Theology of the Church, Mentor's Guide, MG03

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T H E O L O G Y O F T H E C H U R C H

Eph. 2.19-22 - So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [20] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, [21] in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. [22] In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. The high place that the apostles hold in the history and development of the Church is based on their eyewitness testimony about the person and work of Jesus Christ, especially his resurrection, as well as their authoritative revelation as to the meaning of Jesus’ life and ministry for humankind and the Church. In one sense, the apostles have become the standard for the entire vision of the Church: their opinion form the basis for the canonization of the New Testament writings, the legitimacy of Church leadership and doctrine, and the heart of the norms which establish our credibility as true believers. To reject the apostles is to deny the Christ; the Church, therefore, is apostolic to its very foundation.

A sacrament can be defined as a rite or ceremony, whether instituted by Jesus Christ or through Church history, which is understood to be a means of grace or a memorial or token of Christian belief and practice. Some believers, especially Protestants, would limit the term to those rites and ceremony instituted by Jesus Christ himself. The two recognized by all traditions of the Church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These two sacraments are mentioned in the New Testament by Jesus, and both held a significant role and place in the life and community of the first believers (Acts 2.41-42; 10.47; 20.7, 11). While the Catholic Church and others traditions have extended the sacraments to include a number of rites and ceremonies, both baptism and the Lord’s Supper are directly associated with the person and work of Jesus Christ, especially in connection with his death and resurrection, and with his coming again (Matt. 28.19-20; Acts 2.38; Rom. 6.3-5; 1 Cor. 11.23-27; Col. 2.11-12). 8 Page 123 Outline Point II-B