It’s the ecclesiology stupid!
“In particular, he has instituted sacraments, which we feel by experience to be most useful helps in fostering and confirming our faith. For seeing we are shut up in the prison of the body, and have not yet attained to the rank of angels, God, in accommodation to our capacity, has in his admirable providence provided a method by which, though widely separated, we might still draw near to him.” Calvin, Book 4 of the Institutes.
What is the church?? I was in a group of leaders for a training session this week on the role and identity of the church.? Calvin’s quote seems to suggest that the church is eschatological only insofar as? it is part of the? “now-not yet”, and that somehow when the? “not yet” actually becomes the “now” it will be jettisoned, much like a spacecraft jettisoning its empty/useless fuel tanks as it attains orbit.
Is that what Calvin is saying?? Is that a big enough view of the church?? ? Is it simply something to? get us to heaven?? That seems to? be a little reductionist in our? view. And if that is what you think the church is,? how will it play out in how you “do” church?? Check out Ephesians 1:22-23, a difficult passage to translate, but with something to say about the church that suggests more than Calvin does.?
February 12th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Hi Steve
Two thoughts off the top of my head:
1. the church is the fulfillment of God creating a people for Himself to live with and enjoy Him forever in the ‘new heavens and new earth’, which I understand to be a re-creation of everything God intended prior to the Fall.
2. HOWEVER, in the meantime, the church is the visible expression of Christ’s body on earth. We are called to fulfill the great commission by living out gospel and Christ centred lives before those around us. In the period between Christ’s ascension and his return, we, empowered by the Holy Spirit, are called to be ‘Christ’ to those around us.
Obviously this has massive implications concerning how we live our daily lives, especially how we view our daily work, all those we come into contact with, all those who see how we choose to live, etc. If nothing else it makes each one of us a full time missionary regardless of our status or job situation.
February 15th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Perhaps you can explain why you think that the sacraments in this quote from Calvin are synonymous with the “church”, Steve. I don’t know that Calvin would have thought the sacraments equaled the church. Surely Calvin as a reformer was reacting against such a view?
This seems like Calvin on “sacramentology” (is that a word?) rather than ecclesiology.
February 16th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I’ve been a bit of a slacker getting back to these questions, but give me a couple of days more to read up a few things and I will!