THE CHURCH:the Series

Part Ib: Definitions,Biblical, Divine Origin,Meanings Today.

The Church in Scripture and Tradition

The prophets of the Old Covenant foretold the institution, in the time of the Messiah, of a new Kingdom of God, which was no longer to be limited to the people of Israel, but which should encompass all peoples.

Isaiah 2: 2-4In days to come, The mountain of the LORD’S house shall be

established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us climb the LORD’S mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.

Micah 4:1-3In days to come the mount of the LORD'S house Shall be established higher than the mountains; it shall rise high above the hills, and peoples shall stream to it: Many nations shall come, and say, “Come, let us climb the mount of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, that we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples and impose terms on strong and distant nations; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.

Isaiah 60Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; But upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: Your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. . . .

• Jesus began His public activity with the sermon on “The Kingdom of Heaven.”

Matthew 4:17; 10:7From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” . . . As you go, make this

proclamation: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

• or the “Kingdom of God”

Mark 1:14-15Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the

time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Luke 17:20-21Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be

observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.”

John 3:3-6Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus), “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born

from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”

• His miracles show that the Messianic empire of God had already come.

Matthew 12:28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the

kingdom of God has come upon you.

As conditions for the entry into the Kingdom of God,

• Jesus demands justice.

Matthew 5:20I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

• fulfillment of the will of His Father

Matthew 7:21Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the

kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

• a childlike disposition

Matthew 18:3Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,

you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

• He enjoins His hearers to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 6:33But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.

• threatens the Pharisees with exclusion from the Kingdom of God

Matthew 21:43Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away

from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

Matthew 23:13Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven before human beings. You do not enter

yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

• and proclaims the transfer of the Kingdom of God from the Jews to the Pagans

Matthew 21:43Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away

from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

Jesus does not understand the Kingdom of God purely eschatologically. It is a kingdom which will be founded and which will continue while the world lasts, and which will be completed in the future world.

Many of the Parables spoken by Our Divine Lord, for example, of the sower

of the seed, of the cockle in the wheat, of the net, of the leaven, of the mustard seed, depict the Kingdom of God in this world.

• In contrast to the Old Testament community of Yahweh, Jesus established a new religious community.

Matthew 16:16 You are Rocky and upon this rock I will build my Church.

Here Jesus clearly expressed His intention of instituting a new religious community, which will be dissociated from the Synagogue.

• To this end He assembled His disciples

Matthew 4:18As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,

Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

• and chose from them twelve

Mark 3:14-15He appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) . . . and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out

demons:

• In view of their task He called them Apostles

Luke 6:13When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles;

that is, ambassadors, agents, plenipotentiaries (apostalos is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew schalach and schaluach and of the Aramaic schelucha (one sent).

• In long personal contact He instructed them for the preaching office

Mark 4:34Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Matthew 13:52 And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

and transferred to them a whole series of powers• the power of binding and loosing

Matthew 18:17Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in

heaven.

that is, the legislative, juridical and punitive power; • the power of baptizing

Matthew 28:9 Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven

and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

• the power of consummating the Eucharist

Luke 22:19 Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.”

• the power of forgiving sins

John 20:23And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

• He sent them forth into all the world with the mandate to preach His Gospel and to baptize

Matthew 28:19 Make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Mark 16:15 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;

• Before He returned to the Father He handed over His mission to the Apostles

John 20:21As the Father has sent me so I send you.

• He appointed the Apostle Peter to be the head of the Apostles and the supreme guide of His Church

Matthew 16:18And so I say to you, you are Rocky, and upon this rock I will build my church;

John 21:15-17When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you

know that I love you.” (Jesus) said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

The supranational character of the institution which Christ established, and His developed teaching on faith and morals--which far exceeds that of the Old Testament--necessarily led to the secession of the primitive Christian communities from the Synagogue.

According to the teaching of St. Paul, Christ Himself is the “cornerstone,” on which the spiritual temple, which the faithful conjointly form, is built, “the foundation which has been built.”

Ephesians 2:20So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are

fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. A foundation upon which the messengers of the Faith must continue to build in their missionary work

1 Corinthians 3:11For no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,

namely, Jesus Christ. Christ is the head of the Church

Ephesians 5:23For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the

church, he himself the savior of the body.

Colossians 1:18 He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the

firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.

The Church is His property, which He has acquired with His own blood

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the

church of God that he acquired with his own blood.

His bride, whom He has loved, and for whom He has given Himself, in order to sanctify her, and to make Himself glorious

Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

True to Christ’s commission, the Apostles preached to Jews and Pagans the Gospel of Christ, and established Christian communities. These were bound to one another by the confession of the same faith, and by the celebration of the same liturgy under the direction of the Apostles (cf. Acts and Epistles of the Apostles).

The Fathers see in the Church and in her institutions generally the work of Christ.

St. Clement of Rome (? – 101)traces the whole order of the Church back to the Apostles, from the Apostles to Christ, from Christ to God. (Corinthians ‘ 42)

St. Cyprian (? - 258) speaks of the building of the Church by Christ, and designates the Church the “Church of Christ” and the “Bride of Christ.” (De unit. eccl. 4, 6)

As regards the foundation of the Church by Christ, three stages must be distinguished;

the preparation during the time of His public activity; the completion by His sacrificial death on the Cross; and the entry into the public sphere on the Feast of Pentecost after the

sending of the Holy Spirit.

