Models of Church used in understanding identity and calling

TMM 2627 Church and Sacrament St Barnabus Teaching College Stephen Kemp Word Count: What is the church? Review the various perspectives you have studied in this module and evaluate their helpfulness in understanding the identity and calling of the church. Introduction This essay will outline the criteria for what a church is. This essay will also explain its identity and calling. It will then seek to apply this criteria to Dulles’ six models of church to evaluate their helpfulness in our understanding of the church’s identity and calling. What is the Church? Identity and Calling Of the Church What is the Church? Gruden1 defines the church as “community of all true believers for all time,” this includes people who have believed in the past and those who will believe in the future. Gruden also believes that the church is built by Christ drawing people to himself (Mt 16:18; Acts 2:47). This he believes is a continuation of what was started in the Old Testament where God was calling people into a community (Dt 4:10). Gruden reinforces this idea of church as a gathering of people to worship God in the New Testament, linking it with the Greek word ekklhsiva/. This word is also used in the Septuagint (LXX) for describing the gathering of God’s people as evidence of the continuation. In the 1st A.D. the word ekklhsiva/ is the word for “an assembly of the citizens regularly summoned, the legislative assembly” where debates took place.2 Dulles suggests that it is hard to differentiate the true church from the false as history has many churches that lack faithfulness to Christ or the Spirit, therefore it is necessary to dissemble the sociological grouping from the theological unit. He then defines the church theologically as the 1 Grudem, W., Systematic Theology-An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: IVP, 1994), p. 8534. 2 Liddell, H.G., An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889), p. 239. “mystery of Christ as realised in the community of those who believe in him and are assembled in his name”3 This mystery, as Dulles calls it is a “mystery of grace not knowable independently of faith” and we should encourage Christians to move from the sociological “church” to the theological “Church.” Volf4 suggests that the church can only understood if considered from a soteriological, anthropological and trinitarian viewpoint and expands on these definitions by adding5 that people of God are “grounded” by the coming of the Kingdom in Christ, quoting Stuhlmacher, who says that Paul saw it eschatologically as the anticipation of a new world brought about by His righteousness (dicaiosuvnh) with the future realization of the tri-une God dwelling with His people (Rev. 21:1-22:5) bringing about a unity that Christ prayed for in the garden of gethsemane (Jn. 17:21). The church can be also be envisaged as visible or invisible. Gruden6 says, of the invisible church that it cannot be seen with human eyes, only God knows who are his and what is in men’s hearts (2 Tim 2:19; Heb. 12:23), both Calvin and Luther hold this view. He also adds that the church has a visible aspect-all those who have faith in Christ. Paul thought it was visible when he wrote the opening to his letters “To the church in ….” In summary, taking these points together, we can say that there is a visible aspect to the church, in terms of God’s people being gathered in an assembly to worship God, but there is 3 Dulles, A., Models of the Church-Expanded Edition (New York: Doubleday, 1987), p. 123. Volf M., After Our Likeness-The Church as the Image of the Trinity (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), p. 127. 5 Ibid., p. 128. 6 Grudem, W., Systematic Theology-An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: IVP, 1994), p. 8556. 4 also an invisible aspect where the mystery of Christ and His grace are working unseen to bring about an eschatological consummation of us with the Divine. The next section looks a little more deeply into the calling and identity of what Dulles calls the true church. Identity of the True Church Volf7 says that identification of what is church and the identity of the church are inseparable because decisions that are used for identification of the church include our ideas about its identity. These, he states, are the presence of Christ either through persons or actions (office or sacrament) or the effects of His presence (imitation of Christ). Dulles8 quotes Luther and Melanchthon as acknowledging only two things which identify the true church. These are the adoption of the “proper preaching of the gospel” and “proper administration of the sacraments,” agreeing in part with Volf. Calling of the Church Gruden9 talks of several purposes (or callings) of the church. Firstly, a ministering to God in worship (Col. 3:16; Eph. 1:12). Secondly, a ministering to other believers in nurturing them in growth into Christ (Col 1:28; Eph. 4:12-13). Thirdly, a ministering to the world, by evangelism (Mt 28:19), showing mercy and caring for the poor and needy outside the church (Mt 25: 31-40) and inside (Acts 11:29). He helpfully10 states that to understand what the church is, we can use metaphors, two most important are, the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:32) 7 Volf M., After Our Likeness-The Church as the Image of the Trinity (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), p. 130. 