Unit 5: Ecclesiology Flashcards
Ecclesiology:
- The study of the church
- Ecclesia: the called out ones, the gathered ones
Notes about ecclesiology.
- Easy to neglect but would neglect one of God’s great gifts
- last decade or two people love Jesus but embarrassed by His people
– the church can hurt people yet we do not get the option not to love her - Spurgeon: church is “dearest place on earth”
- 1 & 2 Peter - letters about suffering - Elect Exiles - part of dispersion - lost nearly everything
Elect Exiles:
- 1 & 2 Peter
- Elect = chosen, entails a home (adopted)
- Exiles = exact opposite
- we are both –> feeling this cannot be all that there is, homesickness feel this with the church –> church = closest to heaven
How does our idea of the church need to change?
- Not a place where my felt needs are met: a place to be
- A people who make sur that I get there: a people to belong to
Why is ecclesiology a unique doctrine?
- Will need to make ecclesiological decisions
- bent toward practical application
- pragmatism (what works) has ruined decisions in the church
- must separate ontology (IS) from function (does)
- college students have passion about what church out to do but they do not know what the church is
- God has not given us a blueprint of what the church is
What problems did the protestants face about what a church is?
- Protestants disagreed how much to break away from the Church
- Had to ask ecclesiological question s
- Calvin: Right preaching of word and right administration of sacraments
What is the Church? (definition)
A local church is a group of Christians who regularly gather in Christ’s name to officially affirm and oversee one another’s membership in Jesus Christ
What are Dr. Kurt’s thoughts on the local church definition?
Likes
1. To group of believers: new community is not mixed (Baptist understanding) regenerate church membership
2. Regular gathering
3. Congregational oversight & affirmation: THE thing the church does - the congregation
4. In Christ’s Name: Local manifestation of universal, embassies of the kingdom, should show what like to be citizens of the kingdom
5. Tools of affirmation and oversight: the word & ordinances
Would change: Sacraments instead of ordinances & spell out relationship between universal and local church
Ecclesial Grammer
- Universal vs. local
- Invisible vs. visible
- Gathered vs. scattered
- Organism vs. organization
- Prescriptive vs. Descriptive
- Regulative vs. Normative principle
Universal vs. Local:
- Universal: church of all time: all people everywhere across all time who are believers are members of this church
- Local: part of universal church that is identifiable - local manifestation of universal
Invisible vs. Visible:
- Invisible: elect currently saved and alive: no one can truly know but God
- Visible: accounted for in some way (ie membership) - identifiable, they have made their faith known they have made themselves someone else’s responsibility
Gathered vs. Scattered:
- Gathered: ecclesia - gathered body of believer who act as an assembly
- Scattered: Christians who leave gathered to go back to lives
- there are rights and privileges ONLY belong to gathered: Lord’s supper, baptism, discipline
Organism vs. Organization:
- Organism: Living individuals who make up the organization
- Organization: corporate identity that isn’t alive itself
- Important: we often confuse passions of organism for mission of organization
– mission of church is Matthew 28, we can move focus from gospel to something else no matter how good
– organization should equip organisms to follow God-given passions, the ministry of the people
Prescriptive vs. Descriptive:
- We do not have line by line blueprints but letters to churches and pastors that we must use wisely
- Prescriptive: Biblical command to church - what we must do, if not being disobedient
- Descriptive: Biblical account of what happened but not a burden t follow
- Difference determined by tone and context
Regulative vs. Normative Principle:
- Was common a long time ago
- The answer to the question what should we do when we gather (no black & white, must be wise)
- Normative: (Luther) Bible norm everything not allowed to do, that is, can do what the Bible not prohibit, live very open - no sin/ not wise
- Regulative: (Calvin) Only do what the Bible commands, regulated by positive commands
– not all agree with each other but do agree to five: preaching, prayer, reading scripture, signing spiritual songs, administration of sacraments (some want to include 6th - oaths {covenants/catechisms}
Church Polity:
How the church governs herself
- What it means that Jesus gave the disciples the keys of the kingdom
Why is church polity hard in America?
- Americans like freedom (not told what to d)
- Americans like free enterprise (harder to grow fast with polity)
– Problem: what you win them with you win them to (cheap discipleship –> weak faith) - Many say adiaphoron: useless thing
Why is church polity and government NOT adiaphoron?
