scholarly journals Christ has Broken the Barrier Between Nations (Eph. 2:11-22): Challenge to Nigerian Christians As Peace Initiators

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Ikechukwu Ezeogamba ◽  
Francis Chuks Madukasi
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Difference ◽  
Library Research ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Church

The fundamental difference between the Jews and Gentiles is circumcision. This fact introduced a serious barrier between them. This is to the extent that they could not mingle or relate cordially. Thus, their relationship was like the one that exists between lepers and the healthy. Hence, Gentiles were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants of the fatherhood. Christ is the unifying force between the circumcised and the uncircumcised. With his blood, he absolved the Gentiles of all that used to distance them and made the circumcised to know that he is the end of the Law (Rom 10:4). Thus, through his blood he destroyed the hostility that used to be between them. Vv 19-22 expresses the value of this newly founded unity in Christ. Despite the above, there is still divisions in the Church today, hence, absence of peace in Christendom. This article therefore answers why it is so. It aims at showing that rivalry that exists among believers, exposes their insincerity and hypocrisy. It argues that if all Christians understand the mind of Christ in destroying the barrier that existed between nations (Gentiles and Jews), then the whole Christendom would have remained peaceful and truly under one head. Unless this happens, there will be no end to sectarianism, tribalism, and nepotism among Christian believers in Nigeria. The outcome of this article will be significant to all Christians. The method will be exegetical analysis of Ephesians 2:11-22 and Library research.

scholarly journals Three perspectives on the Sabbath

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois P. Möller
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

There is still confusion in theology and especially among members of the church concerning the fourth commandment and its observance. The following questions could be asked: What is the meaning of the Sabbath? What is the intention of rest on this day? Ought this commandment still be honoured like the other nine commandments of the Law? Does it still have any meaning for the church, or is Sunday a replacement for the Sabbath? The objective is to obtain greater clarity concerning the meaning, contents and application of the Sabbath as presented in both the Old and the New Testament. This is done from a dogmatic emphasis by dividing the Sabbath into three perspectives: The Creation Sabbath (God’s identification with it), the Covenant Sabbath (Israel’s identification with it), and the Atonement Sabbath (the church’s identification with it). This division does not assume three separate Sabbaths, but they are perspectives on the one Sabbath of God. The threefold perspective will contribute to a universal view on the Sabbath as presented in the creation narrative, the nation of Israel, and the church of the New Testament. This universal view is grounded in Christ who is the focal point, contents and connection between the three given perspectives. It is a Christocentric point of view that gives perception on the meaning, observance, application and message of the Sabbath for the church and every believer of our day.

scholarly journals Problematika Nomos Dan Hubungannya Dengan Kasih Karunia Dalam Surat Roma

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-93
Author(s):  
Prabowo Prabowo
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
God's Will ◽  
Grammatical Analysis ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Law ◽  
Paul's Letters ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Church

