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Church Life: AD 150  /  Sabbath  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 2
Justin Martyr links Sunday worship to both creation (“the first day on which God made the world”) and resurrection; what does that connection suggest about God’s purposes in history—creation, new creation, and how God wants His people to remember Him?
Another way to ask: Justin Martyr ties Sunday to both creation and Jesus’ resurrection. What does that say about what God is doing in history and how He wants His people to remember Him?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests early Christians saw Sunday as a weekly reminder that the God who created the world also began the “new creation” through Jesus’ resurrection. Worship on Sunday was meant to keep both God’s original work and His saving work in front of the church.

Support from Transcript:

  • Justin Martyr: “Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly because it is the first day on which God made the world. And Jesus Christ… rose from the dead on that same day.”
  • Bercot emphasizes Sunday as “the first day of the week,” but also “in another sense… the eighth day,” pointing beyond the first creation.
  • Barnabas connects the “eighth day” to “a beginning of another world,” and says “we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again.”
  • Justin says the “eighth day” has “mysterious significance” beyond the seventh.
  • Cyprian links the “eighth day” theme to “circumcision of the Spirit,” connecting resurrection day with spiritual renewal.
Discussion Follow-ups If Sunday is meant to anchor both creation and resurrection, how should that shape what a church emphasizes in its teaching, prayers, and “rejoicing”?

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