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Ecclesiology: Doctrine of the Church · Reformed Thinking

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Imagine a furious, chaotic mob tearing through the dirt streets
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of an ancient city. Oh yeah, totally terrifying
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scene, right? They are, you know, dragging
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people out of their homes, screaming for blood, just
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completely out of control. Right, complete anarchy.
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Well, what if I told you that the ancient Greek word used to
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describe that violent, localized riot is the precise word we use
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today to describe a quiet Sunday morning congregation singing
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hymns? It is such a jarring trust.
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I mean when you really think about.
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It Welcome to Reformed Thinking. We are thrilled you decided to
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join us for this custom tailored deep dive.
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We really are. We have a lot of ground to cover
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today. We do.
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Today. We are looking at a word that
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has been radically domesticated over the centuries.
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That is a great way to phrase it.
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Domesticated. Yeah.
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We are taking a massive stack of notes drawn from Paul Anz's The
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Moody Handbook of Theology, and we're going to unpack
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ecclesiology, which is the doctrine of the Church.
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A huge, heavy topic. It is.
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OK, let's unpack this. Because understanding what the
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church actually is in its original raw context completely
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changes how you participate in it on a Tuesday morning or a
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Sunday gathering. It truly does alter your entire
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perspective. Yeah, before we look at how the
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church functions, we have to look at the language itself,
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because the etymology holds the key to the definition, right?
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The root words. Yes, the English word church
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actually shares its roots with the Scottish word Kirk and the
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German word quiche. OK, Kirk and Kirk.
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Correct. And all of those terms derive
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from a Greek word kuriakon. Kuriakon.
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Right now, kuriakon is an adjective that simply means
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belonging to the Lord. That makes sense.
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It sounds very, you know, proper and holy.
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It does, but when you open the original Greek New Testament,
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the word translated into English as church is an entirely
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different word. It is Ecclesia.
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Ecclesia, not Kuriaka. Precisely this word is a
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combination of two Greek parts. The 1st is ick, which translates
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to out of. Out of OK.
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And kaleo which translates to to call.
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Put those together and you get a called out group.
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A called out group. That is the core definition, and
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the authors of the New Testament use this specific word 114
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times. 114 times is a massive footprint in the text.
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It really is. It shows up constantly.
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But what stands out in these notes is the breakdown of where
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that word appears. Out of those 114 occurrences,
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111 are in the epistles. Yes, the letters written to the
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early congregations. Right, it only appears three
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times in the Gospels, specifically in Matthew chapter
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16 and Matthew chapter 18. Which is pretty rare considering
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how much Jesus taught. Yeah, and the text points out
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that in Matthew 18 it is likely used in a non-technical sense,
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referring to a local Jewish congregation, right?
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So in a technical prophetic sense, Jesus only uses the word
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once in the Gospels when he says I will build my church.
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That right there establishes that this concept is a
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particularly post ascension reality.
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Oh, absolutely. But reading further, it is
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fascinating that Ecclesia does not inherently describe a holy
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gathering. No it doesn't.
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Not inherently. Going back to that riot I
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mentioned in the introduction, the notes highlight that in Acts
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chapter 19, the exact same word is used to describe a furious,
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chaotic mob in Ephesus. Yes, the mob that wanted to the
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Apostle Paul. Right, the English translators
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use the word assembly there, but it is the same Greek word
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ecclesia. It is.
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Wait, I have to push back here. If ecclesia fundamentally just
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means a gathered assembly, how is the early Christian gathering
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any different from a rowdy town hall meeting or a localized mob?
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That is the crucial distinction to make.
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The word itself can be non-technical, just meaning any
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gathered group or technical designating the specific New
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Testament body of believers. OK.
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Technical versus non-technical. Yes, and when we look at that
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technical usage, the text reveals A fascinating dual
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dynamic. There is the local church and
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the universal church. Let's break those down for the
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listener. Absolutely.
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The local church is precisely precisely what it sounds like.
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It is a group of believers gathered in a specific
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geographic location. Like the letters Paul wrote?
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Right. The New Testament mentions
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churches in Jerusalem, Rome, Corinth, Galatia, and
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Thessalonica. Real places with real people.
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Yes, Interestingly, these early local believers did not have
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specialized buildings. The architecture of a cathedral
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would have been entirely foreign to them.
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Oh. Totally alien.
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They met in ordinary homes for worship instruction, breaking
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bread and sending out missionaries.
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Just normal living rooms and courtyards.
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Yes, but simultaneously there is the universal church.
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The macro level. Right.
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This encompasses all believers across all boundaries who have
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been born of the Spirit of God and baptized by that Spirit into
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the body of Christ in this current age.
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So it spans the globe. It does.
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This is the corporate group Jesus promised to build.
