Derrick Trent - Does the Eastern Church Bear the Four Marks of Christ’s Church? - The Church Christ Built: Finding the Faith Once Delivered

Text: John 17:20–21; Ephesians 4:4–6; Jude 3; 2 Timothy 2:2; Matthew 16:18

INTRODUCTION

Tonight we come to

a sermon

we’ve been building twd

for weeks.

For six weeks now,

we've been on

a long road together.

& I know for many of us

it's been a hard road.

We've had to

set aside some things

we thought

we'd never question.

We've had to let the Scriptures

correct the way

we read the Scriptures.

So let me remind you

where we've been.

We started by seeing —

frm the Scriptures —

that we cannot live

by Scripture alone.

The Bible never teaches it.

The early Church never lived it.

And the fruit of trying to live it

is endless division.

Then we saw that

we must live

by the Church's teachings.

Why?

Bcs the Church is the pillar

& foundation

of the truth.

The Church gives us

the pattern for worship.

& the Church is

the interpreter of

the Scriptures.

After that,

we learned how Christ

preserves His Church

thru apostolic succession —

that living chain of bishops,

who teach the same faith,

going all the way back

to the apostles.

& then we found the answer

to the question,

"How do we recognize

Christ’s Church?”

We found it

in the Nicene Creed,

Four marks:

One. Holy.

Catholic & Apostolic.

Then we started testing.

We tested the Protestant churches

against those four marks.

& we found that —

for all the genuine

love for Jesus

inside the various

Protestant churches —

they do not bear

those marks.

Two weeks ago

we tested

the Roman Catholic Church.

& we found that Rome,

by adding to the faith

& by claiming an authority

the ancient Church never granted,

Rome no longer bears

the four marks.

So we closed w/

a cliffhanger.

A question

left hanging

in the air.

If it's not the Protestants,

& it's not Rome —

Then where is that one,

holy, catholic,

& apostolic Church

Jesus founded.

The Church He

prayed for in John 17…

the Church

the gates of hades

wld never overcome?

Tonight I introduce you

to a Church that most of us

have never heard of.

A Church that's been here

the whole time,

& that nobody

told us abt.

& Church

none of us

were looking for

Bcs we were convinced

we had all we need

w/ the Bible.

I’m talking abt:

The Eastern

Orthodox Church.

& I'm gonna do exactly

what we've done

with the Protestants

& Roman Catholics churches.

We're gonna take the four marks

of Christ's Church,

& we're gonna test

the Eastern Church

against them.

As we answer this question:

Does the Eastern Church

Bear the Four Marks

of Christ’s Church?

Let's pray.

Father, we thank You

for Your Word.

We thank You

for Your Son,

who purchased the Church

w/ His own blood.

We thank You

for Your Holy Spirit,

who guides the Church

into all truth.

Open our eyes to see

what’s been kept for us

all along.

Open our minds & hearts

to receive the truth.

& give us the will

& the ability to walk in it,

wherever it leads.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

[Translation:

Ok. First Question…

1. Is the Eastern Church ONE?

Let's remind ourselves.

of what Jesus prayed

in John 17:21.

The night before He died,

Jesus prayed these words

for His Church:

He prayed

John 17:21 NIV

that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Jesus prayed

that His ppl

wld be one.

Not one

in some invisible,

spiritual,

feelings-kind-of-way.

He prayed for

a unity so real

& so visible

that the watching world

wld look at it

& believe that

the Father sent the Son.

Paul tells us

what that oneness looks like

in Ephesians 4.

He says:

Ephesians 4:4–5 NIV

There is one body…one faith, one baptism;

That's the mark.

So here's the test.

When we look at

the Eastern Orthodox Church,

do we find that kind

of oneness?

It’s important to understand that

The Orthodox Church

is not one big organization

w/ one man at the top,

like Rome.

& it’s not a bunch of

different denominations

all claiming

to follow the same faith.

The Orthodox Church

is a family of self-governing churches

spread all over the world.

There are five main churches

in the East:

The Church of Constantinople,

the Church of Alexandria,

the Church of Antioch,

& the Church of Jerusalem.

“Each of these churches,”

As one Orthodox Catechism explains,

"Each of these churches is independent in administration, but, with the exception of the Church of Rome, which finally separated from the others in the year 1054, all are united in faith, doctrine, Apostolic tradition, sacraments, liturgies, and services. Together they constitute and call themselves the Orthodox Church." 

