches.

Conclusion: The whole Church is of its  its nature missionary and the work of evangelization is to be considered a fundamental duty of the people of God, all Christ's faithful must be conscious of the responsibility to play their part in missionary activity. From the time of Christ, we are given the great commission of Christ -“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19). It deals with the missionary mandate to evangelize. It is not our mission but God’s mission in this world, in the Church and the entire cosmos which is entrusted to us. As Christian, it is our duty to proclaim the that mission from church to the entire world, from faith in Christ to believers of other faiths by word and deed the coming of the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ.  This task is achieved by means of the church's participation in God's mission of reconciling people to God, to themselves, to each other, and to the world, and gathering them into the church through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit with a view to the transformation of the world as a sign of the coming of the kingdom in Jesus Christ.

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