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Ephesians describes Christ as the head giving direction to
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this universal body. And within our own Reformed
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theological framework, we recognize another layer taught
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by figures like Augustine, Luther, and Calvin.
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The visible versus the invisible church.
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Yes, think about the immense psychological relief this
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visible versus invisible distinction brings to you, the
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listener, sitting in a Pew today, trying to make sense of
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the people around you. It takes a lot of weight off
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your shoulders. It really does, because the
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visible church is what you can see with your physical eyes.
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You know, the local assembly of believers.
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But because it is made-up of human beings, it includes
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imperfections, bitter conflicts and even unbelievers who might
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have their names on a membership role but lack genuine faith.
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It is a mixed body. The invisible church, on the
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other hand, is the perfect true spiritual body of Christ.
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It is called invisible not because the people are goats.
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I mean, they are very visibly living their lives, obviously,
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but because the true authenticated membership of
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regenerated believers is known only to God.
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Only God sees the heart. Right.
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It takes the pressure off us to perfectly curate and police the
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souls in the local gathering. You are free from playing God.
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You manage the visible, God secures the invisible.
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That is a very comforting reality.
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But if the church is this specific, you know, called out
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group, the logical next question is when did the calling actually
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begin? A great question.
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Did it exist all the way back with Abraham and Moses?
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The textual evidence points to a definitive no.
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Really. Yes, the church did not exist in
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the Old Testament. It is a peculiar New Testament
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entity. OK, we have to go back to
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Matthew 16.18 where Jesus makes a very specific grammatical
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choice. He says I will build my church.
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We'll build future tense, right? He speaks in the future tense
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that indicates the building of this entity was not yet
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happening while he was speaking those words.
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That makes total grammatical sense.
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The mechanism for building the church is identified in First
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Corinthians 12.13 as the baptizing work of the Holy
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Spirit. OK, the spirits work.
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Yes, which places believers into union with Christ at the moment
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of regeneration, right right before Jesus ascends in Acts
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chapter 1, he tells his followers that they will be
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baptized with the Holy Spirit and not many days from now.
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So it is coming soon but hasn't happened yet.
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Precisely this tells us the formation was imminent but had
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not yet occurred. The actual birthday of the
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church happens in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost.
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With the descent of the Holy Spirit.
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Yes. Later, when Peter is defending
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the salvation of the Gentiles, he remarks that the Holy Spirit
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fell on them, just as he did on the Jewish believers at the
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beginning. Pointing backwards, yeah.
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Right. He traces that beginning
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straight right back to Pentecost.
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That timeline clears up so much confusion.
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It really provides a solid anchor.
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And once this new entity is born, the New Testament authors
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seem to struggle to find just one way to describe.
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It they really do. They are grasping for vocabulary
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to explain something entirely unprecedented, so they use these
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vivid visual metaphors to illustrate the Church as a
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living Organism. Yes, the metaphors are
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beautiful. Let's look at the building
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metaphor. The text says it is built on the
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apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as the
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cornerstone. The cornerstone is.
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Key We often gloss over that word cornerstone today because
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modern buildings use steel beams.
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Right, our construction is so different.
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But in ancient architecture, the cornerstone was the massive,
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perfectly hewn rock laid at the very corner of the foundation.
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Everything rested on it. Exactly.
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I mean, every single other stone in the building was aligned
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based on that one rock. It determined the angles, the
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weight distribution and the structural integrity of the
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entire massive complex. It set the standard for the
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whole building. Right.
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If the cornerstone was off by a fraction of an inch, the walls
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would eventually collapse. It had to be flawless.
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The metaphor implies that Christ sets the absolute standard and
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the direction for the entire structure, and believers are
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living stones constantly being added to this growing reality.
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What's fascinating here is how these metaphors highlight
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different facets of relationship.
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How so? Well, there is the priesthood
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metaphor, where every single believer is a royal priest
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offering spiritual sacrifices. Wow.
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This is a massive contrast to the nation of Israel, where only
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the restricted Levitical line could step into the Temple and
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offer sacrifices. Only a select few had access.
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Right now the veil is torn and every believer has direct access
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access. That is a huge shift.
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Then there is the flock highlighting an intimate
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relationship where the shepherd knows his sheep individually.
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They recognize his voice. Yes, and they find safety in his
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presence. I love that one.
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And there's the metaphor of the branches where believers draw
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their life, giving nourishment entirely by remaining attached
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to Christ, the true vine. Right, because a severed branch
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dies. Right.
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A branch severed from the vine doesn't just lose its aesthetic
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appeal, it dies. But the metaphor that carries
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the most emotional weight in the text is the bride.
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Here's where it gets really interesting.
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It does. The bride metaphor is not just a
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poetic way to say Jesus loves us.
