THE CHURCH: AN INTRODUCTION, by Gregg Allison

A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

by Steve West

 

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1: Foundational Issues
1 The Triune God and the Church
2 The Church according to Scripture
Part 2: Mere Ecclesiology and More Ecclesiology
3 The Identity of the Church
4 The Leadership of the Church
5 The Government of the Church
6 The Ordinances or Sacraments of the Church
7 The Ministries of the Church
8 The Future of the Church
Conclusion

 

Summary

 

Introduction

When people think of what the church is, they are often sure that they know all about it. There are, however, a great variety of definitions, ideas, images, and associations that people have when they think about what church is. This book considers ecclesiology, which is the study of the church. The approach is structured on mere ecclesiology and more ecclesiology. We should not take the word mere in this context as pejorative, or as something seeking the lowest common denominator. It means what C. S. Lewis meant in Mere Christianity: it is what is central to the subject, and what is common to almost every Christian at all times. In this study, mere refers to the essential nature of the church, its ministries, organizational structures, etc. In contrast, more ecclesiology refers to the differences that exist between denominations in their specific beliefs and practices. For example, every church has leaders, but not every church has an identical leadership structure; every church administers ordinances, but there is a wide variety of theological interpretation and various ways that churches put their observation of ordinances into practice. In order to study the church, we need to ground our work in Scripture and theology.

 

Chapter 1: The Triune God and the Church

The nature of God and his plan of salvation is revealed in the church, and it is impossible to understand the church without understanding it in its relation to the triune God. Three metaphors can help us: the church is the people of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the holy Spirit. All that exists is created by and for God, and in all that God does, the three persons of the Trinity do as they act with inseparable operations. The church is a re-creation, and it comes into existence through the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we refer to the “people of God,” there is one sense in which every person belongs to God, since they are made by him and bear his image. There is a redemptive sense, however, in which the people of God are limited to the ones that he has redeemed; they are his covenant people. The redeemed are chosen and called, made into a royal priesthood and holy nation, God’s own special possession. There is one people of God presented in two aspects, “as the people of Israel in old covenant relationship with him and as the people of the church in new covenant relationship with him. Believers constitute the one people of God.” Those who belong to the people of God have been elected by him and brought into covenant relationship with him. Saving grace is given to the elect.

The image of the church as the body of Christ is used to describe our saving relationship with him. He is the head and we are the body of which he is Savior. This relationship of head and body is inaugurated after his life, death, and resurrection, and so the metaphor only works with the new covenant church. As its head, the church depends on Christ for life and growth, and it is also necessary for every church leader to submit to Christ’s ultimate authority. As one body, the church has a fundamental unity but a great diversity of parts. In the church there is demographic diversity and a variety of spiritual gifts, but the church remains one body. The church is a family with many different kinds of relationships amongst its members.

The people of God and the body of Christ are images that focus on Father and Son, but the third image of the temple of the Spirit focuses on the third person of the Trinity. When the Spirit is poured out on Pentecost, the church is born as his temple. The Spirit regenerates and empowers individual believers, but he also gives birth to new churches and empowers them for mission. In re-creating the people of God as the temple of the Spirit, the church is restored to an Edenic relationship of being in the presence of God. It was in the temple that God dwelt with his people. It is in the church that prophetic expectations of God dwelling with his people are fulfilled. In the Spirit, God dwells inside of his people, rather than simply around them. . . .

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