theo 2 final

Already/not yet

o God's kingdom is both a present reality (inaugurated and a future hope (realized)

the kingdom is not here in its fullness

We are currently living in the in between (between Jesus's resurrection and 2ndcoming)

True or False: what is true about the "eschaton" is already a reality in the Christian life

True

What is the "already" portion of already/not yet?

-We have the power of the Spirit
-Church is doing God's work on the earth

What is the "not yet" portion of already/not yet?

-World under condition of sin
-Our lives not fully transformed
-Effects of sin still present
-Christ not visible to entire world

OT view of the end

The present age: Satan's time

The coming age: God's time

What is the end signaled by?

signaled by resurrection of the dead

NT view of the end

The present age: The evil age

Crossover of the ages: The Spirit is here, but it is still not fully God's kingdom

The coming age: The fullness of the kingdom

God's kingdom OT background

They thought the kingdom was coming NOW

End Times/"The Elbow" focuses on...

Focus on how the shift from redemption to consummation occurs

True or False: The events of the world affect the church's interest in the end of the world

True

God promised what 3 things to Israel?

Blessing to nations
The promised land
Have a kingdom (rule)

The dispensational view says what about the 1,000 yrs

that Jews that believe in Christ will rule during the 1,000 years

What is a key passage for the debate about the millennium?

Revelation 20

Amillennialism

The millennium is spiritualized

No literal fulfillment of prophecy

No role for Israel

Postmillennialism

Things will get better and better until the kingdom of God is upon us

The church age brings about the millennium

No role for Israel

Premillennialism

Second coming comes before millennium

2 types of premillennialism

Historic premillennialism
Dispensational premillennialism

Historic premillennialism

GENERIC millennium (not Jewish)

Dispensational premillennialism

Cedarville doctrinal statement

7yrs tribulation

Pretrib

Official 2ndcoming is after the tribulation, before the millennium

Jewish-focused millennium

Millennium

Early reign of Christ

Dramatically introduced by the 2nd coming

A great tribulation will precede millennium

Satan and his minions will be bound during the millennium

What is the only passage that focuses on rapture besides Revelation?

1 Thessalonians 4

Importance of eschatology

We have hope

Big picture timeline

1. Creation
2. Fall
3. Redemption
4. Consummation

Picture of Redemption through time

o Adam and Eve
o Abraham and Israel
o Jesus
o Church

Universal church

every believer: past, present, future

All Christian (you can't be a part of it without being a Christian)

Local church

specific group of Christians in a specific location

Could be mixed between believers and unbelievers, people may call themselves Christians but not believe

Church

have holistic focus while trying to serve all types of people within the church's five ministries

Parachurch

any ministry outside of a local church that is doing part of the church's assigned task

Have luxury if specializing in particular type of ministry to a particular church

Works alongside the church

Usually specialized when it comes to the type of ministry

Usually targeted to a specific people group

Church and parachurch tension

Church's side: take money and workers away

Parachurch side: the church's lack of opportunity or intentionality requires parachurches

Goals in dispelling tension between church and parachurch

The church needs to not envy the para, and the para needs to remember that they don't meet all the needs of the person

Ministries of the church

teaching
fellowship
worship
service
evangelism

Teaching

Educating people with God's truth

Including sermons, Sunday school, MOPs, worship service, children's church

Fellowship

Incorporating God's people into a family where they can be known, cared for, held accountable, and encouraged

Important to be part of a group of 4-5 or less

Worship

Worship is celebrating God's presence and honoring Him with our lifestyles

Service

Demonstrating God's love by meeting the needs of others with love

Evangelism

Communicating the good news with those who don't yet have a personal relationship with Him

Biblical evidence for the 5 ministries of the church

Matt 22:37-38, Matt 28:19-20

"teaching them to obey"-teaching

"baptizing them"-fellowship

"love the Lord your God" - worship

"love neighbor"-service

"make disciples" - evangelism

Why be so purposeful in the 5 ministries of the church?

To clarify the direction of the ministry

Minimize conflict throughout the ministry

Maximize excitement for the ministry

Factors in choosing a church

-Biblical doctrine
-ministry philosophy
-trust leadership?
-life-changing community
-can I serve here?

What is important to consider in Biblical doctrine?

"essential" vs "nonessential"

Definition of evangelical (David bebbington 1989-the most widely accepted definition)

Biblicism

Crucicentrism

Conversionism: belief that humans need to be converted

Activism: belief that faith should influence one's public life

Biblicism

high regard for the Bible

Crucicentrism

focus on Christ's crucifixion and its saving effects

Conversionism

belief that humans need to be converted

Activism

belief that faith should influence one's public life

Another definition of evangelical (Garth rusell)

A shared authority (Bible)

Shared experience (conversion)

Shared mission (worldwide evangelization)

Shared vision (spiritual renewal of church and society)

Ministry philosophy of the church

5 ministries

Represent all God's kingdom or just the ones like us (ages, ethnicity, socioeconomic)

Roman Catholic Church structure

· Hierarchy
· Authority
· Tradition
· Uniformity
· Power in numbers?

