The Church 1
The
Importance of the Question
What,
exactly, is the Church? That’s a
profound and vexing question; one that I’ve puzzled over for many years, one
that troubled me so deeply, over which I was thrown into a pit of despair and
deep darkness, about ten years ago.
The
Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Question
You
would not need to spend very much time with me nowadays, to realize that my
life is largely driven by the sentence from the Nicene Creed, “We
believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.” Confessional Christians usually say “I”
today, but that is not true to the original confession. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed)
Three
hundred eighteen pastors met at Nicea in 325 AD, their primary concern was
holding the Church together, while warding off heresy. These pastors were painfully aware of the
cost of discipleship, the need for Christian unity, and that they, as well as
the whole Christian Church on earth were one in Christ. They never let the word “I” escape from their
mouths. These pastors wrote a summary
and prayer of what they found in their Bibles.
It
took a long time to circulate this first Creed (Creed means Statement of Faith)
to all the churches in the far reaches of the Roman world. In 381 AD, a second meeting of pastors took
place at Constantinople.[1] The Creed now had the consensus of almost all
Christians everywhere. It was amended,
ratified, and sent out again.
Today
it stands as a monument to Christian unity.
Even so, these pastors, sometimes called The Nicene Fathers were not
completely successful at holding the Church together. The Oriental Orthodox hold a different view
about the nature of Christ.[2] Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopals,
Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, and other confessional
churches hold to this one creed even though tensions over wording[3]
remain. However, even many churches that
are not creedal have written Statements of
Faith (Creeds) that are virtually identical in content to the Nicene
Creed.
Nevertheless,
the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some Protestant
groups all claim to be The Church.[4] I do not know if the Oriental Orthodox make
any such claim.[5] How do we sort this tangled knot out? I cannot answer that question for you. I can only say how God has led me to peace in
the matter and given me anything I can live with. Here is that to which I cling.
A
Foundational Biblical Definition
There
is only One Church. I fasten my entire
hope concerning the Church on these three verses of Scripture, the foundational
definition of Church.
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of
angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24 KJV)
And
so, I have come in my pilgrimage to understand that there is only One Heavenly
Church, of which all believers on earth are members, and with which all on
earth, believers and unbelievers alike, are obliged to get in step. To the extent that we on earth fail to engage
this Church through baptism (not the mere act with water, as important as this
is), or fail to get in step with this Church, we also fail at everything else to
the detriment of our own lives.
If
I am asked for a theological explanation of what this Church is like, I
immediately consult the rest of Hebrews and learn how God talks to this Church;
Who her King is; where the Glory, Ark, and sacrifice are located; about those
who have gone before me by faith; and how I must proceed by faith; the
necessity of regular Church attendance; and the clear mandate of discipleship.[6]
The
bottom line definition. The Church is
the gathering and meeting of the disciples.
If you’re not a disciple, you’re not a Christian. Christians, of necessity, struggle to get in
step with their King, even though we all do such a sorry job of it here on
earth. Truly, we are an army of soldiers
with two left feet. Even so, our true
Church membership is in Heaven.
However,
if I am asked for a picture of what this Church looks like in worship; I
immediately consult Revelation, which I believe is a picture of the Apostle
John in Church attendance on Sunday.
John writes, “I was in the spirit on the Lord ’s Day (Revelation
1:10).” Lord’s is the ordinary
translation of Κυριακῇ (Kyriaké: means Lord’s)
which is the standard Greek term for Sunday.
So I reject all the various schemes and scenarios of some doomsday
Armageddon.
