Condensed Theology

A Primer in Systematic Theology

Ecclesiology: The Doctrine of the Church

What does the Bible teach about the church?

The Marks of the Church

Preliminaries

The Marks of the Church: Preliminaries

The historical context of the marks

The Roman Catholic church accused Protestant churches of failing to possess the attributes of the church:

They were not one with Rome. They were not holy because they had no grace to dispense since they rejected Romes sacerdotalism. They were not catholic because they were situated only in Europe. They were not apostolic because they rejected papal authority.

The Marks of the Church: Preliminaries

The historical context of the marks

Therefore the Protestant churches were compelled to set forth how the true church was to be identified.
They

proved that they possessed the attributes of the church. They introduced the marks of the church.

Where the marks of the church were present, the attributes of the church were present.

The Marks of the Church: Preliminaries

The marks of the church:

The right proclamation of the word of God The right administration of the sacraments The faithful exercise of church discipline

The Right Proclamation of the Word of God

Right Proclamation of the Word

John 8:31, 47: So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.47He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God. Gal 1:8-9: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

Right Proclamation of the Word

2 Thess 2:15: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 2 John 9-11: Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

Right Proclamation of the Word

2 Tim 3:16-4:4: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 4:1I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

The Right Administration of the Sacraments

Right Administration of the Sacraments

Though congregations of the Reformation have differed on the nature and form of the sacraments (e.g. compare Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Baptist views), They have agreed that the Roman Catholic view of the sacraments was incorrect.

Right Administration of the Sacraments

Roman Catholicism delineates seven sacraments:

Baptism Confirmation The Eucharist Penance Extreme Unction Holy Orders Matrimony

The churches of the Reformation delineate two: baptism and the Lords Supper.

Right Administration of the Sacraments

Roman Catholicism teaches that the sacraments function ex opere operato (by the fact of the actions being performed). The churches of the Reformation insist that the sacraments do not have any power in themselves to confer grace to the recipient.

Right Administration of the Sacraments

The Roman Catholic church teaches that the sacraments are necessary for salvation. The churches of the Reformation teach that they are not.

Right Administration of the Sacraments

The Roman Catholic church teaches that in the miracle of the Mass, the bread and wine of the Eucharist actually change into the body and blood of the Lord. The churches of the Reformation reject this view as sacrilegious especially insofar as it implicitly attacks the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Right Administration of the Sacraments

Therefore to say that the right administration of the sacraments is a mark of the church is to say that a nonRoman administration of the sacraments is a mark of the church.

Right Administration of the Sacraments

Matt 28:18-20: And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

The Right Administration of the Sacraments

Baptism

Baptism

The administrator of baptism: the church.

Matt 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Baptism

The recipients of baptism: believers.

Acts 2:41: So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

Baptism

Every example of baptism in the NT involves believers

Acts 2:41: After Peters first sermon, those who received his word were baptized. Acts 8:12-13: Philip had been preaching the gospel in Samaria, and those who had believed the preaching were subsequently baptized. Simon the magician also made a profession of faith, following which he was baptized. Acts 8:36-39: The Ethiopian eunuchs baptism immediately followed his profession. Acts 9:18: The Apostle Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, then he was baptized. Acts10:47-48: The Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit (i.e. they were converted). Peter ordered them to be baptized following their conversion. Acts 16:14-15: Lydia had her heart opened to the truth and was subsequently baptized. Acts 16:31-33: After the Roman jailer and his household had heard the gospel they believed and then were baptized. Acts 19:5: When certain disciples are met by Paul, he explains to them the significance of John the Baptists ministry and its fulfillment in Christ following which they are baptized.

Baptism

The mode of baptism: immersion.

The Greek terminology (bapti,zw, baptz) is the language of immersion. Jewish proselyte baptism was by immersion. This is significant for understanding Johns baptism. The language of the NT regarding the circumstances of individuals baptisms supports immersion cf. Matt 3:16; John 3:23; Acts 8:39. Other first-century communities (like the Essenes) practiced baptism by immersion as a rite of initiation. Immersion was the normal mode of baptism at least until the ninth century (Italy as late as the 13th century; and the Eastern churches still baptize by immersion). Immersion most accurately depicts the significance of baptism.

Baptism

The significance of baptism: union with Christ and initiation into his body, the church.

Rom 6:1-4: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Gal 3:26-28: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Baptism

The power of baptism: a means of Gods grace.

It strengthens and encourages our faith. Col 2:12: having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

The Right Administration of the Sacraments

The Lords Supper

The Lords Supper

The administrator of the Lords Supper: the church.

1 Cor 11:20-25: Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

The Lords Supper

The recipients of the Lords Supper: penitent believers.

1 Cor 11:28-29: But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.

The Lords Supper

The elements of the Lords Supper: bread and wine.

1 Cor 11:20-21, 23-25: Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.23For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

The Lords Supper

The significance of the Lords Supper: our participation in the person and work of the Lord Jesus.

1 Cor 11:24-25: and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. 1 Cor 10:16: Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?

The Lords Supper

The power of the Lords Supper: a means of Gods grace.

It nourishes and encourages our faith. 1 Cor 10:16: Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?

The Faithful Exercise of Church Discipline

Faithful Exercise of Church Discipline

Matt 18:15-17: "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Faithful Exercise of Church Discipline

Rom 16:17-18: Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

Faithful Exercise of Church Discipline

1 Cor 5:1-5: It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.13But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

Faithful Exercise of Church Discipline

Gal 6:1: Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Thess 3:14-15: If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Faithful Exercise of Church Discipline

1 Tim 1:20: Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. 1 Tim 5:20: Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. Titus 1:10-11: For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. Titus 3:10: Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.

The Marks of the Church

Conclusion

Conclusion: The Marks of the Church

The right proclamation of the word The right administration of the sacraments The faithful exercise of church discipline John Calvin: From this the face of the church comes forth and becomes visible to our eyes. Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to Christs institution, there, it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists (Institutes 4.1.9).

Conclusion: The Marks of the Church

And in reality, since the word of God is our authority for our understanding of baptism, the Lords Supper, and church discipline, Louis Berkhof is right when he says, Strictly speaking, it may be said that the true preaching of the Word and its recognition as the standard of doctrine and life, is the one mark of the Church. Without it there is no Church, and it determines the right administration of the sacraments and the faithful exercise of church discipline (Systematic Theology, 577).