The nature of the church / The aspect of the church / The ministry of the church

·         The nature of the ch

·         The aspect of the ch

·         The ministry of the ch

 

How would you define the Church?

 

 I.        The Nature of the Ch

The ch is the people of G called out to be faithful to him. (holy and blameless before Him)

Eph 1:1, 3-6

 

-> The ch is the elect, those joined to Christ, in eternity past and through eternity future.

 

 

A.    Two perspectives

1.     The visible ch

The ch as man sees it, therefore all who credibly profess faith in Christ

 

2.     The invisible ch

"The church as God sees it" (Grudem)

G knows for sure who is truly joined to Christ by faith, for he can see people's hearts. We cannot, for the heart is invisible to us.

 

A.    Geographical extent:

1.     The local Ch

2.     The early Christians met mostly in homes, in house churches

 

3.     The city Ch

There were the ch of Rome, the ch of Corinth, the ch of Antioch

 

4.     The universal Ch

There is the universal ch, the whole body of believers throughout the world.

 

 

 

II.    The aspects of the ch

 

A.   Metaphors:

1.     The family of G

It stresses the intimacy of life in the ch

 

2.     The bride of Christ

We will be presented spotless to J at the marriage supper of the lamb.

 

3.     The body of Christ

It stresses the unity of the ch with Christ and the unity of each Christian with all the others; branches of the vine.

 

4.     The temple of the living G

We are individually and corporately the temple, and we are living stones held together by J the chief cornerstone.

 

 

B.    Creedal confessions:

In the Nicene Creed "I believing in… one holy, catholic, and apostolic ch"

1.     The ch is one.

2.     Paul teaches that the ch is one body in Christ, with one Lord, one faith, one baptism. But J prayed for the unity of the ch (Jn 17)

·         God has made it one, but the commands us to seek oneness.

 

1.     Spiritual unity

2.     Organizational unity

 

! We have many denomination.

 

1.     The church is holy.

·         The churches referred to in the NT as "the saints" does not imply that every member is sinlessly perfect.

·         But G bought us to be his, to be associated with him as his servants, sons, and daughters.

 "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

·         Since G is holy, anyone associated with him in those ways is also hily, ……..

 

2.     The ch is catholic.

The word catholic simply means "universal."

The ch no longer belongs only to one nation or race, fulfilling G's promise to Ab that ….

 

3.     The ch is apostolic

The early christians "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and the prayers"

 

The ch must always be

·         In fellowship with the apostles

·         Believing the apostles' teaching

·         Following the apostles' example

 

 

What is the distinctive marks of the true Church?

 

C.        Marks:

1.     Love (Jn 13:35)

·         Discipline, not just affirmation, is a form of love.

 

2.     Worship

·         The meeting between G and israel is called "the day of the assembly(qahal, sometimes translated congregation)"

·         In a sense, this is the beginning of the church, the name from the worshiping community gathered around Mount Sinai.

·         False churches do not worship G in Spirit and truth (Jn 4:24)

·         Worship includes the sacraments.

 

3.     The Great Commission

·         Christ command in Mt 28:19-20 is the central task of the ch, to evangelize, nurture, and promote worship

·         No ch can possibly be the ch if it is not doing this.

·         The Great commission includes the preaching of the Word.

 

 

D.    Structure of government;

1.     The offices

a.     The apostle

·         The highest office was the apostle

·         They had seen the risen chrsit and were appinted by him to be theoffical witnesses to his resurrection.

·         Scriputre do

 

 

b.     Elder, Pastor, and Bishop

·         The three words are interchangeable titles of the same office.

·         This is the ruling office charged with setting and administering the rules of the ch, subject to the Word of G

·         Some among the elders are official teachers who "labor in preaching and teaching"(1tm 5:17)

 

c.     Deacons

·         The qualifications of deacons are largely spiritual and moral; identical to those of elders with the exception that elders are required to be "able to teach" and deacons are not.

·         Traditionally they have been associated with the seven men appointed to the ministry of mercy in Acts 6.

 

2.     Systems:

a.     Episcopal system

·         Roman Catholic ch, the ch of England, the worldwide Anglican communion, and the various other ch called episcopal.

·         The churches in a region are under the authority of one man, called a bishop.

·         The bishop has power to consecrate and appoint other officers, following the model of the apostles and Ti

 

b.     Presbyterian systme

·         Reformed or presbyterian churches.

·         Plurality of elders in every ch elected by the people.

·         The elders meet as the ruling body of each particular church, and the elders of a region meet together as a broader….

 

c.     Congregational / independent system

·         Baptis churches as weel as Congregational and independent churches

·         No ch government beyond the individual congreatgions.

·         The local governing body may be called elders or deacons, or both.

·         Usually a voluntray organizations of churches, involiving …

 

 

III.        The ministry of the Ch

 

A.    Church and the kingdom

1.     The gospel and the kingdom