Mystical Body of Christ

While reading the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, I did not expect to come across a spiritual discipline that would be a perfect combination of my own idea of spiritual formation, and a wonderful way to connect with the Lord. What I mean by this, is that I was wanting to create a gratitude journal, but I wanted it to be deeper than just a list of things that I was thankful for. That is why I fell in love with the idea of writing responses to the questions that were posed in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, but still taking a few minutes to write a list of things that I am grateful for! A journal like this is also a great way for me to see the strong points in my day or week, and the areas where I need improvement. Since journaling has always

The subject of the book, author’s purpose and intended audience: The history of Christian thought in the modern era was a quest of today’s Christian. Faith in a multi-denominational society decreases a sense of belonging. Since the Enlightenment some

i) Basically holds concept of the Christian society of Christ’s mystical body. [Christ has triple mode of existence: eternal Word; God-man mediator; the Church of which he is head & the faithful the members.]

2012. p. 306). When people attend church, they have their fellow church members; they can talk with about their problems. The church members can support each other through whatever trauma they may be experiencing.

Dulles states, “It picks up the biblical theme that God has fashioned for himself a people feely communicating his spirit and his gifts” (50). The Body of Christ as stated in Dulles is, “the main point of mutual union, concern and dependence of the members of the local community upon one another,” (43). The body of Christ will only function is the whole community is willing to work together to reach a personal growth in their relationship with God. Now that we have an idea of what Church as mystical communion consists of I will discuss the strengths and weakness of this model. The strength of this model is that emphasizes a shared life with the community instead of shutting them off. This is a strength because when people come together as a whole everything holds so much more meaning and people can form a stronger bond with God, now that it is much more personal and voluntary. Another strength is that this model improves people spirituality and prayer life now that they feel that personal connection that they formed. A weakness of this model is that it creates unsure relationship between the visible and invisible, since Grace allows people to get closer to God through the invisible such as communion while the visible structure like institutionalism tries to emphasize their power over the whole people. I have discussed what the models mean, their strength and weakness of each so now I will note the difference and

They give scripture which identifies the importance of unity. Ephesians 4:14-16 shows how the body of Christ should be unified in the midst of diversity. Leaders should work extra hard to keep the church family worshipping together. The authors condemn chronological snobbery and suggest that both the young and old come together. The young generation must grow up and the older generation needs to adapt.

Within the context of American society, we have strayed from the true purpose and identity of what the church was originally created to be. When we hear the word, “church,” we think of a building, a mere location where believers gather together every Sunday. The church of America might believe the essential elements of the church are an air-conditioned sanctuary, ten different ministry opportunities, and a full band to lead worship. While none of these things are necessarily bad, they do not comprise the biblical model of what the church was created to be. The church can be divided into two components: the Universal Church and the local church. Once a person becomes a believer, they are part of the Universal Church, the body of believers

The session in each congregation has responsibility “to guide and govern the life of the congregation, [and] leads the congregation in fulfilling its responsibilities for the service of all people, for the up building of the whole church, and for the glory of God” (G-1.0103). Especially, teaching and ruling elders have responsibility “for a quality of life and relationship that commends the gospel to all person and that communicates its joy and justice” (G-2.0504). Furthermore, they need “to exercise pastoral care, devoting special attention to the poor, the sick, the troubled, and the dying” (G-2.0504). The role of Councils of the church is that “bear testimony against error in doctrine and immorality in life, resolve questions of doctrine and discipline, give counsel in matters of conscience, and decide issues properly brought before them under the provisions of this Book of Order.”

The Holy Spirit of God is the active force or power in one’s life, which most certainly includes spiritual formation (Pettit, 2008, p. 46). When Jesus was speaking with his disciples he made it clear – by using the analogy of a vine and branches – that apart from him they could do nothing (John 15:5). Only if one is connected to Christ will they have the ability to bear fruit and the way Jesus empowers those connected to him is through the Holy Spirt that that father will send in his name (John 14:26). The fact is that the triune God dwells in the Christian in and through the Holy Spirit. One sees this when they place multiple passages together to gain a full understanding of this concept. For example, Jesus made it clear that he and the father would come and make their home with the disciple (John 14:23). In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul reminds the Corinthians that their bodies are the very temple of God because the Holy Spirit dwells in them which is similar to what Jesus said would happen when he sent the Holy Spirit after his resurrection and ascension (John 14:17, 16:7).

Church, a six letter word that can have several different meanings depending on who you ask: believers, nonbelievers, people who just don’t care about religion…etc. But to me, if I made a definition for the word church is would be this: a physical place where God created in his plan that us followers created on earth a building where we gather and worship Him. While in the dictionary, the meaning of church is short, sweet and to the point, it is “a building used for Christian worship.” In the Bible, the word church is defined as “the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18, 24; 1 Cor. 12:12-13, 27-28; Rom. 12:5)” (Perks 23). So in a sense, the main idea of the definition of a church is a place where believers go to worship God. On the other

Evangelizing for a deacon is much more than evangelizing as a layperson. One of the ways deacons evangelize is by proclaiming the Gospel during Mass, which can teach us important lessons. If that was not a big enough responsibility itself, deacons also minister to and teach unfortunate people, such as the poor, homeless, prisoners and more. Deacons play important roles in assisting priests by performing Baptism and Wedding ceremonies, as well as helping during the Sunday Mass. Thanks to this strenuous work of deacons, we are able to have a flourishing

The various gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in Scripture are conveyed according to the will of the Holy Spirit to every man for the eventual purpose of the edification and building up the church body.

Believers have been unified in salvation by grace and are called to live like Christ.

The church should continue to teach as the word of God says, and show love to all. With the emphases

The role and purpose of the Church is to create a community of people who believe in the same faith of God. The Church is a foundation of the faith in God. The Church allowed people to unite on common grounds and follow the words of God. The place of worship made people feel accountable because they were in it together. The Church raised the importance of prayer and spirituality because that is how one communicates to God. The Church emphasizes fellowship, dedication to the faith, selflessness. The Church gives power to the Christian people because they are a group and not individuals anymore.