Ministry in a Multi-Cultural and Unchurched Society

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Mi n i s t r y i n a Mu l t i -Cu l tura l and Unchur ched Soc i et y

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, [23] I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

A. The Great Tradition was unashamedly committed to the Scriptures as the faithful and final authoritative source of the apostolic witness to the Christ.

1. The Scriptures are inspired of God, breathed out by the Holy Spirit, 2 Tim. 3.16-17.

2. The Scriptures testified to the centrality of Christ, John 5.39-40.

3. The Scriptures were to be interpreted in light of the hermeneutic used by Jesus and the apostles: economy, typology, mystagogy, e.g., Matt. 5.17-18 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [18] For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. The Scriptures, in their current form, were canonized by the Christians of the early Church.

B. The Great Tradition identified with the promise of Abraham outlined in the Hebrew Scriptures.

1. The Church is the new Israel, Gal. 6.16 (ESV) – And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God (cf. Rom. 2.29; 4.12).

2. The Church functions and lives as the people of God, 1 Pet. 2.8-9