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Paul's Theology of the Church (Nature of the church (Letters are to…
Paul's Theology of the Church
Nature of the church
Letters are to gathered community, not individuals (except 2 Tim) Churches are believers coming together for worship and support.
House churches - average size 20. 40 for wealthy.
Paul's references to church are always to people, not to bulidings
Church could be in many
places
at one time - Judea, Asia, Macedonia, Galatia
"
ekklesia" a gathering of those baptised
in the name of Jesus was the church / assembly of God. Most frequent term. Address letters to "the church of the Thessalonians" etc.
possibly influenced by Gk idea of ekklesia as assembly of citizens, or Hellenistic philosophy schools, clubs or socieities. Just means general assembly.
Eschatological community of new covenant people of God
. (Fee)
the
occasional / situational
nature of Paul's letters may mean we can't fully understand all his theology on the church
Church of people called by God
More likely Paul's idea of ekklesia comes from OT Hebrew qahal "assembly".
qahal YHWH or qahal Israel
.
Idea of community of ppl
called out of the world
by YHWH
characterised by
holiness
now includes
Gentiles
all enter through
baptism
continuous
with Israel
but also
discontinuous bc resurrection of Jesus is eschatological event ushering in new age of humanity and new creation
Mission of the church
LTJ - church's mission is not a task to fulfil but a
character of life
it must exhibit:
righteousness before God
and
right relationship with others
behaviours include
forgiveness and reconciliation
(Gal 5:22, Phil 2:1-4)
bearing one another's burdens
(Gal 6:2)
love one another
pleasing others
not yourself
"The church is called not merely to
believe
the gospel but also to
become
the gospel and thereby to
advance
the gospel; the church is a
living exegesis
of the gospel." Michael
Gorman
Metaphors of the church
Dunn quotes Paul
Minear
95 images of church in NT including
light
, a letter from Christ, olive tree,
bride of Christ
, God's planting and God's building, the elect,
remnant
, Abraham's sons, sons of God, the new creation...
Family metaphor
- Abraham as father
"
brothers" - adelphoi
- language of kinship. Effect is to strengthen community idenity and unity.
believers are "
children of God
" through adoption
Body of Christ metaphor
dominant metaphor.
living organism
with many parts.
UNITED BUT DIVERSE
DIVERSE
bc of different
ethnic, gender and class
status - Jew, Gentile, male, female, slave, free.
UNITED
bc of
belief, worship, united by Holy Spirit.
Expressed through
baptism
and
communion
sacraments.
image of the
body politic
where the state or city is seen as a body was around at the time - evidence in
Livy
.
But different bc body of Christ.
Christ
is head. Over the church.
Temple in which God dwells
the Spirit is the
renewed presence of God with his ppl
Eph 2:22
"in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God" (not all scholars see Eph as authored by Paul)
allusion to
OT Ezek and Jer
.
Community but with no cultic aspects
Language of sacrifice, temple and priesthood
but without the sacrifices, temple, priestly practices and rituals.
made the church stand out from
Greco-Roman religious gatherings
and ceremonies.
Paul
redefines cultic terms
sacrifice "
Present your bodies as a sacrifice
"
temple: "
You are God's temple
" 1 Cor 3:16-17
priesthood "
serving the gospel of God as a priest
" Rns 15:16 but with no
high priest, no libations, ritual sacrifices, prophetic oracles
etc.
Charismatic
"
Koinonia
" "fellowship of the Spirit" or "participation in the Spirit"
"
Created and formed
by the Spirit, the early
communities thus became fellowships
of the Spirit.' (Fee)
essential in
establishing and sustaining
the life of the church
"Charismata" gifts to be exercised for the benefit of the whole body.
everyone's an active member - all
minister
and are ministered to
"
phanerosis
" - manifestations (
1 Cor 12:8-10
) wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment spirits, tongues, interpretation tongues.
"
pneumatika
" spiritual things / spirituals (
1 Cor 12:1
)
Intro
Luke Timothy Johnson - the main concern of Paul's is "
stability and integrity of his churches
." Not concerned with the individual as much as the community.
Paul concerned with how practices might
divide communities
(circumcision, use of tongues, visions etc)