Jesus Christ and the Church: Points of Contention
and Convention
February
2017
Presenter: Laldanmawia
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Introduction
When we talk about the foundation of the church,
there can be many standpoints that support different ideas to which the church
laid its foundation. However, generally we can say that Jesus built the
community that became the church. That community might be called different
names; however, we cannot doubt it was the origin that we have to trace back in
studying the foundation of what we now called ‘church’. This paper discusses
about the Christological Foundation of the Church viewing different traditions
on their points of contention and convention.
1. What is church?
Studying
the relationship between Jesus Christ and church will bring questions like what
do we mean by church, what are the essentials of the church, is it similar with
ekklesia of the New Testament. Our
understanding of the church will determine the way how we search for its
relations with Jesus Christ. That is why we will firstly build our standpoint
of what the church means for this presentation.
Generally
Ekklesia is translated as church.
However Emil Bruner will find some reasons for that we cannot simply translate ekklesia as church. To him, there is
visible brotherhood of the reconciled, which is spiritual brotherhood, yet
visible in the world and recognizable to some extent even by unbelievers
through its manifestation, through the love of its members for one another. But
church is something different, which is not a brotherhood but an institution,
not the body of Christ, but a corporation in a juristic sense of the word.[1]
However, church is not static institution. It changes its original senses and
now we have numbers of church denomination practicing different traditions.
That is why; we cannot say that church is not ekklesia of New Testament. In that situation, Hans Kueng rather
identified ekklesia as congregation,
community and church of God in Jesus Christ which are interconnected and
complement one another.[2]
Edward
W. A. Koehler differentiates church into two: Invisible and visible church. By
invisible church, he means by faith they become and remain members of the
church and they have inward communion of eternal blessings in their hearts. And
then when believers confess their faith in word and deed, as Christians, they
constitute a church which is called visible church. That visible church is divided
into many separate denominations called churches.[3]
Therefore when we talk about the church, we mean in
this paper, a visible and invisible church, a community of believers, a
fellowship of Christians, a congregation, an assembly of believers, filled and
bound by faith in Christ.
2.
Jesus Christ and the Beginning of Church
2.1. The Idea of Church in the Mind
of Jesus Christ:
Jesus’
teaching and earthly life envisage what kind of idea of community he had in
view. R. Newton Flew assembles in five headings: First, there is new conception of a new Israel which appeared in
his teaching and actions. Second, his
ethical teaching presupposed a new community. Third, His conception of Messiahship essentially involves gathering
of a community. Fourth, his
conception of the word of God or Gospel was meant to be constitutive of the
community. Fifth, his sending out of
disciples on a certain mission contains his conception of the mission of the
new community.[4] From these five headings of Newton
Flew, we can sum up that Jesus envisaged a new Israel, to be formed through a
new community, and living under God’s kingly rule.
2.2. The Promise to Peter: Jesus’
promise to Peter in Matthew 16:18 (And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail
against it-NRSV) is famous passage where the word ekklesia is found. There can be two
questions involve in there: first the relation of Jesus to the church; second
the position of Peter in early Christianity.[5] To
be built on the stone, on Peter, can mean to belong to the community, and this
inturn implies entrance into the kingly rule of God. Jesus’ promise to Peter
cannot be separated from the promise to the larger company of disciples. The privileges
and duties of the community are determined by the mission of Peter and his
fellow apostles, which is the age-long mission of the church of God, to carry
the divine revelation to mankind.[6]
Many agree that church began on this promise to Peter by Jesus Christ, and they
regard Peter to be receiving special privilege. Whereas some other argue that
it was not on Peter, but on Christ himself to be a foundation, the church was
built. Whatever the standpoints we have heard, we cannot deny that church is
being built as promised to Peter.
2.3. Church as Witness at the
Pentecost: The problem of dating the beginning of
the church is, if we say that the church began at Pentecost, we leave out of
consideration the life and ministry of Jesus. Therefore we better say that the
church arose out of the life and work of Jesus Christ and became a universal
witness to him at Pentecost.[7] At
Pentecost, fundamental changes took place in the character and structure of the
people of God. Firstly, the strictly
Israelite congregation was replaced by the universal church. Secondly, the people of God ceased to be
a national people and they became an international, a universal community. Thirdly, the priest was replaced by the
preacher and the church’s witness to the sacrifice of Christ replaced the
ceremonial sacrifice of animals. Thus the church after Pentecost has no capital
city, no temple, no priest, and no alter. It is everywhere, where its Lord is
fully present and it worships God in many forms.[8]
3. Jesus Christ and the
Church: Biblical Perspective
3.1.
Matthew 16:18
(And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it).
The primary function of this passage is to record the establishment of a new
community. The word or person ‘peter’ (petros)
can mean a piece of rock and the ‘rock’ (petra)
can mean a mass of rock. Then we can conclude that Jesus Christ is that massive Rock upon
which the Church is built. Christ is
indeed the rock referred to in the revelation Peter was given. Paul, in 1 Corinthians
10:3-4 in which Greek word ‘petra’ is
used, clearly tells us that the rock is Christ.[9] The church will be
assailed from the ungodly powers in the later days, but will emerge triumphant
from the eschatological assaults of evil.[10]
This particular verse is controversial and different interpretations have been
found. As for Samuel John, Christ is the rock upon which the church is built.
