Church Ministry And Sacraments In The New Testament

"In a nontechnical manner, noted New Testament scholar C.K. Barrett here sets forth his mature understanding of the passages in the New Testament which refer to the church, its ministry, and its sacraments. How far are these concepts central or secondary in the New Testament? How do the beliefs and practices of apostolic days relate to later developments? Bringing the fruits of his widely respected scholarship to bear on these questions, Barrett shows that these are not mere thoeretical issues, but are of crucial importance for inter-church cooperation and reunion." --Back Cover.

In a nontechnical manner, noted New Testament scholar C.K. Barrett here sets forth his mature understanding of the passages in the New Testament which refer to the church, its ministry, and its sacraments. How far are these concepts central or secondary in the New Testament? How do the beliefs and practices of apostolic days relate to later developments? Bringing the fruits of his widely respected scholarship to bear on these questions, Barrett shows that these are not mere theoretical issues, but are of crucial importance for inter-church cooperation and reunion.

In The Church, Donald G. Bloesch explores with clarity and balance the contours of ecclesiology. He forthrightly takes up the most controversial of issues ranging from matters of church authority, the sacraments and worship to the church's place in the plan of salvation, the church and the kingdom of heaven, and church reunion. Evangelical in spirit, ecumenical in breadth and biblical in depth, Bloesch's work presents a theology of the church that calls for reformation and renewal according to the Word and Spirit of God.

Delves into the biblical origin for each of these masterpieces of God's love.Gray guides readers through the Gospels, showing Christ's deliberate acts to inaugurate these sacred signs as the foundation of the New Covenant.

The Early Church read the Scriptures with the conviction that (in the words of St. Augustine), “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.” Drawing inspiration from how both the Apostles and Christ himself read the Old Covenant as referring to the New (cf. Luke 24:27, 1 Peter 3:20–21, 1 Corinthians 10:1–5), the Church found the Old Testament to be rich with figures, or “types,” that foreshadowed both the mysteries of the life of Christ and the mysteries, or sacraments, of the New Covenant. And yet, in modern times the study of types (or “typology”) has been largely abandoned by scholars due to the dangers of subjectivity and exaggeration. How can typology be studied in a way that is objective and that avoids the excesses present in the past? Fr. Devin Roza seeks to offer a solution to these difficulties by asking the question, “According to the Scriptures and the living Tradition of the Church, what are the types and symbols of the sacraments and what do they mean?” As authorized representatives of the living Tradition, the Liturgy (including the readings from the Church Fathers) and the Catechism, together with the Scriptures, offer both the scholar and pastor the opportunity to study typology as the Catholic Church herself understands and prays it today, in those texts the Church considers her own. Fulfilled in Christ thus offers a comprehensive and readable summary of references to types and symbols of the sacraments in the Scriptures and the living Tradition of the Church, as represented by the Liturgy and the Catechism. The result is a highly objective, scholarly, and at the same time pastoral study of how the Church understands and lives the types and symbols of the sacraments today.

The Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the most precise and comprehensive statements of biblical Christianity, and it is treasured by believers around the world. Dr. R.C. Sproul has called it one of the most important confessions of faith ever penned, and it has helped generations of Christians understand and defend what they believe. In Truths We Confess, Dr. Sproul introduces readers to this remarkable confession, explaining its insights and applying them to modern life. In his signature easy-to-understand style and with his conviction that everyone's a theologian, he provides valuable commentary that will serve churches and individual Christians as they strive to better understand the eternal truths of Scripture. As he walks through the confession line by line, Dr. Sproul shows how the doctrines of the Bible--from creation to covenant, sin to salvation--fit together to the glory of God. This accessible volume is designed to help you deepen your knowledge of God's Word and answer the question, What do you believe?

In five major parts, this volume surveys the views of ministry regnant i all of the major time periods of Church history. Each part begins again at the beginning in order to look at the literature and traditions of Christianity from a different perspective.