Lecture 17: What Christians Believe about the Church

Question 1

Defining the Term ‘Church’

Answer 1

• The Word church can refer to:
  Church buildings
  Church services
  The institution of the church

But ‘church’ refers to the people of God

Question 2

What is the Church?

Answer 2

• Ekklesia: a Greek term meaning ‘called out’ or ‘called forth’
• commonly used in reference to the inhabitants of a city congregating together for political purposes
  1. the Church is the people of God together
  2. the Church is instituted by Christ
  3. The Church is constituted by the Spirit
  4. The primary distinguishing characteristic of the church is the presence of the Spirit

Question 3

The Purpose of the Church

Answer 3

• The purpose of the church is to be the primary instrument by which God brings his kingdom to earth
• the church exists for the sake of those outside its walls
• the church accomplishes its purpose through its roles as herald, servant, and mystical communion

Question 4

The Church as Herald

Answer 4

• The church is called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the world

Question 5

The Church as Servant

Answer 5

• The church is called to serve the world

Question 6

The Church as Mystical Communion

Answer 6

The church is called to unite its members with one another and with God

Question 7

The 4 Marks of the Church

Answer 7

• we can speak of 4 primary distinguishing characteristics of the church, as seen in the Nicene Creed:
• we believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church

Question 8

The Church is One

Answer 8

• The entire church throughout space and time is united as one body
• within the church, all the diverse members come together as one people

Question 9

The Church is Holy

Answer 9

• The church has been set apart, and its members have been purified by the blood of Christ

Question 10

The Church is catholic

Answer 10

• the church is universal. it is not merely local, particular, or partial
• all local manifestations of the church across time and space are part of the same universal church and share in its universality

Question 11

The Church is Apostolic

Answer 11

1. The church originated with the apostles, on whom it was founded
2. the church preserves the teaching of the apostles
3. The church continues to have the spiritual authority of the apostles? (NO) - apostolic succession

Question 12

Problems with Apostolic Succession

Answer 12

1. No church has continued wth an unbroken line of apostolic succession up to the present
2. Apostolic succession does not guarantee orthodoxy or faithfulness
3. The early church didnt believe that it had the same authority as the apostles
4. if the contemporary church holds the status and authority of the apostles, then it hold the same level of authority as Scripture

Question 13

5 Takeaways

Answer 13

1. the church is not comprised of a bunch of individual Christians. It is the people of God together
2. The primary distinguishing characteristic of the church is the presence of the Spirit. And the church continues to exist only so long as the Spirit continues to uphold it
3. The purpose of the church is to be the instrument by which God brings his kingdom to earth
4. The church does not exist for its own sake, it exists for the sake of those who are not members
5. The Church should always be held to the standard of being one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church/