8. The Church 1

8. The Theology of the Church
8.1 The Rule of Faith

• Born on the Day of Pentecost
• Nicene Creed: "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic"
• Protestant Reformation: "word rightly preached, sacraments rightly administered, community rightly ordered."
• Visible and invisible

8.2 The Assembly

• Possible origins in the synagogue and the yachad of the Dead Sea Scrolls
• A local house gathering
• In the Prison Epistles becomes universalized, the church universal

8.3 Images of the Church

     8.3.1 The Body of Christ

• 1 Corinthians 12:27, 18-20 - one body (body of Christ) with one Spirit, many members many functions
• Romans 12:4-8 - many gifts, one body (background of grace in patron-client relationships)
• The shift in Colossians and Ephesians - Christ as the head, the church as the body (Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:23)

     8.3.2 The Temple of God

• Galatians 2:9 - key apostles as pillars, an alternative temple community (cf. Essenes)
• 1 Corinthians 3:16-20; 6:19 - local assembly is a temple
• A building with foundations - 1 Cor. 3:11 (Jesus Christ the foundation)
• The shift in Ephesians (2:19-22) to the foundation being apostles and (Christian) prophets, with Christ as the cornerstone
• 1 Peter 2:5 - royal priesthood, spiritual house

     8.3.3 The Bride of Christ

• Ephesians 5:23, 25-27

Previous "chapters"
Chapter 1: What is Biblical Theology?
Chapter 2: Theology of God
Chapter 3: Creation and Consummation
Chapter 4: Sin and Atonement
Interlude: A Theology of Israel
Chapter 5: Jesus the Christ
Chapter 6: Salvation
Chapter 7: The Holy Spirit