II. =Its Membership.= 1. Once the church had been entirely Jewish; then it became Jewish and Gentile; now it was almost everywhere a Gentile church, with a few Jewish members, most of whom had abandoned Jewish rites and rules and were regarded by the Jews as "apostates." 2. _Its social condition_ was varied. It is a mistake to suppose that at any time the early church was composed mainly of slaves and the poorest classes. Such there were; but there were also men of wealth, of high rank, and of great influence. There is reason to believe that some relatives of the emperor, previous to 100 A. D. were banished on account of their Christian profession. The gospel had by this time permeated all classes. III. =Its Organization.= We observe in this respect a remarkable change since the period of St. Paul's ministry. Everywhere the church was hardening into an _ecclesiastical system ruled by bishops_. Bishops are first mentioned late in St. Paul's ministry (Acts 20. 28; Rev. Ver. Phil. 1. 1; 1 Tim. 3. 1-7); but it is evident that the word at that time meant no more than "elder;" otherwise the elders of Ephesus would not have been called "bishops" in Acts 20.28. But in an autocratic state the church would naturally become autocratic in its arrangement, ruled from above rather than from below. By 125 A. D. bishops were in control everywhere. IV. =Its Institutions.= Two of these require notice. 1. _The Lord's Supper._ We have seen how this began as a service in the home, like the Jewish Passover, out of which it grew (Acts 2. 46). But among Gentile churches the custom arose of celebrating it at a public meeting, as a supper to which each member brought some share of provision. See 1 Cor. 11. 20-30, an account of abuses that had arisen. By the end of the first century the supper had become a service held at the meeting place of the Christians, but not in public. All except members of the church were excluded from this service, which was held as a "mystery." 2. _The Lord's Day._ The observance of the first day of the week grew gradually, and with its growth the recognition of the Jewish sabbath declined. Note the development indicated in 1 Cor. 16. 2; Acts 20. 7; Rev. 1. 10. As the church became entirely a Gentile institution "the Lord's day" took the place of the Jewish sabbath. V. =Its Doctrinal System.= The _theology of St. Paul_, as set forth in Romans and Ephesians, was now accepted as the doctrine of the church. Notice that St. Peter (1 Pet. 1. 18-21) states the great Pauline principle of justification by faith through the blood of Christ.