What
I believe then, is that John came to the Church meeting on Patmos on Sunday and
while he was worshiping there, had a vision of the heavenly meeting going on as
well. I suppose that Roman Catholics
would call this the Beatific Vision, which is what I believe it is. All of these things are going on around John,
pretty much without regard for time, and pretty much all at the same time. It is not that John does not see future
things going on, he does. It is not that
some of these things are not terrifying, they are. However, there is an utter folly in trying to
build this scene into some sort of final plan, “in 1984 the world will end.” This sort of thing, I see as an abuse of the
purpose of the book, which I see as teaching us what is involved in worship,
and how to go about it. What is
abundantly clear is that 777 trumps 666 every time; the works of man cannot
overthrow the works of God. It is
important to John that his readers see Christus Victor, because terrible
persecutions are coming and they must not faint; rather, they must remain
constant in their worship in spite of these terrible persecutions. In the undivided worship of Christ, they can
see victory through pain and maintain a faithful witness until the Glorious
end.
How
Various Terms Enhance the Idea of Church
So,
when Jesus used the term Church in His day, He must have in mind His heavenly
gathering which He calls a πανηγúρει (panegýrey: pan is
universal, a universal gathering, or Catholic gathering)[7]
and an εκκλησίᾳ (ekklesia: calling out)[8]
(Hebrews 12:23). But the idea of συναγωγή (synagogue: bringing together)[9]
cannot be dismissed either, since Jesus was in regular synagogue attendance
with His disciples, and since Paul regularly attended synagogues to preach.
Ekklesia
refers to the Greek practice of “town meetings.”[10] Whenever anything significant took place, the
citizens were called out of their houses, businesses, and daily affairs to
attend to public duties: to witness, discuss, and when necessary vote. Christians adopted the name. The Church is called out[11]
and called together for a significant purpose: namely, to worship the living
God.
Synagogue
is just another Greek word that describes a meeting, an official
gathering-together, and everybody knows how that word refers to Jewish
practice. Paul commands this practice in
Hebrews 10:25 where he uses the word επισυναγωγὴν (episynagogén:
gathering together upon).[12] The Church is most evidently what she is,
when she comes together to be revealed as the One Body of Christ. In this sense our little local meetings join
with that great heavenly meeting which is always in progress.
The
differences in cultural practice between a Greek town meeting and a Jewish
gathering are of no special historic moment.
Both had buildings for inclement weather. Both evidently also met outside. It makes no difference because the book of
Acts is full of reports about such meetings.
They met in the Temple, in the upper room, from house-to-house, by the
river, in the homes of the wealthy, in larger buildings (Acts 20:9 – at least a
three story building), in official courts (Acts 15), and elsewhere. We also know historically that the Parthenon
was converted to a Church. So the exact
hardware is not essential.[13]
The
early Church, because it was an illegal organization owned no buildings, so
buildings of any kind are not essential to our worship. However, it seems prudent, especially in
inclement weather to seek shelter from the elements. When the Church became a legal organization
(ca 312), its first buildings had simple rectangular, circular, or cross-shaped
floor plans depending largely on the local building skills and customs. Ceilings often resembled overturned boats,
whence we get terms like nave and pulpit.
More
Scriptural Architectural Evidence
What
is very clear from Scripture is that the Tabernacle (A simple tent) of Moses and
the Temple of Solomon were both representations of Heavenly Glory and
Reality. Our Tabernacle, our Temple, our
Church is in heaven. When synagogues
were built, they mimicked the Tabernacle, or Temple architecture: that is,
there was a main room called the Holy Place, and an inner room called the Most
Holy Place, the Holy of Holies, or the Oracle.
The point of all this elaborate iconography was not that God lived
there. The Psalms absolutely forbid any
such idea as nonsense. God does not
dwell in temples made by hands. While
God could not possibly dwell in a Temple made with hands, the visible Glory of
God, and Christ did dwell in such a Temple, “He shall suddenly come to His
Temple.”
The
point of all this elaborate iconography was to preach the Gospel of Christ in architectural
shapes, in decorations, and in furnishings, as well as in the handling of
Scripture, bloody sacrifice, and the use of incense in prayer. All of these things preach the Heavenly Glory
of the Christ to Come. Consequently, it
was entirely fitting that these things should be continued when the Church
obtained legal status, and the right to own property.
