Sermon Tone Analysis

Catholic Bible Dictionary (III.

The Church in the New Testament)

III.

THE CHURCH IN THE NEW TESTAMENTA.

The Founding of the Christian ChurchThis promise of the restored Davidic empire was fulfilled with the coming of the Son of David, Jesus Christ, who reigns as king with the Church as the earthly and historical manifestation of his kingdom.

Christ’s throne is established forever in heaven, and “the ends of the earth” are indeed the kingdom’s boundaries.

Thus the chief message of the apostles at the beginning of the Church was that the kingdom had been restored (Acts 1:6; 2:30–31; 8:12; 19:8; 28:23).

Through baptism, anyone who believes can now enter the kingdom (John 3:5; Acts 2:38).Christ himself proclaimed that the “kingdom” was at hand (Matt 4:17; Mark 1:15), and he often used the phrase “Kingdom of God” or “kingdom of heaven” to describe his Church (see, for example, Mark 4:26; 4:30; 10:15).

His words were taken at first by his contemporaries, including the apostles, to be a promise of the restored kingdom of David that would bring an end to the Roman occupation.

But Jesus insisted that “My kingship is not of this world” (John 18:36).

He had come to establish a greater kingdom than the Roman Empire, a kingdom that would span the world and last to the end of time.

His kingdom touches down in history, but its authority comes from heaven.The Holy Spirit—the soul of the living body of believers united in Christ—was given by Jesus to the Church at Pentecost (Acts 1:2; 2:23).

With the coming of the Spirit, the apostles began to preach and to baptize and so to enlarge the membership of the Church (Acts 2:4–41; 4:2).B.

The Structure of the New Testament ChurchJesus gave his kingdom a structure and authority (Matt 16:16–18, 18:15–18; Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1–2).

He chose twelve apostles, with Peter as their leader (Matt 16:18; John 21:15–17), to provide a firm foundation for this Church and to represent the twelve tribes of Israel (Eph 2:20; Rev 21:12–14).

This kingdom, founded upon Peter, will endure even the attacks of Satan.

Thus the Church had a hierarchy from the beginning, in which the apostles were placed over the laity (1 Thess 5:12).

Some are shepherds, some sheep (John 21:15–17; Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Pet 5:1–2) (CCC 553, 642, 771, 874–87, 894–95).The apostles, in turn, chose successors for themselves (Acts 1:15–26) and appointed other ministers to help spread the message and to tend to the affairs of the growing Church (Acts 6:1–3).Already in the time of the apostles we see a hierarchy of deacon, presbyter (or priest), and bishop (Acts 14:23; Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 5:17; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Pet 5:1; “presbyters” is translated “elders” in the RSV).

The difference between a bishop and a priest may not have been sharply defined yet, but the basic organization of the Church was already established in the generation that had known Jesus on earth.C.

The Body of ChristPaul provides an expansive theological explication of the Church, using the word ekklēsia some sixty-five times.

For Paul, the Church is the body of Christ, who is its head (Col 1:18; Eph 5:22–24, 29–30) and from whom the Church receives her fullness (Eph 1:22–23; Col 1:18).

The members of the body have different functions, as a hand differs from a foot or an eye; but they all belong to the same body, and each has its particular function (Rom 12:4–8; 1 Cor 12:4–26; cf. 1 Cor 12:27–31; Eph 4:11–14).The Church as the body of Christ also gives Paul the means to stress the unity among all believers (1 Cor 12:12; Rom 12:4).

This unity finds its sacramental reality first in baptism (1 Cor 12:13), then in the Eucharist: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body” (1 Cor 10:17).D.

The Bride of ChristThe Church is also the Bride of Christ (2 Cor 11:2–3; Eph 5:22–33; Rev 19:7–8).

Christ loves his bride as a husband loves his wife: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:25–27).

This relationship between Christ and the Church is a mystery (Eph 5:22–32), but it develops from the OT’s imagery of Yahweh as the divine husband of Israel (Hos 2:2, 14–23; Jer 2:2), and it is also consistent with Jesus’s reference to himself as a bridegroom (Matt 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34).E.

The Living TempleFor Paul, the Church is also a living temple, indwelt by the Spirit (1 Cor 3:16–17; Eph 2:19–22; cf.

Matt 16:18).

Christ himself is the cornerstone, the “living stone” that was rejected by the builders (1 Pet 2:4), and all Christians, like living stones, are built on that foundation into “a spiritual house” where the true sacrifices are offered (1 Pet 2:5).

The Holy Spirit makes the Church one united people (Gal 3:24–29), the children of God (Eph 4:1–6), who are equal members of the kingdom and who are reconciled through the love of Jesus Christ (Eph 2:11–22; 1 Cor 12:13; Col 3:11).F.

The Church Perfected in GloryFinally, the Church is the bearer of divine life and eschatological hope.

The progress of the Church in the world will culminate on the day when Jesus Christ returns, when the Church will be perfected in the glory of heaven.

Until then, the Church continues her pilgrimage in the face of persecutions, living in confident expectation of the full coming of the Kingdom, when “all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10).G.

