HISTORIOGRAPHY - Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

1 Dr. W. R. Downing Pacific Institute for Religious Studies Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley 1 HISTORIOGRAPHY AND EARLY Church HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS HISTORIOGRAPHY Or Preliminary 4 Texts .. 4 Introduction .. 5 5 5 What Is Church History? .. 6 What Is The Biblical Philosophy Of History? .. 7 The Doctrine Of God .. 7 The Doctrine Of Creation .. 8 The Doctrine Of 8 Why Study Church History? .. 9 The Faithfulness Of God .. 10 Truth And Experience .. 10 Truth And Tradition .. 10 Avoidance Of Error .. 10 The Historical Context .. 10 The Works Of God .. 11 The Past Witness As To The Present .. 11 The Truth Concerning Religious Human Nature.

2 11 What Are The Fundamental Presuppositions For The Study Of Church History? ..11 Time And Eternity .. 12 Church History Is Not Self Interpreting .. 13 The Perpetuity Of New Testament Christianity .. 14 The Time Divisions Of Church 20 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE Of Early Church History To 313 .. 21 THE APOSTOLIC AGE 26 100 21 The Five Major Issues In This Age .. 21 Chronology Of The Apostolic Age .. 21 Messianic Era (26 30 ).. 21 The Year Of Obscurity (26 28 ) .. 22 The Year Of Opportunity (29 ) .. 22 The Year Of Opposition (30 ) .. 22 Apostolic Era (30 100 Ad) .. 23 The Era Of Transition (100 313 Ad) .. 27 The Six Major Issues .. 27 Dr. W. R. Downing Pacific Institute for Religious Studies Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley 2 Chronology Of The Era Of Transition.

3 27 100 200 28 150 Ad .. 30 200 300 31 250 AD .. 32 300 313 34 74 YEARS .. 36 Introduction .. 36 The General Historical Outline .. 36 I. The Messianic Era (26 30 ).. 36 Ii. The Apostolic Era (30 100 ).. 36 The Messianic Era (26 30 Ad) .. 37 The Preparation For Christianity .. 37 The Earthly Life And Ministry Of The Lord Jesus Christ .. 39 II The Apostolic Era (30 100 ).. 40 The Era Of Transition (30 48 ) (18 Years) .. 40 The Era Of Expansion (48 64 ) (16 Years).. 42 The Era Of Persecution (64 100 ) .. 47 A Summary Of Apostolic 50 The Era Of Transition: 100 313 213 Years .. 51 Text: Galatians 1:6 7 .. 51 Introduction .. 51 General Observations On The Persecution Of Christianity.

4 52 Opposition To Christianity .. 52 Reasons For The Antagonism Against Christianity .. 53 Christianity And The Roman Emperors .. 53 II THE HISTORICAL OUTLINE .. 54 A. The Period Of Sporadic Persecutions (100 248 ).. 54 B. The First General Persecution Throughout The Empire (249 260 ).. 55 C. The Period Of Relative Peace (260 303 ).. 55 D. The Second General Persecution Throughout The Empire (303 310 ) .. 56 E. The Edict Of Milan And Peace (313 ) .. 56 III Christianity And The Roman 56 IV The Progress Of 57 V The Rise Of Ecclesiasticism .. 58 The Distinction Between Clergy And Laity .. 58 The Rise Of The Episcopacy .. 58 The Rise Of Sacerdotalism.

5 59 60 Catholic Unity .. 61 VI Primitive And Catholic 61 Montanism .. 63 65 66 Dr. W. R. Downing Pacific Institute for Religious Studies Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley 3 VII Early Christianity And Greek 67 Theology And Philosophy.. 68 The History Of Greek Philosophy.. 71 Philosophy And The Church Fathers .. 75 VIII The Ante Nicene Church Fathers And Early Christian 78 Introduction .. 78 The Apostolic 80 The 83 The Polemicists .. 87 The Alexandrian School .. 89 The Antiochian School .. 92 The North African School .. 92 IX Heresies And Errors Of The Ante Nicene 95 Introduction .. 95 Ante Nicene Heresies .. 96 Ante Nicene Errors.

6 104 X The Canon Of 112 The Significance Of The Canonicity Of Scripture .. 113 Terms And Definitions .. 114 Determining Factors .. 116 The History Of The Canon .. 118 Xi A Summary Of The Era Of 119 Bibliography For Further 121 General History .. 121 General Church 121 Dictionaries Of Church 123 Dictionaries Of Theology .. 124 Biblical Theology .. 125 Historical Theology .. 125 Systematic Theology .. 126 Judaism .. 128 The Life Of Christ .. 128 New Testament Introduction .. 128 Commentaries Sets On The Whole Bible Or The New 129 Apostolic Church 130 Early Church 132 Baptist 134 Pre Reformation Evangelical Groups .. 134 Baptist Histories.

7 134 Baptist Doctrine And Practice .. 138 THE NATURE AND HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY .. 139 Gnosticism .. 141 Miscellaneous Works .. 141 Dr. W. R. Downing Pacific Institute for Religious Studies Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of Silicon Valley 4 EARLY Church HISTORY TO 313 AD HISTORIOGRAPHY OR PRELIMINARY ISSUES TEXTS Revelaltion 4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. This passage reveals why God created the universe and everything in it. It was and is for his own glory and good pleasure. His eternal purpose is infallible and will be realized in the new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness occupied by a redeemed humanity, completely conformed to the image of His Son (Rom.)

8 8:29; 2 Pet. 3:13). Acts 17:22 28. 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. 24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.

9 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. This passage contains the biblical and Christian philosophy of history. It commences with the one true God who is self-contained and self-suffcient. His redemptive purpose is the central focus of human hstory. Ephesians 3:1 11. For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the Grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

10 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the Grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this Grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.