The
Nature of Church Activity
Having
said all that, what went on inside or outside of such buildings was of far
greater importance than the buildings themselves.
Baptism
First
of all, there is the Divine declaration, “I am your God, you are My people, and
I dwell among you.” God’s people are
never far away from God. The Shekinah
Glory, the burning presence, is now placed in our hearts when we are first
caused to believe. This is our
baptism. It is the work of the Holy
Spirit in our lives. It is a baptism of
the Holy Spirit and of fire, for it quickly brings tribulation into our
lives. It is a work of God and not of
man, which is why it is called Sacrament.
Most of the time this is accompanied by a baptism of water, as it must
be, if at all possible. This is the
first definition of what it means to be Church, to be joined to God Himself in
Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Yes,
children should be baptized. If the
architectural remains of early baptisteries have any credibility at all, we are
forced to believe (considering the meaning of household in Acts) that children
were baptized, and that, by a combination of immersion and pouring. Actually, early baptisms, as well as baptisms
with the Tabernacle and Temple, went on outside of the Church or in the
narthex.
Word and Communion
Once
we get the idea into our heads that we are joined to Christ at hip, neck, mind,
and heart, entry into the building or even outside takes on new meaning. Church is joining Christ in His Triumphal
Entry into Jerusalem. Church is coming
with Christ from Olivet to be tried and Crucified. The fact that Moses laid up the Holy
Scriptures in the Tabernacle, and cleansed everything with sprinkled blood
takes on whole new meaning, it come to life before our very eyes. For Christ the Word of God comes bearing all
His words into the Heavenly Temple, carving these very words into our lives. Then Christ the Lamb of God comes bearing His
own flesh and blood for our sins. This
is what it means to be Ekklesia, Synagogue, and Church. His Word, Cross, and Crucifixion become our
word, cross, and crucifixion. Church is
about putting self to death in order to live.
This
is Church, this is how we preach the Gospel; first with our lives, and then
with every expression of our lives: with our architecture, art, music, poetry,
preaching, bells and smells; everything proclaims the Death and Resurrection of
Christ.
The Function of the
Holy Ghost in Defining Church
The
activities within a building are more important than the building itself in
defining Church. By the same token, the
leadership of the Holy Ghost is more important still.[14]
The Early Church
The
first Church services compressed and expressed the first Pascha (Easter) week
in pageantry. Whether in a building or
on the banks of a river, the early Christians were memorializing the death of
Christ on the Cross, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead. This is what Church means. In the little entrance, reminiscent of Palm
Sunday, the King of All, the Word[15]
enters the Church bearing His words. The
pastor plays the part of Christ as he brings in the Gospel. In the great entrance, reminiscent of Good
Friday, the Suffering Servant enters as Sacrifice and Priest bearing His own body
and blood. Again, the pastor plays the
part of Christ as he brings in the bread and wine. Christ teaches nothing about change, He
simply says, “this is my body,” “this is my blood.”
This
format of Word and Sacrament dominates all Christian worship services. The sequence of entrance, Word and preaching,
entrance, Communion prevail in all known early worship services: although the
evidence remains historically murky for nearly three hundred years. In spite of this obscurity (murkiness), we
believe this sequence to be accurate for two primary reasons. First, the evidence from Acts shows us that
early Christians were remembering the death and resurrection of Christ by every
means practical. Second, when the first
services were recorded they remembered the death and resurrection of Christ by
every means practical. In between these
two evidentiary reasons, Christians were illegal bands, often hiding and
running for their lives; they didn’t get much written down. While we may have considerable latitude in
the shape of these things, some foundational principles are inescapable. One, the Bible must be brought before the
people of God and preached in a way that is clear and understandable. Two, the Communion of the Crucifixion of
Christ must be brought before the people of God so that they clearly understand
the cost of discipleship, and that they are made into One Heavenly Body in His
blood. They are little Christs, etched
with His Word and Stained with His Blood.
