Prophets and Preachers

1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Best
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Accurate Description ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
Prophetic Preaching ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church ◽  
Prophetic Office

In discussions on the ministry those who claim to belong to the more ‘catholic’ branch of the Church, often say that their ministry is priestly whereas that of the ‘reformed’ tradition is prophetic. The representatives of the latter are usually happy to accept this as an accurate description of their own ministry, but go on to point out that the ‘catholic’ ministry is not really priestly, arguing that, since there is one priest, Jesus Christ, who has already offered the one necessary sacrifice, there is no longer need of other sacrifices, or priests to offer them. With the validity of that argument we are not at present concerned; we are concerned, though, to inquire in what sense the Reformed minister may be described as a successor to the prophets, or, to put it another way, what is prophetic preaching? Since the word ‘prophet’ occurs in Scripture and since we claim that our faith is biblical, it is incumbent on us to examine the conception of the prophetic office as found in Scripture. Since the prophets of the Old Covenant and those of the New are not necessarily the same it is necessary to divide our inquiry; we consider first the prophets of the Old Testament.

scholarly journals Die een wat sal kom: 'Messiaanse tekste' in die Ou Testament en ander Joodse geskrifte

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alphonso Groenewald
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Long Time ◽  
To Come ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

The one who is to come: �Messianic texts� in the Old Testament and other Jewish writingsAccording to the New-Testament authors, the life of Jesus, as Christ, should be seen in light of the Old-Testament texts. It seems that all the messianic texts in the Old Testament had been fulfilled in Jesus. The Messiah, who had been expected for a long time, was born in Bethlehem. This interpretation by the New-Testament authors has caused the church and Christians throughout the centuries to read the Old Testament as a prophecy, which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This interpretation has caused impatience with Jews, who did not accept Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. This article addresses the question: How did ancient Israel understand the concept �messiah�? It seems that the term is much more complex than a single meaning would allow the reader to believe. This article thus focuses on the theological functioning of the term within the Hebrew Bible as well as in other Jewish writings.

scholarly journals The kingdom, Israel and the church. Paul's thoughts on the relevance of God’s promises to Israel (Romans 9-11)

2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M.C. Mulder
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

In Paul’s eschatology the kingdom of God is concentrated in Jesus Christ. In and through Him the kingdom has come and will come. Does this, however, imply that the old covenantal tradition has come to an end? If being in Christ is decisive for belonging to the eschatological kingdom of God, what then is the enduring relevance of the promises of God to his covenantal people, Israel? Romans 9-11 deals with these questions. Many scholars explain Romans 9-11 as an attempt to combine these two conflicting religious concepts, namely, on the one hand, the old covenantal tradition and on the other, the new eschatological soteriology, in which belonging to Christ is decisive. According to this viewpoint, different soteriologies clash in these chapters. Romans 11 represents the old covenantal tradition. Romans 9 cannot be compromised with this as a predestinational soteriology. In Romans 10 faith in Christ is decisive – faith which implies personal responsibility. Is it true that Romans 9-11 clearly demonstrates, as many scholars assert, that in Paul’s conception there cannot be a unanimous answer to these questions about belonging to the kingdom of God? In this article it is attempted to indicate that there is in fact more unity in Romans 9-11 than is frequently assumed. This unity can be demonstrated by especially paying attention to the background of the citations that Paul quotes from the Old Testament.

scholarly journals ‘n Kerk wat getuig is ‘n kerk wat leef (1) ‘n Bybels-teologiese perspektief op die missionêre karakter van die kerk

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-333
Author(s):  
D. J. Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The World ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
The Sixties ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Missionary Church ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

A witnessing church is a living church (1) A biblical-theological perspective on the missionary character of the church. In this, the first of two articles, we focus on the identity of the church as it is revealed in the Old and New Testaments. Since the sixties of the previous century, it is widely accepted that mission is the essence of the church. The church was no longer seen as the institution which sends people into the world, but was no longer the one who is sent into the world. According to the Old Testament, Israel was elected to be God’s witness to the nations. In exile they recognised that Jahwe is not a national God, but God of the whole world. The four Gospels, Acts and the letters of Paul make it very clear that the church of Jesus Christ is either a missionary church or not a church at all. The church is, in all its activities per se an instrument in bringing God's kingdom to this world.

scholarly journals Teologia kapłaństwa i urzędu kapłańskiego w I wieku chrześcijaństwa

2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Dariusz Kasprzak
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Good News ◽  
New Covenant ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church

Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr) and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P). Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry.In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13). Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.

