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7
Church
What Do We Mean by 'The Church?'
by
David Chronic
The New Testament word for household is oikos, which is the basis for every church: two or three gathered in the name of Jesus, otherwise stated, the family. The family of God is not confined to one household. In the New Testament we do not see one church over or against another, although there were doctrinal differences and even potential divisions within the church. We see the ekklesia (church) used to address various oikoi (household churches) of a single city in Revelation (1:11). From this we can gather that one church does not have priority over another and can therefore hold to an ecumenical equality of different church expressions while rejecting any normative ecclesiological position that one local church holds over another.
The relationships between Christians build relationships between churches, which is called ecumenism. Some evangelicals find the word “ecumenical” to be frightening, preferring terms like “interdenominational,” but we fear that which we do not understand. WMF approaches ecumenism from two angles: the biblical revelation and the missionary context.
“Ecumenical” means universal, worldwide, catholic, sobornic or general. Its etymology comes from the Greek oikos, meaning household” or the basic political and economic cell of society. This root word is found in oikonomos, or economy, and oikoumene, or the wide world. The “house” (oikos) of which Jesus is Lord and which is to be kept in order (oikonomos) according to His will, is called the world (oikoumene), and those who dwell therein are called katoikountes.
In the Bible we see that the church is to be ecumenical, meaning one universal church. Jesus, in His high priestly prayer, asks the Father to make the church one as the Father is one with the Son (John 17:21). This is not a prayer for uniformity but a prayer for union and togetherness in diversity. This unity is not the realization of the church but a gift from the Father. This unity is not based on accord or commonality but on Jesus, who constitutes our unity. More specifically, the church’s unity is through participation in the unity of the Godhead: “I in You, You in Me, and they in Us” (John 17:21).
The Bible also teaches us that we are members of the Body of Christ. There is one body under one head: Jesus Christ. The church’s unity, then, is in our submission to Christ and in our functioning as His Body. Ecumenicity is defined, therefore, in terms of its center, Jesus Christ, and not of its margins. Though the church’s unity falters, there is the biblical promise of unity that will be fulfilled in the eschaton. All things will be summed up in the Head (1 Corinthians15:28). God’s presence will indwell His people (Revelation 21). This unity is the promise for the church and the goal after which the church must order its present life and behavior.
The church is also ecumenical in that it is called to go into all the world (oikoumene) (Matthew 28). Christians are called to make God known through loving one another: “That the world will know that You sent Me” (John 17:21). This is where unity meets the mission field. Can a divided church present a credible message to a wanting and watching world? The answer is that division and competition in the church are obstacles to the world’s coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Not only do we come to the mission field with the problem of a fragmented church, but we also come as the church to a context in which other expressions of church are already present. We are delighted to find Spirit-filled and Christ-led believers. We meet them in Pentecostal, Baptist, Brethren, Orthodox and Catholic churches. But it is the one Spirit that fills us and the one body of which we are members. Denominations are adjectives for certain expressions of church that are particular to a historical and geographical context. Though we are constantly challenged by the different expressions of church, we strive to enter loving relationships so that the world will know that the Father sent the Son.
The loving partnerships of the church ought to impede and oppose the fragmentation, segregation and isolation that translate to suffering and death for the poor in the world today.
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Comments
Greg Carlson
A paper like this is greatly needed! When working with young adults in the Christian Ministries dept. at Trinity, many have a need to wrestle with ecclesiology. In fact, I would like to use this article for my Intro to Ministry class.
Ralph Neighbour
I would agree with this but feel it does not go far enough. The Basic Ecclesia is the literal body of the Son, the Christ, on the earth today. It permits the Son to penetrate a segment of the world that is attached to the body members through relationships and/or geography. The role of Christ today is not to send his followers as salesmen to speak of Him, but rather to so inhabit and empower his ecclesia that He Himself will be manifested, revealing His Presence and Power. He Himself is the Witness. 1 Corinthians 14:24-26 clearly spells this out. I have written, over four years of pondering and study, a special treatise on this subject: "Christ's Basic Bodies." It is my earnest prayer it will lead to further awareness that the ecclesia is the most sacred treasure of God on the face of the earth today.
Antony Billington
Unfortunately, the pdf link doesn’t work.
David Befus
Where do all the resources spent on buildings fit in?
David Chronic
thanks Q for posting this article, and thanks for the comments! Ralph: great ideas on Christ as the witness. That is a beautiful image. This is what I was attempting to point towards in what I said about "indwelt", but you are right that I need to go further. Antony: you can find the full article on the wordmadeflesh website. David: I used to be adamantly against the buildings...and I still think many in the west are wrong-headed in their constructions. but I do think we need to consider building institutions (buildings included) that sustain and support missional communities. (see Hunter's "Change the World").
Gemechu
Its interesting.bless you.
Colby
Exeetmrly helpful article, please write more.
Comments are now closed
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