Everything about them shouts the message of Christ.
Three Ancient
Worship Services Survive
Today
we know of three ancient worship services stemming from, or even before the
early fourth century: the Liturgy[16]
of St. James, so named in honor of James the author of the book that bears his
name;[17]
The Liturgy of St. Basil, written by St. Basil the Great; The Liturgy of St.
John, attributed to St. John Chrysostom.[18] It is this liturgy of St. John, which is
commonly found among Protestants today.
Even in non liturgical churches the rudiments of St. John’s liturgical
form are easily found.
Conclusions
What
remains constant in every format, whether from Acts or from early liturgies is
the preaching of the Word and the practice of Communion in every service. Sadly, many Christians today are being
starved to death in their worship because one or the other of these essential
elements is removed, and half a service is presented. The Church, Christianity is defined by life
in Christ, not by mere knowledge about Christ.
The Word must cut us, the Blood must stain us, we must be like Him.
The
early Church had no problem with discipleship; being an ekklesia or a synagogue
was a dangerous activity. Spies were
everywhere. The doors or worship were
barred and bolted. When the persecutions
abated in the fourth century, Christian concerns about complacency began to
mount.
The
early Church had no problem with evangelism; the going of the Great Commission
meant leaving the Church gathering on Sunday, to live as little Christs before
a broken world, into the foe, not out of the foe. Good soldiers always run to the sound of
battle, never away from it. Relatively
few Christians journeyed to far flung places.
All Christians were witnesses in their communities.
Gloriously,
the Heavenly Church continues in unending praise and worship. Sadly, we earthlings must leave this worship
to go about our daily lives. While we
still abide in the bodies of this flesh, we have one goal, one objective, one
purpose, to live and witness as little Christs.
This
is my understanding of ekklesia, synagogue, Church.
[1]
In 381 AD, Constantinople was a brand new city, founded on the site of a town
named Byzantium, which is not far from Nicea in 330 AD. It was the capitol city of the Holy Roman
Empire and quickly became the largest and most prosperous city in the Roman
Empire. Although there were still
persecutions to come, Christianity prevailed there until 1453 AD when the city
fell to the Muslims and was renamed Istanbul.
Ἁγία Σοφία
(pronounced Ayά Sofia),
Holy Wisdom church was there, the place where the emperors worshipped.
[2]
The Oriental Orthodox hold the Monothelitism viewpoint, which maintains that
Christ has only one will (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monothelitism). Other Churches generally hold the
Diothelitism viewpoint, which maintains that Christ has two distinct wills, one
Divine will and one human will, both wills existing at the same time without
mixture. Monothelitism may have
developed from the Monophysitism viewpoint, which maintains that Christ has
only one nature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monophysitism)
as opposed to the Diophysitism viewpoint, which holds that Christ has two
distinct natures, He is fully God, and He is fully man, without mixture of the
two natures. The general view is that
the God the Son added a complete and distinct human nature to Himself at the
Incarnation, and that this human nature remains inseparable from Him throughout
eternity. The Kenosis heresy asserts the
opposing view, which is that Christ gave up His Divine nature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenosis). Christians generally hold that Christ veiled
His Divine nature, except on special occasions such as at the Transfiguration;
they do not hold that Christ ever gave up His Divine nature.
[3]
Even the word “essence” is contested.
Many, especially western, translations prefer the word “substance,” but
this seems to imply that God has a physical, visible, tangible nature instead
of an immaterial, invisible, spiritual nature.
[4]
In the sense that their particular movement defines the Catholic (Universal or
Whole) Church so that, all other groups, in some respect or other are heterodox
(a term from building construction meaning not quite square or straight). We hope that the ensuing discussion shows
that this is simply impossible even though we have the utmost respect for many
of those making such claims.
