The sent-ness of the apostles finds its root in Jesus’ own self-understanding and mission (Matt. The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. All this informs our understanding of their “foundational” role (Eph.2:20; cf. The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Creative Commons License with Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA 3.0 US). In 1 Peter 2, Christ is the cornerstone of the Church. Yet another troubling doctrine was not really a single, coherent doctrine, but rather, a different approach to Christianity. While the elders usually worked for the church only part-time, the deacons, and the bishops' assistants, became full-time workers for Christianity. However, the two are to be seen as being complementary. But as I pointed out in my essay on Nicaea, this is not what happened. By the turn of the second century, all of them believed in Jesus Christ as a savior. In the New Testament this term refers primarily to those men who were commissioned by Jesus to represent him to the world and to be his spokesmen. These who have heard him teach will receive his further teaching via the Spirit, and they will, in turn, give the word of Christ to the world (cf. The task at hand seeks to understand the nature and the depth of what this statement truly means. (More on that later, and in my essay on the Council of Nicaea.). Jesus affirms the foundational role of the apostles in Matthew 16:18, where he says to Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” The imagery is plain: Christ, the builder of the church, founds his church on the apostles. Their teaching is the teaching of Christ, the fulness of the revelation come by him, and this apostolic teaching was, in turn, entrusted or “deposited” to the church “once for all” (1Tim.6:20; Jude 3, etc.). Even the heavenly Jerusalem is based upon the foundation of the apostles. This has already been established. Revelation, believed to have been authored by the apostle John, therefore also has an apostolic pedigree. David is the Pastor of the Hyde Park congregation of Holy Trinity Church in Chicago, the … 2Tim. We talked about the cornerstone last week, Jesus Christ. In the first and second century, the basic unit of Christianity was the localized church, usually in a Hellenized eastern city. All of these things were to be handled by the overseers and deacons. 15:24, 21:37; Mark 9:37, 12:6). Thus, close proximity to Jesus in his earthly ministry and being an eye-witness of his resurrection was a requirement for the office (Acts 1:21-22). The fundamentals of the LDS Church can seem overwhelming if you’re not aware of the intimate details. Understanding of the fundamental beliefs of Christianity is an … A … The church is comprised of various parts and components. Through it all, in this God-honoring work of sharing and spreading the apostolic Gospel, Jesus guarantees his presence to the end of the age (Matt. That Gnostics in particular refused to participate in any sort of hierarchy or organized Church, made them its first and primary targets. Because of the criteria of uniqueness mentioned above, the office of apostleship is not to be repeated or updated. Thus, the job of these “keepers of the faith” evolved beyond what one person could do. After this, we see the first explicit testimony of the Catholic Church’s origin when Jesus chooses Peter to be the rock of the Church’s foundation. Such designation is not a denominational name nor the only exclusive name by which the Bible refers to the church. In Isaiah, He is called “a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation” (Isaiah 28:16). In 1 Corinthians 3, Christ is the foundation of the local Church. Historically, the Christian church is, in its very essence, Apostolic. Now it says we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The foundation of a building is the most important structure of that building, because all other structures are supported and are resting on the foundation. He taught a number of things which put him at odds with what other Christians had generally accepted. This is a reference to the Old Testament. Tertullian wrote against Montanism, however, he subsequently joined this Christian sect! Paul of Samosata was eventually driven out of office, and his doctrine relegated to bookshelves, something of a novelty, until it was championed once more, at the turn of the 4th century, by an Alexandrian deacon. At first, there were but few layers to the organization, and it could hardly be called a “hierarchy.” There were deacons, who headed up congregations, with bishops, or overseers, guiding the deacons of a district. Written by R. C. Sproul | Wednesday, September 23, 2020 ‘Paradosis’ literally … All views expressed in this essay are those of the author. Moreover, what good was it to have all of these district overseers, if they didn’ encourage the same teachings throughout their churches? In 1 Corinthians 3:11, Paul actually states that Jesus is the foundation of the church, which seems to contradict what is said in Ephesians 2. