Sermon Tone Analysis

Question #1: What is the Church?

The Greek word ἐκκλησία:

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Appears 114x in the GNT.

It carries the sense of church or assembly, or community.

It appears 75x in the LXX.

The overwhelming majority of cases it is rendered from the Hebrew word קָהָל.

This word carries the sense or range of meaning, contingent, assembly, convocation, congregation.

It appears 176x in the Hebrew text and is translated ekklesia 109x and sunagoge 34x.

The church is the called-out assembly of believers.

John Calvin in Book Four of the Institutes begins be referring to the church as the Society of Christ.

The catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the Head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

The first time the Hebrew word קָהָל is used is in :

One could argue that we can get back to Noah in terms a “called out” people.

Israel was the Church of the Old Covenant, OT.

God did not just begin calling out people to himself in the New Covenant.

He has been doing that since the fall of Adam.

This blessing of Isaac on Jacob began official fulfillment as Israel first become the covenant people of God here:

The nation finally became the covenant people in where they affirmed their covenant with God:

Peter describes the church like this:

The church is the people of God in all ages.

The church is the people in covenant with God, through Jesus Christ.

[John Frame, ST, 1019]

Unlike our Presbyterian friends, we Reformed Baptists do not believe that unregenerate people are actually in the covenant.

We believe only God’s elect are in the covenant.

The basis for this conviction is found in .

Jesus said this is the blood of the New Covenant which is spilled for you.

Christ’s blood cleanses.

The New Covenant is written on the heart of the covenant people by God himself.

The church then is the covenant people of God, the sheep whom the Father has given to the Son.

Question #2: How does one enter the Church?

Acts

Question #3: How should the Church be structured?

This text informs us that Christ is the King of his Church.

The church is like a spiritual army fighting a spiritual war.

Christ is head of the Church

Each church is to have a plurality of elders.

I believe that the word s elder, overseer, pastor, and bishop are interchangeable titles of the same office.

This is the ruling elder.

[John Frame, ST, 1026]

② an official (cp.

Lat.

senator), elder, presbyter

③ engagement in oversight, supervision, of leaders of Christian communities

③ engagement in oversight, supervision, of leaders of Christian communities

② an official (cp.

Lat.

senator), elder, presbyter

③ engagement in oversight, supervision, of leaders of Christian communities

Episcopal: all the churches in one region fall under the authority of one man, called a bishop.

Presbyterian: plurality of elders in every congregation elected by the congregation.

The elders within a region (Presbytery) meet over those churches within that region.

Annually all the elders of the denomination meet at what is called a Synod or General Assembly.

Sidebar: The Turning Point in Church History

Faced with the dangerous Ebionite heresy and docetism, Ignatius began to make a distinction between the offices of overseer/bishop and presbyter/elder.

He called for “one bishop, together with the presbytery and the deacons, my fellow servants” to lead the churches.

Ignatius said that just as Christ did nothing without the Father, so the elders must not do anything without the bishop and presbyters.

He went so far as to say that the churches should “be eager to do everything in godly harmony, the bishop presiding in the place of God and the presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles and the deacons.

This led to the three tiered structure: bishops, elders, and deacons.

Cyprian took Ignatius’ views to a new level.

Face with a rival church founded by Novatian, Cyprian focused on the issue of unity.

This was because Novatian’s church was theologically sound (all things considered - it refused to readmit lapsed believers at all) and Cyprian had no other quibbles to raise but that this break-away church was disturbing the unity of the church.

Unity was not simply defined by unity in truth and doctrine, but unity in submission to the bishop.

“Wherever the bishop is, there is the Church.”

He interpreted the New Testament in a rather Old Testament way, thinking of presbyters and bishops as priests and the Lord’s supper as a sacrifice.

It was in Cyprian’s view of the bishop that we see the doctrine of apostolic succession in its fulness.

This gave rise to the belief that unless one was submitting to the bishop, he was a heretic regardless of the soundness of his theology.

During the first full empire wide persecution, Cyprian introduced the idea of penance for those who had defected in order to avoid persecution and wanted to return after the persecution had ended.

He argued that only the bishops had the authority to settle this question.

Question #4: What kind of authority does the Church possess?

Submission to the sovereign lordship of Christ is not optional for believers.

Rather their highest calling and supreme obligation is to submit joyfully to his commands.

John MacArthur, ST, 754]

Question #5: What is the mission of the Church?

-18

Preach the gospel

Baptize converts

Make disciples - make those whom God saves, passionate students of Christ.