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55 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Ecumenical Creeds
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any system, doctrine, or formula of religious belief, as of a denomination. Nicene creed, the Apostle’s creed.
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What content has been part of the traditional understanding of church?
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worship--our first and foremost duty and
thinking theologically about what we do when we gather for worship |
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The Nature of the Church
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We look for marks of a true church.
Protestant view has been that the institutional structure of the church is not intrinsic to its nature. Protestant view goes more with the gathered church—those who have come intentionally to a place to worship God. |
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Definition of church
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1. A building for public, especially Christian, worship.
2. Often Church a. The company of all Christians regarded as a mystic spiritual body. b. A specified Christian denomination: the Presbyterian Church. c. A congregation. 3. Public divine worship in a church; a religious service: goes to church at Christmas and Easter. 4. The clerical profession; clergy. 5. Ecclesiastical power as distinguished from the secular: the separation of church and state. |
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OT Background: Ecclesia
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translates most especially(qahal) in Hebrew, used instead of synagogue to describe Christian community
Old Testament Background to the idea of church: Ecclesia is the Greek word for church, and it shows up more than 100 times in the Septuagint. We are one with the OT saints and sit down with them in the kingdom. There’s a sense of continuity. |
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Ecclesia Greek Background
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Ecclesia was used secularly to refer to an assembly of citizens summoned to deliberate on affairs of state—an assembly. In thinking about the church, Barr, a theologian, resists the idea of saying that it’s a “calling out”. But the church is not a transient community—it has ongoing character. The word is used by Jesus twice. He didn’t use the word synagogue in order to not overly identify with Judaism. Jesus more seen as the foundation of the church then as the convener of the church.
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Communion of saints or Koinonia
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–Made possible by Incarnation
–Expressed in Lord’s Supper –Manifested in early church –Enabled by the Holy Spirit |
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Christian Church
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“The communion of saints” from the apostles creed—communio sanctorum, koinonia Avoid extremes of individualism and collectivism—God calls us by name we are not absorbed into an amorphous mass. The individual counts. But there’s no salvation of individuals in isolation but we are saved in and for fellowship with one another. The church is the mother of us all. Church is essential to being a Christian.
Fellowship: mutually enriching relationship. Nurturing relationships is necessary for development or we are stunted. The transcendent nature of the xian faith has to do with intimacy with God (incarnation, communion) and with one another as a result of our common response to God. |
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Jewett's definition of the church
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“The Christian church is the fellowship of all those who, in response to the apostolic message proclaimed in the word and sacraments, confess their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; a faith that is the gift of God’s electing grace and that works by love, this love transcending the barriers of class, race, sex, culture, and nation, so that the church may be likened to the one body having many members under Christ, who is the Head thereof.”
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Classic Marks of the Church
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shown in the Nicene Creed: One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic
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Oneness
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As protestants understand it we’re talking about oneness not of institutional—oneness refers instead to a common confession of Jesus as Lord made possible by the Holy Spirit expressed in baptism. The church is one in that the spirit enables confession that builds members into living stones. God is the one who makes us one. Evangelicals would say we’re one because we have the confession of Jesus as a fundamental commonality. Has to do with the undividedness of the church.
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Holiness
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2 meanings, first primary meaning is transcendent; above; set apart for a particular purpose. This is like God’s difference from creation—He is set apart from creation. The church is set apart from the rest of the world.The secondary derived meaning of holiness: ethical holiness. This has to do with loving others as we love God, indulging the scruples of the weak. Holiness depends on the presence of Christ and not human achievement. These two definitions are a reflection of God’s holiness.
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Catholicity
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means “according to the whole” in Greek. The church encompasses the whole geography of the world. No part of the world doesn’t belong in the church. There is no segment of humanity that doesn’t belong in the church. There’s no piece of God’s revelation to us that doesn’t belong. There’s no part of creation that doesn’t belong. All can come to know Christ. Catholic has to do with the unboundedness of the church. Tells us that the church is not a particular historical phenomenon—it refers to the extent or reach of the church. This goes against the Jewish nationalism of the OT. “No Jew, Greek, slave, free, etc.” For the church to be catholic there must be openness to other churches in other locations and other Christians.
