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Notes on Ecclesiology

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NOTES ON ECCLESIOLOGY. BY / T. E. PECK, D. D., LL. D., Professor in Union Theological Seminary. RICHMOND, VA. Presbyterian Committee of Publication. 1892. COPXEIGHT BY James K. Hazek, Secretaky, 1892. Pkinted by Whitxet & Shepperson, RiCHMOMD, VA. PREFATORY NOTE. The most of these "Notes" were printed in 1880 by the students of Union Theological Seminary in Vir- ginia, exclusively for their own use. They are now published for the first time. About fifty pages have been added, the additional matter consisting of the expansion of the hints on "Apostolical Succession" and of a short chapter on "The Deacon's Ofiice." THE AUTHOE. CONTENTS. I. Introductory, ^ _ . - - 7 II. Terms and Denominations, - - - - 10 III. Definitions and Descriptions, - - - 13 rV. Distinction of Church External and Internal, 16 V. General Description of the Church Visible, - 20 VI. Proofs of the Existence of a Church Visible, - 22 VII. First Organization of the Church Visible, - 28 VIII. Method of Perpetuating the Church Visible, - 34 IX. The Initiating Seal, ----- 38 X. Infant Members, ------ 42 XI. The Notes or Marks op a True Church, - 47 The Pretended Notes of Rome, - - - 51 Apostolical Succession, ----- 51 Is the Church of Rome a True Church of Christ? ------ 103 - 106 XII. The Nature and Extent of Church Power, 6 Contents. XIII. The Power Ecclesiastical Contrasted with THE Power Civil. Relation of the Church to the State, - - - 119 XIV. Other Theories of Church and State, - - 156 XV. Subject of Church Power. —Materia in qua, 162 XVI. Officers of the Church, - - - - 171 XVII. Presbyteries—Congregational—"Sessions,"- 178 XVIII. Presbyteries—Classical, Synodical, General, 185 XIX. The Deacon's Office, ----- 197 ECCLESIOLOGY. INTRODUCTORY. The scientific theologians of Germany have arranged the cycle of sacred knowledge under five leading cate- " gories, viz. : 1, Theology^' the science of God. 2, A:n- throjwJogy, the science of man in relation to God. 3, Soteriology, the science of salvation. 4, .Ecdesiology, the science of the church. 5, Eschatology, or the science of "the last things." The term Theology, in this classification, you will notice, is used in a narrow sense for a particular branch of theology, commonly so-called ; and is concerned with discussions touching the Being and Personality of God, and embraces, as a sub-division, " Christology^' or the doctrine of the Person of Christ, the God-man. It includes also the doctrine concerning the creation and government of the world, and the doctrine of angels and dremons. (See Hagenbach's History of Doctrines ; Robinson on the Church.) ^^ Aiithropology !' or the science of man, treats of such questions as the origin of the soul, liberty and immortality, the fall, sin, tfec. Soteriology, or the science of salvation, embraces, chiefly, the doctrines of redemption and atonement, justification, and, in short, the priestly work of Christ in all its relations to the curse of the law_, and to human guilt and condem- nation, and the work of the Holy Ghost. {TIagenhach 'tit sup. cit.) Now, such a classification implies in the history of doctrine, these three things: 1, That Ecelesiology i^ a branch of theology in the wide sense. 2, That it 8 ECCLESIOLOGY. comes after the first three, in a natural or logical method. 3, That it comes after the first three in an historical order. (1), Ecclesiology belongs to theology. The doc- trine of the church belongs to the things which have been revealed of God, and are, therefore, objects of faith. Accordingly, we find this doctrine in the very earliest sjanbol of the Christian church, the " Apostle's Creed," standing in the same relation to the "credo" as the other articles, and in the same order, with re- spect to the doctrines concerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, w^hich we find in the classification we are considering. So also, in nearly all the larger creeds and confessions of a later date. The 25th chapter of onr own ".Confession of Faith," is entitled "Of the Church." (2), The doctrine of the church, in a rational or lo- gical order, falls to be considered after theology, an- thropology, and soteriology, for the very obvious reason that the church is the great and last result con- templated by the revelation concerning God, man, and salvation. It is the highest end, next to the glory of God, of all the counsels and all the works of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, sanctified by the Spirit, and finally presented a "glorious church," without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, the Bride, the Laml)'s wife, shall be hailed by principalities and powers in heavenly places, as the highest and noblest display of