[5]
The Armenian Orthodox frequently and proudly make the claim of being the first
Christians. This claim is based on the
fact that Armenia is the first national entity to convert to Christianity as a
whole nation. However, by this time
there were many Christians throughout Israel, Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece,
and Rome as far as Great Britain.
Missionaries had probed deeply into Ukraine to the north, and as far
east as India, possibly even China. If
the standard Church history texts are correct, there were roughly one million
Christians in the Roman Empire at the end of the first century, two million by
the end of the second, and three million by the end of the third century. This rapid growth of the Church under
persecution gave rise to the expression that, “The blood of the martyrs is the
seed of the Church.” Discipleship was
not a problem in the first three centuries.
Becoming a Christian was a death warrant, meant being branded as an
outlaw, and during the more intense periods literally meant running for one’s
life.
[6]
Hebrews 1:1-2, 8-14; 4:14; 6:19-20; 7:117, 21-22; 8:1-5; 9:8, 11-12, 14, 23-24;
10:12, 25; 11:10, 13, 16, 25-26; 12:28; 13:14. See Revelation 11:19, as well.
[7]
According to Englishman’s Greek Concordance (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970)
page 585, Hebrews 12:23 is the only occurrence of this word in the New
Testament. The word, ἄγυρις, assembly is not found. The prefix, παν, pan indicates an assembly of a whole people (i.e. Pan-American)
[8]
According to Englishman’s Greek Concordance (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970)
page 227f all the occurrences in the New Testament are: Matthew 16:18; 18:17;
Acts 2:47; 5:13; 7:38; 8:1, 3; 9:31; 11:22, 26; 12:1, 5; 13:1; 14:23, 27; 15:3,
4, 22, 41; 16:5; 18:22; 19:32, 39, 41; 20:17, 28; Romans 16:1, 4, 5, 16, 23; 1
Corinthians 1:2; 4:17; 6:4; 7:17; 10:32; 11:16, 18, 22; 12:28; 14:4, 5, 12, 19,
23, 28, 33, 34, 35; 15:9; 16:1, 19, 19; 2 Corinthians 1:1; 8:1, 18, 19, 23, 24;
11:8, 28; 12:13; Galatians 1:2, 13, 22; Ephesians 1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23, 24, 25,
27, 29, 32; Philippians 3:6; 4:15; Colossians 1:18, 24; 4:15, 16; 1
Thessalonians 1:1; 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:1, 4; 1 Timothy 3:5, 15; 5:16;
Philemon 2; Hebrews 2:12; 12:23; James 5:14; 3 John 6, 9, 10; Revelation 1:4,
11, 20, 20; 2:1, 7, 8, 11, 12, 17, 18, 23, 29; 3:1, 6, 7, 13, 14, 22; 22:16. In Acts 19:37 KJV translates the Greek word, ἱεροσύλους, temple-robbers, as “robbers of churches”; this is unfortunate
since the context reveals that pagan temples are clearly in mind. Christians do not steal other people’s
property. Thus, everywhere in the New
Testament the word Church or churches indicates a gathering of all or part of
God’s believing people.
[9]
According to Englishman’s Greek Concordance (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970)
page 709 all the occurrences in the New Testament are: Matthew 4:23; 6: 2, 5;
9:35; 10:17; 12:9; 13:54; 23:6, 34; Mark 1:21, 23, 29, 39; 3:1; 6:2; 12:39;
13:9; Luke 4:15, 16, 20, 28, 33, 38, 44; 6:6; 7:5; 8:41; 11:43; 12:11; 13:10;
20:46; 21:12; John 6:59; 18:20; Acts 6:9; 9:2, 20; 13:5, 14, 42, 43; 14:1; Acts
15:21; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 7, 19, 26; 19:8; 22:19; 24:12; 26:11; James 2:2
(assembly); Revelation 2:9; 3:9. The
ongoing Apostolic practice of preaching in synagogues, and of disciples
worshipping in synagogues indicates the the words ekklesia and synagogue are
virtually interchangeable. This simply
verifies our conviction that both are patterned after the Temple in heaven
[10]
Acts 19:32-41 provides a sufficient idea of the Greek “town meeting.” Considering the difference in size between a
Greek city-state and the growing magnitude of Christianity as prophesied by
Daniel (2:34, 44), the Church must be seen as that Empire which overthrows all
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
Clearly, an Empire of this size experiences many partial meetings of its
membership in various different locations.
