Ecclisiology – The Church

1. Ecclisiology – The Church

3. Starting a revolution – it’s all about love.

4. Joh 13:34"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

6. Joh 13:35"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

8. Matthew 24:10-13

9. (10) "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.

10. (11) "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.

11. (12) "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love (agape) will grow cold.

12. (13) "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

14. **We talked about the two main promises of God we need to build this church:

16. DEFINITION: Hebrew • qahal, “an assembly, gathering,” used as noun 123x; translated by ekklesia in LXX • In 36 instances, translated by sunagoge • Verb used 39x • Used to refer to groups in general, such as those gathered for military purposes, judicial purposes • ‘eda, “assembly, congregation, multitude” practically synonymous with qahal

17. DEFINITION: Greek • ekklesia, “gathering or assembly, church”; • prior to NT used almost exclusively for secular assemblies • from ek(out of) and kaleo (call) • The calling out of citizens to attend to the discussion of public business

18. DEFINITION: Greek • In a local sense nearly 40 times; e.g., Acts 5:11 • In a generic sense, i.e., of an institution: Matt. 18:17; I Cor. 12:28; I Tim. 3:15; James 5:14 • In a collective sense, i.e., an organized mass of believers (perhaps what later theologians refer to as the Visible Church); Acts 8:3; I Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13; Phil. 3:6 • To the Church extended abroad, Acts 9:31 • “Church” is used in the broadest sense: all believers (perhaps what later theologians refer to as the Invisible Church) Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18

19. DEFINITION: Greek • Miscellaneous uses: • An assembly in the desert (O.T.) Acts 7:38 • An unruly “mob” gathering, Acts 19:32,39,41 • To refer to kingly gathering for liturgical praise, Hebrews 2:12 • Some difficult usages: • Matt. 16:18, the Church Militant • Acts 20:28, the assembly in Ephesus

20. DEFINITION: • Three basic meanings: • Local gathering of believers, The Visible Church • Collective number of professing Christians, The Visible Church • Sum total of all believers, The Invisible Church

21. DEFINITION: Other Words • circe, Saxon • kirk, Scottish • kirche, German • All of these are most likely derived from kuriakos, “of the Lord, the Lord’s”

22. DEFINITION: Confessional • L.C. # 62, “The visible church is a society made up of all such as in all ages and places of the world do profess the true religion and of their children.” WCF, 25:2 • L.C. # 64, “The invisible church is the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one under Christ the head.” WCF, 25:1

23. THE CHURCH FROM BELOW • The Church is a natural community • It fulfills many socialization needs • There is recognizable fellowship in the Church • There is a sense of community which is foundational (not a luxury, but a necessity)

24. THE CHURCH FROM BELOW • The Church is a political community • There are socially ordered relationships and patterns of authority and decision-making • It is not a question of whether politics will exist in the Church; rather, it is only a question of the quality of the politics • “Ol’ Boy” networks often are alive and well. This is not entirely negative, but can have some negative considerations • There are positive considerations as well

25. THE CHURCH FROM BELOW • A community of common language: meanings, priorities, and values. This becomes conventional for the “In-Group” • A community of Interpretation: • Common meanings • The difficulty of translation • A community of memory and understanding: • Characterized by an inner continuity and empathy among persons who have understood and relived the same events. It has a shared story.

26. THE CHURCH FROM BELOW • The Church is a community of action and belief: it espouses a mission or a purpose which can be expressed in many forms of action • Evangelism • Education • Edification • Worship

27. THE CHURCH FROM BELOW • A sociological description of church:the church is a body of persons who share some measure of common life, values, meaning, and loyalty. It has an historical continuity, identifiable by certain beliefs, ways of work, rites, outlooks, and feelings. It may be more; But it is at least the above.

28. THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD • The First Church: Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church; Protestant churches in Eastern Europe, Greece, Middle East, Ethiopia, South India • The culture tolerates Christianity at best; in some instances, governments are openly antagonistic • There is a certain reliance on the spiritual legacy of what has gone before. In some instances, this substitutes for vital Christianity • There are examples (e.g., Poland, Russia) of a renewal of traditional Christian churches.

29. 1. Salvation through faith in Christ– eternal life

30. Matthew 16:15-18

31. (15) He *said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

32. (16) Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

33. (17) And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

34. (18) "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. • You are the Christ, Son of the Living God – John 3:16

35. 2. The anointing – The Baptism of the Holy SpiritActs 1:4

36. (4) Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;

37. Acts 1:8

38. (8) but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

40. If you Love, you will be compelled to share your faith!

41. 1 Corinthians 12:4-20

42. (4) Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

43. (5) And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

44. (6) There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

45. (7) But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

46. (8) For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

47. (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

48. (10) and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

49. (11) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.