— Fr. Alexander, The Orthodox Church: A Catechism [1]

Frm those five churches

other churches have formed

all over the world—

the Church of Russia,

the Church of Greece,

the Church of Serbia,

of Romania, of Bulgaria, America,

& many others.

& all of them are united

in faith, doctrine,

Apostolic tradition,

sacraments, liturgies,

& services.

What this means is:

You can walk into

a Divine Liturgy

in a tiny village

in Greece;

& then fly around the world

& walk into a church in Russia,

or Africa,

or right dwn the road in America —

& you will find

the same faith.

the same doctrine,

Apostolic tradition,

sacraments, liturgies,

& services.

The same Gospel

that was preached in Jerusalem

on the day of Pentecost.

& this is nothing at all

like what we’re

used to seeing.

When Protestant churches splinter,

every split produces

a different faith.

But all of these Orthodox churches

are dfrnt in language

& each one manages

its own internal affairs

while holding one

and the same faith —

and they've held it

for two thousand years!

& that truth

shld make us

sit up

& pay attention.

Bcs this is exactly

what Jesus

prayed for.

& this is what we see

in Revelation 7:9.

John tells us

what he saw in heaven.

He says

Revelation 7:9 NIV

I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

This is what we see

in the Eastern

Orthodox Church.

One body—

Christ’s body—

Many members,

scattered across

many nations,

tribes & peoples,

speaking dfrnt languages —

but believing & practicing

one faith

under one Lord.

A visible unity

the world

can actually see

if they care to look.

Application

We grew up thinking

unity meant

"we all agree

to disagree."

We’ve been taught that

as long as

you love Jesus,

the rest is just details.

But Jesus did not pray

that we'd agree

to disagree.

He prayed,

that we'd be one —

visibly & in reality one

as the Father

& the Son are one.

& tonight I'm telling you —

that prayer has not

gone unanswered.

In the Eastern

Orthodox Church

the faith confessed

& practiced in one country

is the same faith confessed

& practiced

in every other.

So, the Eastern Church is One. [1]

[Transition:

But does the Eastern Church

bear the 2nd mark of Christ’s Church?]

2. Is the Eastern Church HOLY?

Now we already learned

what holiness means

in an earlier sermon.

It means

becoming what God is by grace,

thru our union w/ Christ.

As one Orthodox theologian tells us

"The Church is holy because God is holy, and because Christ and the Holy Spirit are holy. The holiness of the Church comes from God. The members of the Church are holy to the extent that they live in communion with God."

— Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith [2]

He explains further what that means:

"The doctrine of the Church comes alive in the lives of the true believers, the saints. The saints are those who literally share the holiness of God...

The lives of the saints bear witness to the authenticity and truth of the Christian gospel, the sure gift of God's holiness to men."  — Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith [2]

So here's the test.

If the Eastern Orthodox Church

is the holy Church,

we shld see that she

has consistently produced

holy ppl.

Not just in one golden age

frm the past.

But in every generation,

for two thousand years.

And that's exactly

what we find.

Let me give you three examples.

The first is frm

the fourth century.

His name —

St. Basil the Great.

Bishop of Caesarea,

One of the most brilliant minds

& greatest shepherds

the Church has

ever produced.

He could've lived in comfort —

surrounded by books

& honor.

But holiness does not

make men comfortable.

It makes them Christlike.

Around 368 AD,

while Basil was still a priest,

a terrible famine

struck his region.

Crops failed.

The rich hoarded their grain.

The poor starved

in the streets.

& while the wealthy

locked their barns —

Basil sold

his own inheritance.

Every bit of property

his family had left him —

he turned it into

food for the hungry

& care for the sick

He did not just

send others

to serve.

He served himself.

And when he became bishop,

He built a whole complex of mercy

just outside the city —

lodgings for travelers,

shelter for the poor,

hospital wards for the sick,

care for the diseased —

even the lepers

everyone else

had abandoned.

A man destined to be

One of the great bishops

of the Church

put himself among

the hungry,

the sick,

& the forgotten.

Like Jesus —

he became a servant of all.

And he also

rebuked the rich

with a holy fire

that still burns

thru the centuries.

He wrote:

"The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the coat, which you guard in your locked storage-chests, belongs to the naked; the footwear [wasting away] in your closet belongs to those without shoes."— St. Basil the Great, Homily on "I Will Pull Down My Barns"

A genius

who used his gifts

to serve others.

