Doctrine of the Church

Doctrine of the Church (Knowing God by Jon Nielson)

Opening Questions

How have you seen the local church to be a vital part of your life and growth in Jesus Christ?

What frustrations have you had with the local church?

What criticisms of the church do you sometimes hear from people around you?

Why might it be dangerous to live a purely “personal” life of devotion to Jesus Christ without any significant engagement or relationships with God’s people?

Beginnings

Read Acts 2:38-47

In vs. 38 what is it that one must do in order to receive the Holy Spirit?

In vs. 39 who is the promise for?

Explain why these two truths from verses 38-39 led to 41 and then ultimately to verse 42.

Important words to know at the beginnings of the Church

Koinonia - to share in. Fellowship with, participation. (found there in verse 42 specifically)

Ekklesia - Called out. It was a common term fro a congregation of the called people, or those called out or assembled. The Christian community was designated for the first time as the ekklēsía to differentiate it from the Jewish community, sunagōgḗ (Acts 2:47) Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, Electronic ed., AMG Publishers, 2000.

What do these two terms tell us about the early church and how we are to continue to “church”?

Why was it so important for the first believers in Jesus Christ to begin gathering for worship?

What does this scripture say about the leadership necessary for the beginning of the church to organize?

Why are godly and well-qualified leaders important in a Christian community?

The Universal Church

When we speak about the church we normally think about these 4 walls and these specific believers, but we know that the church is both this specific place and a larger entity entirely.

Define for me what is the difference between the local church (lower case c) and the universal Church (uppercase C)?

Universal (or invisible) Church - it is the church made up of all believers in Jesus Christ from all times and all places.

Local Church - a localized manifestation of the universal church of Jesus Christ.

Read Rev. 7:9-17.

What do you notice about this gathering of people?

A great multitude

Of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues

They are standing before the lamb

They are clothed in white robes and have palm branches in their hands

They are worshiping the Lord declaring “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

They have come out of the great tribulation

They serve God day and night

God dwells among them. Protects them from the elements, sustains them, Shepherds them, and cares for them (wipes away every tear)

What excites you about John’s vision for the future gathering of God’s diverse and global people?

How should this help you think about the church in the world even now?

The Local Church

Read Jon Nielson “…it is appropriate and biblically accurate to talk about local churches in the same category as the universal church. They are not different things; they are just localized “arms” of the universal church. The New Testament authors - the apostles - do not really have a category for a believer in Jesus Christ who is not living out his or her faith in the context of the local church in his or her town. In fact, it is impossible to obey much of the New Testament if we are not involved in the local churches of Jesus Christ along with other believers. The assumption of the New Testament is that membership in the universal church of Jesus Christ (through faith) is lived out and practiced in the context of the local church.”

When Paul was on his missionary journeys he had to leave qualified men behind in these regions to set up local churches but he did not leave them alone to their own devices.

Read Titus 1:5-9.

According to this scripture what would you glean was a very important task of of Titus in starting these churches?

Read Titus 1:10-16

What is the next important task of the leader in these churches

Read Titus 2:1-9

What things are to be taught?

With all that in mind what would you say are some of the most central and important activities of a healthy local church? Why?

The Sacraments

What are the Sacraments?

Defining the Sacraments from Jon Nielson “a physical sign of an invisible reality of God’s Holy Spirit.”

“These practices are “holy” - that is, they are set apart as special ways in which the Holy Spirit promises to work in the lives of His people in the church.”

What is the Lord’s Supper?

What are the differences between Protestant and Catholic beliefs on the Lord’s Supper and why does that matter?

Why is it so important for someone to understand clearly what the Lord’s Supper means in order to partake of it rightly?

Define Baptism in your own words.

Who should be Baptized?

Does Baptism have any saving power?

Conclusion

What would you say to a Christian who says, “I love Jesus, but I have no need for the church?”

How does God’s love for His church - with all her imperfections - point us again to his immense grace and mercy?