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It is heavily anchored in the reality of ancient Oriental
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wedding customs. Precisely the relationship
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between Christ and the Church is mapped directly onto these
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ancient stages of marriage. Let's walk through those stages.
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The first stage was the betrothal.
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OK, this wasn't a casual, modern engagement that could be broken
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off with the text message. A betrothal in that culture was
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a legally binding covenant. Very serious.
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The bride receives the firm promise of future blessing and
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she is legally considered the wife even though they do not
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live together yet. So they're bound together
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legally, right? Right now, the Church is an
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espoused bride. We are in the waiting.
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Period. The waiting period.
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The second stage of the ancient custom was the actual wedding
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procession, when the husband would finally travel to the
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bride's home to take her to be with him.
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Coming to get her? This perfectly mirrors the
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Church awaiting the return of Christ to take us into glory.
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OK. And the final stage is the grand
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wedding feast, which corresponds to the future millennial
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Kingdom, an era of unprecedented celebration.
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It is exactly like a modern long distance relationship where the
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engagement ring is already on the finger.
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That is a great analogy. You have a bride who is entirely
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spoken for, eagerly preparing her home and her life for a
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groom who could arrive at any moment.
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The anticipation is huge. There is this intense
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anticipation, a forward-looking joy that defined the early
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believers. They were not just waiting
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around, they were actively preparing for the groom's
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arrival. Active preparation, yes.
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But establishing these unique metaphors requires us to draw
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some sharp boundary lines. You.
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Have to. If the church is this entirely
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new, distinct bride and living building born at Pentecost, we
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have to look at how it relates to other massive biblical
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concepts. You can't just blur everything
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together. That is correct.
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We must draw a sharp line between the church and Israel.
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OK, let's look at Israel. The text is unambiguous that the
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church is a completely separate entity from Israel.
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The word Israel appears 66 times in the New Testament, and every
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single time, without exception, it refers to the physical
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descendants of Jacob. So it always means the physical
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nation. Always the idea of replacing
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Israel with the church or calling the church the new
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Israel is simply not accurate to the biblical text, Ends
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provides. That is a very helpful
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clarification. The Apostle Paul clearly
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maintains this distinction in First Corinthians when he warns
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believers not to offend Jews, Greeks, or the Church.
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Those are three distinct categories.
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Yes, the Church is also distinct from the concept of the Kingdom,
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the King. To grasp this, we have to define
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what a Kingdom actually is. Let's do that.
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A Kingdom requires 3 the mental elements, a ruler, a people who
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are ruled, and a territory over which they are ruled.
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Ruler ruled and territory. Right.
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The text outlines 2 basic forms of God's Kingdom.
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First, the Universal Kingdom, which is God's sovereign,
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eternal control over all history, time and space.
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He rules over everything always. Yes.
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Second, there is the mediatorial Kingdom.
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Let's clarify that mediatorial Kingdom, because that is where
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the distinction really comes into focus.
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It does. The mediatorial Kingdom is God
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ruling the earth through a divinely chosen human
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representative who speaks for God and represents the people.
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Yes, a mediator. Throughout the Old Testament,
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God used mediators like Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses.
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Human representatives. Right.
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But all of these figures were pointing forward, anticipating
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the final perfect mediator, the Messiah, The.
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Ultimate King. Gabriel promised Mary that her
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son would sit on the throne of David and reign over the House
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of Jacob Forever. So Jesus arrived and offered
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this mediatorial Kingdom to the Jewish nation.
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He literally preached The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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He offered it right then. But when that Kingdom offer was
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rejected by the nation's leaders, it was held in
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abeyance. It was paused, waiting to be
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introduced at his second coming. Caused for a future date.
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And it was immediately after that rejection that Jesus
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announced a new program, the building of the church.
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If we connect this to the bigger picture, the terms church and
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Kingdom are never used interchangeably in Scripture.
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Never right. The Church exists in this
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present age, while the mediatorial Kingdom is a future
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reality that will be inaugurated when Christ returns to establish
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his physical reign. Now I want to ask you, the
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listener, a direct question. It is an essential question to
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ponder. What is this theological
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distinction between the Church, Israel and the Kingdom matter
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for you sitting in the Pew on a Sunday morning?
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It really changes things. It matters because blurring
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these lines can severely confuse a Christian's current role in
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the world versus their future hope.
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Oh, absolutely. If you think the Church is meant
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to politically conquer the globe right now and establish a
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physical geopolitical Kingdom territory, you are going to
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operate with a very aggressive dominion focused mandate.
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You start trying to build the physical Kingdom yourself.
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Right, you will see political enemies as people to be
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vanquished. Which misses the point entirely.
