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ONE BODY IN CHRIST
Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Just as the body is one and has many members, all the members form one body. All the saints constitute one body; the body of Christ. One Spirit animates the whole body; we were all given to drink into one Spirit; the Holy Spirit gives life to all. The members have different functions; each member has a specific role in the body. The goal of the members is to contribute to the wellbeing of the whole body. Each member is important to the body; therefore, the body is not one member but many. The Holy Spirit empowers the members of the body; He gives to each member a function and a position in the body. To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all. There are many members but only One Spirit who gives life to all. There are various kinds of workings but only One Spirit who empowers all. The saints form one body which is known as the universal church of Christ. The universal church is made up of all the believers of all the generations.
The saints are living stones that form “a living House”. The Holy Spirit is the chief of the church; He is the head of the church. He coordinates and controls everything in the church.
The Seven Churches
We discuss here how the Holy Spirit works through men in order to accomplish His perfect will in the world. The same way the
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However, the disciples were merely instruments to display the Holy Spirit’s power among men. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that worked through them. The disciples did all things in the Name of Jesus and for the glory of Jesus. They spoke not of their words but what they received from God. Like the angels, the disciples refused to receive worship from people because it was the Holy Spirit’s power that works all those deeds. They were only the channels for the display of the power of the Holy
The first is that of the priest, who delivers the messages of Jesus during Mass. The priest becomes a symbol for the Catholics because otherworldly spirits are able to pass through and are amid the living for a short period of time. Furthermore, the pope of Rome is similar to the priest in that he becomes the embodiment of God. Though they are similar in this way, the pope of Rome is the head of the church and his words are equivalent to the words of the Bible. This representation provided an additional belief to the Catholics, both being in scripture and in church. In addition, the church became a symbol of belief, “Indeed, Catholic tradition put spirit and matter together by understanding the church as the Mystical Body of Christ” (pg. 66). With all these together, there is a functioning society within
In the eyes of the people the church is one place you are spared from judgment and critique. It is the one place you should feel safe, to express your thoughts and opinions, pray to the higher power in which you believe and your faith resides and be free of society qualms, demands, and realism. In a part
Mark's Gospel and Nature of Discipleship In Mark's Gospel, there are many accounts of Jesus' disciples and Apostles which are helpful to Christians as examples of the nature of discipleship. In this part of my coursework essay I hope to address questions involving what Mark's Gospel tells us about Jesus' disciples and Apostles, as well as defining the principle of what being a disciple entails, and defining also who the apostles were. This is because by learning about past disciples and the Apostles, a modern disciple of the Church can learn about the nature of discipleship. A disciple is somebody who is inspired enough by somebody to learn about them, listen to their ideas and follow them and their way of life.
1. A significant passage we have gone over in class together is Acts 2: 42-47: Communal Living. In this passage the followers became a community and a church and they were spreading the wealth to help other like Jesus would so that none were marginalized and all were taken care of. The followers devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles and communal life. Everyone would meet up and they would break bread with each other. 2. The author of the Acts of the Apostles is Luke the Evangelist. Luke saw the church and everything that was going on it as the work of the Holy Spirit and that he was enlivening the people to do the things they are doing and working through people such as Paul, John, and others of the Early Church. 3. I see the people actually live as church and the church is changing and becoming more of a community. I see the Holy Spirit in this because it is sort of the main cause of this development of the church be cause he made all of the events leading up to this happen. 4. In this passage I see community of disciples because that is exactly what it became it became a community of followers of Jesus and they had values and lifestyles that differed from the social norm of the times. Community of disciples is defined as a group that devote themselves as followers of Jesus thereby having values and lifestyles that may often be in contrast with society. 5. Having studied this passage, I now realize that the Holy Spirit brought all the people together and because of that they became accepting of each other. One way I see this passage related to church life today is that we all break bread with one another and have no second thought about it when we receive communion together we are not thinking about who that ...
From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one direc...
