WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

Presented by Kennedy Gitau

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

Is it a building?

 Is it a building?
An organization?

 Is it a building?
An organization? A way of affirming correct confessional criteria?

 The church is more than that, but exists in relation to all those
meanings.

HISTORICAL VIEWS OF THE CHURCH

The Early Church

HISTORICAL VIEWS OF THE CHURCH

The Early Church
The Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople agreed on the Nicene Creed.

HISTORICAL VIEWS OF THE CHURCH

The Early Church
The Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople agreed on the Nicene Creed.

The Apostles Creed didnt appear until in the eighth century. It

added the phrase the communion of saints to the sentence We believeone holy catholic and apostolic church.

 The Protestant Reformation

 The Protestant Reformation

The Reformers accepted Nicene confessions as key in understanding the church. However, they emphasized on one, holy,

and catholic church than on apostolic church.

 The Protestant Reformation

The Reformers accepted Nicene confessions as key in understanding the church. However, they emphasized on one, holy,

and catholic church than on apostolic church.

However, they continued to speak of the apostolic faith and apostolic authority.

 The Protestant Reformation lead to the establishment of state

churches based on the faith of the head of each principality. Church shifted from a broader sense of ecclesiology to

institutional churches

 The Free Church Movement

 The Free Church Movement

It began by the Anabaptists (the Radical Reformers)

 The Free Church Movement

It began by the Anabaptists (the Radical Reformers) Insisted on complete separation of church and state and personal experience of conversion.

 The Free Church Movement

It began by the Anabaptists (the Radical Reformers) Insisted on complete separation of church and state and personal

experience of conversion.
Instituted a shift from institutional ecclesiology to a personal one. What mattered is ones personal relationship with God.

 Pietism

 Pietism
This movement grew up in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It was a response to a stymied traditionalism and

rationalistic confessionalism in the state churches of Europe

 Pietism
This movement grew up in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It was a response to a stymied traditionalism and

rationalistic confessionalism in the state churches of Europe

Ones personal experience with God became the center of Gods redemptive work in the world

THE MODELS OF THE CHURCH

The church as an institution

THE MODELS OF THE CHURCH

The church as an institution
The church as communion

THE MODELS OF THE CHURCH

The church as an institution
The church as communion The church as sacrament

THE MODELS OF THE CHURCH

The church as an institution
The church as communion The church as sacrament The church as the herald

THE MODELS OF THE CHURCH

The church as an institution
The church as communion The church as sacrament The church as the herald The church as the servant

IS THE CHURCH LOCAL OR UNIVERSAL?

Two concepts about universality of the church:

IS THE CHURCH LOCAL OR UNIVERSAL?

Two concepts about universality of the church:
One, the church being universal, as in it is transferable into every culture.

IS THE CHURCH LOCAL OR UNIVERSAL?

Two concepts about universality of the church:
One, the church being universal, as in it is transferable into every culture.

Two, the mystical oneness of the church operated by the Spirit

beyond the institutional church.

SCHOLASTICISM
Scholasticism embraced realisma belief in the extra-mental
existence of universals.

SCHOLASTICISM
Scholasticism embraced realisma belief in the extra-mental
existence of universals. Scholastic realists argued that universals such as species and genera

were ultimately real things and individual beings were merely

particular instances of these universals.

 Under scholastic framework, then, the historical church (which is a

combination of particular churches) is just but an expression of a universal church (a mystical one).

 Under scholastic framework, then, the historical church (which is a

combination of particular churches) is just but an expression of a universal church ( a mystical one).

But if this were true, could God destroy an instance of this

universal church (I mean, like one particular church) without necessarily destroying the universal church?

NOMINALISM
Nominalists argued that faith alone presupposed Gods
omnipotencethat he can do everything possible, excluding that which supposes obvious logical contradiction.

NOMINALISM
Nominalists argued that faith alone presupposed Gods
omnipotencethat he can do everything possible, excluding that which supposes obvious logical contradiction.

Everything exists because God wills it.. Gods actions in the world
are continuous, bound neither by natural laws nor his previous determination.

 Nominalists also denied existence of universals. This is because

embracing such a position posed an immediate danger to the doctrine of divine omnipotence.

 Nominalists also denied existence of universals. This is because

embracing such a position posed an immediate danger to the doctrine of divine omnipotence.

That is, if a universal did exist, then God would be unable to destroy
any instances of it without destroying the universal itself. For example, God could not damn human beings without damning all humanity.

 If there are no real universals, then every being must be radically

individual created by God through his infinite power and sustained by him alone.

 If there are no real universals, then every being must be radically

individual created by God through his infinite power and sustained by him alone.

Therefore, under the nominalist framework, there would be no

universal church to which particular churches belong. Each church is radically local.

 The problem with nominalist view:

God is the only necessary thing. Everything is contingent upon His will, in such that God affects the world, but is not affected by it.

The relationship gives one-way relationship.

 Presenters views:

 Presenters view:
There exists no mystical universal church. Each church is radically local (particular), and it is part of the universal physical church, on a

purely social contract facilitated by the Holy Spirit. This social

contract is the Holy Communion.

 Presenters view:
There exists no mystical universal church. Each church is radically local, and it is part of the universal physical church, on a purely social contract facilitated by the Holy Spirit. This social contract is the Holy Communion. God is omnipotent, yet he has chosen to self-limit, in order to share in the life of the local churches and be affected by them, without necessarily changing His essence.