Barth and Reformation Theology

2019 ◽  
pp. 100-115
Author(s):  
Randall C. Zachman
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Protestant Reformation ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Reformation Theology ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church ◽  
Free Word

Karl Barth seeks to restore the Gospel to the centre of Protestant theology by orienting dogmatic theology to the witness of the prophetic and apostolic authors of Scripture and to the theology of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. Barth especially endorses Luther’s claim that the proclamation of the living and free Word of God in Jesus Christ lies at the heart of the commission laid on the church, and that the task of theology is to test the truth of that proclamation. However, Barth becomes increasingly critical of Luther and Calvin when they distinguish God revealed in Jesus Christ from God in Godself and when they distinguish a Word of God in Scripture—be it a Word of the Creator or the Word as Law—that is distinct from the one Word of God, Jesus Christ. Barth also disagrees with Luther and Calvin regarding the sacraments, insisting at the end of his career that Jesus Christ is the one and only sacrament of God.

scholarly journals Orygenes i hebrajski tekst Pisma Świętego

Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 393-404
Author(s):  
Janusz Królikowski
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Text ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Hebrew Version ◽  
The One ◽  
Christian Writer ◽  
The Church

Origen is the exegete and Old Christian writer whose influence on the under­standing of the Bible has always been determinative. Undoubtedly, for ecclesiasti­cal reasons he deemed the Septuagint superior and regarded it as the Christian Old Testament. He thought highly of Hebrew text as well, which he often used for his research. An expression of this belief was among others the Hexapla worked out by Origen, which can be regarded as an exceptional manifestation of esteem towards the Old Testament and its Hebrew version. Origen’s attitude towards the Bible can be characterized by two approaches: on the one hand it is the ecclesiastical approach which gives the first place to the text commonly accepted in the Church namely the Septuagint, but on the other hand he is open to every other text Hebrew or Greek, trying to understand it and take it into account in his commentary.

scholarly journals An Exegesis Paper On Ignatius To Ephesians 18-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Philip Suciadi Chia ◽  
Juanda Juanda
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Virgin Birth ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

There are 7 letters written by Ignatius from Antioch, while traveling to Rome. One of them is the church at Ephesus which consists of 21 chapters. In this letter, Ignatius urges these Christians to be in unity with their bishop, because the Docetists were denying the true humanity of Christ. We also find here the unique emphasis on Jesus Christ as the one physician and the Eucharist as ‘the medicine of immortality’. Furthermore, by insisting on the virgin birth to explain Jesus’ existence as the Christ, Ignatius makes a vigorous anti-docetic statement. In this exegetical study, the writer will specifically examine only chapters 18-19, to find the meaning of the writing of these two chapters, which are related to suffering through self-sacrifice. Ignatius speaks in self-deprecating terms as he gives his life as a self-offering. By the world, he is regarded as a criminal but in God’s plan of salvation (oikonomia) his sufferings benefit the church. Ignatius merely makes this more explicit with his remark that what God had prepared ‘had its beginning’. He probably would have gone on to stress the passion as the culmination of God’s plan, though he was also conscious of the fact that Satan’s power had not even yet been completely destroyed.  

The Spirit

2019 ◽  
pp. 293-308
Author(s):  
Wolf Krötke
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Doctrine Of The Trinity ◽  
The One ◽  
Bear Witness ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

This chapter presents Barth’s understanding of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It demonstrates the way in which Barth’s pneumatology is anchored in his doctrine of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit is understood as the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, the One whose essence is love. But Barth can also speak of the Holy Spirit in such a way that it seems as if the Holy Spirit is identical to the work of the risen Jesus Christ and his ‘prophetic’ work. The reception of the pneumatology of Karl Barth thus confronts the task of relating these dimensions of Barth’s understanding of the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit’s distinct work is preserved. For Barth, this work consists in enabling human beings to respond in faith, with their human possibilities and their freedom, to God’s reconciliation in Jesus Christ. In this faith, the Holy Spirit incorporates human beings into the community of Jesus Christ—the community participates in the reconciling work of God in order to bear witness to God’s work to human beings, all of whom have been elected to ‘partnership’ with God. Barth also understood the ‘solidarity’ of the community with, and the advocacy of the community for, the non-believing world to be a nota ecclesiae (mark of the church). Further, to live from the Holy Spirit, according to Barth, is only possible in praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

scholarly journals Missional branding: A case study of the Church of Pentecost

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter White
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Acts Of The Apostles ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Church

Branding is a strategy designed by companies to help patrons or consumers quickly identify their products or organisations and give them a reason to choose their products or organisations over other competitors. In the Old Testament, God identified the Israelites as a unique brand. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ branded the church with the power of the Holy Spirit, miracles, signs and wonders. Reading the Acts of the Apostles, the church developed a brand of being Spirit-filled, communal-living and mission-minded. It was out of this that early believers in Antioch were called ‘Christians’. The name ‘Christian’ therefore became a brand name for believers and followers of Jesus Christ. In view of this, one would expect that the concept of branding would be a major tool for modern-day churches. Although there are several publications on branding from the perspective of marketing and management, there is no such academic research on missional branding, hence this research. This article contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse on branding, with specific reference to the missional branding of the Church of Pentecost.

Church Discipline and the Regulation of Membership in the Mormon Church

2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (32) ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Frederick Mark Gedicks
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Church Discipline ◽  
Mormon Church ◽  
The Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the ‘LDS’ or ‘Mormon’ Church, regulates its membership by means of a system that recalls the Old Testament far more than the modern West. All important decisions relating to joining and leaving the church are invested in the inspired discretion of local priesthood authorities who are governed by general standards rather than rules that have the character of law.

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