Chute / Morgan / Peterson Why We Belong

Evangelical Unity and Denominational Diversity
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4335-2459-2
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 256 Seiten

Denominations. The mention of the word is often enough to spark strong reactions, regardless of whether one is for or against them. This hopeful new volume, made up of contributions from prominent evangelical leaders, argues for the importance of denominations, highlighting their significant strengths while acknowledging potential weaknesses. Contributors from a variety of backgrounds (Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, and Methodist) share their own personal stories related to why they identify with a particular tradition and yet still maintain a robust sense of evangelical unity across denominational lines. Far from merely highlighting differences, this book celebrates the unity that believers enjoy in the gospel for the purpose of fostering productive dialogue and increased understanding within the fragmented landscape of modern evangelicalism.

 Anthony L. Chute (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; MDiv, Beeson Divinity School) is professor of church history and associate dean of the School of Christian Ministries at California Baptist University. He is the author of several books and has served as a pastor of multiple churches. He and his wife, Connie, have two children.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Chute, Anthony L.

Morgan, Christopher W.

Peterson, Robert A.

Leseproben

Toward a Theology of the Unity of the Church

Christopher W. Morgan

After a worship service one Sunday, I stood in the foyer to greet the church family. In a span of less than thirty minutes, prayer needs abounded: a key leader’s mother who is stricken with Alzheimer’s has to be placed in a nursing home; some terrific children are stuck in the middle of a messy divorce; missionaries to the Middle East are sorting out how to proclaim the gospel in the midst of a tricky social transition; a solid family has allowed disagreement to create disharmony among them; a deacon, who as a police officer was shot during a seemingly routine traffic stop, still struggles with an excruciatingly painful hip; a nearby church remains embattled by leaders who seem more interested in advancing their agendas than in embodying the love of Christ; the tears and tender hug from a recent widow disclose her continued grief. Add to these the unstated concerns of the people that day—bankruptcy, loneliness, arthritis, barrenness, restlessness, regret, fear, shame, and guilt—and we may safely conclude that we are not in heaven yet!

Not only do our prayer needs remind us that all is not right in the world, but watching the evening news also points to this, as wars, disasters, disease, murder, suicide, starvation, homelessness, and political wrangling fill the hour. Even the seemingly insignificant peace T-shirts and “all we need is love” songs suggest that things are not the way they’re supposed to be. Indeed, our longings for peace and love reveal that we do not have peace and love in its fullness; these longings also show that we believe that peace and love are good and right, the way things ought to be.

The Bible acknowledges the rightness of these deep-seated longings and even offers a historical narrative that frames how we understand them. The narrative begins with God’s creating everything in a way that pleases him and benefits his creatures (Genesis 1–2). The goodness of God and the goodness of his creation are highlighted by the creation account’s refrain, “And God saw that it was good” (see 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). By creating humanity in his image, God distinguishes us from the rest of creation and establishes a Creator-creature distinction. Genesis 1–2 depicts all this as good, as Adam and Eve are blessed with an unhindered relationship with God, intimate enjoyment of each other, and delegated authority over creation.

But rather than submitting to God and finding their pleasure in him, Adam and Eve rebel against God, wanting ultimate autonomy. Genesis 3:6 records the fall in a rapid fashion: “she saw,” “she took,” “she ate,” and “she gave,” culminating in “he ate.” The couple immediately feels shame, realizing they are naked (v. 7), estranged from God (vv. 8–10), and fearful (vv. 9–10). Their alienation from each other also emerges, as the woman blames the serpent and the man blames the woman and even God (vv. 10–13)! Pain, sorrow, and relational disruption also arise (vv. 15–19). Even worse, the couple is banished from Eden and God’s glorious presence (vv. 22–24).

In sum, through their disobedience, sin entered and disrupted their relationship to God, to each other, and to creation. Adam’s sin, while personal and historical, is also corporate and cosmic, plunging all humanity into sin (Rom. 5:12–21) and resulting in a creation that longs for freedom (8:18–28). So disorder and disunity exist—personally, communally, and cosmically.

Thankfully, the biblical story continues and recounts how God is intent on bringing peace out of the disorder through a mission of reconciliation. His plan is astonishing—to glorify himself through a full-scale restoration of cosmic unity. As we will see, the church and its unity are central in this plan. The biblical material on this is massive, but Paul’s letter to the Ephesians emphasizes the church and its unity. Therefore, we will use Ephesians as our guide as we set forth the contours of the theology of church unity.