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But if you view the Church as an espoused bride waiting for her
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coming king, called to be a spiritual priesthood offering
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grace to the world, your posture completely shifts.
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A massive shift in posture. You stop trying to wield the
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Sword of the State and you start washing feet.
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Defining what the Church is on a macro scale dictates how we
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behave on a microscale. It dictates the daily
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operations. O let's zoom in on that micro
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level. What is actually supposed to
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happen inside the walls of a local gathering?
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The text outlines several specific non negotiable
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functions of a biblical local assembly.
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What are they? Worship instruction, fellowship,
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ministry organization, and ordinances.
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Let's take those 1 by 1. Let's look closely at worship.
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The New Testament uses 3 primary Greek words to describe this,
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and they each reveal a different facet of what worship entails.
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OK, 3 words. 1st is Proscuneo. Proscuneo.
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Which literally means to bow down or prostate oneself.
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Face down, yes. This isn't just a mental
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exercise. In the ancient world,
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approaching a monarch meant putting your face in the dirt.
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Pure humility. It describes a physical act that
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reflects an inner attitude of complete submission to God.
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Wow. Second is latreo, which carries
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the basic meaning of priestly service.
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Latreo. Yes, Paul uses this word to
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describe how he ministers to God through preaching.
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Instead of bringing a dead animal to an altar like the
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Levitical priests did, the New Testament believer offers their
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own living body set apart for God's purposes.
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A living sacrifice. Exactly.
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Third is Sabo Mai, which simply means being a God fearer.
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Just a posture of awe. Right.
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True worship, as Jesus told the woman at the well, must be in
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spirit and in truth. It is also fascinating to
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observe the transition of worship days.
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Oh, from Saturday to Sunday. Yes, Old Testament believers
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gathered on the Saturday Sabbath, but the book of Acts
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traces how early Christians transition their primary
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gathering to Sunday. First day of the week.
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Yes, in direct commemoration of Christ's resurrection, they
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observed the Lord's Supper, collected offerings, and sing
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hymns together corporately on Sundays.
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Along with worship, there is instruction.
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The text is unambiguous. Teaching is the primary antidote
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to false doctrine. It is the main defense.
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It is the engine for spiritual maturity.
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Paul constantly instructed Timothy to teach others so that
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the truth would reproduce itself across generations.
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Multiplication through teaching. The early church in Acts devoted
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themselves to the apostles, teaching to the point that they
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filled the entire city of Jerusalem with Christian
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doctrine. They saturated the city.
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Then there is fellowship, translated from the Greek word
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Koinonia, which means sharing. Anonia, that is a vital word.
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We need to rescue this word from modern church culture.
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We really do. Today, fellowship usually means,
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you know, making small talk over lukewarm coffee in a brightly
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lit lobby for 5 minutes before driving home.
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Very surface level. But biblical quinonia was
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fiercely radical. They shared meals called Love
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Feasts. They ate together constantly.
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They shared intense prayer. They shared their material
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wealth to fund missionary journeys, selling property to
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ensure no one among them was impoverished.
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They sacrificed for each other. And they even shared in the
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brutal rejection and suffering that came with identifying with
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Christ. Shared suffering.
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This Koinonie is how they lived out the dozens of one another
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commands in the New Testament, accepting one another, loving
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one another, and bearing one another's burdens.
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This naturally flows into the function of ministry and
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organization. Ministry involves both outward
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evangelism to the world and inward service to the body.
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Outward and inward. It includes the exercise of
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spiritual gifts, showing mercy, helping the needy, specifically
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caring for widows, and even the difficult task of church
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discipline. Discipline is a tough one.
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It is, but discipline is necessary to protect the flock
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from immorality and entrenched false doctrine as seen in First
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Corinthians 5. You have to protect the flock.
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To manage all of this, the early church established specific
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organizational leadership structures, primarily elders and
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deacons. Let's examine the elders first.
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The New Testament uses 2 basic Greek terms interchangeably for
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this single office. OK, 2 terms.
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The first is Presbuteros, which emphasizes the dignity, maturity
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and spiritual age of the leader. The older, wiser man, yes.
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These men had authority to distribute funds, make doctrinal
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decisions, and they were tasked with visiting the sick and
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offering counsel. OK.
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The second term is episcopose, which translates to overseer or
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sometimes Bishop. Episcopose.
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Yes, this term stresses the actual work and function of the
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elder, which is to watch over, nurture and feed the flock like
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a shepherd. Wait, I am looking at these two
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entirely different Greek words, presbyteros and episcopose.
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So what does this all mean? If the New Testament authors
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meant the exact same job, why use two different titles?
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Doesn't that just invite bureaucratic confusion into the
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early church? That is a very valid point to
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bring up. Why not just pick one title and
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stick with it? It is a fair question, but
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they're the exact same office, simply highlighting different
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attributes of the person holding it.
