- Chapters: [[Ephesians 2]]:13-24 # Intro - Last week we considered the [[Holy Spirit]] as the giver of life - Today we are looking at the community of those born again by the spirit # The Church - "We believe in the holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen" - So far, we have been looking at God. So it may be weird to turn our heads to the church - But we are not asked to "believe" in the church in the same way as we believe in God - But we are to believe that the church itself is a matter of Christian faith, that it is God's creation and not just a human institution - Church <- Kirk (germanic) <- *Kyirakos* (greek) "of the lord" - But the word usually used in the new testament is *ekklesia* "the assembly" - "Ekklesia"'s are firmly rooted in the [[Old Testament]] ([[Deuteronomy 4]]:10 -- "assemble the people before me to hear my words") - [[Matthew 16]]:18 -- "on this rock I will build my church", as His assembly - [[Matthew 18]] -- people, not the building of the church, in view - Without [[Jesus]], there is no church: it is the church of [[Jesus]] christ! - Hence, the church cannot bypass Him. The church must be fully submitted to [[Jesus]] christ # Attributes (Marks) of the church ## One - Verse 20 of today's reading: [[Jesus]] is the chief cornerstone. - "One body" - [[John 17]]:20-21 -- [[Jesus]] prays that all of us we believe in Him may be one - [[Ephesians 4]]:3 -- MAke every effort to keep the unity of the spirit ## Holy - The church is holy - The church is its members (assembly) - Roman catholic church holds the belief that the church institution is holy, while its members are not, but doesn't seem to be tenable given the above - The "Donavan" approach would say that we are all to "shape up or shape out", to be Holy iff in the church. But also untenable as can be seen from historical beliefs, or from [[Jesus]] being friend of tax collectors and sinners - Reformed perspective: "Land of saints and sinners". Distinguish the "visible" church (as we see it on earth), and the "invisible church" (as seen by [[God]] across all ages) - [[Church of England]] article 19: "The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men" - So the "true" church is the future -- the [[Nicene creed]] looks forward to the resurrection of the dead. The church will only be its true self when [[Jesus]] returns ## Catholic - *Kataholikos* -- "according to the whole" - The church is: - A house - A city - A region - The world - Universal, both heaven and earth being in view - The church exists across every people and age - "Where the bishop is seen, there let all his people be, just as where Jesus Christ is present, we have the catholic church" [[Ignatius]], [[108]] AD - Catholicity means a commitment to orthodoxy. [[Nicene creed]] determines the boundary of catholicity ## Apostolic - Built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with [[Christ]] [[Jesus]] as the cornerstone - Continuity of message -- from the beginning people were to guard the apostle's teachings - Focus is not on the individuals ("only servants"), but on the message - The person of [[Peter]] is not more important that the teachings