It’s long time, churches debate on the application of the law to believers today. Some of the figures found grace is no longer relevant in the church. But some Christian leaders argue otherwise, saying that the law is still relevant and should be done. But, now a days many interpretations that are not right about Paul's theology on the application of the law in a period of grace. False interpretations of verses taken from Paul's letters caused God's people to be confused. Therefore, there is a need for proper interpretation through the process of exegesis of the Book of Romans 2-8, resulting in the existence of the correct interpretation of the law in a period of grace.From the background and the problems, this research focused to sharpen understanding of the problems related to the application of grace in the church today. Researchers used descriptive method to describe it. Then the authors conducted a study exegesis consisting of an observational analysis, textual analysis, structural analysis, grammatical analysis, lexical analysis, historical analysis or conceptual, analytical theological and exegetical analysis of Romans 2-8. The purpose of this study is the first, to understand the interrelationships of the law and grace; second, to understand the uniqueness of Paul's theology in describing the application of the law in a period of grace; Third, investigate exegesis mean passages from Paul's Letter to the Romans chapters 2-8 which discusses the relevance of the law and grace. The results of the discussion found several things: First, the assumption that Paul abolishes the law is not correct. Paul did not abolish the Law in a period of grace. Second, the law still relevant in the church today. Jesus fulfill the law for believers, so that believers can do the latter by the power of the Holy Spirit. And keep in mind that God has put His laws are no longer in tablets of stone dead, but in the mind of his people. Third, the law has a unique role and functions in the day of grace. The Law was God's will for believers because it still remains a self-revelation of God.Recommended for ministers, pastors, and teachers of theology seriously investigate the truth about the existence of the law in the church today, so that people are not confused by every falseteaching. Abstrak Indonesia  Sudah lama sekali, gereja berdebat tentang penerapan hukum kepada orang percaya hari ini. Beberapa tokoh menemukan kasih karunia tidak lagi relevan di gereja. Tetapi beberapa pemimpin Kristen berpendapat sebaliknya, dengan mengatakan bahwa hukum masih relevan dan harus dilakukan. Namun, sekarang ini banyak tafsir yang tidak benar tentang teologi Paulus tentang penerapan hukum dalam masa kasih karunia. Penafsiran yang salah dari ayat-ayat yang diambil dari surat-surat Paulus menyebabkan umat Tuhan menjadi bingung. Oleh karena itu, diperlukan penafsiran yang tepat melalui proses penafsiran Kitab Roma 2-8, sehingga terjadi penafsiran hukum yang benar dalam masa rahmat.Dari latar belakang dan permasalahan tersebut, penelitian ini difokuskan untuk mempertajam pemahaman tentang permasalahan terkait penerapan anugerah di gereja saat ini. Peneliti menggunakan metode deskriptif untuk mendeskripsikannya. Kemudian penulis melakukan studi tafsir yang terdiri dari analisis observasional, analisis tekstual, analisis struktural, analisis gramatikal, analisis leksikal, analisis historis atau konseptual, analisis teologis dan analisis eksegetik Roma 2-8. Tujuan dari studi ini adalah yang pertama, untuk memahami keterkaitan antara hukum dan rahmat; kedua, memahami keunikan teologi Paulus dalam menjelaskan penerapan hukum dalam masa kasih karunia; Ketiga, menyelidiki eksegesis yang berarti bagian-bagian dari Surat Paulus kepada Roma pasal 2-8 yang membahas relevansi hukum dan kasih karunia.Hasil diskusi menemukan beberapa hal: Pertama, anggapan bahwa Paulus menghapus hukum adalah tidak tepat. Paulus tidak menghapus Hukum dalam masa kasih karunia. Kedua, hukum masih relevan di gereja saat ini. Yesus menggenapi hukum untuk orang percaya, sehingga orang percaya dapat melakukan yang terakhir dengan kuasa Roh Kudus. Dan perlu diingat bahwa Tuhan telah meletakkan hukum-hukum-Nya tidak lagi di loh batu mati, tetapi di benak umat-Nya. Ketiga, hukum memiliki peran dan fungsi yang unik di hari kasih karunia. Hukum adalah kehendak Tuhan bagi orang percaya karena itu tetap merupakan wahyu Tuhan. Dianjurkan agar pendeta, pendeta, dan guru teologi menyelidiki dengan serius kebenaran tentang keberadaan hukum di gereja saat ini, agar masyarakat tidak dibingungkan oleh setiap kesalahan pengajaran.

The Dimension of Depth: Thomas F. Torrance on the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper

2001 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Hunsinger
Keyword(s):  
Lord's Supper ◽  
The Other ◽  
John Calvin ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The One ◽  
Living Person ◽  
The Church

‘All the gifts of God set forth in baptism,’ wrote John Calvin, ‘are found in Christ alone’ (Inst. IV.15.6). The baptismal gifts, for Calvin, were essentially three: forgiveness of sins, dying and rising with Christ, and communion with Christ himself (FV.15.1, 5, 6). They were ordered, however, in a particular way. Communion with Christ, Calvin considered, was in effect the one inestimable gift that included within itself the other two benefits of forgiveness and rising with Christ from the dead. Forgiveness and eternal life were thus inseparable from Christ's person and so from participatio Christi through our communion with him. Only by participating in Christ through communion could the divine gifts set forth in baptism be truly received. Any severing of these gifts from Christ himself would result only in empty abstractions. No spiritual gift—neither forgiveness nor eternal life nor any other divine benefit—was ever to be found alongside Christ or apart from him. Christ's saving benefits were inherent in his living person. Only in and with his person were they set forth and available to the church. Communion with Christ was thus bound up with Christ's person in his saving uniqueness. He himself and he alone, for Calvin and for the whole Reformation, was our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).

scholarly journals The priesthood of Christ in the light of John Paul II’s letters to priests for Maundy Thursday