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Apostolicity
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In both foundation and mission. This is different from the catholic view “unbroken historical succession of canonically ordained bishops going back to the original Apostles”. In the Protestant view we are looking at faithfulness to the teachings of the apostles as recorded in Scripture. However, interpretation is still required. That’s why creeds and confessions vary.
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Reformation Marks of the Church
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Did not reject the classics, but added new marks rejecting the Roman Catholic interpretation of the classic marks of the church. The reformers added new marks of the church. Oneness did not require obedience to a bishop or Pope. Scripture has a higher authority than the tradition for the reformers. Their marks were: the Gospel, the Sacraments, and discipline
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Gospel
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Reformation mark of the church: The church is where the gospel is truly preached and the sacraments are properly administered (and discipline is practiced) Scripture may be used to judge the tradition of the church. The preached word when it is rightly preached is the word of God. Salvation is available for those who hear. If it’s not in Scripture, it doesn’t matter—it’s not essential. Sola Scriptura.
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sacraments
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only two: baptism and the Lord’s supper. Sacraments were instituted by Jesus. Weeding for what’s in scripture—no scriptural evidence of other sacraments. The nature of the sacraments was also redefined.
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discipline
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lesser one. Especially in the Calvinist/Reformed tradition. Has to do with the requirements for being in the church—a certain level of integrity or standards. The neglect of discipline is the dissolution of the church. It’s not, however, in the same order of priority as the gospel and the sacraments.
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Invisible church
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It's known only to God who is a true believer.
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visible church
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those who make a profession of faith and join a church.
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Issues in the church as visible and invisible
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*Only God knows for sure who belongs to him—Allowing for God’s sovereignty in this allows people to be charitable in their judgment of others. and to accept the confession of faith and to baptize them.
*Not a distinction between church as fellowship and church as institution—acc. to Bruner. The body of Christ is not an organization or an institution. Fellowship is more important. There will be no separation until Christ makes the separation b/w the wheat and the chaff. *Problem of regenerate church membership Too rigorous an exercise of trying to discern if the confession of faith is genuine puts us in the position of playing God. As long as there isn’t heresy and not living an ungodly life. These are hard enough to determine since there isn’t solid church teaching. Indifference should not masquerade for grace and charity. |
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Church and Parachurch
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Church is fellowship where the apostolic message is given with the sacraments. Parachurches are
* Organized for a specific purpose—cuts across denominational structures *Does not generally involve administration of sacraments or gathering on Lord’s Day to proclaim Gospel. They have not called themselves churches. They have a targeted kind of ministry. *Sometimes opposed by institutional church-The church is not only present where ordained ministers are present. *Often lacks theological training—disadvantage. May fall prey to theological aberration. *Can challenge church to self-criticism—that is a good thing. The emergence of such movements can bring a wonderful contribution to the ministry of the church. However, their criticism of the church can become harmful. They disparage the church but then when their members outgrow them they can’t be part of the church because their view of it is so negative. |
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The Church Gathered for Worship
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*Worship determinative (or should be!) of our whole lives as Christians
–Worship must be the central and formative experience in the life of the Christian. Style is not what’s being discussed. Our worship shapes our witness. *Lex orandi, lex credendi? The law of prayer is the law of faith or belief. What we do as worshipping people is formative for our doctrine. *Not a comment on style of worship—it’s a way of asking where our principles come from. *Duty to serve and witness takes precedence over institutional form of church *Formal office of ministry not absolutely essential (vs. sacerdotalism)—this is a protestant point of view. Clergy are more of an instrumental and not an essential role. No mediator. All participate in worship maximally. |
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Worship
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Fellowship with God, evoking awe and reverence, and expressing devotion. Worship is for the people of God—not seeker sensitive or for the purpose of evangelism.
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Liturgy and Extemporaneity
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*Tendency to go to extremes-where we are may bear heavily on what meets our needs at different points in our lives.