Daniel’s prophecy prefigures the Church Universal and its many local
churches. Acts 19:32-41 gives us the
defining idea of Church as national citizenship, with all the duties,
privileges, and responsibilities attendant upon such an honor.
[11]
It is doubtful that the idea of ekklesia refers to the idea that the Church is
called out of the sinful world. This
idea is clear enough from other Scripture (“Be in the world, not of the
world.”), but not from the meaning of ekklesia.
In the Greek idea of things, Ekklesia is a calling out of the citizenry
to exercise their responsibilities and rights of rule. In this context, the only ones left behind
were freemen, and slaves, who had no right to vote. Any equating of the slave-class with the
sinful world would be unfortunate, since most Christians were slaves. I believe that the word slave, one of Paul’s
pet names for himself and other Christians is the highest possible human honor,
privilege, and rank in the Kingdom of God, it indicates everywhere in
Scripture, one who preaches the Scripture of God. This is as true of Moses as it is of us. What chief status, to be allowed to proclaim
Scripture.
[12]
According to Englishman’s Greek Concordance (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970)
page 287, only found at 2 Thessalonians 2:1 and Hebrews 10:25.
[13]
The Church was assembled at various places: Acts 1:4, 12 (Olivet), 13-14 (upper
room); 2:1-2 (house), 41-44 (together), 46 (in the Temple and house to house); 5:12
(Solomon’s porch), 42 (in the Temple and every house); 8:1, 4-5 (scattered
abroad); 16:13 (where the Jews could not afford a synagogue they met at a
riverside), 15, 40 (in Lydia’s house); 20:7 (in a large building); 20:20 (house
to house); 21:5 (on the shore). Prior to
the scattering, they were primarily gathering in the Temple for worship where
they also evangelized. After they were
scattered, they went to synagogues for both worship and evangelism: 9:20;
13:14-15, 42-44; 14:1, 7, 21 (and to the city); 15:21; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 7-8
(Justus’s house), 19, 26; 19:8-9 (in a school).
After they were ejected from a synagogue, they met elsewhere. The Apostles were also active at a variety of
locations: 3:1, 11 (Peter and John in the Temple); 4:3, 23; 5:18-23, 25 (in and
out of jail); 12:12 (Peter in and out of jail).
Paul went to a variety of locations as well: 17:19 (Areopagus or high
court) 21:26 (the Temple), 40 (the Castle stairs); 22:17 (the Temple); 28:23
(lodging). This great variety shows that
no rule of architecture is essential; rather the importance of gathering is
revealed. However, it is also clear that
the early Church considered that both Temple and synagogue expressed important
elements of their new life in Christ, so we can see a prototypical Church
architecture developing, not as a rule, but as a preference.
