We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life...
We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church...
Nicene Creed AD 325
Who is God? God is Triune. Simply put (as if that were possible with the case in point), there is one God that is three Persons. The Persons are not merely different manifestations of God, but the makeup of God. And yet, the Persons are not three individual beings that inhabit the same space as if there were three Gods. Rather, the three Persons in and through each other (historically called "perichoresis") constitute God, but not in such a way that the distinctions of the Persons are lost. If you are not used to this language, it can be a bit confusing. One illustration of this is found in the Trinity Shield.
Each Person of the Trinity has some primary function in Creation. The Father makes the heavens and the earth but it is through the Son that all things are made (cf. John 1:1-5) and it is the Spirit who is the Lord and giver of life. The early church understood this as meaning that things are created by the Will of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son, and the Power of the Holy Spirit. Look at this way:
Each Person of the Trinity has some primary function in Creation. The Father makes the heavens and the earth but it is through the Son that all things are made (cf. John 1:1-5) and it is the Spirit who is the Lord and giver of life. The early church understood this as meaning that things are created by the Will of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son, and the Power of the Holy Spirit. Look at this way:Without each of these three being present, creation is hardly possible. Imagine that there is something that you are going to do with your life. Let's just say that you are going to "create" your life. In this case, you have the vision of what it looks like (wisdom), the freedom of choice and resources to make it happen (power), and you want to do it (will). Power and will without wisdom will result in chaos; power and wisdom without will means that I don't care to do it; will and wisdom without power means that I cannot do what I want. All three are necessary.
What has this to do with the Church? There is only "one" church (see Ephesians 4:4) made up of three components (holy, catholic, apostolic) just as there is only "one" God constituted by three persons.
1. To be holy means to be "set apart" but in the context of Scripture it means to be set a part for the mission of God. Are you a part of the Church? Then you and I have been set apart for God's mission in the world.
2. To be catholic is to be universal as opposed to local, meaning that the Church is not a small assembly in Macon, GA but all believers everywhere at all times created by the Spirit (see Ephesians 2:18-22 where it is by the Spirit that local churches are plugged into God's universal church). It is the Spirit that makes us Catholic. Are you a believer? Then you and I are a part of the same Catholic Church by the power of the Spirit.
3. To be apostolic means that the Church is based on the teaching and authority of the Apostles as recorded in the Scriptures. Are you in the Church? Then you and I base our practices and beliefs on the authority of the apostolic Scriptures.
Will, Power, Wisdom. The One Church is created y the will, power, and wisdom of God and it in returnreflects these attributes in the marks of the Chruch as holy, catholic, and apostolic. Notice that the apostolicity of the church looks a lot like the wisdom of the Son (truth being the common ground). Notice that the Catholicity of the church is a direct product of the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, the holiness of the church is the Father's will being carried out in the mission of the church. The One Church is created by the will, power, and wisdom of God and it in return reflects these attributes in the marks of the church as holy (will of the Father in the purposes of the church), catholic (power of the Spirit in the creation of the Church), and apostolic (wisdom of God in the teaching of the apostles). So we are to worship God in Spirit and in Truth (Jn 3:23) and we are to love in Deed and in Truth (1 Jn 3:18). Do you see the overlap in terminology? Apostolic/Truth/Wisdom/Teaching - Catholic/Spirit/Power - Holy [set apart]/Will/Mission/Deed
Will, Power, Wisdom. The One Church is created y the will, power, and wisdom of God and it in returnreflects these attributes in the marks of the Chruch as holy, catholic, and apostolic. Notice that the apostolicity of the church looks a lot like the wisdom of the Son (truth being the common ground). Notice that the Catholicity of the church is a direct product of the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, the holiness of the church is the Father's will being carried out in the mission of the church. The One Church is created by the will, power, and wisdom of God and it in return reflects these attributes in the marks of the church as holy (will of the Father in the purposes of the church), catholic (power of the Spirit in the creation of the Church), and apostolic (wisdom of God in the teaching of the apostles). So we are to worship God in Spirit and in Truth (Jn 3:23) and we are to love in Deed and in Truth (1 Jn 3:18). Do you see the overlap in terminology? Apostolic/Truth/Wisdom/Teaching - Catholic/Spirit/Power - Holy [set apart]/Will/Mission/Deed
Suppose we do an experiment now. Does your local assembly as a part of the Universal Church have these three marks?
It has been my experience that the typical evangelical complaints of church members typically revolve around one of these three weakness. "My church doesn't teach [lacking in the component of truth] enough?" "My church is cold and legalistic [lacking in the Spirit component]." "My church is inward and doesn't do any missional work [lacking in the Deed or Missional component]."I want to make clear that this does not mean that the complaints are justified. Sometimes a church is following these three principles faithfully and Scripturally regardless of their disgruntled members. However, where there is a genuine weakness, it usually revolves around one of these three. It is not always intentional but to be aware of these three components is to be on a right track towards wholeness. I challenge you to number in order which of these is strongest in your local church and which is weakest. What has been the effect? What are you missing because of this weakness? Which of these are you most comfortable with and which are you least comfortable with?
For any die hards out there, here is another chart that helps reveal what happens to our local churches when we get out of balance with regard to Spirit, Truth, and Deed.
No comments:
Post a Comment