2021 ◽  
pp. 191-205
Author(s):  
Tomasz Nawracała
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Special Topic ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Sacrifice ◽  
The Church ◽  
Broad Approach

The long pontificate of John Paul II was a time for the Church to continue reflecting on the fundamental themes that constitute the identity of the community of Christ’s disciples. Among many subjects, the priesthood appears to be a special topic: on the one hand, through the pope himself and his pastoral activity, and on the other - through a series of documents devoted to the priesthood. This article will present the person of Christ as a priest since it is the starting point for reflection on the priesthood as such. In the mind of the Polish Pope, Christ is the only priest who connects His priesthood with the sacrifice on the cross. This sacrifice includes the perfection of mediation between God and people, and simultaneously, the completion of what Christ possesses eternally as the Son. Sonship, mediation and the priesthood are topics that should be considered together as they not only interpenetrate but also complement each other. Such a broad approach to the subject, however, is limited to the analysis of the Letters to priests for Maundy Thursday.

scholarly journals Secular and Theological Education: Interaction or Confrontation?

2005 ◽  
pp. 220-224
Author(s):  
Vitaliy I. Docush ◽  
Ya. Poznyak
Keyword(s):  
Theological Education ◽  
The Other ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Religious Organization ◽  
Secular Education ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The Church

If we analyze our legislation in detail, we can see that there are so-called “legal scissors”. On the one hand, the law guarantees freedom by equalizing the rights of all citizens of the state (Article 24 of the Constitution), and on the other - leaves believers outside the legal field (Article 35 of the Constitution and Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious organizations ") declaring separation from the church. It should be noted that even the Law on Education does not guarantee the right to receive alternative (not secular) education for children of believers, regardless of their affiliation with a religious organization, in educational institutions. It should also be noted that even in the years of Ukraine's independence, the issue of granting theological education a proper status that would equate it to secular rights has not yet been resolved. Again, the principle is the separation of the school and the church. Here are some questions.

scholarly journals PARADIGMA DAN ALIENASI KONSEP MASLAHAT AL-TUFI SEBAGAI LEGALITAS SUMBER SYARIAH

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Maskur Rosyid ◽  
Anwar Hafidzi
Keyword(s):  
Research Method ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Primary Data Source ◽  
Sharia Law ◽  
Library Research ◽  
Data Source ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Town

This article discusses how al-Tufi's views on maslahat are the supremacy of the sharia law. This research uses library research method with the primary data source of this research is the book Sharh al-Arba'in al-Nawawi Mulhiq al-Maslahah fi al-Tashri 'al-Islami, and Sharh Mukhtasar al-Raudah, which is al-Tūfi. The findings of this study are that the maslahat in the view of al-Tufi is all the reason for delivering goodness both in the field of worship and mu'amalah as well as all efforts to realize the maqasid al-shari'ah. The concept of maslahatnya is based not only on the mind, but also based on nas}, both the Qur'an and Hadith and ijmak. The priority priorities with the takhsis method and the town referred to as al-Tufi only apply to naskah-nascans rather than the qat'i nas. Furthermore, the priority of al-Tufi's maslahat only applies to the field of mua'malah and which is attributed to him, not to the field of worship and to which it is attributed to the last cause given to the law and ijmak.

scholarly journals Harmonious Resolution of Controversy (Acts 15:1-35) Panacea for Integral Development of Any Society.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Ikechukwu Ezeogamba
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Library Research ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Integral Development ◽  
Proper Definition ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Church

Jesus, the head of Christianity, left few adherents mainly from among the Jews. He urged his disciples (those he had already made his followers) as he was about leaving the world to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, ordering them to "Baptize them, In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" ( Matt 28:19). This admonition coupled with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, vivified the disciples in their missionary enterprise to the extent that Christianity embraced various nations with their various cultures and natural inclinations. In Acts 15:1-35 the meeting of different cultures brought about controversy which nearly rocked the Gentile mission and indeed the entire missionary enterprise. Peaceful resolution of the misunderstanding brought about proper definition of what Christianity is all about (which is salvation by faith in Jesus Christ) and subsequent universal development of the church. It was as a result of the harmonious resolution of that controversy that made both the Jews and Gentles to feel welcomed in the one family of Christ hence the innumerable number of Christians today. In our society today, integrated development is hindered because of various unresolved controversies. This article aims at identifying the reason why there is no integral development in very many societies and organizations and proffering solution to that effect. It argues that if the leaders of various organizations and societies were to understand properly the actions of the apostles, elders and the church in Acts 15:1-35 and imbibe it, then integral development would be assured. The method we shall adopt is library research which is mainly an exegetical analysis of Acts 15:1-35.