8 Dulles, A., Models of the Church-Expanded Edition (New York: Doubleday, 1987), p. 125. 9 Grudem, W., Systematic Theology-An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: IVP, 1994), p. 8678. 10 Ibid., p. 858. and the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-27). Gruden9 suggests that this calling of the church to these three things should be kept in balance and not one of them should be neglected or take priority over the other. Within the church, our gifts should be used in each of those areas as appropriate to our faith and gifting. Evaluation of the effectiveness of each model in helping to understand the Identity and Calling of the Church It is necessary to construct a criteria on which to evaluate each model. The criteria can be summarised as firstly, the presence of Christ and/or its effects as its identity and secondly, as a ministering people to God and others (both inside and outside the church) as its calling. The models under evaluation are Institutional, Sacramental, Mystical Communion, Servant, Herald and Discipleship. The Institutional model for the church is based around it’s “visible structure and rights and powers of its offices.”11 Dulles examination of this model has found it wanting, it had little scriptural basis and detrimental effects on Catholics faith. This was due to placing their security in the Institution. The Roman Catholic church was trying to manifest its own holiness by espousing external forms of piety.12 Dulles suggests that the Institutional structure of the church should be there to “preserve the true nature of the gospel”13 The Institutional model is a mirror of the structures in society for the ordering of an organisation. An ordered organisation, such as the church, is the visible part which is seen by believer and non-believer alike. The offices instituted by the church may only have the 11 Dulles, A., Models of the Church-Expanded Edition (New York: Doubleday, 1987), p. 34. Ibid., p. 129. 13 Ibid., p. 197. 12 name and not the presence of Christ and the structure of the church can only hinder or help ministering to those inside or out. In terms of helping our understanding of the calling and identity of the church, the institutional model is weak. In the second model, the Mystical Communion14 focusses on the qualities of a community rather than “visible marks of a given society,” and will not be fully realised until the end (eschaton). The mystical communion has a visible and invisible aspect. The visible aspect is the mutual dependence and concern for each other which encompasses one of the metaphors of the church mentioned earlier, the body of Christ mentioned in Rom. 12 and 1 Cor. 12.15 The invisible aspect of the mystical communion is spiritual in nature and is the union of believers with the divine, a kind of “new covenant.”16 In terms of understanding the identity and calling of the church, this model is very helpful. The calling of the church to minister to God and others can only be done properly when we have the Holy Spirit and see what the Father is doing (Jn. 5:19-20), which is a mystical communion with the divine. The identity of the church is more fully realised as the presence of Christ dwells in us in a divine union. The two are inextricably linked, as we cannot minister to others and to God, without God, by His Spirit working in us (Jn. 15:5). In the third model, church as Sacrament17 says the church exists “in order to make Christ effectively present as the sign of God’s redemptive love extended to all humanity.”18 14 Ibid., p. 130. Ibid., p. 50. 16 Ibid., p. 54. 17 Ibid., p. 131. 18 Ibid., p. 132. 15 Dulles suggests that this sign of Christ must be firstly, eschatological-extended in time from the apostolic through the present to the end times and secondly, all-encompassing to reach out to all ethnic groups (Mt 28).Thirdly, it must be reconciling and redemptive between men (Jn 17). Fourthly, it must be holy, with the people constantly purifying themselves (1Jn 1:8). Therefore, the Sacramental, in his view, is most important. In terms of helping us understand the identity of the church, the sacramental is most helpful. It is in the sacraments that Christ, by His spirit, is present. This fits with our criteria of the presence of Christ being eschatological in its nature and identity. In terms of the church’s calling, it does minister to those inside the church through the sacraments, but I must disagree with Dulles; the reaching out and all encompassing nature of the sacramental church is not the same as the church ministering to a broken world. The church as sacrament in and of itself will only be a sign of Christ’s grace, unless it is physically sent out, the sign will not be realising it’s full potential in Christ. The fourth model of church as Herald19 is the church preaching