Division for Church in
Society
The Gospel calls the
Church to affirm
and entger deeply into the world.
The world is God's
good creation
Church and world share a common destiny
The
church acts
for the sake of the world in hope and prayer.
The
church does not accommodate the world's ways but struggles agianst them.
The Gospel calls the Church to affirm and
enter
deeply
into the world
Out of love
for the world, God sent God's only son into
the
world. In turn, Jesus sent and sends his followers into the world with
the same
loving purpose: Jesus said to t
hem again, "Peace be
with you. As the
Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21) John 17, Jesus' high
priestly prayer, intimates that God's daughters and sons are "in but
not
of" the world. In other words, the church is posnot the session of the
world. It is God's possession through faith in Christ. 1 am no longer
in the
world, but they are in the world; .... They do not belong to the world,
just as
I do not belong to the world. (vv. 11, 16)
Discuss
1. What comes to mind when you hear the words "enter deeply into the
world"? How deeply did God enter the world?
2. Why is it assuring to know that while we "enter deeply," we are
God's possession?
3. How is God's power made available to the church as it "enters deeply
into the world"? (John 15:5)
The world is God's good creation
The world is not innately evil but good. God's good creation includes
the
natural world as well as what God's creatures fashion-culture and
civilization,
e.g. institutions of all types, relationships of power, communities,
and so
forth.
God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
(Genesis 1:31)
On account of human disobedience, God's relationship with the creation,
human
relationships with civilization, as well as relationships among God's
creatures, have been subjected to sin and decay .
...Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. (Genesis 4:8)
Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the
heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; .... (Genesis 11:4)
In Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, God has overcome the powers of
sin,
death, and evil, healing the broken relationship between God and God's
creation, and made plain God's attitude toward the world:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son .... (John 3:16)
Discuss:
1. Make a list of the things that are good about human society and the
environment and next to it a list of the things that concern you the
most about
society and the environment?
2 If societal ills, like personal hurts, are a result of a break-down
in the
Divine-human relationship, how is God seeking to repair the damage of
sin in
the world? Think holistically, i.e. spiritual, social, emotional,
environmental
repair?
3. When did God begin to make all things new? When will God finish?
. Church and world
share a common destiny
The hope of God's people across the ages has been that the world will
be
restored to the relationship with God that God originally intended,
that the
world will live in peace under God's eternal rule, and that God will be
all in
all.
Discuss:
1. What are some Biblical images of what this common destiny will be
like (see
Isaiah 65:25; Revelation 21:1-3)? What do you imagine it will be like?
2. How does this common destiny change the way you think about the
world?
3. In what ways does this common destiny clarify our purposes for
serving human
need and working for justice?
The church acts for
the sake of the world in hope and prayer
The church has a priestly role to play in society. In proclaiming God's
Word it
is doing something unique which offers healing to the world. It prays
for the
world's needs. It models the loving and just ways that relationships
will take
in God's future rule. It serves people in need.
With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection
of the
Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy
person
among them. (Acts 4:33-34)
The church also has a prophetic role to play in society. The Eucharist
makes
the church not only the Body of Christ in a spiritual sense, but also a
political body offering an alternative way of life. l The church speaks
and
acts prophetically holding up current circumstances to the light of
God's
dawning rule.
But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all
kinds and
neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have
practiced,
without neglecting the others. (Luke 11:42)
Discuss:
1. Why is at important that the church play both priestly and prophetic
roles?
2. What would it look like for your synod to play
both roles?
3. Is it costly to live out this calling? (See Mark 8:35) How might you
become
leader of your synod's church in society ministry? What could it cost
the
synod?
The church does not accommodate
the world's ways but struggles
against
them
Here are four major options for the way the church may relate to
society:
1. Whole-hearted adapting of church to
society.
The church accepts the characteristics of society without
qualification.
2. Adapting as distinction.
Church and society each function in their own sphere: the church
functions to
proclaim the Gospel to individuals and society functions through its
institutions. Individual Christians are involved in society but the
church
corporately is not involved.
3. Critical integration or engagement.
The church as a whole and individual Christians participate in society
and its
institutions with the understanding that it is in the world that God's
judgment
and promise are being worked out. Judgment and promise cannot be
identified
simply with society and the church respectively. The church is called
to be
critical of all that conflicts with realizing God's will whether that
be in
society or in the church, and cooperate in realizing this will.
4. Total separation.
The work and organization of the church is completely distinct from
society
which is under the power of evi1.
While some Lutherans have accepted each of these options, the ELCA's
first
social statement comes closest to the third option as the approach of
this
church.
The ELCA's first social statement does not propose "church and
society" where "and" implies either separation or combination
(options 1, 2 [with modest concessions] or 4). The church is "in"
society but it is a "critical integration or engagement." Through the
power of the Spirit the church struggles against the world's sinful
ways both
in society and as these are found in the church. And the church sees
God
keeping promise both in the world and in a special way in the church.
Discuss:
1. Which of these options have you personally tended toward in the
past? Toward
which option has the synod leaned?
2. How do you understand the word "critical" as in "critical
integration"?
3. How is "critical integration" in keeping with being "in but
not of" the world (John 17:11,16)?