But as Jesus addressed Peter, it is agreed by many that Church is built putting
Peter to important place, to be the witness, to be the leader of the church as
the head.
3.2.
Matthew 18:20 (For
where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them). In the early periods, some of Christian meeting places were held in
homes of the wealthier members. But when the persecutions began they moved to
underground passageways or catacombs. That indicates that places or building
are not real church, rather it is the congregation of believers, even where two
or three gathered together in the name of Christ form the real church. As well
in the New Testament, the church refers most often to the local group of
Christians, an assembly of baptized believers under the discipline of the word
of God.[11]
3.3.
First Corinthians 3:10-11 (According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master
builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder
must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation
other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ).
Paul claimed himself as a master builder who laid the foundation of church in
Corinth, and the only foundation is Jesus Christ.[12]
Here, the interpretation is that Paul regards Jesus Christ as the foundation,
not as a founder.
3.4. Ephesians 2:19-20 (So then you are
no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also
members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone). The major theme of the letter is the unity and
reconciliation of the whole of creation through the agency of the Church and,
in particular, its foundation in Christ as part of the will of the Father. The
writer introduced that his Gentile Christian readers had now become part of the
church, which is being built on a foundation constituted by the apostles and
prophets. However, they were foundational in the sense of being primary and
authoritative recipients and proclaimers of revelation. And the corner stone
can be the foundational stone, the final stone.[13]
4. Christ as the
founder/foundation of the church: A Contention
The
study of the beginning of the church does not always starts from or after
Jesus. When some writers trace back the foundation and beginning of the church,
they even go back to studying Jewish community, for example James H. Hanson.
For him, the beginning of the church goes back to Abraham who was called by God
to go to the Promised Land. His went marked the beginning of a unique people-
his descendents, who identified themselves as a particular people holding
themselves together through their years of wandering as a tribe, and as a slave
in Egypt.[14]
He goes on calling the people whom God had chosen as the church.
Whereas,
Wallace M. Alston, Jr. goes further and affirms his stand that the church, in
other words, the people of God, the community of believers, has existed from
the beginning of time, which is the result of an act of God. He regards Martin
Luther and John Calvin to believe the story of the church begins at creation.[15]
From the very beginning God created all people for fellowship with himself and
each other.
Hans
Kueng also does not believe that Jesus founded the church. He thinks that Jesus
neither wanted to establish a new community apart from the existing community,
nor to found a great religious structure.[16]
Having further comment, he adds, “they (church) were not founded by Jesus but
came into being with reference to him, the crucified one who was alive.”[17]
5. Christ as the
founder/foundation of the church: A Convention
R.
Newton Flew stands that when Jesus gathered a community when he chose his
disciples and when he sent them forth to preach, he organized a church. His
choice of twelve implies the beginning of an organization. The teaching of
particular prayer is the beginning of a distinctive worship. Moreover, in his
early life a community of followers already gathered around him, and in that
community later generations have recognized the essential embodiment of the
idea of the Ekklesia.[18]
For
Hubert Jedin and John Dolan, the church history has its root in Jesus of
Nazareth, by whose life and work, the church is founded. Whoever follows him
and who were called to the Kingdom thus form a new community. We can see that
his words and deeds tend towards the creation and development of such a
community. As seen in Matthew 16:18, Jesus himself called this community his
church and he claimed that he was establishing is by his work.[19] Thus
for them the foundation of the church was prepared by Jesus Christ, and the founding
of the church was completed only after Jesus’ resurrection.
John
Alzog is on the side of Jesus’ establishment of the visible church. His
argument is that Jesus’ life and ministry was to restore the living intercourse
which once existed between God and humans. Then it became necessary to
establish one religious society, which should be a bond of union among humans
for all time and in every country. There can be no Christianity without church,
and no church without Christianity. Jesus therefore recognizes the necessity of
such an institution, then founded a visible church, which he calls the Kingdom
of God, the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Christ. He did not only
promise a church, but actually established one.[20]
Roman Catholic Church believes that Jesus
created one universal church for all of mankind. That church is Catholic Church
established by Jesus with his words spoken in Matthew
16. "… and so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."
Around or about 45 AD, Peter went to Rome and from there lead the Catholic
Church as first pope. The position of Pope was established by Christ and the
office has been maintained in an apostolic manner since the time of Christ.
Although the Church has fragmented since the time of Christ with various
leadership centers emerging, the apostolic line of succession in the Church is
seated in Rome until this very day.[21]
Concluding Remarks
Jesus
Christ may not intend to establish the church, but he preached the Kingdom of
God which is at hand. He gathered people, chose twelve, made disciples and sent
them for mission, through that a new community came into existence. After his
death and resurrection, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit annoyed the community,
and they became stronger, bigger and more organized. And inevitably the
structure of church existed. We can say that Jesus established a Christian
community, that became church. However there are points that theologians and
scholars are in different positions in Christological foundation of the church.