The Unity of the Church Showcases God’s Purpose of Cosmic Unity

Disorder and disunity will not last forever. God is on a mission to bring about cosmic unity. Whereas sin has resulted in disharmony, God’s eternal plan for reconciliation brings peace and wholeness.

God’s Purpose of Cosmic Unity

This plan addresses the personal, communal, and cosmic consequences of the fall by bringing all things together in Christ—uniting people to him, uniting people to one another, and even uniting the cosmos in Christ. And the church plays a central role in this plan.

The essence of God’s plan, which is set forth in Christ, is “to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10). Notice that “all things” are specified as “things in heaven and things on earth.” This is comprehensive language for an eschatological uniting of the cosmos in Christ (cf. Rom. 8:18–30; 2 Cor. 5:14–21; Col. 1:15–20). Peter O’Brien explains: “The emphasis now is on a universe that is centered and reunited in Christ. The mystery which God has graciously made known refers to the summing up and bringing together of the fragmented and alienated elements of the universe (‘all things’) in Christ as the focal point.”1

Accomplishing this eternal plan in history through his saving work, Christ is even called “our peace”:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Eph. 2:13–16)

In proclaiming Christ as our peace, Paul puts forward three participles that show how Christ has acted to bring peace: making both Jews and Gentiles one, destroying the barrier between them, and abolishing the hostility. What is this peace? O’Brien explains:

The term “peace” in both Old and New Testaments came to denote well-being in the widest sense, including salvation, the source and giver of which is God alone. “Peace” was used for harmony among people (Acts 7:26; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 4:3; Jas. 3:18) and especially for the messianic salvation (Luke 1:79; 2:14; 19:42). The term could describe the goal and content of all Christian preaching, the message itself being called “the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15; cf. Acts 10:36; Eph. 2:17). The biblical concept of peace has to do with wholeness, particularly with reference to personal relationships. Peace describes an order established by the God of peace (1 Cor. 14:33; cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20; Phil. 4:9). Christ himself is the mediator of that peace (Rom. 5:1; Col. 1:20). He gives peace to believers (2 Thess. 3:16); indeed, he himself is that peace.2

Christ’s objective accomplishment of this peace is subjectively applied to us by the Holy Spirit through our union with Christ, which addresses the three spheres: personal, communal, and cosmic. In Christ, we as individuals are linked to Christ’s death and resurrection and thus receive salvation (Eph. 1:3–14; 2:1–10). In Christ, we are together linked to Christ’s death and resurrection and thus are united to each other and become God’s people, the church (2:11–22; 3:1–6). And in Christ, the whole cosmos is linked to Christ’s saving work and is being reconciled (1:9–10; 3:9–11).

The Church and God’s Purpose

God’s new creation—including the church—is related to all three spheres of God’s plan for cosmic unity. First, the church is composed of believers who were alienated from God but through the saving work of Christ have been united to him by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:1–10). The church consists of believers who no longer live in separation from God but are united to Christ and live with full access to God. Ephesians 1:3–14 depicts the church as the new covenant people of God. We are God’s chosen people; we are God’s holy people; we are God’s worshiping people; we are the children of God, adopted into his family; we are the redeemed people; we are heirs with an inheritance. So, foundationally, the church is the new covenant people who are reconciled to God.

Second, the church is also the people of God reconciled to each other (Eph. 2:11–22). To be united to Christ also means we are united to one another. The reconciliation of the Jews and Gentiles is described as the creation of one new humanity (vv. 13–16). Christ our peace removes the hostility between Jews and Gentiles, and out of the formerly divided peoples he creates a new and unified humanity. Paul has already used new-creation language in verse 10. There it primarily refers to the salvation of believers, but may also include the larger sphere of the church. Here in verses 13–16 the new-creation language clearly refers to the church. As the focal point and inaugurator of the new creation, Christ, the Son of God, bears the divine image and is also “the one who by virtue of his death and resurrection is now re-creating a people into that same image.”3 Gordon Fee explains:

For here is the one who is himself the “image” of God, who is the Father’s own “firstborn,” and by virtue of his resurrection the “firstborn” with regard to the new creation, is now the one who “re-creates” broken and fallen humanity back into the divine image that he himself...