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Oh, I see attributes. Think of it like calling someone
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a doctor versus calling them a healer.
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That makes perfect sense. One emphasizes their credential
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and maturity, the other emphasizes the nature of the
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work they perform. The credential versus the
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action. Right.
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The early church needed to establish that these leaders
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possessed both the seasoned character of a presbyteros and
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the active, watchful diligence of an Episcopal pose.
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And the character requirements for this office are incredibly
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strict. They are very rigorous.
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First Timothy 3 and Titus One layout 15 distinct
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qualifications. 15. An elder must be above reproach,
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meaning there is nothing in his life for which he can be
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legitimately censored or dragged into public scandal.
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A clean record. He must be the husband of one
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wife, which speaks to absolute moral purity and faithfulness.
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He must be temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, and
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uniquely able to teach and discern sound doctrine.
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The teaching requirement is key. He cannot be addicted to wine,
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pugnacious or a lover of money. He must manage his own household
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well, he cannot be a new convert and he must have a good
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reputation even with unbelievers in the outside community.
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Those qualifications are intense.
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They are almost entirely focused on character rather than
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charisma or corporate management skills.
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Which is so different from modern corporate leadership.
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And to ensure the elders could focus on teaching and spiritual
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oversight without burning out, the office of Deacon was
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established. The servers.
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The word diaconos simply means servant.
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We see the origin of this in Acts chapter 6, where seven men
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were selected to handle the material needs of the Greek
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speaking widows. A very practical need.
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Right. Freeing the apostles to devote
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their time to prayer and the ministry of the Word.
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Deacons function is subordinate and auxiliary to the elders.
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They help the elders do their job.
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They also have strict qualifications.
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They must be men of dignity, not double toned.
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Meaning they do not spread conflicting stories or gossip
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from house to house. Not addicted to wine, not fond
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of dishonest gain. Tested and approved and good
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managers of their own homes. Character matters for deacons,
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too. The notes also touch on the
22:52
debated role of deaconesses. Romans 16.1 mentions that Omen
22:57
named Phoebe, calling her a Diaconian of the church.
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Phoebe is a fascinating figure. The debate centers on whether
23:04
this was a technical, ordained office or just a general
23:07
description of her incredible servanthood.
23:09
Right. Was it a title or an adjective?
23:11
First Timothy 3.1 on also mentions women within the
23:14
qualifications for deacons. While some scholars argue this
23:18
refers to a separate office of deaconess, others suggest it
23:21
refers to the wives of the deacons.
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It is a subject of ongoing historical discussion for sure,
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but identifying the leaders is only one part of the equation.
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What is the other part? How those leaders wield
23:31
authority and how the church is governed structurally brings us
23:34
to one of the most thoroughly debated subjects in Christian
23:37
history. Church governance.
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Yes, Ends details three major models of church government,
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Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Congregational.
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Let's break this down. The Episcopal system derives its
23:49
name from episcopos and places authority in the hands of
23:52
bishops who oversee not just one church, but a group of churches
23:57
or a massive region. A hierarchy of bishops.
24:00
Right, this is the system used by the Roman Catholic, Orthodox,
24:04
Anglican, Methodist and Lutheran churches.
24:06
Very widespread. In the Roman Catholic structure,
24:09
this authority is claimed to be passed down through Apostolic
24:12
succession from Peter, vesting supreme earthly authority in the
24:16
Pope. OK, while this system has roots
24:18
reaching back to the 2nd century, Ends points out that it
24:21
lacks strong 1st century Apostolic warrant.
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Interesting because the unique authority given to the original
24:27
12 apostles was not designed to be passed down to a successive
24:30
group of regional managers. Then we have the Presbyterian
24:33
model. Yes, the name comes from
24:34
Presbyteros or elder. This system focuses on
24:38
representative rule by a plurality of elders who are
24:41
elected by the congregation. A council of elders.
24:43
As hosts who adhere to the Westminster Confession, we
24:47
formally identify with this model.
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We certainly do. In a Presbyterian system, the
24:52
local church is governed by a session of elected ruling elders
24:55
alongside the teaching elder or pastor.
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The local session. Above the local session is a
25:00
regional presbytery, then a Synod, and finally a General
25:04
Assembly. A connected web of
25:06
accountability. Ends observes in his text that
25:09
this model has incredibly strong support in the New Testament,
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which frequently mentions a plurality of elders leading the
25:16
churches in Jerusalem, Ephesus, and elsewhere.
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Yes, there is always a plurality, not just one guy
25:22
calling all the shots. Finally, there is the
25:24
congregational model. The third system.
25:26
In this system, authority rests entirely with the local
25:28
congregation. It stresses 2 main concepts,
25:31
autonomy and democracy. Autonomy and democracy.