Mainline denominations church structure

· Association
· Doctrinal perspective
· Similarity
· Power in cooperation

Independent church structure

· Self-governance
· Autonomy
· Bible
· Uniqueness
· Power in independence: focus on Bible

Evaluating hierarchy

Authority of the Bible (rather than church tradition) and Christ as the head of the church are easy to support (Colossians 1, Ephesians 5)

Joining with other local churches in associations: supporter can enable more efficient ministry (education/seminary, missions, publishing), but Baptists have always drawn the line at anyone dictating doctrine or anything that matter to a local (autonomous) church

the NT model of hierarchy

The NT model has paul appealing to local churches to govern themselves in terms of church discipline, choosing leadership, doing ministry and giving to others (1 cor 6, 1 tim 3, titus 1)

The only hierarchy visible is Paul's attempt to gather offerings rom the churches to help out the Jerusalem churches in poverty and in garnering missionary support for himself (romans 15-16)

Acts 15 Jerusalem council

Dixon opinion on hierarchy

"it doesn't mean that stronger hierarchy are anti-biblical, but since this enters a debate where the Bible is silent, they are at best extra-biblical and I think of it as slightly scary territory, where I personally wouldn't want to be"

Baptist church leadership

Many Baptist churches have historically held to a single head pastor verses "multiple pastors" where the issues was usually one of central location of authority or power

More recently in the last 30 yrs, multiple eldership models of shared authority among men who all qualified as pastors (1 tim 3) have become more common

What hasn't changed is the two fold distinction between the higher-level leaders (pastors) and lower-level leaders (deacons) 1 tim 3

Elder board

equally in charge, each get a vote

True or False: elders=pastors

He says that elders = pastors (the same thing)

Their job is to teach, lead church

Deacons

serve community, people of church

Pastors

the ones with higher standards and are tasked with being able to teach

NT passages on church leadership

Overseers speaking about responsibility fir the flock -titus 1:7

Elders speaking of wisdom and qualification -titus 1:9

Pastors speaking of their nurturing role as a shepherd -eph 4:11

Most important part of leadership

Based upon the Biblical information given about the leadership of the church, it is clear that integrity and character are -by far- the most important

The core of functional leadership

Leaders who show wisdom and character development, who are self-less, who have led their families well, are the core of a functional leadership

Passages on elders

· 1 tim 3:1-7
· Titus 1:5-9

Passage on deacons

· 1 tim 3:8-13

Should some governing and teaching roles be reserved for men?

No-egalitarians

Yes-complementarians

(Make sure your church asks what THE BIBLE teaches about this)

Complementarian argument

Equality of essence is clear

Trinitarian parallel

Gen 1:26-27
o Both made in God's image
o Both made to rule the earth

Gal 3:28
o Gender absolutely irrelevant when it comes to redemption

1 cor 12: 7-11
o God distributes his gifts to his people as he wills
o Gender is not a factor in particular gifts (Not saying that women can't teach)
o But it doesn't preclude possibility of prescribing how those gifts would be used in the church

Trinitarian parallel

Father = Son = Holy Spirit

Male = Female

· 1 cor 15:28
· 1 cor 11:3

Passages for male/female differentiation

Genesis 2
· Order of creation 1 cor 11:8, 1 tim 2:13
· Adam was given instruction to not eat fruit (before eve created) which highlights ironic statement: "to man who was with her"
· Eve created to be adam's helper (paul 1 cor 11:9-10)
· Adam named eve which indicated in OT culture a right of authority (actually named her twice)

Gen 3:1-13
· Despite the fact eve was tempted and then gave it to Adam, he is held responsible by God and God seeks Adam to inquire who they were hiding
· Paul teaches that the line of sin in the human race begins with Adam (romans 5:12)

Gen 3:16, 4:7
· Parallel structure of eve's curse to "want to rule" over Adam and sin's "desire to master Cain"
· Sin isn't cause of role differentiation (egalitarian) but disrupts designed differentiation

Ephesians 5:22-23
· Parallel of headship between man and Christ
· If it's "just cultural", then it loses its impact

Biblical examples for male/female differentiation

Leadership Israel-male

Christ chose male leadership (However, it is interesting to note the Jesus did much with women that was actually against the social customs of His day)

Male leadership in the church

Male leadership in the home

Meta-discussion: three sources of information

Biblical directives

Personal experience

Cultural moment

Intermural debates

both sides have same authority - Bible

examples:
· Calvinism vs Arminianism?
· Lose salvation?
· Mode of baptism?
· Sign gifts?

Culturally influenced debates

· Creator or no Creator?
· Homosexuality?
· Role of women?

Differentiating between intramural debates and culturally influenced debates

· Kind of tough to be one or the other without crossover
· Cultural values can influence views of Scriptureàwhere problems come in

Key questions to consider on challenging topics

What (Who) is my final authority?

Is Scripture clear?

If it's fuzzy...
· Btw: people disagree about what is clear and what is fuzzy
· What are the tension points?
· What is the evidence when it comes to those tension points?
· Whom do I trust?
· Has my personal experience blinded me or influenced me adversely?
· Has culture confused me? Is my desire to be acceptable to culture influenced me?
· Consider theological scaffolding and Dixon's "games theory"

Dixon's "games theory"

Jenga effect-if you take out or change how you interpret that piece of Scripture, will it make your whole Theological system fall?

