patterns in the early church and what they tell us about the divine status of Jesus. His conclusion is that early Christian worship shows a clear veneration of Jesus as the God of Israel in human form. Jesus was treated as a recipient of devotion and was associated with God in often striking ways. Such devotion to Jesus as divine “erupted suddenly and quickly, not gradually and late, among first-century circles of followers” and exhibited “an unparalleled intensity and diversity of expression.”