Gifts in Frankalmoign, Warranty of Land, and Feudal Society

1991 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Postles
Keyword(s):  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Personal Relationship ◽  
Recent Discussion ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Feudal Society ◽  
The Future ◽  
Per Se ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Church

In recent discussion, gifts to the religious have been perceived as exercising a formative influence in the forging of some norms and customs of feudal tenure during the twelfth century. On the one hand, it has been suggested that gifts to the church assisted the clarification in the mind of lay feudal society of the concept of heritability—that is, the future enjoyment of inheritance—since donors could not alienate in perpetuity that which was not already heritable. This suggestion is extremely important in view of the different perceptions of political and legal historians concerning the development of heritability of tenures and tenant right during the twelfth century, which are seen variously to have existed as social or legal norms from varying times and from different causes. A related argument runs that, whilst the warranty clause in charters (but not warranty per se) was initially conceived within the framework of the personal relationship between lord and man, its more widespread diffusion in charters was stimulated largely through the auspices of these religious beneficiaries of gifts in frankalmoign. The introduction of warranty into charters at the instance of religious beneficiaries is thus related to their concern to secure their own perpetual rights in the land at a time of a nascent realisation of hereditary tenant right, and the religious were thus foremost in the insertion of warranty clauses in charters which they, as beneficiaries, wrote or influenced, to secure their own unbridled tenure in perpetuity.

scholarly journals Living in Communion within Anglicanism

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-235
Author(s):  
Victor Atta-Baffoe
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Independent Churches ◽  
Women's Ordination ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Theological Differences ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn the Anglican Communion today, stress on tendencies such as liberalism and conservatism, evangelicalism and modernism, continues to separate people in Christ from each other. Arguments over sexuality, women’s ordination, gender, inclusive language, and theological differences continue to create division and antagonism in the Church. This article develops the role of embodied community (koinonia) and sacramental participation as the vital centre of shared Anglican unity. It makes use of Paul Avis’s concept of ‘progressive orthodoxy’ as a way of articulating what is shared by the independent churches of the Anglican Communion. The radical demand of the gospel compels us to appreciate and come to terms with Anglicanism, not so much in any specific, well defined theology, nor ecclesiastical bureaucracy, but rather in our mutual participation in the one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4.4-6).

The Valentinian Claim To Esoteric Exegesis of Romans as Basis for Anthropological Theory

1972 ◽  
Vol 26 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 241-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine H. Pagels
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
The Other ◽  
Anthropological Theory ◽  
In Christ ◽  
The Law ◽  
Divine Election ◽  
The One ◽  
Modified Theory

AbstractInvestigation of Valentinian exegesis of Romans indicates that certain gnostic theologians claim to have developed their anthropological theory from an esoteric exegesis of Romans. While most Christians read the epistle "literally", as Paul's discussion of the contrast between the revelation to Israel and the revelation in Christ, these exegetes read it allegorically. Accordingly, they claim, what Paul describes as the situation of "the Jews" who stand "in the law" (cf. Rm. 2.12; 3.19), subject to "sin" and "death" (8.2 f.) allegorically describes the situation of psychic Christians. They, as "Jews", worship the "God of the Jews" (3.29), the demiurge, whose law requires them to earn their salvation "from works" (4.2). Conversely, Paul's discussion of the "Gentiles", who, "outside the law", have in their hearts the "law by nature" (2.12-15) describes the situation of the pneumatics. These receive redemption entirely "apart from the law" (3.21), "without works" (3.28). They are the elect foreordained by the Father (8.29f.), redeemed "through faith", "according to grace" (3.21-30). This analysis suggests that the traditional framework for interpreting gnostic anthropology - either in terms of "determinism" (Bultmann, 1941) or of "free will" (L. Schottroff, 1969) - proves inadequate. Such anthropological terms as the "natures" (φστδ) or their designation as "hylic/psychic/pneumatic" instead are intended to present a modified theory of election, allegedly Pauline. They are intended to differentiate between the psychics' salvation, effected by choice "through works", on the one hand, and the pneumatics' redemption through divine election on the other — an election received "through faith", and "by grace".

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