*Not true that informality ensures fellowship and formality ensures reverence—by definition all proper worship should do both. Differences are because of culture, church tradition. Failures are perhaps due to the history of the denomination. These styles are no guarantees of what’s in the heart. *All Protestant churches want participation of the worshiper—they introduced singing |
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Strengths of the Liturgy
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Mystery and awe are important. Protestants have rejected that the mystery and awe are essential. Protestants who practice liturgy do so in the vernacular and with congregational participation in singing and prayers.
* Maintenance of due order * Facilitating of beauty and accuracy * Expression of wisdom and experience of the church over time * Taking on of new depths and heights as experience grows * Witnessing to a kind of stability in midst of chaotic existence BUT — may become rote and mechanical |
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Strengths of Spontaneity
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*Openness to immediate impulse of the Spirit
*Probably the nature of the earliest Christian worship (cf. 1 Cor. 14)—like current Pentecostal forms. *May counter image of worship as stuffy and remote BUT — may become self-indulgent and disorderly—emotionalism without content that loses the awesomeness of an encounter with God. |
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Lex orandi, lex credendi
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the law of prayer is the law of faith or belief.
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Worship and Aesthetics
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The beautiful cannot be isolated from the good and true
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Problems with worship and aesthetics
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*stewardship
*need for appreciation for cultural differences *desirability of developing taste |
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adiaphora
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things that are indifferent--don't matter. e.g. arrangement of chairs
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Debate of necessity or ordination
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Catholics believe the there is a gift bestowed at ordination and that the apostolic succession gives the sacrament its validity.
Protestants believe that God's word retains its power regardless of the moral purity of the one performing the sacrament. |
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Extremes of Sermon Preaching
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too academic or too wedded to evangelism
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Crisis of the sermon
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proliferation of knowledge, proliferation of visual media, effects of migratory congregations, resistance to sermon as an authoritative utterance, revival of charismatic gifts, lack of committment by preachers
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Easter
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The seed of the Christian year--something we celebrate every Sunda
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Advent
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a season of longing for the redemmer and repentance. Apocalyptic. We await His return as we remember his incarnation.
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Pentecost Cycle
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Marked by a concern that we might know the power of the resurrection.
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Trinity Cycle
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Trinity Sunday is the one day of the church year that is not related to a historical event. It is eternal
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the sabbath
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The Christian year rest on dependence of a divinely instituted ritual of time.
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Call to Worship
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Represents God's call to God's people--it's an immediate focus on worshipping God.
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Benediction
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a blessing
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Declaration of Pardon
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God's word is good news and he pardons repentant sinners.
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Architectural implications
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secondary is Protestant worship--time is more important than place. The church is not fundamentally an institution nor a building.
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ordinance
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something ordained or decreed by God
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sacrament
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a holy ordinance instituted by Christ
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Sacramentum
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comes from Latin meaning an oath or a vow such as a Roman soldier might take. A vow to renounce the world.
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Sacraments as belonging to the church
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should be rightly practiced in the explicit context of the worship of the church
should be taken in order and reverently should be in a public setting |
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Cognitive-Symbolical View
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faith is a saving grace that does involve knowledge. In the sacraments we appropriate by faith through conscious means the grace conferred in the sacraments. Protestant view
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Causal-Sacramental View
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mysterious grace that comes to us without our understanding of it. The sacrament works by its own power and contains grace given to the recipient of the sacrament.
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ex opere operato
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from the work comes the work
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baptism
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is by definition the sacrament of initiation into the Christian church--someone should always be baptized into the church
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forms of baptism
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dipping, pouring, sprinkling
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infant baptism
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for protestants: consideration of the family rather than the individual--a covenant sign because faith itself is the gift of God, who takes the initiative with us
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problems with infant baptism
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must practice confirmation:persons must somehow confess their own faith
nominalism is also a problem the thought of it being magical, like a vaccine for some parents. |
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The grace of baptism
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-engrafting into Christ and Christ's church
-redemption from the power of sin--new life in Christ -engagement to be the Lord's |
