Marks of the Church

(One, Holy, Universal (Catholic), Apostolic)

Introduction:

            Among the articles of Christian faith, ‘the Church’ has a peculiar status.  Unlike the doctrines of God, Christ, Trinity, creation, fall, redemption, it was not specifically thematized in the patristic period, nor did it become the subject of controversy. The biblical images of the church have stimulated theological reflection on the church throughout the history of tradition, yet they did not serve as a basis for a systematic doctrine of the church.  In fact, there was no such systematic doctrine during the patristic and medieval periods. Only when some questions began to be raised about the church in the Middle Ages did systematic treatises on this topic first appear. Since the Reformation the nature of the church has been a matter more of confessional conflict than of doctrinal consensus. 

Meaning and nature of the church

Meaning:

            The English word ‘church’ is derived from the Greek adjective kuriake, which means ‘belonging to the Lord.’  The word in its most comprehensive meaning signifies the whole body of the faithful, whether in heaven or on earth, who have been or shall be spiritually united to Christ as their Savior (Eph.1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23-25, 27, 32; Col. 1:18, 24).

Therefore, in its primary sense, the church is the worshipping assembly called forth by God.

Christology in the early church

(with special reference to the Council of Nicaea and Chalcedon)

Introduction:  There is a tremendous concentration in the Bible on one man, Jesus of Nazareth.  If there had been no such concentration, or if the texts had been uniform in the nature of their descriptions, there might perhaps have been no need for Christology, for critical enquiry into the significance of Jesus Christ for Christian faith.  But there is this concentration, and the terms in which the subject is expressed are extremely varied.  We will see how the man Jesus was understood and portrayed by the NT writers and then in the early church with special reference to the Councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon.