Section 1: Week 2: Pentecost

Foundations: The Day of Pentecost

"On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mat 16:18 ESV).

Beginnings are Important

The question of when you believe the church began is probably the most important theological question you should wrestle with. Ecclesiology (the study of the church) should be foundational to everyone's theology, as it defines what the church is, what it does, and who belongs to it. Think of it like knowing your family. Your family shapes your identity — where you come from, who you belong to, and how you see yourself. Ecclesiology works the same way for the Christian; it places you firmly within Christ's church, leaving no doubt about your Christian family ties.

To bring the issue closer, we might think of the two Testaments as two family lines — the Old Testament centred on Israel as God's covenant people, and the New Testament revealing how that family was redefined and expanded through Christ.

The Day of Pentecost

Prior to his ascension, Jesus commanded his disciples through the Holy Spirit, "You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5b). Imagine you are one of the hundred and twenty in that upper room. There you are — waiting, wondering — when suddenly everything explodes into action. A roar of wind so violent the whole house shakes. Then fire. Flames that split apart, moving through the room, finding every single person and resting on them. Finding you. How would you feel? There are no words. Nothing in your life has prepared you for this moment. And then, from your own lips, words you've never spoken in a language you've never learned — given by the Spirit himself. Can you even imagine? Because this wasn't just history. This was the birthday of the Church. Or was it?

What many Christians don't realise is that this very claim that the church began at Pentecost is hotly debated. There are well-established Christian theological traditions that place the beginning of the Church not at Pentecost, but as far back as Adam and Eve — or at the very least, with Abraham. This view is known as Covenantal Theology. Did the church begin on the day of Pentecost, or did it begin in the Old Testament, as far back as Genesis? Who is right — and how do we find out?

The Next post on Part 2, What is Covenantal Theology? leads us into the evidence.