...ty in the world that even remotely resembles it”. (p91) Going forward what is needed is for the Corinthians is to stop being self-centered and repent. The church is God’s sanctuary. Paul’s portrayal of the church expands upon the role of the “Father Son and Holy Spirit in relation to the church”(p91). Which minimizes the role of its leaders, the leaders are not to be put on a pedestal. Because all the glory goes to God the leaders are mere servants of their flock and servants of God. The growth in God’s field is caused by God not humans as for God’s building the only foundation is that of Jesus Christ, and God’s temple is where the Holy Spirit dwells. According to Romans 8:17 what is Jesus’s is ours 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest body of Christians in the world. Catholics are concentrated more heavily in North America, Europe and South America than any other place. The traces of the beginning of the Catholic Church began about A.D. 30; this is the time when Jesus Christ was mandating his apostles to spread the teachings about the Kingdom of God. (Gills Web). Catholics have the belief that Christ inaugurated the church to carry to his people the salvation that he had brought to the world. They also believe that with the aid of God they have managed to preserve his teachings. Belief in God’s revelation is religious faith. Some beliefs that the Roman Catholic’s acquire are the Trinity and creation, Sin, the Incarnation, and salvation, Life after death, Worship and Baptism, Confirmation, and Mass. (Gills Web). Trinity and creation is where Catholics presume there is only one God. This one God exists of a unit of three persons – The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons form the Holy Trinity. (Gills Web) Although this is true there is still only one God.
Authority of Scripture reconciles the community with God and can transform our lives. To participate in the fuller blessing of understanding, it is important to view Scripture with historical and literary sensitivity, interpret theocentrically, ecclesially, and contextually. I realize each of these can be overwhelming to the average person who is seeking direction for a specific concern in their life. Therefore, Migliore reminds us, interpreting Scripture is practical engagement in the living of Christian faith, love, and hope in a still redeemed world. When we listen carefully to the voices of the past, from a worldwide culture, and guided by the Holy Spirit, we will open ourselves to those transformational opportunities.
The statement by John, “Baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire,” has an undertone which is connected to a theme which intertestamental Jews held. This idea was not related directly to the Holy Spirit and the work He would have at Jesus’ baptism or in Jesus’ ministry. A question such as, why would an unrelated belief have a connection to the Holy Spirit who was to come in the baptism of Jesus? This belief was the idea that a time of affliction or anguish would take place before the coming of the messiah. This was referred to as the birth pangs of the messiah. One reference which is used to support this is from the prophet Daniel, where in one of his visions he refers to war being made against the saints and until the ancient of days would come there would be judgment upon the saints (Dan. 7:21-22). The fire which john speaks about could be a fire of judgment for the people as well as a fire which would purify the saints. Various OT prophets confirm this idea of judgment by fire (Amos 7:4; Mal. 4:1) which the people would have to experience. Another reference to fire as judgment 2 Peter 3:6-7 where the fire is being stored up for the heavens and the earth until the day of judgment. The imagery of this fire in Jesus’ baptism is seen as a river or stream of fire (Dan. 7:10). Another element of this early held view of the fire of Jesus’ baptism was also dual purposed in its nature. As the fire would destroy the wicked it would also purge and cleanse the righteous. These references to fire help clarify the possible understanding of the differences between John’s and Jesus baptisms. This was not the sole purpose of His baptism; he was preparing the way (Matt. 3:3) for Jesus. One way the baptism of Jesus could be seen,...