25:35
Autonomy means no outside authority, like a Bishop or a
25:38
Synod has any power over the local church.
25:41
Democracy means the entire membership votes on the
25:43
decisions that guide the Church. Everyone gets a vote.
25:45
This is the model followed by Baptists, the Evangelical Free
25:49
Church, and many independent congregations.
25:52
This raises an important point regarding how we evaluate these
25:55
structures. OK, where's that?
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Elements of both the Presbyterian and Congregational
25:59
forms find very strong support in Scripture.
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They both have biblical backing. Yes, the New Testament clearly
26:06
demonstrates a plurality of elders providing spiritual
26:10
oversight. Presbyterian side.
26:11
Yet it also shows the entire congregation being involved in
26:15
major decisions or. Congregational.
26:16
Side like electing the original deacons in Acts 6, sending out
26:20
missionaries like Barnabas and Titus, and carrying out church
26:23
discipline. The whole body was involved.
26:25
The early church governance was a careful balance of appointed
26:29
spiritually mature leadership and the act of affirmation of
26:33
the entire gathered body. So what does this all mean for
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you, the listener? Why should you care about church
26:38
governance? It feels very academic until you
26:41
need it. Think about it practically.
26:43
If a pastor at a local church begins teaching blatant heresy
26:47
or becomes verbally abusive to the staff, who has the authority
26:51
to fire him? The $1,000,000 question.
26:54
In an Episcopal system, the congregation has to appeal to a
26:57
Bishop miles away. Which can take forever.
27:00
In a congregational system, the church members have to organize
27:04
a massive, potentially divisive democratic vote.
27:07
A very messy process. In a Presbyterian system, the
27:11
plurality of elders, the session can step in and remove him, and
27:15
if they fail, the regional Presbyterian can intervene.
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Immediate local accountability with regional backup.
27:21
Governance dictates accountability, and that
27:23
structure of governance is directly linked to the sacred
27:27
duties those leaders oversee. The rights of the Church.
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Specifically, the rights commanded by Christ himself.
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This brings us to the ordinances, or, as some
27:35
traditions call them, the sacraments.
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There is a distinction in terminology here.
27:39
Let's define the terms. Catholics and some Protestants
27:42
use the word sacrament from the Latin sacramentum, defined by
27:45
Augustine as the visible form of an invisible grace.
27:48
Visible form, invisible grace. Yes, many Protestants prefer the
27:54
term ordinance to avoid the implication that the ACT itself
27:59
inherently conveys saving grace, defining it simply as an outward
28:04
right prescribed by Christ. An outward.
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Drake The two universally recognized ordinances are the
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Lord's Supper and baptism. Let's dive into the Lord's
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Supper. When it comes to the Lord's
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Supper, instituted by Christ on the eve of his crucifixion,
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Christendom has fractured into four distinct views.
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Different perspectives. We must understand the
28:24
historical and theological weight behind each one.
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The first is transubstantiation, the Roman Catholic view.
28:30
Transubstantiation. They teach that a miracle takes
28:33
place during the Mass where the substance of the bread and wine
28:36
literally changes into the body, blood, soul and divinity of
28:39
Jesus Christ. The literal physical change.
28:41
This relies heavily on Aristotelian philosophy, which
28:44
separates the substance of a thing from its.
28:47
Accidents the substance versus the accidents.
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The accidents, the taste, touch, and smell remain bread and wine,
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but the invisible substance becomes Christ.
28:56
NS outlines several critiques of transubstantiation from a
29:00
Protestant perspective. First, it views the sacrifice of
29:04
Christ as continuing in the Mass.
29:06
An ongoing sacrifice. Whereas Christ declared on the
29:09
cross, it is finished and the book of Hebrews confirms his
29:13
sacrifice was a once for all event.
29:15
Once and for all. Second, it requires Christ's
29:18
human body to be omnipresent, which contradicts the teaching
29:21
that his physical body is localized in heaven.
29:24
Right, his physical body can't be everywhere at once. 3rd it
29:26
demands a hyper literal reading of Jesus statement.
29:30
This is my body ignoring the fundamental rules of metaphor.
29:33
The second view is consubstantiation held by
29:36
Lutherans. Consubstantiation.
29:37
They reject the idea of a perpetual sacrifice and do not
29:40
believe the bread and wine literally change substance.
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No literal change. However, they teach that Christ
29:46
is actually present in, with, and under the elements.
29:49
In with and under. Martin Luther famously compared
29:52
it to heat penetrating an iron bar.
29:54
That is a great visual. The bar remains iron.
29:57
It doesn't turn into fire, but the heat is entirely present
30:01
within it. Luther defended this real
30:05
physical presence fiercely. The third view is the Reformed
30:10
or Calvinist view, which is the perspective we explicitly own
30:13
based on our theology. Yes, this is our camp.
