TRUTH IS EMBODIED IN THE CHURCH
16/03/24 08:47
Christian teaching of any merit is based on sola scriptura. This is the foundation of the who and the what Christ is to us and what is Christianity and what is not Christian. The Bible and the witness of the apostles, assuming we have read the Bible and are familiar with the New Testament – it’s not hard to read – is the touchstone of that which is the Gospel of Jesus and the apostles and that which is addition dilution and perversion of the Truth.
CHURCH COUNCILS
This is not to say that the deliberations of the church through the ages are irrelevant. They are not. They are instructive and informative when they are the result of Christ come in the flesh of those intent on unwrapping the riches of this Gospel of the Kingdom.
THE GIFTS
Theologians who discern the nature of our inheritance and riches in Christ so that all can understand the simple truth of what is theirs in Christ are just as much healers of the Church as those who heal deaf ears and crippled legs – and more so since our achieved reconciliation in Christ is the foundational healing of individuals and the world. A gospel of gifts and miracles will soon fade if it is not rooted in the atonement/incarnation that is our inheritance.
BIBLE TRUTH
Oliver Crisp writes, “The great majority of Christian theologians down through the ages [believed] that Scripture is the norming norm in theology this side of the grave. Other theological norms, such as the canons of ecumenical councils or the confessions of particular ecclesial communities, or even the arguments of theologians, are to be understood in light of Scripture and as ancillary to Scripture.”
CREEDS
The creeds are ancillary to scripture and are informative when they are an accurate rendition of what scripture is telling us about our inheritance in Christ. They are also indicative of a consensus in the Christian Church about that which is orthodox doctrine and that which is a deviation.
NO FLAKY GOSPELS
“There is also considerable merit in approaching the theological task in general, and the Christological one in particular, with .. "consensual Christianity" in mind.? That is, paying attention to the consensus about a wide range of theological matters especially matters pertaining to what is central and defining within the Christian tradition.
“Marginal voices often do help us to see things in a different light and can lead to re-evaluations of the canonical consensus.
“But in formulating Christian doctrine, especially Christological doctrine, more weight should be given to the consensus than to those at the margins.”
ENTITLEMENT GOSPELS
Where this is not so, deviant beliefs, mostly based on some kind of legalism or dilution of grace and the taint of Arianism take hold so that a system and culture in a section of the church grows as an evangelist of ‘cunningly devised fables’. Thus, there are gospels in which the christ (a false one) maintains the law in spite of the fact that the Christ lives to imbue Himself in our flesh. The law leads to Christ. Christ does not lead to the law.
POINTLESS RELIGION
‘I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Gal 2.21 NIV. There are versions of Christianity in which the efficacy of Christ for us is negated in these terms.
NOT SOMETHING DONE IN A CORNER
Crisp continues, “Part of the reason for this [emphasis on consensus] is that the consensus view on matters Christological was reached via a complex process of debate, discussion, and reflection in the first five centuries of the life of the church during which the language of Christology was forged. Pains were taken to ensure the church had certain Christological parameters in place, and certain dogmatic markers that indicated the bounds of orthodoxy in this matter.”
LIFE WITH THE CHRIST OF GOD
James Packer and Gary Parett, give this definition of the Christian life. “He calls on us, not just to acknowledge his reality and the salient facts about him, but to exercise faith in him—that is, on the basis of the facts, to trust him—for the forgiveness of our sins; to repent—that is, to leave behind our present natural life of sin-driven bondage, and enter a new life of Christ-led freedom; and to become disciples—persons, that is, who conscientiously, as our life project, walk with him, learn from him, worship him and the Father through him, and maintain obedience to him.”
The best way to maintain obedience to Jesus and be His disciple is to agree that He, Jesus has included us in His life. By the One Spirit and ministry of the Holy Spirit we have actual union with Jesus Christ.
CHURCH COUNCILS
This is not to say that the deliberations of the church through the ages are irrelevant. They are not. They are instructive and informative when they are the result of Christ come in the flesh of those intent on unwrapping the riches of this Gospel of the Kingdom.
THE GIFTS
Theologians who discern the nature of our inheritance and riches in Christ so that all can understand the simple truth of what is theirs in Christ are just as much healers of the Church as those who heal deaf ears and crippled legs – and more so since our achieved reconciliation in Christ is the foundational healing of individuals and the world. A gospel of gifts and miracles will soon fade if it is not rooted in the atonement/incarnation that is our inheritance.
BIBLE TRUTH
Oliver Crisp writes, “The great majority of Christian theologians down through the ages [believed] that Scripture is the norming norm in theology this side of the grave. Other theological norms, such as the canons of ecumenical councils or the confessions of particular ecclesial communities, or even the arguments of theologians, are to be understood in light of Scripture and as ancillary to Scripture.”
CREEDS
The creeds are ancillary to scripture and are informative when they are an accurate rendition of what scripture is telling us about our inheritance in Christ. They are also indicative of a consensus in the Christian Church about that which is orthodox doctrine and that which is a deviation.
NO FLAKY GOSPELS
“There is also considerable merit in approaching the theological task in general, and the Christological one in particular, with .. "consensual Christianity" in mind.? That is, paying attention to the consensus about a wide range of theological matters especially matters pertaining to what is central and defining within the Christian tradition.
“Marginal voices often do help us to see things in a different light and can lead to re-evaluations of the canonical consensus.
“But in formulating Christian doctrine, especially Christological doctrine, more weight should be given to the consensus than to those at the margins.”
ENTITLEMENT GOSPELS
Where this is not so, deviant beliefs, mostly based on some kind of legalism or dilution of grace and the taint of Arianism take hold so that a system and culture in a section of the church grows as an evangelist of ‘cunningly devised fables’. Thus, there are gospels in which the christ (a false one) maintains the law in spite of the fact that the Christ lives to imbue Himself in our flesh. The law leads to Christ. Christ does not lead to the law.
POINTLESS RELIGION
‘I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Gal 2.21 NIV. There are versions of Christianity in which the efficacy of Christ for us is negated in these terms.
NOT SOMETHING DONE IN A CORNER
Crisp continues, “Part of the reason for this [emphasis on consensus] is that the consensus view on matters Christological was reached via a complex process of debate, discussion, and reflection in the first five centuries of the life of the church during which the language of Christology was forged. Pains were taken to ensure the church had certain Christological parameters in place, and certain dogmatic markers that indicated the bounds of orthodoxy in this matter.”
LIFE WITH THE CHRIST OF GOD
James Packer and Gary Parett, give this definition of the Christian life. “He calls on us, not just to acknowledge his reality and the salient facts about him, but to exercise faith in him—that is, on the basis of the facts, to trust him—for the forgiveness of our sins; to repent—that is, to leave behind our present natural life of sin-driven bondage, and enter a new life of Christ-led freedom; and to become disciples—persons, that is, who conscientiously, as our life project, walk with him, learn from him, worship him and the Father through him, and maintain obedience to him.”
The best way to maintain obedience to Jesus and be His disciple is to agree that He, Jesus has included us in His life. By the One Spirit and ministry of the Holy Spirit we have actual union with Jesus Christ.