A wealthy man

who emptied his hands

for the poor.

A bishop who drew near

to suffering ppl

no one else

wanted to touch.

That’s the type of

holy ppl

the EOC produced

in the fourth century.

Now leap fwd

more than fourteen centuries

into the cold forests

of Russia.

There we meet

a man named

St. Seraphim of Sarov.

He was a monk

who, according to tradition,

spent a thousand days

& nights on a rock

in prayer.

& the stories say

that even the wild animals—

including a bear—

came to him

& treated him gently,

as if creation itself

recognized

the peace of God

within him.

People who met him

described a man

overflowing with joy.

And he greeted

everyone who came to him

with these words:

"Christ is risen, my joy!"

& listen to how

St. Seraphim described

the goal

of the Christian life.

He said:

“The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. As for fasts, and vigils, and prayer, and almsgiving... they are only means of acquiring the Holy Spirit of God.”

— St. Seraphim of Sarov, recorded by N. Motovilov

According to Motovilov,

the man who recorded

those words,

as St. Seraphim spoke

abt the Holy Spirit,

his face began

to shine with light.

So bright,

Motovilov said,

that it was like

looking into the sun.

And that’s exactly

what Paul describes

in 2 Corinthians 3:17–18,

when he says:

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

…we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

St. Seraphim had been

so transformed

by the Holy Spirit

that the glory of God

shined thru him.

He had become

what every Christian

is called to become:

a living image

of Jesus Christ.

That’s the type of ppl

the Orthodox Church

produces.

& it’s not only

the Bishop & monks

who become holy.

The Orthodox Church

is full of ordinary ppl

who have been made holy

as God is holy.

One Orthodox theologian

describes it this way:

"Eastern [writings about the lives of the saints]…show beside the holy monks many examples of spiritual perfection acquired by simple laymen and married people living in the world...

Union with God may be pursued outside [the monastic life], amid all the circumstances of human life." 

— Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church [4]

The Eastern Orthodox Church

has always taught

that holiness

is for everyone.

It's for mothers & fathers

& farmers & laborers,

right in the middle

of ordinary life.

It’s for you

& for me.

Application

Here's the point:

Anybody can claim

to be the

true Church.

But can they point to

a long list of saints

they’ve produced

over the past 2,000 years?

More than anything else,

This is what keeps

drawing me back

to the EOC.

I don’t understand

everything they do.

But I cannot argue

w/ the fruit

they produce.

Bcs a church cannot produce

a St. Basil the Great,

a St. Seraphim of Sarov,

& thousands upon thousands

of ordinary men & women

who become like God,

generation and generation

w/o the living presence

of the Holy Spirit.

The ppl

the Orthodox Church produces

is the evidence

that proves God

is at work

in His Church.

The Eastern Church

bears the mark

of holiness. [2] [4]

[Transition:

Let’s look now

at the 3rd mark.

3. Is the Eastern Church CATHOLIC?

We’ve seen several times

throughout this series

that the word “catholic”

does not mean

“Roman Catholic."

It means whole,

complete, full,

lacking nothing.

The Church is catholic

bcs it has the fullness

of the apostolic faith.

As one Orthodox writer puts it:

"Calling the Church catholic means to define how it is, namely, full and complete, all-embracing, and with nothing lacking...

The original Jerusalem Church of the apostles, or the early city-churches of Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, or Rome, were catholic... because nothing essential was lacking for them to be the genuine Church of Christ." 

— Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith

That's catholicity.

So here's the test.

When we look at

the Eastern Orthodox Church,

do we find that kind

of fullness?

Or do we find something missing —

something subtracted,

or something invented

& added on?

And here's the answer.

The Eastern Church

has held that fullness,

completely intact,

for two thousand years.

Think abt

what we've already seen

in this series.

Rome added to the faith —

it added the filioque

to the Creed w/o the agreement

of the whole Church.

& it added a new claim

of universal papal authority

the ancient Church

never granted.

& it has continued

to add new dogmas

to the faith.

But when you add something,

you go beyond

the fulness of the faith

by teaching something

the apostles did not

hand down.

& Protestant churches

keep subtracting.

Many have cut away

the sacraments,

the bishops,

the apostolic tradition,

until each group

is left holding

some of the pieces

& no two groups

can even agree on

what’s left.