Twister-get yourself all turned in knots trying to make it fit

The Holy Spirit is ______________________________

God's personal empowering presence

Pneumatophobia

Choose to ignore (even downplay?) the Holy Spirit

Trying to "capture the wind"

Emotional excesses of "others"

Pneumatomania

Obsession with Holy Spirit

Constantly talk about HS

Link every happy occurance with HS's work

Every wish can be achieves If you just trust/believe in HS

Make other believers feel "less than Christian" without same experience

Names of the Holy Spirit

Spirit of God
· Creation Gen 1:2; 2:7
· Re-creation/redemption 1 Cor 2:11

Holy Spirit
· True source of our holiness Ps 51:11

Spirit of Christ
· Reflects fact He has been sent by Jesus
o John 14:26
· Synonym with "Spirit of God"

True or False: The Holy Spirit has no direct, personal actions

FALSE!

Not impersonal, driving force

There's a "HE" not an "it"
-Searches 1 cor 2:30
-Helps
-intercedes rom 8:20
-Teaches 1 cor 2:13
-Calls out gal 4:6
-Dwells 2 tim 1:14

Luke 4:14
Acts 10:38

God's presence to the nation of Israel

Holy Mountain

Tabernacle

Tabernacle to temple

Temple to "little temples": Day of Pentecost

Deity

This is similar to the progress of revelation that we saw with the biblical development of the OT Messiah through to the Jesus Messiah of the gospels and epistles

Remember the lesson from the comparison of the Nicene Creed?

325 AD

"...And in the Holy Ghost"

Athanasius and the Holy Spirit

Athanasius argued that the baptismal formula in Matthew 28 demonstrated the deity of the Spirit along with the Father and Son. His argument eventually prevailed although the patristic fathers hesitated to apply the name "God" since Scripture didn't explicitly do so (pg. 102-103).

Historically, 3 factors helped establish the teaching of the deity of the Spirit:

1. All the titles of God are applied to the Spirit, such as "holy"
2. The functions of the Spirit are those of deity, such as creating and renewing
3. The inclusion in the Baptismal formula: "In the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit"

True or False: Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God

Lying to HS is lying to God- Acts 5:3-4

The filoque debate:

· Doesn't matter theologically, but certain people are in a certain church because of this
· John 15:26- "When the advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father-
· the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father- he will testify about me".
· Issue: how do you describe the eternal relationship of the 3 persons of the trinity?

Remember difference between ontological trinity and economic trinity

Did the HS "proceed" from the Father or both the Father and the Son?

Ontological: equal in person

·Father= Son= HS
·They are all God
· Economically: different in function
· The Son serves the Father
· Question is: how does the HS fit into this?
· Is the HS equal to the son or is it the servant to the Son and the Father
-Sooo.. Christ "proceed" or be "eternally generated" from the Father without denying Jesus was ever created
· Simply description of relationship in economic trinity
· Speaks to HS's economic relationship to other 2 persons of Trinity

Why the filoque debate matters

the early church ended up splitting largely sue to this issue:

Western fathers (roman catholic) argued that the Spirit proceeded from both Father and the Son

Eastern fathers claimed procession was only from the Father

Holy Spirit Functions

Ministry in creation and recreation

Apostles lives and ministries: Doing the same miracles, Called signs of an apostle 2 cor 12, Inspiration of the message in Scripture

The revelation of God to humanity: His role in authorizing Scripture (Inspiration) AND His role in helping us understand Scripture (illumination)

Ministry to the world: Restraining evil

Convicting the world

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

denying the divine nature of the sign natures empowered by the HS is denying the best testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus (aka if you think that Jesus' power was coming from the devil and not from the HS)

The Holy Spirit in Apostles lives and ministries

Doing the same miracles

Called signs of an apostle

Inspiration of the message in Scripture

The Holy Spirit's role in Convicting the world

Sin-they don't believe in Jesus

Righteousness-Jesus is gone and the HS reminds us of the standard

Judgment- Satan is judged already and his team will go down too

The Holy Spirit's ministry in the believer's life

Moves into a more personal relationship to heighten out self-awareness (to understand my own motives and actions) in light of God's truth, to awaken new desires and motives and giving the power to obey. This new life uniquely and powerfully identifies us as God's children in his family (in contrast to circumcision) and insures that we will continue as such

The Holy Spirit and Delinianation

Convicts

Regenerates

Indwells

Baptizes

Seals

Grieve

As another "filling" is not a mysterious, secret thing, but another metaphor of being utterly identified and overtaken by God...it affects EVERYTHING you do

Regenerates

gives new set of motives, desires and power to live

Indwells

makes the personal presence of God a reality resulting in a assurance and witness to others

Baptizes

identifies the believer as a member of God's new community

Convicts

heightens self-awareness of our lives and sin

Grieve

to disappoint one of has a close and personal interest in my life

Scripture passages for Spiritual gifts

1 Cor 12

Romans 12:6-8
1 cor 12:7-10
1 cor 12:28
Eph 4:1