Heymikey80,
How well does your understanding, theology, and interpretation align with that of the Early Church?
I have taken your list of texts, given some of the text with them below.
Act 9:31: These are congregations who are assemblies, an ekklessia in a particular geographic location.
Gal 1:13 " I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it": here Paul is using the whole Church, the Body of Christ as his reference. Because he was persecuting members, specific members who were believers and members of the Body of Christ.
Eph 1:22 "He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. This is the reference that Christ is head of His Church, the Body of Christ..." It is this same Authority, all authority given to Him that He, Christ, passes on to the Church in the visible form of the disciples, then Apostles.
Eph 3:10 "wisdom of God might be made kn own by the church to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places." Not only did men not know of God's mystery in vs 5 neither did the angels. they hear it form men, the church. This is so because as we know from Col 1:20-25 that all things were reconciled in Christ who now is that Body of which He is Head. Christ's Incarnation affects all elements of His creation from material to the immaterial. The united, renewed humanity made possible by Christ is the bvasis of the reeconciliation of the heavens and the earth. The Church exists physically here on earth and in heaven by virtue of Christ Resurrection and exaltation. v 11.
Eph 5:25, 27 - A little long to repeat here but the whole context must be taken here from vs 22 - 33. This ties in with the Eucharist, the sharing of Christ Body and Blood, the very life of Christ. We become one flesh with Christ. It is an organic, ontological existance that believers have in the Body of Christ here on earth. It is the very extension of His Incarnation. along with I Cor 12:18-30.
Phil 3:6 - the use here of church is the whole Body.
Col 1:18 "He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead.
Again the whole Body, but the full reconciliation of the world into Christ by His Incarnation.v 20.
Col 1:24 is referencing the whole body, the church.
Heb 12:23 - this is the heavenly, triumphant part of the Body of Christ with whom we worship every Sunday in sharing the Eucharist within the Body of Christ. We are all gathered before His heavenly alter.
In referencing Calvinsim I have not really ever heard or read any kind of theology that actually developed the mythical, spiritual church that constitutes for Calvinist and most other protestants as well, the Body of Christ.
In all of these texts we can gather that the Body of Christ follows both the Christologial, Incarnational meaning and Trinitarian meaning. We will need to use other texts for this as well.
Trinitarian means One God, but three distinct Persons. One Essence but Three Persons. We know also from Paul that he uses this terminology and understanding in describing how each individual in the church is yet ONE Body.Rom 12:4. Thus each congregation is also of the same structure, each congregation is a complete, whole representation the Body of Christ, it comprises the three essential elements, at least one lay member, a bishop and Christ, this is the use of the word "catholic" meaning whole, complete. Thus again Trinitarian, many make ONE.
That Body is also Incarnational. Christ is both God and man. The Church the Body of Chrsit is made up of human beings, members and each assembly meets as the House of God, the Church around Christ, who is the Head of that Body and we share the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. The unity lies in the Eucharist which is Christ. Now go to the four-fold prayer of Christ in John 17. The unity Christ prays for His Church in vs 20-23 you will see that the unity of the Body of Christ is precisely as that of the Trinity- that of Christ with the Father. So there is a combination of both Divine and Human that constitutes the Church on earth through the Incarnation.
Now once we have established that there is such a thing as a physical church on earth and it is in fact the very Body of Christ, assembled where ever as long as they have the three elements present to constitute the Body in corporate existance, physically, they also have powers and responsibilities that Christ has given to those in authority, the bishop, in particular and are gathered in His name around the Eurcharist, the Body of Christ is present and Christ Himself is present here on earth - Incarnational, organic and ontological.
Thus we find that the Church, the Body of Christ is Christ Himself, of which we are members existing in His very Body. Sharing in the very life of Christ. That is the meaning of being IN Christ. It is real and internal. It is not external or anterior. There is nothing mythical about it, it is visible but it surely is a mystery. It is foremost not an organization since we are united in the Eucharist, not some organization. That is not to say that either a church or a group of churches does not have some organization about them, but that in itself, does not consitute the Body of Christ.
When the scripture says that a man should bring his differences to the Church, he knows where to go. That the Church, the ekklessia itself is the guardian of Truth because Truth is Christ and Christ is the Church. He is the Body of which He is the Head, of which we are members within that body. Thus the Body is what is infallible because Truth cannot change and Christ is not fallible. he preserves His Body and His Truth, the Gospel within Himself.
Now, please explain just how close is Calvinism, in faith, in practice and theology is to this understanding. An understanding that has existed since the Apostles themselves and has indeed been preserved by the Holy Spirit. That preservation is attested in reality in this world historically as embodied in the Orthodox Church. A Church that is united not by organization but by faith, practice and in communion around the Eucharist. The very Body and Blood of Christ, the very life of Christ. If you do not partake of me, you have no life in me. I Cor 10:17; John 6:51-59.
Do you qualify?
The only other authority Christ gave was to secular authorities, governments. They do not resemble His Body, nor have the same authority.
I'm sure churches in Orthodoxy do as well, though there are differences
I don't know of a single one. Might you give an example, if you have one.
Authority, but not infallible; authority, but derived; authority, but limited.
this is as remote from scripture as one can get. How can Christ not be infallible, how is He limited? And the only one you are correct in, is that Christ recieved ALL authority in heaven and earth from the Father. But he also gave it those in authoriity here on earth in His Body of whom He controlls by His authority and the work of the Holy Spirit. This is precisely why the Church has never placed interpretation in the hands of men, surely a single man, has not even given revelation to a single individual, nor authority even in a group as a Council. It is all retained by Him through the Body, of which He is Head. That is why it is the Rule of Faith, that which is from the beginning.
