Condensed Theology

A Primer in Systematic Theology

Ecclesiology: The Doctrine of the Church

What does the Bible teach about the church?

A Beginning Definition

Defining the Church

The

church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ. Eph 5:25b: Christloved the church and gave Himself up for her. Acts 20:28: Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

All those Christ died to redeem are defined as the church.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ.
Rom 3:25-26: whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

All those Christ died to redeem are defined as the church.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

In the Septuagint (LXX; the Greek Old Testament), the term evkklhsi,a (ekklsa, assembly, church) is used to translate the Hebrew term that refers to the gathered people of God. It is not accidental that the writers of the New Testament, whose Bible was the LXX chose this term to refer to the gathered people of Jesus Christ.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ. Deut 4:10: Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ. Acts 7:38: This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ. Heb 2:12: saying, "I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE." Ps 22:22: I will tell of Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ. Heb 12:22-23: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

Matt 18:17: If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Jesus here understands the term church in Jewish terms, which is why the excommunicated sinner is termed a Gentile and tax collector.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

John 10:16: I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. John 11:52: and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

1 Pet 2:9-10: But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

Defining the Church

The church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

Eph 2:12-19: remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household.

Defining the Church

The

church is the assembly of the true and living God gathered into one people by his work of redemption in Jesus Christ.

The Attributes of the Church

Attributes of the Church

Because there was a rapid and immediate departure from apostolic doctrine following the death of the apostles, early church fathers felt the need to determine attributes by which the true church could be identified. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church (Nicene Creed).

Attributes of the Church

1. 2. 3. 4.

One Holy Catholic Apostolic

The Attributes of the Church

Unity: OneChurch

Attributes of the Church: Unity

The church has one head: the Lord Jesus Christ. Eph 1:22: And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave [Christ] as head over all things to the church.

Attributes of the Church: Unity

The church has one Spirit: the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 12:13: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Attributes of the Church: Unity

The church has one foundation: the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 3:11: For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Attributes of the Church: Unity

The church is one. Eph 4:4-6: There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. John 10:16: I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. Gal 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Attributes of the Church: Unity

The unity of the church is not only something that is true of the church, But something that ought to be kept and pursued by the church. Rom 15:5-6: Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Attributes of the Church: Unity

The unity of the church is not only something that is true of the church, But something that ought to be kept and pursued by the church. Eph 4:3: being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Phil 2:2: make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

Attributes of the Church: Unity

The unity of the church is not only something that is true of the church, But something that ought to be kept and pursued by the church. John 17:20-23: I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

The Attributes of the Church: Unity

Unity is not uniformity (1 Corinthians 12) Unity is not to be achieved at the expense of sound doctrine (1 Cor 1:10-13). Unity is not merely invisible, spiritual unity (John 17:22-23). Unity is not the same thing as antidenominationalism, or non-denominationalism non-denominational churches can be even more sectarian than traditional denominations (every church is its own denomination).

The Attributes of the Church

Sanctity: HolyChurch

The Attributes of the Church: Sanctity

Like personal sanctification, the church is holy both definitively and progressively.

The Attributes of the Church: Sanctity

The church is holy because it has been sanctified by Christ. 1 Pet 2:9: But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. John 17:15-19: I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

The Attributes of the Church: Sanctity

The church is holy because it has been sanctified by Christ. 1 Cor 1:1-2: Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. 1 Cor 3:16-17: Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

The Attributes of the Church: Sanctity

The church is holy because it has been sanctified by Christ. Eph 5:25-27: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

The Attributes of the Church: Sanctity

The church is also called to holiness 2 Cor 6:14 -7:1: Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty. 7:1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Attributes of the Church: Sanctity

The church is also called to holiness 1 Pet 1:15-16: but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY. Eph 4:24: and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

The Attributes of the Church: Sanctity

Sanctity does not involve excluding fellow Christians (nowhere in the Bible are Christians called to divide with one another over issues of doctrinal or practical purity, except in the final step of punitive church discipline). Sanctity is not absolute purity this side of glory: The purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture and error, and some have degenerated so much that they have ceased to be churches of Christ and have become synagogues of Satan (Confession 26.3).

The Attributes of the Church: Sanctity

Doctrinal and practical heresy Church A: Holy Church B: Holier Church C: Holiest

The Attributes of the Church

Catholicity: CatholicChurch

The Attributes of the Church: Catholic

The term catholic is derived from the Latin catholicam, which means universal (not Roman Catholic; as such Roman Catholic is a conflicted moniker). The church is universal in three ways:

Geographically catholic Socio-economically catholic Ethnically catholic

The Attributes of the Church: Catholic

Geographic Catholicism

Acts 1:8: 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. Rom 10:18: But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; "THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD. Col 1:23b: the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

The Attributes of the Church: Catholic

Geographic Catholicism

Rom 15:19-20: in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation. Rom 15:24: whenever I go to Spain-- for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while.

The Attributes of the Church: Catholic

Socio-economic Catholicism
Gal 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Col 3:11: a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

The Attributes of the Church: Catholic

Ethnic Catholicism
Gal 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Col 3:11: a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

The Attributes of the Church: Catholic

Ethnic Catholicism

Matt 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit Rev 5:9-10: And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. Rev 7:9: After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands.

The Attributes of the Church: Catholic

The new Together for the Gospel document expresses the catholicity of the church well when it says, We affirm that God calls his people to display his glory in the reconciliation of the nations within the Church, and that Gods pleasure in this reconciliation is evident in the gathering of believers from every tongue and tribe and people and nation. We acknowledge that the staggering magnitude of injustice against African-Americans in the name of the Gospel presents a special opportunity for displaying the repentance, forgiveness, and restoration promised in the Gospel. We further affirm that evangelical Christianity in America bears a unique responsibility to demonstrate this reconciliation with our African-American brothers and sisters (Article XVII).

The Attributes of the Church

Apostolicity: Apostolic Church

The Attributes of the Church: Apostolic

The church is apostolic in the sense that it is founded on the doctrine preached by the apostles with the authority of Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Eph 2:20: having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone. Acts 2:42: They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. John 17:20: I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.

The Attributes of the Church: Apostolic

The church is apostolic in the sense that it is founded on the doctrine preached by the apostles with the authority of Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Gal 1:6-9: I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

The Attributes of the Church: Apostolic

The church is apostolic in the sense that it is founded on the doctrine preached by the apostles with the authority of Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Matt 10:40: He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. Rev 21:14: And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The Attributes of the Church: Apostolic

The church is apostolic in the sense that it is founded on the doctrine preached by the apostles with the authority of Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. John 14:26: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 16:13: But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 2 Thess 2:15: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 2 Thess 3:6: Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

Attributes of the Church

1. 2. 3. 4.

One Holy Catholic Apostolic