At the beginning of the church age, the saints were very simple. They did not yet have the New Testament, and very few had copies of the Old Testament. Furthermore, they did not have hymn books. However, one thing is certain: they all had the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. In the early days of the church life, there were not so many doctrines, practices, or ways to work for the Lord. Instead, the saints simply enjoyed the Spirit who lived and dwelt in their spirit. This made them a different kind of people. Before they were saved, they were in the condition described by Paul in Ephesians 2:1-3. But after they were saved, converted, and regenerated, they became another kind of people, a people indwelt by the all-inclusive Spirit.
Those in the early church were known by the fact that they called on the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 9:14 says that Saul had authority from the chief priests to bind all who called on the name of the Lord. This practice of calling on the name of the Lord Jesus was the sign of a believer in Christ. The unbelievers could easily recognize a Christian by the fact that he called on the Lord’s name. I have no doubt that the early Christians daily called upon the name of the Lord.
In 1:2 Paul refers to this matter: “To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, theirs and ours.” This verse indicates that, on the one hand, the believers are a called people, for they have been called by God. On the other hand, they are a calling people, for they call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been called by God to call on the Lord’s name. According to this verse, the believers called on the Lord’s name “in every place.”
In addition to calling on the name of the Lord, those in the early church did a great deal of speaking about the Lord Jesus. They spoke about Him to one another and to the unbelievers. Their speaking was a way of prophesying, the kind of prophesying emphasized in the New Testament. Unlike the prophets in the Old Testament, those who believe in Christ do not need to wait for the Spirit of the Lord to come upon them in order to prophesy. From the time we first called on the name of the Lord, Christ as the living Spirit has been in our spirit. For this reason, Paul could say, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (6:17). How marvelous that the Spirit is mingled with our spirit! Furthermore, this spirit is subject to us (14:32). Because our spirit is subject to us, there is no longer the need to wait for the Spirit to come upon us. Instead, we simply need to exercise our spirit. Surely the Christians in the beginning of the church life exercised their spirit to speak to one another and to unbelievers on behalf of the Lord.
How simple were the saints in the early days of the church life! In their meetings there must have been a great deal of calling, speaking, singing, and praising. According to Ephesians 5:19, they spoke to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with their heart to the Lord.
Whenever we gather together in the meetings of the church, we should exhibit what we daily enjoy of the Lord. In an exhibition people manifest or display something they have or have produced. It is possible to exhibit only what we have, not what we do not have. The proper Christian meeting should be an exhibition of our Christian life. It should be a display of the riches of Christ we experience in our daily walk. If we exercise our spirit to contact the Lord daily, then in the church meetings we shall have something of Christ to share with the saints.