- God wants to be worshiped (1st commandment) & cares how He is worshiped (2nd commandment)
- What have idolized sincerity - this does NOT trump
- Disorder is not right (God not God of confusion), Nadab & Abihu’s fire, Saul’s sacrifice, Uzzah & the ark
- Yet God has not given us a step by step so we need: explicit exegesis, implicit biblical reasoning, and putting pieces together
What are the types of church polity and government and what do they have in common?
- Episcopalianism, Presbyterianism, Congregationalism
- In common:
1) Christ is the head: everything built on Him and going to Him, under shepherds must not take bride’s eyes off of Groom m
2) What deacons are: serve needs of people, care takers
Episcopalianism:
3 Offices
- Bishop: Authority
- Priests: function of local congregation (one or many)
- Deacons: form parish (local church) under priest(s)
- Parishes form dioceses controlled by bishop
- Church of England: Archbishop of Canterbury leading entire Church of England
- Roman Catholic: Pope (Bishop of Rome) over archbishops/cardinals
- Roman Catholic, Episcopal Church, Methodists, & Most Eastern orthodox, Anglicans, Pentecostals
Presbyterianism:
2 Offices
- Elders: Rule - usually plurality
- Deacons
- (3) two kinds of elders: teaching (preach, equip, disciple, sacraments), & ruling (administrative) in each local body
- Local churches form Presbyteries that make decisions for churches
- Presbyteries form Synods
- Synods form the General Assembly (MAJOR Decisions)
Authority: Disagreement - Church’s elders or at Presbyteries
PCA “conservative,” PCUSA “liberal,” OPC, RCA, Reformed Churches
Congregationalism:
2 Offices
- Elders: “Pastor” singular or plurality
- Deacon
Authority: Congregation
- Governing body 100% voluntary associations/conventions - has no authority over churches
Important Doctrines
1) Doctrine of Church autonomy: no church can tell another church what to do
2) Priesthood of all believers: because of Holy Spirit confident Congregation make right decisions
3) Way determining will of Authority: must know what the majority wants (ie voting)
- Baptist: 4) Separation of church and state (for all religions) because of autonomy
- Critique: Not in harmony with Bible because not submit to Elders
- Not convinced: Bible gives unique power to congregation (esp discipline) so give congregation certain jobs
Fourth Fake Model of Church Polity and Government
Pastor is CEO and Deacons are above him like a board of trustees - NOT BIBLICAL
What are the qualifications of pastor/elder/overseer?
- 1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:5, 1 Pet 5
1) Wants to be an elder: important because very hard, must deeply want to be there
2) Not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, yet able to rebuke: posture and heart of shepherd and able to slay wolves
3) Different from deacon: able to teach - devote to ministry of the word and prayer (Acts 7)
Plurality of Eldership
- Churches should have multiple elders
- When elders is used it is almost always in plural form
- Sometimes not possible (mission) or elders die, but church should be actively working toward qualifying elders because pastors need to be pastored
Complementarianism/Egalitarianism:
- About gender roles and restrictions on office
- Agree: men and women are created equal in God’s image (ontology)
- Disagree on role (function)
- E: men and women can hold equal roles
- C: men and woman’s roles ought to complement
- Texts: 1 Tim 2:11-13, 1 Cor 14:34
- E: frustration that C pick and choose what is culturally conditioned or binding (i.e. holy kiss is a command)
- C: silence not culturally founded but linked to creation order (Natural Law/Fittingness of cosmos, what we feel)
What are five challenges for complementarianism?
1) Should never be about ability : women can preach well (ice-skating duo)
2) There is a ton of grey area: we need to live better in the in between, just have a few commands
3) Focus too much on negation: what about what they can do
4) Cannot mean we do not theologically and biblically equip women: women’s ministry should be robustly theological and biblical –> practical
5) Must allow the women to fulfill one anothering: must be able to speak against false teaching
Deacons:
- 1 Tim 3:8-13
- Qualified like elder just not ability to teach
- Servants of people especially physical needs
- Deacon is transliterated (est. Acts 6)
- Deacons are shock absorbers for the pastor though paster should still know flock
Deaconesses:
- “their wives” lead some to believe only men can be deacons
- translation may be poor. May be translated as “women”
1) “their” is not there - could be “women”
2) elder section does not include qualifications for their wives - if is about deacon wife qualifications then still believe in deaconesses (married couples)
3) If is about wives, then very repetitive
4) If had wanted to speak to wives, could have used pronoun, different word, husbands
5) Last time this word was used was for “women”
6) “Likewise” continues list of office qualifications (elder likewise deacon likewise deaconess)
7) Rom 16:1 calls Pheobe a deaconess (some say translated servant)