Points of their contention and convention in the relationships of Jesus Christ
and Church can be in his role in the foundation of the church. As mentioned
above, James H. Hanson, Wallace M. Alston Jr., Martin Luther and John Calvin, and
Hans Kueng are on the side who believe that Jesus Christ did not found the
church himself. They recognize the idea of community right from the beginning
when God created everything.
On
the other sides, there are people who think that Jesus Christ was the founder
or at least the foundation of the church, who are R. Newton Flew, Hubert Jedin,
John Dolan, John Alzog and Roman Catholic Church.
Finally,
if we assume that Jesus did not intend to found the church, we have to consider
some points:
1)
If he did not intend to found a church, yet the church actually came into
existence, we can devalue his authority and his purpose, because seeing the
coming of church as not intended by Jesus would automatically make him
unsuccessful. Do we have unsuccessful savior?
2)
If he did not intend to found a church, why should he gather people by choosing
the twelve? Were the twelve just to accompany him in his earthly ministry? Were
they not called to continue his ministry? Jesus would know how they will gather
as brothers after his death and ascension to heaven. Then founding a new
community (church in other word) is his intention.
Thus,
from the above discussions, in the midst of contentions, the presenter would
like to conclude that Jesus Christ was the main reason for the establishment of
the so called church. He established a new community, who gathered as family,
bound by their love in Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, and that community
became visible and organized church later.
Bibliography
Alston, Jr, Wallace M. Guides to the Reformed Tradition: The Church. Atlanta: John Knox
Press, 1984.
Alzog, John. Manual of Universal Church History. New
Delhi: Christian World Imprints,
2014.
Barton, John and John
Muddiman. The Oxford Bible Commentary.
New York: Oxford
University
Press, 2001.
Boer, Harry R. A Short History of the Early Church. Michigan:William
B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1976.
Brunner,
Emil. The Christian Doctrine of the
Church, Faith, and the Consummation,
Dogmatics: Vol. III.
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960.
Flew,
R. Newton Jesus and His Church. London:
The Epworth Press, 1960.
Hanson,
James H. What is the Church? Its nature
and Function. Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing
House, 1961.
Jedin,
Hubert and John Dolan. History of the
Church. New York: The Seabury Press, 1980.
Koehler, Edward W. A. A Summary of Christian Doctrine. Illinois:
Edward W. A. Koehler,
1952.
Kueng,
Hans. The Church. London: Burns &
Oates, 1967.
Kueng, Hans. Christianity: Essence, History and Future.
New York: Continuum Publishing
Company,
1995.
Lincoln, Andrew T. World Biblical Commentary: Ephesians.
Dallas: World Books Publisher,
1990.
Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Ed.
Dictionary for Theological Interpretation
of the Bible. London:
Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2006.
Webliography
http://ourcatholicfaith.org/thechurch.html
(accessed February 8, 2017).
Samuel
John, “The Foundation of the Church of God” in https://www.academia.edu/
14183550/The_Foundation_of_the_Church (accessed February 8, 2017).
[1] Emil Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of the Church, Faith,
and the Consummation, Dogmatics: Vol. III (Philadelphia: The Westminster
Press, 1960), 22.
[2] Hans Kueng, The Church (London: Burns & Oates, 1967), 84-86.
[3] Edward W. A. Koehler, A Summary of Christian Doctrine
(Illinois: Edward W. A. Koehler, 1952), 245.
[4] R. Newton Flew, Jesus and His Church (London: The
Epworth Press, 1960), 35.
[5] R. Newton Flew, Jesus and His Church, 89.
[6] R. Newton Flew, Jesus and His Church, 96-97.
[7] Harry R. Boer, A Short History of the Early Church
(Michigan:William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976), 15.
[8] Harry R. Boer, A Short History of the Early Church,
17-18.
[9] Samuel John, “The Foundation of
the Church of God” in https://www.academia.edu/ 14183550/The_Foundation_of_the_Church
(accessed February 8, 2017).
[10] John Barton and John Muddiman, The Oxford Bible Commentary (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2001), 865.
[11] Kevin J. Vanhoozer, ed., Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of
the Bible (London: Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, 2006), 108.
[12] John Barton and John Muddiman, The Oxford Bible Commentary, 1114.
[13] Andrew T. Lincoln, World Biblical Commentary: Ephesians
(Dallas: World Books Publisher, 1990), 152-153.
[14] James H. Hanson, What is the Church? Its nature and Function
(Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 8.
[15] Wallace M. Alston, Jr, Guides to the Reformed Tradition: The Church (Atlanta: John Knox Press,
1984),12-13.
[16] Hans Kueng, Christianity: Essence, History and Future (New York: Continuum
Publishing Company, 1995), 77-78.
[17] Hans Kueng, Christianity: Essence, History and Future, 78.
[18] R. Newton Flew, Jesus and His Church, 18-19.
[19] Hubert Jedin and John Dolan, History of the Church (New York: The
Seabury Press, 1980), 70.
[20] John Alzog, Manual of Universal Church History (New Delhi: Christian World
Imprints, 2014), 108.
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