[14] According to Englishman’s
Greek Concordance (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970) page 633 all the occurrences of
Holy Ghost in Acts are: 1:2 (Jesus gives commandments to the Apostles through
the Holy Ghost), 5, 8 (Apostles to be baptized with the Holy Ghost), 16 (Holy
Ghost spake by the mouth of David); 2:4, 4 (cloven fire-like tongues appeared
and sat on all present, who were filled with the Holy Ghost, Who gave them
utterance), 17, 18 (Spirit to be poured on all God’s male and female servants),
33 (appearance of the Holy Ghost triggered by Christ’s enthronement), 38
(receive the Holy Ghost upon baptism in the name of Jesus); 4:8 (Peter filled
with the Holy Ghost speaks), 31 (all assembled were filled with the Holy Ghost
and spake the Word); 5:3 (Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost), 9 (they tempted the
Spirit), 32 (the witnessing Holy Ghost is given to those who obey God); 6:3, 5,
10 (Deacons were full of the Holy Ghost); 7:51 (some resist the Holy Ghost), 55
(Stephen was full of the Holy Ghost); 8:15 , 17 (Holy Ghost was received at
Samaria after baptism by laying on of Apostles hands, 18, 19 (Simon sought to
purchase the power of bestowing the Holy Ghost by laying on of hands), 29, 39
(the Spirit sent Philip to baptize the Ethiopian eunuch); 9:17 (Ananias lays
hands on Paul when Paul is filled with the Holy Ghost), 31 (churches walked in
the comfort of the Holy Ghost and multiplied); 10:19 (the Spirit spoke to
Peter), 38 (God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost), 44 (the Holy Ghost fell on
all that heard Peter speak), 45 (the gift of the Holy Ghost was poured on the
Gentiles), 47 (they were baptized after they received the Holy Ghost); 11:12
(the Spirit bade Peter go to Caesarea), 15 (the Holy Ghost fell on the
Caesareans), 16 (Jesus promised, you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost), 24
(Barnabas was full of the Holy Ghost), 28 (Agabus prophesied by the Spirit);
13:2, 4 (the Holy Ghost said, Separate Barnabas and Saul for the work), 9 (Paul
was filled with the Holy Ghost), 52 (the disciples were filled with the Holy
Ghost); 15:8 (God gave the Holy Ghost to Gentiles), 28 (the Holy Ghost set the
legal requirements for Gentiles); 16:6, 7 (the Holy Ghost prohibited Paul from
entering Asia and Bithynia); 19:2, 2 (the Holy Ghost was not received after
John’s baptism)), 6 (Paul laid hands on them conferring the Holy Ghost on them);
20:22 (bound in the spirit?), 23 (the Holy Ghost witnesses about Paul’s future
bonds and afflictions), 28 (the Holy Ghost made overseers); 21:4 (the Spirit
informs disciples that Paul should not go to Jerusalem), 11 (Agabus relates,
the Holy Ghost says the Jews will bind Paul and deliver him to Gentiles); 28:25
(the Holy Ghost spake by Isaiah).
See also 5:16; 8:7 (unclean spirits); 7:59; 19:21 (Stephen’s
and Paul’s human spirits); 16:16, 18 (spirit of divination); 17:16; 18:5 (Paul’s
human spirit); 18:25 (Apollos was fervent in spirit); 19:12, 13, 15, 16 (evil
spirits); 23:8, 9 (Sadducees do not believe in spirits) which were excluded
from consideration, because they seemed irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
[15]
Logos is one of the names or titles of Christ.
He, the Logos brings the Logoi to us, the Living Word brings the words
that we call the written Word of God.
[16]
Liturgy emphasizes the sacrificial nature of the work of Christ. There is the Liturgy of the Word in which the
life of Christ is read and preached, originally from the Old Testament; early
Christians did not have a New Testament, they were busy living and writing it. There is the Liturgy of the Body and Blood,
the Communion, which guarantees that no Scripture could be completely and
finally preached until it was related to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of
Christ (Luke 24:25-27, 44-49). Nowadays
we use the words liturgy and litany interchangeable, this usage is not
accurate. Litany, within the Church,
refers to a list of oft-repeated prayers.
[17]
It is possible that James actually wrote this liturgy himself. This liturgy was preserved in
Anglican-Episcopal practice until relatively recent times. A few Western-rite bodies continue its use
today.
[18]
Chrysostom is not a name; it is a title of honor that means golden mouth. Evidently John could preach the socks off any
audience. His sermons still stir me
today. The name alone shows that
excellent, Christ centered preaching should be central to the first half of
well ordered worship today.
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