But when you subtract anything,

frm the faith,

you've broken the fullness

bcs now something essential

is missing.

But the EOC

has not added or subtracted

from the faith.

Walk into any

Orthodox church

& you find the whole thing:

the apostles' teaching,

the bishops in succession,

the Eucharist that is truly

the Body & Blood of Christ,

baptism that still regenerates,

the whole life of prayer,

& the witness

of the saints.

It's all there

in every Orthodox Church

in all places.

Application.

Here's what this means

for you & me.

We grew up in a world

of religious innovation —

new movements,

new teachings,

new pastors promising

they’d found the secrets

that the Church

somehow missed

for two thousand years.

And underneath all of that…

at least for me…

there has always been

this nagging question:

Am I teaching ppl

what has been believed

everywhere,

always,

& by all?

Am I teaching

the fulness of the faith?

How can I be sure?

Catholicity is the answer

to those questions.

The fullness of the faith

has been here

all along.

We don't need

to chase

the newest

Church fads.

& we don't need to settle

for a stripped-down version

of the faith.

There is a Church

that holds the whole thing —

full, complete, lacking nothing —

as Fr. Hopko

described it.

The Eastern Church

bears the mark

of catholicity.

[Transition:

We come now to the fourth

& final mark of Christ’s Church…]

4. IS THE EASTERN CHURCH APOSTOLIC?

A Church needs two things

to be apostolic.

First,

It’s able

to trace its line of bishops

all the way back

to the apostles.

& second,

It still teaches

what the apostles taught.

Listen to

Paul's command to Timothy

in 2 Timothy 2:2:

2 Timothy 2:2 NIV

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

Count the generations

in that one verse.

Paul.

To Timothy.

To reliable ppl…

to others.

That's the chain.

That's succession.

And Jude tells us

what's being passed dwn

through this chain

of succession —

in Jude 3.

It’s

Jude 3 NIV

…the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

Once for all.

It’s not evolving.

Not being added to.

The same deposit;

guarded & handed on.

So here's the test.

Can the Eastern Church

trace that chain

back to the Apostles?

& is it still teaching

that same

once-for-all faith?

Here’s how the Orthodox

describe their bishops:

"The bishops are the successors of the apostles: they are elected and consecrated in the same way as the apostles appointed their own successors.Through the laying on of hands in episcopal consecration, the apostolic ministry is perpetuated from generation to generation."

— Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church

Every Orthodox bishop

was ordained by bishops,

who were ordained by bishops,

in a line that runs unbroken

all the way back to

the apostles

laying their hands

on the men

they appointed.

& this line of bishops

is still guarding

the same faith

the apostles gave

the first Bishops.

& there’s something

miraculous

abt this.

Bcs that

two-thousand-year chain

has not been clean.

It’s not been easy.

The Church has suffered

every kind of attack

frm within & without.

There have been

corrupt bishops

who chased money

& power.

There have been

worldly rulers

who tried to bully

& force their own opinions

onto the Church.

There have been

genuine heretics

that rose up frm

within the Church.

Brilliant

& persuasive men,

who at times captured

huge portions of the Church

& did terrible damage.

There were stretches

where it looked like

false teaching

had won.

But here's the point

I cannot stress enough.

By every earthly calculation,

the faith of the Apostles

should’ve been lost. 

Corrupt bishops

shld’ve ruined it.

Power-hungry emperors

should’ve wrecked it.

Brilliant heretics

should’ve replaced it.

That's what happens

to human institutions

over two thousand years —

It drifts;

It splits;

It dies.

But the Orthodox Church

is still confessing

the exact same faith

the apostles handed down.

Thru every scandal,

every bad bishop,

every imperial bully,

every heresy —

The Orthodox Church

defended the faith

& kept it all intact.

& church,

there's only one

explanation for

how that cld happen.

I must be

the grace of God. 

It must be

that Jesus

has been faithful

to do what He promised

in Matthew 16:18,

when he told Peter

Matthew 16:18 NIV

…I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

This is not a promise

that there will never

be problems

in the Church.

In fact,

it’s just the opposite.

It’s a promise that

Satan & the kingdom

of darkness

will try to destroy

the Church.

From within

& frm without.

But it’s also

a promise

abt Christ’s pwr

to preserve His Church

thru every

evil attack.

& Christ

has been faithful

to keep that promise.

