1.23k likes | 1.98k Views
Doctrine of the Church. The Church is a term which designates a totally unique group of believers who at the moment of salvation were called out of the cosmic system of Satan.
E N D
The Church is a term which designates a totally unique group of believers who at the moment of salvation were called out of the cosmic system of Satan
and were placed into union with the Lord Jesus Christ through the Baptism of the Spirit and as a result have been provided with totally unique privileges and opportunities to glorify God.
Pre-Canon: Before the New Testament was completed (Book Acts 30-96 A.D.)
Post-Canon: After the New Testament was completed (Epistles of New Testament 96 A.D.-Rapture)
Preposition ek (ek), “out from.”Verb kaleo (kalevw), “to call.”
As a secular term, he ekklesia was a technical term for the lawful assembly of free Greek citizens met to transact public affairs.
It is attested from Eurpides and Herodotus onwards (5th century B.C.) and denotes in the usage of antiquity the popular assembly of the competent full citizens of the polis, “city.”
Thus, ekklesia, centuries before the LXX and the New Testament was clearly characterized as a political phenomenon, repeated according to certain rules and within a certain framework.
Ekklesia did not pass immediately from the heathen world to the Christian church; the LXX supplied the point of transition.
Ekklesia, wherever it appears by itself as an ecclesiological term, is to be understood as an abbreviation of the original term ekklesiatou theou, “the church of God.”
The New Thayers Greek Lexicon lists the following meanings for the word (pages 195-196):A gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly
a company of Christians, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake
those who anywhere, in city or village, constitute such a company and are united into one body
the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth; collectively, all who worship and honor God and Christ in whatever place they may be.
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature pages 240-241:Assembly, as a regularly summoned political bodyAssemblage, gathering, meeting
The congregation of the Israelites, especially gathered for religious purposes
A church meetingThe church or congregation as the totality of Christians living in one place
Of house-churchesThe church universal, to which all believers belongThe local church
The use of sunagoge in the early 1st century church declined because it was permanently associated with the dispensation of the client nation of Israel, while the use of ekklesia increased, not only because it was already familiar but also because it had an honorable meaning in Greek culture.
The members of these 1st Christian congregations came in a large degree from the Jewish synagogues which consisted of both Jews and proselytes.
The 1st and 2nd century Christians did not employ synagogue as a term to describe themselves in order to avoid being identified with the client nation of Israel since the latter belong to an entirely different dispensation.
Therefore, the term ekklesia was employed by the New Testament writers as a technical term to designate a totally unique group of believers who at the moment of salvation were called out of the cosmic system of Satan
and were placed into union with the Lord Jesus Christ through the Baptism of the Spirit and as a result have been provided with totally unique privileges and opportunities to glorify God.
The ekklesia began with the Baptism of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost in June of 30 A.D. (Acts 2), and will leave this earth at the Rapture (1 Th. 4:13-17).
Israel had a "shadow" Christology and Church has a "historical" Christology.
Baptism of the SpiritPlan of God for the church ageEqual Privilege and Equal OpportunityPortfolio of Invisible AssetsRoyal Commisions
Mystery doctrineIndwelling of the Trinity100% Availability of divine powerNo ProphecyInvisible Heroship
Election is the expression of the sovereign will of God regarding escrow blessings and the provision of Equal Privilege and Equal Oppurtunity to attain them..
Israel (Deut. 7:6-7; 10:15; 14:2; Isa. 14:1; 44:1; 45:4; 48:12; Isa. 65:9; Ezek. 20:5; Psa. 135:4; Acts 13:17; 15:7; Rom. 11:5, 7, 28).
Christ (Isa. 42:1; Matt. 12:18; Luke 9:35; 23:35; 1 Pet. 2:4-6).
Church (Rom. 8:30, 33; 9:24-26; 1 Cor. 1:27; Eph. 1:4, 18; 4:1, 4; Phil. 3:14; Col. 3:12, 15; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; 2:10; Tit. 1:1; Heb. 3:1; James 2:5; 1 Pet. 1:1, 15; 2:4, 9, 21; 3:9; 5:10, 13; 2 Pet. 1:3, 10; Rev. 17:14).
In sharing the destiny of Christ, the church age believer as Royal Family of God resides in the operational type spiritual life (royal palace) as the only means of fulfilling the plan of God for the church age.
Possession of the operational type spiritual life or royal palace (Rom. 8:29).
Provision of the plan of God for the church age for every church age believer (Eph. 1:11).
Equal Privilege and Equal Oppurtunity to fulfill the plan of God for the church age and receive the distribution of Escrow Blessings (Eph. 1:3-6, emphasis on the word predestination in verse 5).
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed (theopneustos) and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
At the moment of salvation, the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit places the church age believer in an eternal union with Christ,
thus identifying the believer with Christ and making them a permanent member of the Royal Family of God, a new spiritual species and eternally secure
(Mark 16:16; John 7:37-39; 14:20; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-28; Eph. 4:5; Col. 2:11-13; 1 Pet. 3:21).
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the noun identification, “a process by which a person ascribes to himself the qualities or charcteristics of another person.”
There are 2 identifications in the New Testament as related to baptizo: RitualReal
Ritual identification is the act of immersing or submerging oneself in water in the ritualistic sense such as Pre-Canon Christian water baptism, Baptism of Jesus, Baptism of John.
Real identification is the act of identifying one thing with another as in the Baptism of the Spirit, Baptism of Moses, Baptism of Fire, Baptism of the Cross.
The Baptism of the Spirit never took place before the day of Pentecost in June of 30 A.D. and will not take place after the Rapture.