The Marks of the ChurchThe Nicene Creed calls the Church one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and these four distinctive marks define the Church and distinguish it as the guardian of true faith:One, because its members are united in faith and doctrine, under the pope;Holy, because it offers the means of receiving sanctifying grace and because it was founded by Christ and is animated by the Holy Spirit;Catholic, because it is universal, meaning that its blessings are intended for all peoples of the world;Apostolic, because the leadership of the Church goes back in an unbroken line through the bishops to the apostles, who were appointed by Christ (CCC 811–65).

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The church was thought of as a single worldwide fellowship of believers, of which each local congregation was an outcrop and a sample.

Early Christian writers often referred to the church as the “body of Christ” and the “new Israel.”

These two concepts reveal much of the early Christians’ understanding of their mission in the world.

A. The Body of Christ.

Paul describes the church as “one body in Christ” (Rom.

12:5) and “His body” (Eph.

1:23).

In other words, the church encompasses in a single communion of divine life all those who are united to Christ by the Holy Spirit through faith.

They share His resurrection (Rom.

6:8), and are both called and enabled to continue His ministry of serving and suffering to bless others (1 Cor.

12:14–26).

They are bound together in a community to embody the kingdom of God in the world.

Because they were bound to other Christians, these people understood that what they did with their own bodies and abilities was very important (Rom.

12:14; 1 Cor.

6:13–19; 2 Cor.

5:10).

They understood that the various races and classes become one in Christ (1 Cor.

12:3; Eph.

2:14–22), and must accept and love each other in a way that shows this to be so.

By describing the church as the body of Christ, the early Christians emphasized that Christ was head of the church (Eph.

5:25).

He directed its actions and deserved any praise it received.

All its power to worship and serve was His gift.

Common Characteristics.

Some common qualities emerge from the many images of the church that we find in the New Testament.

They all show that the church exists because God called it into being.

Christ has commissioned His followers to carry on His work, and that is the church’s reason for existence.

The various New Testament images of the church stress that the Holy Spirit empowers the church and determines its direction.

Members of the church share a common task and common destiny under the Spirit’s leading.

The church is an active, living entity.

It participates in the affairs of this world, it exhibits the way of life that God intends for all people, and it proclaims God’s Word for the present age.

The spiritual unity and purity of the church stand in bold contrast to the enmity and corruption of the world.

It is the church’s responsibility in all the particular congregations in which it becomes visible to practice unity, love, and care in a way that shows that Christ truly lives in those who are members of His body, so that their life is His life in them.

VI.

New Testament Doctrines.

The Bible sets forth the fundamental teachings of the Christian faith.

The early church lived according to these doctrines and preserved them for us today.

Let us focus our attention on how the New Testament presents Christianity.

A. Living in Christ.

First of all, we are told that God the Father brings Christians into fellowship with Himself, as children in His family, through the death and risen life of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.

As Paul wrote, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Cor.

5:19).

So the eternal Son took on human flesh.

Jesus of Nazareth, fully God and fully man, revealed the Father to the world.

The early Christians saw themselves as people “who through him are believers in God” (1 Pet.

1:21, NASB).

They found new life in Jesus Christ, and came into union with the living God through Him (Rom.

5:1).

Jesus promised that, by being “born again,” men and women would find their proper relationship with God and savingly enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5–16; 14:6).

The early Christians proclaimed this simple but startling message about Jesus.

Every major religion of the world has claimed that its “founder” had unique insight into the eternal truths of life.

But Christians claim far more, for Jesus Himself told us that He is the Truth, not just a teacher of the Truth (John 14:6).

First-century Christians rejected the pagan religions and philosophies of their day to accept God’s Word in the flesh.

B. Teaching Right Doctrine.

The pagan religion of Rome was a rite rather than a doctrine.

In effect, the emperor declared: “This you must do, but you can think as you please.”

Roman worshipers believed they needed only to perform the proper ceremonies of religion, whether they understood them or not.

As far as they were concerned, a hypocritical skeptic could be just as “religious” as a true believer, so long as he offered sacrifice in the temple of the gods.

On the other hand, the early Christians insisted that both belief and behavior are vital, that the two go hand in hand.

They took seriously Jesus’ words that “true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23).

What a Christian believed with his mind and felt in his heart, he would do with his hands.

So the early Christians obeyed God (1 John 3:22–24), and they contradicted and opposed so-called Christians who tried to spread false teachings (cf. 1 Tim.

6:3–5).

This is essentially what we mean when we speak of Christianity.

It is a new life in Jesus Christ, which brings genuine obedience to His teachings.

The article on “Jesus Christ” describes His teachings in detail.

Here we will point out the basic differences between what Jesus and His followers taught, and what their pagan neighbors taught.

Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible (B.

Teaching Right Doctrine)

1.

The Doctrine of God.

Nearly every major religion teaches that some Superior Being rules the universe, and that nature demonstrates this all-powerful Being at work.

These religions often describe such a Being in terms of natural forces, like the wind and rain.

But the early Christians did not look to nature for the truth about God; they looked to Christ.