The Riddleblog

Christ's Spotless Bride -- New Testament Images of the Church (Part Two)

In an age of growing uncertainty, increasing angst, and divisive tribalism, a number of strategies (often politically focused) have been proposed to stem the rising tide of unbelief and the social havoc of our times. But one important area of doctrine which speaks to these issues is often overlooked—ecclesiology, the doctrine of the church. In the first of this series (Christ’s Spotless Bride) I addressed some of the reasons why the doctrine of the church is not of interest to many, and why I think reflection on the nature and mission of Christ’s church offers important, if overlooked, answers to many of our current woes. In this and the next piece in this series I will consider a number of the images given us in the New Testament in order to stimulate thinking about how the church offers solutions to these contemporary problems, and then address some of the ways we ought to think about the church. These images of the church in the New Testament, along with the attributes and marks of the church (which will be taken up later), help us to better understand the nature of the church and the comfort to be found in the new covenant community.

New Testament Images of the Church

There are a number of images used in the New Testament to describe Christ’s church. Such images are but one way of approaching the doctrine of the church.[1] To understand the value of these images, an analogy to the doctrine of God (theology proper) might help. Scripture teaches us about God (who is incomprehensible in himself) not only by ascribing certain attributes to him (e.g., justice, knowledge, power) but also by identifying him as a certain kind of person or having a certain kind of role (e.g., king, shepherd, warrior).

But these attributes of God are analogical and anthropological and cannot be absolutized. God is like but also unlike human kings, and being a king does not exhaust who God is. Similarly, the church displays the images given us in certain respects, but none of them describes the church comprehensively. Louis Berkhof speaks of “figurative designations of the Church, each of which stresses some particular aspect of the Church.”[2] That is my approach here. There are certainly a number of these images given us in the New Testament which are well worth consideration.

To read the rest, follow the link below

EcclesiologyKim RiddlebargerApril 5, 2024Images of the church Comments

Christ's Spotless Bride -- Some Thoughts on the Doctrine of the Church (Part One)

Some Thoughts on The Importance of the Doctrine of the Church —

Or How I introduced My Ecclesiology Course to Students

I understand that ecclesiology is not everyone’s favorite topic. No doubt it is the least read section in any systematic theology text—and that is not merely because the doctrine of the church usually comes at the end of the volume. For a host of reasons American Christians tend not to be interested in the topic. But after serving as a pastor and professor for over forty years, I have come to believe that ecclesiology is one of the most important topics for our time and well worth thinking about.

Here are the main points for consideration I made whenever introducing the topic to Reformed seminarians.

First, during my post-seminary days I taught graduate systematic theology and apologetics courses to mostly “five-sola” evangelical students at the Simon Greenleaf School of Law (now the Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, CA). Berkhof’s Systematic Theology was my text. I always dreaded coming to the closing chapters on the doctrine of the church because the class was filled with students who came from various evangelical churches. Many were professing Christians but had no ties to any church. Many were still in mainline Protestant churches but were soon to leave. Others stayed in the churches in which they were raised, or they followed the crowd to a celebrity pastor. Many of these students had picked their churches for reasons that had little if anything to do with ecclesiology or doctrine. Reading Berkhof pulled the church rug out from under their feet.

To read the rest, follow the link below

EcclesiologyKim RiddlebargerMarch 11, 2024Church as Bride of Christ, Importance of ecclesiologyComment