the manifold wisdom of God (Eph. iii. 9, 10) ; as far transcending in glory the old creation, over which the morning-stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy, as the second Ac\am, who is a quick- ening Spirit, transcends in glory the first Adam, who was but a living soul. Meanwhile, during this dispensation of testimony and of trial, it is the office of the church, as the pillar and buttress of the truth, to bear witness of the great Intkoductoey. * 9 truths which are comprehended under the terms The- ology, Anthropology, and Soteriology. She is not only the object of the working of that Triune God of whom theology treats, and the subject of that sin and salvation of which anthropologj^ and soteriology treat, but to her have been committed the lively oracles which alone determine the faith of mankind upon all these classes of truths, and through her are these truths to be published to the race. The contents of the message are to be pondered first, then the nature of the messenger. This is the rational order. (3), It is also the order of history. It is worthy of note that "the history of the church since the apostles seems to have been a development in succession of these four in their order. "Theology " had its full de- velopment during the controversies concerning the nature of the Godhead, which closed. with the labors of Athanasius; "Anthropology," during the Pelagian con- troversy, closing with the labors of Augustine. Next,' after a thousand years of repose and silence in the church, was developed Soteriology, through the labors of Luther and Calvin, proclaiming salvation as by grace through faith ; leaving the fourth (Ecclesiology) yet to be developed." {I^ohinson on the Church, pp. 27, 28.) This is certainly striking, though absolute accuracy would, perhaps, require the statement to be modified and limited. In harmony with this idea, that the development of Ecclesiology may be reserved for the last, perhaps our own times, is the fact that many of the most obtrusive tendencies of speculation, socialistic, political, philo- sophical, in the nineteenth centuryjappear in discus- sions about the principle oi felloioship, the j^i'iuciple upon which the church is constituted. I may instance " Communism," " St. Simonianism," &c., in social 23hil- osophy; the principles of "sodality" and "solidarity," " in political philosophy ; and the principle of catholi- city " used as the criterion of certitude in philosophy 10 ECCLESIOLOGY. properly so-called. (See Trenclis Ilulsean Zec^., VIII., p. 125; MoJ^eWs Philosophy of Religion; Morell on Phil. Tendencies of the Age, L. 4tli.) Indeed, it is not unlikely that two of the three frog-like, nnclean spirits which John tells ns (Rev. xvi. 13) proceed out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, "infidelity" and "formalism," may form a coalition upon the principle of catholicity {quod semper, quod vh'njue, quod ah oinnihus) for one final, desperate assault upon the church of God, (see Presh. Critic, Yol. I., p. 291-'2), envied, like Abel of old, for her possession of the absolute truth, certitude and assurance. However this may be, there can be no doubt that the question of the church is, in our day and in our own branch of the church, one of the most conspicu- ous ; and there is little doubt that assertions are made in regard to the nature and functions of the church, in some of these discussions, which, if accepted and be- lieved, must be fatal to the soul. These facts constitute an ample vindication of the importance of the studies upon which we are about to enter as well as of the appropriateness of the place as- signed to them in the Seminary Curriculum. II. Terms and Denominations. " Church." This word, and German lirche, Saxon circe, and Scotch hlrh, are derived, probably, from the Greek yjj(naxo^, or to '/j)(na'Aov, that which belongeth to the Lord. "As a house of God is called a Basilica, i. e., regia a Pege, so also it is named Kyrica, i. e., " Porniniccc a Domino ( xo^no'-:) says an old author (quoted in Gieselers O. H., § I.) It appears from Ul- filas that, in general, the Greek names of Christian ' things were adopted among the Goths. The Greek origin of the word is confirmed also by its being found not only in all the German dialects, (Swedish kyrka, Terms and Denominations. 11 Danish kirke^ etc.,) but also in those of the Sclavonian nations who were converted by the Greeks (PoHsh cerkieiv, Kussian herkoiv, Bohemian cyy'kevj.) (See note to the section in Gieseler td supra.) " Synagogue." This word is used in the LXX. often, as well as in the New Testament. It is put for any kind of an assembly, whether sacred or civil (Exod. xii. 3, 19 ; Num. xvi. 2), nay, even in a bad sense, for a pro- fane and impious assembly (Psa.
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