The doctrine of the church is ecclesiology, which comes from the greek word church - human beings who are like Christ. This doctrine is a doctrine for the universal church. We sometimes enter a singular way of talking about our culture when the bible speaks in plurality. Ecclesiology gives us the basis of our belief and marks of the church which gives us clarity of what it means to be “one holy catholic and apostolic.” The church bears four marks: Unity, Holiness, Catholicity, and Apostolicity. These four marks are the truth about the church. We must act in Unity because the church is one, 1 Corinthians 12:12 say “Just as the body is one and as many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” The Holiness is a inheritance given to us by Christ. However we can not achieve that alone. As we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He actualizes that for us. Catholicity is the universality and wholeness the church, making room for people to enter the body of Christ. Lastly is apostolicity which is about the authority and truth, and the authority of the apostles is in their eyewitness testimony of Jesus (2 Peter 1:16). The church teaches about the apostles truth that is true to the gospel of Jesus
Pneumatology is the doctrine that focuses on the personhood of the Holy Spirit. Through out the New Testament the Holy Spirit is granted specific characteristics and duties. Following the resurrection, Jesus said “another” is coming in my place. In John Jesus says, “Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever.” During the ministry of Christ, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the encourager, comforter and enabler. This paper will discuss the multidimensional portrayals of the work of the Holy Spirit as it applies to global missions. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God is described in terms of God’s efficacious authority and in the New Testament Jesus refers to the spirit of God as another advocate who was sent from the Father. While the Holy Spirit does not pose a physical body it contains the characteristics of a person. “In accordance with Scripture the “personality” of the Holy Spirit is confessed and defined in the Creeds and in all the Church’s doctrinal judgments concerning the divine Trinity.” The Hoy Spirit embodies the essence of both the Father and the Son.
When Jesus called His disciples, His invitation was simple. He invited them to follow Him. The same is true today. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave His last charge to His disciples, and the charge was simple. He called his followers to go and make disciples. Much effort has been placed by Christians to fulfill this charge, commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Jesus chose to fulfill the implementation of the New Covenant through 12 men who He called, appointed, and commissioned, and he only had a few short years to prepare them for the task (Willson, 1990). His methods were unconventional and were revolutionary for that time. His disciples were to be trained extensively by Jesus, living with Him for three years prior to His ascension. He taught about servant leadership and its meaning for both the leader and follower Matt. 20:25-28). From the beginning, Jesus put in place a careful plan, and an examination of His actions in the Gospels showed that Jesus left behind the pattern to be replicated. His methods, which included the incorporation of three different levels of discipleship, included His interaction with Peter, His closest three (Peter, James, and John), and finally the group of 12. This paper identified and analyzed the three levels of discipleship Jesus modeled, these discipleship methods were then measured against modern leadership theories, and Jesus’s level of involvement and interaction with his disciples were critiqued in light of these modern theories in an effort to determine the effectiveness of this approach.
The ideal of unity seems to be of great importance in the religious world, but rarely is it ever achieved among professed Christians. However, it is vitally important to comprehend unity in its Biblical light. Jesus prayed in John 17:21, “That they all may be one, as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” By definition, unity is the state of being one. In order to have a unified church every member must be one one with the Father and the Son. Subsequently, to achieve such an oneness, each member must be perfectly holy, because God is holy. Unfortunately, this is where a clear contrast is made between the saints and mere religious professors.
Throughout the book, the author focuses on how the Holy Spirit ministers to the apostles and the believers in their lives and the community. The Holy Spirit enabled Stephen to speak the truth boldly (6:10) until he was killed by the crowd (7:54-60). It is the calling for us to proclaim the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus with boldness and without hindrance. 4. What is the difference between a..
In the second chapter of his work titled An Introduction to Ecclesiology, theologian Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen discusses the idea of “The Church as the People of God”, a Roman Catholic ecclesiology. Kärkkäinen writes about the contention between a Christ-centered and a Spirit-centered ecclesiology that was present in early and later ecclesiologies of the Roman Catholic Church. He goes on to mention a problematic reason for a Spirit-centered ecclesiology when he identifies that, “In the New Testament, the church is never called the ‘body of the Spirit,’ but rather the body of Christ.” If we understand “the body of Christ” to be the group of people who believe in the salvation through Christ, then this would support my understanding of what the church is. The potential trouble with this goes to context and content. How one interp...