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. After all ... what good was it to be the overseer of a district, if not all the churches in that district, taught the same thing? The earliest problematic doctrine, that we know of, is Montanism, a system set up by an Anatolian Christian named Montanus. This essay is part of the Concise Theology series. Early Christian centers such as Antioch and Alexandria were considered to have been “special", and the bishops of these cities were treated with greater honor than the rest. 2:20). Divisions in the Church deepened, rather than being healed. And if Christ has not been raised, your … Over time, many Church Fathers described various divergent doctrines, which eventually became known as “heresies,” often railing bitterly against them. Simply put, the apostolic witness is the only way to Christ. What Scriptures? There is no need to further establish this once-and-for-all foundation. With so many different churches existing in the world today, with conflicting doctrines, you may be wondering why it’s important that Jesus Christ should be the builder and foundation of the church. Nicaea set the precedent for “one Church, one doctrine.” From this time forward, the Church would continue on, believing itself to be unified. In some places these funds became substantial. Rev. In other words, to affirm the authority of the apostles is to affirm the authority of Jesus; to reject the authority of the apostles is to reject the authority of Jesus. Learn More FOUNDATION KIDS Children are valuable members of the church … Only the pre-eminent bishops of a region could become the patriarchs of that area. Inevitably, therefore, a push to ensure that a uniform doctrine was observed, got underway. Beyond this, however, there were some differences, even after the various movements had begun to influence each other. Another doctrine which became troubling, starting in the early third century, was originally known as the Samosatene doctrine. The common threads through all of this are: Apostolic authority, with the Church hierarchy as successors of the apostles; and respect for spiritual authority, above all else. 2:20; 1Pet. This was no easy task, for Christianity was an “underground” movement, and many Christians did not go to assemblies or services, for fear of being discovered. 28:19-20). The Church is built upon Jesus Christ as the God-man SLAIN. This will not be changed, updated, or renewed. In Matt 16:18 Jesus … Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. ), I covered the ultimate origins of Christianity. 5:20), the apostles’ particular role and task in the history of redemption are not shared by all Christians. The American Baptist Church, USA, has roughly 1.3 million members and was formerly known as the Northern Baptist Convention, which formed after the split with the Southern Baptists. David Helm provides a general explanation of church planting and illustrates his points with his church planting story. This was their foundation… Church leaders of the time noted the various problems with the Biblical canon and pointed out many objections to certain documents, and promoted others, all coming up with numerous justifications — some of them mutually exclusive! Montanism was targeted for oppression by other Christians, and several authors wrote treatises against it, trying to discourage other Christians from adopting similar ideas. Scripture states that Jesus is the chief cornerstone (Eph. What we can hold onto is that the advancement of the kingdom of God through the gospel ultimately stands on the very heart of the apostolic foundation: the person and the work of Jesus Christ. What are the relevant applications for the church today? What does this foundation mean for us today? The foundation … Paul is an exceptional case, receiving his apostleship by a slightly different means (1Cor. Edmond Clowney notes: “They become foundation stones of the church only because Christ is the chief cornerstone…. Scripture also states that the apostles … The strife between Christians became palpable. Yet, Christ is the all-underlying foundation. In this assessment of the nature and the implications of the apostolic foundation of the church, what we observe is that Jesus and his message of the gospel sit at the very heart of the identity and the call of the apostles, thereby the foundation of the church. What is it about them that uniquely positions them to be the foundation of the church? Actually, it’s not that hard to understand, at least as far as the New Testament is concerned. These believers were interpreting the historical event of the resurrection according to the Old Testament. Paul did not, however, contradict the idea that Jesus was, indeed, the Savior; his sacrifice was supreme and divine in inspiration. The epistles are more problematic, however, almost all of them contain instructions to the believer to stay in line behind their leaders, be they elders, deacons, overseers, etc. The unique and permanent value of the apostolic office is confirmed in Revelation 21:14 when the vision of the new heaven and the new earth describes the presence of “twelve foundations … the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” This means that the initial establishment of the apostolic foundation will have an eternal significance in God’s church. As previously noted, the bishops of an area might meet occasionally in a synod, but more commonly, they corresponded by letter. In Ephesians 2, Christ is the cornerstone with the apostles and New … Other Christians found this troubling. Spiritually speaking, your faith must rest on a solid spiritual foundation… Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, and your faith also is vain…. Many different scholars and Church Fathers contributed their ideas to the Biblical canon. But because Christ founded the church and because he is the very foundation of the church it is very appropriately called the church … Paul spoke of apostles and prophets as the foundation of the Church, with “Jesus Christ himself being the chief … The church is comprised of various parts and components. There are five. In fact, Jesus sees himself as the Son who has been sent by the Father (cf. The idea of foundation is that of support; the idea of the chief cornerstone is that of regulation, pattern-hood, producing assimilation. 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