30:16
In this view, Christ is not physically or literally present
30:20
in the bread and wine. However, we do not believe it is
30:23
a bare, empty ritual. It is not just a snack.
30:26
Right. We believe in a real spiritual
30:28
presence of Christ. A spiritual presence.
30:30
Through the mysterious communion of the Holy Spirit, grace and
30:33
spiritual nourishment are genuinely communicated to the
30:36
believer as they partake in faith.
30:38
It feeds the soul. It is a means of grace, similar
30:41
to how the preaching of the word strengthens faith.
30:43
Then there is the 4th view. Yes, the Memorial or Zwinglian
30:46
view, named after the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli and held
30:50
heavily by Baptists. The memorial view.
30:52
In this view, there is no real presence of Christ in the
30:55
elements whatsoever. The bread and cup are purely
30:58
figurative symbols. Which is symbols.
31:00
The ACT is entirely a memorial, a backward look to the cross,
31:04
and a forward anticipation of Christ's return, demonstrating
31:08
the participants faith through a symbolic activity.
31:11
We have to talk about how intensely these differences were
31:14
felt historically. People died over this.
31:17
In 1529, Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli met at the
31:21
Marburg Colloquy to try and unify the Protestant
31:24
Reformation. A huge meeting.
31:26
They agreed on almost everything until they got to the Lord's
31:28
Supper. Luther took a piece of chalk,
31:32
wrote This is my body in Latin on the velvet table cover, and
31:35
refused to budget. He was incredibly stubborn.
31:38
He pounded his first on the table.
31:40
Zwingli argued for a spiritual, symbolic reading.
31:43
In the end, they could not reconcile, and Luther refused to
31:47
shake Swingley's hand, declaring they were of a different spirit.
31:51
This wasn't just academic debate.
31:52
It was visceral. It mattered entirely whether you
31:55
were consuming a symbol or participating in a mysterious
31:58
spiritual communion. Moving from the ongoing
32:00
nourishment of the Lord's Supper to the initiation rite of the
32:03
Church, we look at baptism. The fundamental meaning of
32:06
baptism is identification. In the New Testament, water
32:10
baptism is a public declaration uniting the believer with Christ
32:14
in his death and resurrection. Public identification.
32:17
The text outlines 3 views on what baptism actually
32:21
accomplishes. First is the view that it is a
32:24
means of saving grace, often called baptismal regeneration.
32:28
Regeneration through the water. Roman Catholics teach the right
32:32
itself washes away original thin, while Lutherans teach it
32:36
imparts grace but requires faith as a prerequisite.
32:39
Got it. What is the second view?
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2nd is the Reformed and Presbyterian view.
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Baptism is a sign and seal of the covenant.
32:47
Sign and seal. Just as circumcision was the
32:49
sign of entering the covenant community in the Old Testament,
32:52
baptism is the sign of entering the new covenant community.
32:55
The New Testament equivalent. It signifies God's promises and
32:58
seals them to the believer. The third view held by Baptist
33:02
is that baptism is strictly a symbol of salvation already
33:05
received. It is an outward sign of an
33:08
inward change conveying no direct spiritual benefit, and
33:12
therefore must only be administered to those who have
33:14
made a conscious profession of faith.
33:16
If we connect this to the bigger picture, how does viewing
33:20
baptism as a sign and seal of the covenant completely shift
33:25
the way a parent views their child's place in the church
33:27
community compared to just seeing it as a symbol or a
33:31
memorial? It changes everything for the
33:33
family unit. For those of us in the Reformed
33:35
tradition, defending infant baptism relies heavily on
33:38
covenant theology. Covenant theology is the
33:40
foundation for it. We look at the Old Testament and
33:43
see that infants were circumcised and brought directly
33:46
into the believing community. They were included from birth.
33:49
We see household baptisms in the Book of Acts like the Philippian
33:53
Jailer and Lydia, and we understand infant baptism as the
33:56
New Testament counterpart to circumcision.
33:59
The continuity of the covenant. It shifts a parent's perspective
34:02
entirely. You view your child not as a
34:05
total outsider waiting to hopefully opt into the faith one
34:08
day, but as a member of the covenant community marked by
34:11
God's promise. They belong to the community.
34:13
Right whom you are tasked with raising in the discipline and
34:16
instruction of the Lord, Praying they will one day personally own
34:19
the faith they were baptized into.
34:21
And briefly, regarding the physical mode of baptism, the
34:24
text points out three historical practices.
34:26
How the water is actually applied?