Application

So let me ask you

a question

that has kept me up

at night

for many years.

What gives us confidence

that the faith we hold

is the faith once for all

entrusted to the saints?

Our own study

of the Scriptures?

Our own ability

to read them right?

Brothers & sisters,

the heretics

studied the Scriptures, too.

& the heretics were often 

smarter than the saints

& much more persuasive

in their arguments.

The only way we can know

we’re following

the apostolic faith

is by learning the faith

in Christ’s Church

where He has preserved

the apostolic faith.

& we find that

in the Eastern Church.

They have

the unbroken line,

still standing,

still teaching what

Peter & Paul taught,

after everything that

shld’ve destroyed it.

That's not a

human achievement.

That's a miracle we can see

in the EOC today.

The Eastern Church is apostolic. [1]

CONCLUSION

So we've run the test.

We took the four marks

of Christ's Church

& we held the

Eastern Orthodox Church

up against every one.

Is it One?

Yes —

It’s many churches across the world,

one unbroken faith

for two thousand years.

Is it Holy?

Yes —

It’s a Church producing saints

in every single generation,

the living proof

that the Spirit is at work.

Is it Catholic?

Yes —

It holds the whole faith,

that’s been believed:

everywhere,

always, and by all;

nothing added

& nothing lost.

Is it Apostolic?

Yes—

It has bishops

in an unbroken line

to the apostles,

still teaching the once-for-all faith,

preserved by

the grace of God

thru every storm.

One. Holy. Catholic. Apostolic.

The Eastern Orthodox Church

bears all four marks.

So what do we do now?

This is not the end

of our journey.

We’re just

getting started.

For seven weeks

we’ve had to tear dwn

the faulty foundation

we inherited

so we can

build our lives

on the foundation

Christ established

in His Church.

We've spent

seven weeks

finding the house.

& starting next week,

we're gonna go inside

& look around.

We're gonna begin a long,

careful, beautiful study

of what the Eastern Church

teaches & practices.

We're gonna learn how

the Church worships,

how they pray,

how they fast,

why they keep icons,

what the Divine Liturgy is,

& what it means to be saved

& made holy

by an active,

obedient faith

that cooperates

with the grace of God.

The biggest obstacle

all of us will face

in the coming weeks

will be the way of thinking

abt the Church

we’ve inherited.

We’ll see things

that seem familiar.

Other things

will seem strange.

But we must understand

the Church’s teachings

only seem strange to us

bcs we’ve never

heard them

or seen them practiced.

& we’ve always believed

what we were doing

was the right way.

So what we need is,

humility.

We cannot approach

the Church w/ the attitude

that we have

all the answers.

Clearly…

we do not.

We must approach

Christ’s Church as disciples

who are willing to learn

& to go wherever the truth

takes us.

So come back

nxt week.

Bring your questions.

Bring your doubts & fears.

Bring your hunger

for the truth.

Bcs the faith

that was once for

all delivered in the 1st century

is still being taught today.

The Church Christ founded

is still here;

Still producing saints

like she always has.

& she still calls all of us

w/ the same words

she's used to draw ppl in

for two thousand years.

The same words Jesus said

to His first disciples

who asked where he was staying

in John 1:39:

John 1:39 NIV

“Come…and you will see.”

[1] [2] [5]

PRAYER

Let’s all stand for prayer.

Father,

We thank You for Your Son,

We thank You

for Your Church

& we thank You

for Christ’s promise

that He wld build

His Church.

Lord,

Help us let go of

anything we believe

about Your Church

that is false.

Give us grace to be

lovers of the truth.

& to always walk

in your will for us.

In Jesus name.

Amen.

Sources

[1] — Fr. Alexander,, fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/catechism_ext.htm The Orthodox Church: A Catechism

[2] — Fr. Thomas Hopko,, Vol. I: Doctrine ("Holy Church," "Catholic Church," "The Saints"), Orthodox Church in America, oca.org The Orthodox Faith

[3] — St. Seraphim of Sarov, "On the Acquisition of the Holy Spirit," conversation recorded by N. Motovilov; in, orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/pr_foundational.aspx Living an Orthodox Life: Foundational Writings

[4] — Vladimir Lossky,, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church

[5] — St. Vincent of Lérins,, ch. 2 (the Vincentian Canon: "everywhere, always, and by all" /) Commonitory quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus