Remembering Who We Are: Duane W.H. Arnold, PhD
Remembering Who We Are
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen
The third article of the Nicene Creed sometimes seems to be an addendum. That is, the first two articles dealing with the nature and work of God the Father and the Incarnation of God the Son in the person of Christ seem to take all of the oxygen out of the room. Yet, it is in the third article of the creed that we proclaim who we are. We confess and proclaim that we believe in “one holy, catholic and apostolic church”. In a very real sense, this is a confession of our own identity. Additionally, no single phrase encapsulates more accurately or succinctly how the early church, represented by the bishops at Nicaea, viewed themselves. Now, while it might be profitable to examine and analyze the adjectives applied to the Church – one, holy, catholic and apostolic – my interest is the context in which this definition is placed.
The context is blatant and explicit. The definition of Church is placed in the third article of the Creed, namely that which deals with the work and identity of the Holy Spirit. This is to say, the Church was to be perceived and understood from the perspective of Pneumatology. In plain non-theological words, the Church was seen as both the means and the effect of the Holy Spirit and his work, in this world and the next. In this regard, the Church was also eschatological, for it was not only the means of God’s work on earth, but it was also the goal of God’s work which was to be accomplished in this world and the next through the Holy Spirit.
The work of the Holy Spirit in and through the Church, however, is none other than Christ’s Incarnation in extension. When Christ sent out his disciples to baptize and to teach it was not a new ministry which they were to execute and exercise, but Christ’s ministry. The baptism they were to administer was baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. That which they were to teach were the commands of Christ. The resurrection from the dead and the life of the world to come was proclaimed owing to Christ’s rising from the dead and his ascension. The Church was also, therefore, understood Christologically, for the ministry which it lived, and the ministry which it exercised, was Christ’s ministry which the Holy Spirit worked through the Church.
The Church, in this understanding, is not a political or sociological entity. It is not a training ground for culture warriors. Rather, the Church is a theological reality by which the Holy Spirit makes Christ known. It is, or should be, the embodiment of Christ and the harbinger of a new age in which, according to Ignatius of Antioch, “magic was destroyed, every bond of evil perished, ignorance was destroyed, the old kingdom was utterly ruined as God appeared as man for the newness of eternal life…”
I still believe in the theological reality of the Church.
First, however, we need to remember who we are….
This, to me, is the real crisis in the church.
We have sublet our identity to myriad other things and we are not what we were called and created to be.
I’m not sure that many even understand what our true identity is, let alone our function…
Michael
There is a need to again think in terms of theology – not politics, not sociology, not national identity, not pollsters, not business management, not entertainment and all the rest… That is, if we’ve not forgotten what thinking theologically means.
Was listening yesterday to a Pastor explain that the emotional need to speak in tongues lessens our understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in the Believers life….
Em
While I have a number of charismatic friends, I think it is unfortunate that the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church has too often been reduced to the exercise of charismatic gifts… There is so much more.
Amen, DR Duane, amen!
P.S. I also have friends among the charismatics….. They seem to think that if you don’t have a “tongue” you probably are not a REAL Christian…. sad
I’ve known various charismatics and Pentecostals most of my life.
I don’t remember any of these folks questioning one’s salvation
WRT speaking in tongues. I did have a college roommate who was
Pentecostal and with him, it was, “you’re a second-class Christian
if you don’t experience the BOTHS.” I found it annoying (and
biblically inaccurate), but I knew he just wanted what he believed
was best for me.
bob 1
I agree. I also think there is a bit of a “generational split” among charismatics I know with regard to the emphasis on charismatic gifts…
All this talk of charismatics misses the point.
The Holy Spirit empowers me not to speak in tongues or prophecy, but to live the Christian life and follow the hard path behind Jesus.
I am doing a lot of things I would rather not do and life is difficult more often than not.
By myself I couldn’t keep going…with Christ all things are possible.
“…the Church is a theological reality by which the Holy Spirit makes Christ known. It is, or should be, the embodiment of Christ and the harbinger of a new age…”
Not sure that everyone has gotten the memo…
Excellent. A clear, concise statement of our place in the food chain. The Holy Spirit has been the water boy for too many believers who see themselves as the star quarterback or the powerful sideline coach. The passage that echoed as I read this article was “Grieve not the Holy Spirit, by whom you are sealed until the day of redemption.”
filistine
You got it…
I’m never quite sure what exactly the sin of culture warrior is though it’s often evoked here. The Catholic Bishop may have the sense of what you mean by banning Nancy Pelosi from communion for invoking her Catholicism as a basis for her aggressive abortion politics. Perhaps that captures the anathema you invoke.
Well said Duane. Understanding who we are—and I think the Creeds along with the New Testament establish that identity—should also help us identify what we are not.
Identity should produce stability, that is, we understand the path we are on and attempt to go deeper rather than wider. Benedict understood this. Part of the problem with the church today is the lack of understanding of who they are, have not gone deeper in that spiritual expression.
The priority of people gets lost in the priority of mission, programs, and maintaining the established framework. Paul instructed us that our work of ministry, whatever it is, is a priestly function, an offering to be accepted and sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15). Remembering this is a first step toward a deeper, Spirit dependent life and ministry.
Dread
I’ll take the Oxford Dictionary definition… “a person who is active in trying to protect a particular culture or set of values that they think is under threat, especially conservative political values in the US”.
pstrmike
Good insight on the role of stability… Giving that one some thought!
Of course only conservatives can sin.
Dread
“The Church, in this understanding, is not a political or sociological entity. It is not a training ground for culture warriors. Rather, the Church is a theological reality by which the Holy Spirit makes Christ known.”
Not sure that I see “sin” mentioned.
Pastor Dread, I caught the irony of your 10:32
The issue is not with conservatives or liberals politically.
The issue is enveloping party politics with the faith.
Because my faith informs how I feel about secular matters, I cannot vote for either party in good conscience.
My mistake Professor
Clearly your meaning is that the culture warriors are ‘missing the mark.’
Dread,
Nope, the Church “is not a training ground for culture warriors.” It’s pretty straight forward….