34:28
Yes, pouring water three times over the head, sprinkling water
34:33
and full immersion. Pouring, sprinkling and
34:36
immersion. Ends argues that full immersion
34:39
best fits the literal Greek translation of baptizo to dip or
34:43
sink. To dip under.
34:45
And most vividly illustrates the theological reality of dying and
34:49
rising with Christ portrayed in Romans chapter 6.
34:52
All of these structures, from the qualifications of elders to
34:55
the theological nuances of the ordinances, Dr. toward a
34:59
singular destination. They all have a point.
35:01
What is the grand purpose of the Church?
35:04
The text delineates 2 overriding distinct purposes.
35:07
The dual. Purpose.
35:08
The Church gathered which ministers to the body, and the
35:11
Church scattered which ministers to the world.
35:13
Gathered and scattered. When the church is gathered, the
35:16
primary goal is bringing believers to spiritual maturity.
35:19
Building up the Saints. This requires rigorous, ongoing
35:23
teaching. The early believers saturated
35:26
their minds with doctrine. They love the truth.
35:28
They didn't settle for surface level inspiration.
35:31
They devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching so intensely
35:35
that they filled Jerusalem with their message.
35:37
The gathered church is also marked by daily fellowship and
35:40
intense worship, praying, reading scripture and singing
35:44
together. Think of this gathered and
35:46
scattered dynamic like the human respiratory system.
35:48
Oh, that is a good picture. The gathered church is the
35:51
inhalation you are drawing in oxygen, sound theology and
35:55
spiritual nourishment. You're being built up by the
35:57
ordinances and the teaching you eating in.
35:59
But you cannot hold your breath forever.
36:02
Eventually it becomes toxic. You become spiritually bloated.
36:05
You have to breathe out. The scattered church is the
36:07
exhalation. You are breathing that life,
36:10
giving oxygen out into the world.
36:12
Taking it to the streets. The scattered church is focused
36:15
on evangelism, fulfilling the Great Commission in Matthew 28
36:19
to make disciples of all nations or.
36:21
Think of it like a football huddle.
36:22
Yeah, exactly. A football huddle.
36:25
A place of intense instruction, unity and preparation.
36:29
But you can't win the game if you just stay in the huddle.
36:32
You have to break the huddle and run the play.
36:34
You've to run the play out on the field, and what stands out
36:37
in the book of Acts is that this evangelism wasn't just the job
36:41
of a select few apostles or professional clergy.
36:44
Everyone did it. Acts 8.4 shows us that ordinary
36:47
believers scattered by intense persecution were the ones taking
36:51
the message across rigid cultural and geographic
36:53
barriers. A healthy church requires the
36:56
autonomic rhythm of both inhaling and exhaling.
36:59
Gathering and scattering. It is a striking rhythm of
37:01
gathering for nourishment and scattering for mission.
37:04
We have covered a massive amount of theological ground today.
37:07
So much ground. We trace the line from the Greek
37:10
definition of ecclesia as a called out group through the
37:14
vivid architectural and agricultural metaphors of the
37:16
espoused bride, the solid cornerstone and the life giving
37:20
branches. The beautiful metaphors.
37:22
We drew the distinct boundary lines between the Church, the
37:25
physical nation of Israel, and the future mediatorial Kingdom.
37:29
Very clear lines. We looked at the rigorous
37:31
character qualifications for elders, the historical debate
37:35
over church governance, highlighting our own
37:37
appreciation for the Presbyterian model of elder
37:40
plurality. Plurality is key.
37:42
And we examine the visceral table pounding theological
37:46
waters of the Lord's Supper and covenant baptism.
37:48
Intense history there. Finally, we saw the dual
37:51
heartbeat of the church gathering to mature and
37:54
scattering to evangelize. I want to leave you with a final
37:57
thought to Mull over building on all this source material.
38:00
Something to take with them. Ends points out that the early
38:03
church had daily fell fellowship and relentlessly broke through
38:07
rigid cultural boundaries. Daily Fellowship.
38:09
They shared their meals, their wealth and their very lives in a
38:13
way that shocked the Roman Empire.
38:15
It was scandalous. In our highly individualized,
38:18
digitally isolated modern era where it is easier to stare at a
38:23
screen than knock on a neighbor's door.
38:24
We are so isolated. What if the most radical,
38:27
culture shocking thing a local church could do today isn't
38:31
having the sleekest stage production or the most eloquent
38:34
speaker? Not about the show.
38:35
What the most radical act is simply returning to that raw
38:39
daily life on life Koinonia. That changes a community.
38:43
How would recovering that ancient practice of genuine
38:46
sharing alter the landscape of your own neighborhood this very
38:49
week? That is the question we all need
38:51
to answer when we step out of the sanctuary and scatter into
38:53
the world. Thank you for joining us for
38:55
this session of Reform thinking. We will see you next time.