Thus the first Christian Pentecost Sunday must be regarded as the birthday proper of the Church.

The Purpose of the Church Propagation of the Mission of Christ

Christ founded the Church in order to continue His work of redemption for all time. (De fide)

Vatican Council I (1869-1870)Christ “resolved to establish the Holy Church in order to give permanent duration to the work of the Redemption.” D 1821

Leo XIII (1896) “What did Christ the Lord achieve by the foundation of the Church; what did He wish 1 This: He wished to delegate to the Church the same office and

the same mandate which He had Himself received from the Father in order to continue them.” (Encyclical Satis cognitum )

The task of the Church consists in the application of the fruits of the Redemption to mankind. This is achieved by the exercise of the three-fold office delegated to the Church by Christ-

the teaching office, the pastoral office and the sacerdotal office.

Thus the Church is Christ continuing and perpetually working on earth. Christ bequeathed His mission to the Apostles.

John 17:18 As you have sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the

world.

John 20:21 As the Father has sent me, I also send you.

But the purpose of Christ's mission was the eternal salvation of man.

John 10:10I am come that you may have life and have it abundantly.

Luke 19:10 The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

For the fulfillment of her task, Christ has given the Church the mandate and the full power to preach His truth (teaching office), to inculcate His commandments (pastoral office), and to dispense His instruments of grace (priestly office).

Matthew 28:I9-20 Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

Luke 10:16He that hears you hears me: and he that despises you despises me: and he that despises me despises Him that sent me.

Matthew 18:15 Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 28:19-20Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you

Luke 22:19Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this

in memory of me.”

John 20:23(Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

In compliance with Christ’s mandate, the Apostles considered themselves to be servants and ambassadors of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God.

I Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and the

dispensers of the mysteries of God.

2 Corinthians 5:20 For Christ therefore we are ambassadors, God as it were exhorting by us. For Christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to God.

The sanctification of men by the communication of the truth, of the commandments and of the grace of Christ is the immediate purpose of the Church.

The supreme and ultimate purpose is, as in all God's operations, the external glory of God.

Inferences

By reason of her purpose and the means she uses to effect it, the Church is a supernatural spiritual society. (Sententia certa)

Pope Leo XIII (1885) “Although this society (the Church) consists of men, just as civil society does, yet by reason of the purpose set for it, and by reason of the means with which it seeks to achieve this purpose it is a supernatural and spiritual society ; and for this reason it is essentially different from civil society.” (Encyclical Immortale Dei)

John 18:36My Kingdom is not of this world.

St. Augustine (354-430)“Hear ye, therefore, Jews and pagans ... hear all earthly kingdoms: I do not hinder your dominion in this world.” (In loan. tr. 115, 2)

As the purpose of the Church is a purely religious one, she has in herself no political, economic, social and profane cultural tasks to perform. But as, on the other hand, nature and supernature are intrinsically interdependent, and

complementary, the realization of the religious purpose of the Church is assisted by the fulfillment of the secular tasks which have to be accomplished by civil society.

The Church is not opposed to culture and progress, as her whole history demonstrates. (D 1740, 1799)

Leo XIII (1902) “It does not necessarily follow from the religious nature of the Church's purpose that she may not acquire and possess earthly goods. As she must accomplish her spiritual, supernatural function by men living among the citizens of the earth, she can no more dispense with earthly means than could the Divine Founder of the Church Himself (John 12:6; 13:29).” (Encyclical Armum ingressi)

Pius IX (1864) rejected the proposition: “The Church has no native and legitimate right of acquiring and possessing.” (D 1726)

Temporal possessions, of course, are not an end in themselves, but merely a means to an end.

The Church is a perfect society. (Sententia certa)

Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903)“The Church, according to her nature and her rights, is a perfect society, as she possesses in herself and by herself, by the will and the goodness of her Founder, everything that is necessary for her existence and her efficacy. As the aim which the Church pursues is the most sublime, so also her power is the most eminent, and it cannot be considered as being less than the civil power or in any way subject to the civil power.” (Encyclical Immortale Dei)

Pope Leo XIII (1810- 1903)“Each of them is in its nature supreme. Each has definite limits, within which it must remain, limits which are determined by its nature and its immediate purpose.” (D 1866)

Pius IX (1864) Rejected the subordination of the Church power to the power of the State. (D 1719)

According to the will of her Divine Founder, the Church has an independent purpose distinct from the purpose of the State, namely, the sanctification and the eternal salvation of men. Further, she possesses all the means necessary for this purpose, namely, the teaching power, the pastoral power, and the priestly power. By virtue of God's ordinance the exercise of her powers, independent of all temporal power.

Thus the Church rejects every intervention of State power in the domain of the Church such as

State approval of the promulgation of Church laws and decrees, the hindrance of the practice of the Church’s juridical function by the

invocation of a temporal power,the hindering of the free intercourse of the bishops and the faithful

with the Pope, interventions in the organization of the Church.

(D 1719 et seq., 1741, 1749, 2333 etc.)

End of Part 1b: Definitions of the Church in Scripture and Tradition

Go toPart 2a: The Church: Its Constitution