the gospel. In terms of Luther’s view of the true church, the word takes prominence over the sacrament. Dulles explains this model as promoting faith and proclamation over relationships and communion with God.20 In the herald model, we are to take the words of God (from His Word) and speak them prophetically into today’s world (kerygmatic). Unlike other models, the church and the Kingdom are seen as separate, the church is here and now to proclaim the Kingdom, which 19 20 Ibid., p. 135. Ibid., p. 76. is a realised eschatological reality.21 Dulles quotes Bultmann who praises Paul for seeing that when Jesus is proclaimed as crucified and risen, it brings about an eschatological reality.22 This model does not at first seem helpful in understanding the identity of the church, but as Barth helpfully shows us that God is present as the “Word of the Spirit, it is established by Christ as the foundation of his community.”23 This implies that whenever the word is preached in the Spirit, then Christ is there as our foundation. Bultmann agrees (as quoted by Dulles) insisting that the word of God, spoken by men bring about an encounter that can bring life to it’s hearers. This is not just an event, but what gathers men into the ekklhsiva/.22 In terms of preaching the word, I agree with Bultmann and Luther that it is foundational for the church. I also think that just as faith without works is dead, the word without the spirit will not produce fruit. If the Herald model includes aspects of the Holy Spirit’s involvement then it is a most helpful way of understanding the church’s identity. In terms of calling, the word of God is, as we have seen, foundational. The word preached to those who are perishing can bring them life (Eph. 3:7-9), and to those we are ministering to it can judge the thoughts and attitudes of our heart (Heb. 4:12) and is useful for the building up of the body through teaching, rebuking, correcting and training (1 Tim. 3:16-17). In the Servant model of the church, the tables are turned so to speak, as Dulles24 contends that the previous models seek to show the church as having Christ’s authority, manifesting 21 Ibid., p. 79. Ibid., p. 80. 23 Barth, K., Trans. by Smith, L.P., Theology and Church-Shorter writings 1920-1928 (London: Bloomsbury, 1962), p. 296. 24 Dulles, A., Models of the Church-Expanded Edition (New York: Doubleday, 1987), p. 88, 100. 22 grace or speaking prophetically to the world around us. In the servant model, it is the church’s task to be a servant to that world. Dulles cautions that the bible speaks of being servants of our brethren in the church, but not specifically to the world’s demands on us. We are, in his words, to follow God’s manifesto outlined in the Isaiah’s suffering servant (Is. 61:1; Lk. 4:16-19), where we reach out in Christ to those around us. In terms of it’s helpfulness, the servant model helps us see the church’s identity in that where people in need are, then Christ’s presence is there. In the parable of the Sheep and Goats (Mt. 25: 31-46), Jesus places himself with those in need, directing us to that place. This is linked with our calling, as well as ministering to our brethren, we are to minister to those in need. The danger, and Dulles agrees, is that we place ministering physically over ministering spiritually. That is to say, if we do not herald, but only act as a servant, then we are only promoting part of the gospel that has the power to save men (Rm. 1:16). Finally Dulles, in his expanded edition adds a Discipleship model.25 He readily admits that discipleship has been widely written about in the catholic church in the previous centuries is now undergoing a renaissance in catholic writings. Roots of the discipleship model go back to the earthly ministry of Jesus where Jesus sets up a new society (a renewed Israel) through the training of the disciples. Dulles sees the discipleship model as flexible and helpful in linking the institutional model with the community model. The discipleship model is where the community of believers are discipled by the people in office as they are discipled by Christ.26 25 26 Ibid., p. 204-226. Ibid., p. 217. As the discipleship model stands, it is helpful as Dulles suggest that discipleship should be seen as the way to imitate Christ and therefore the effects of Christlikeness will be visible (identity), but this is usually seen as an individual process. A person is discipled by another, not a community. This is where the model’s weakness lies. This model fits with the calling in Mt 28 to make disciples of all nations, so is very helpful in this regard. Conclusion In summary, the sacramental, mystical communion models and herald models are very helpful in understanding the identity and calling of the church. The institutional model, although helpful in understanding the structure is weak in helping us understand the church’s identity and calling. One of the themes running through these models is the eschatological one. Dulles gives a whole chapter in his book on it and it would be advantageous for further study to synergise all these models under an eschatological model. Bibliography