Ecclesiology – Page 2 – What Does This Mean?

Church Words #1: The Church

Encore Post: A little Sunday School song shows a few of the many ways we use the word church in English: “The church is not a building. The church is not a steeple. The church is not a resting place. The church is a people.” The problem, of course, is it is both. The meanings of two ancient Greek words merge together into our English term. The word church itself comes to us from the phrase κυριακός οἰκία (kuriakos oikia = the Lord’s house), used by the early church, through the Germanic, and Scandinavian languages (think kirk and kirche) and means the place where Christians gather to worship. (so… it is a building!) The other word, ἐκκλησία (ekklesia = to call together an assembly) means both a local congregation and all Christians worldwide. This is the word used for the word church in the New Testament. (so.. it is a people!)

Besides these two meanings, we use the word church for what Christian people do in this building — we talk about going to church —going to worship. There is some reason to do so. In the Smalcald Articles, Luther says:

God be praised, a seven-year-old child knows what the church is: holy believers and “the little sheep who hear the voice of their shepherd.” This is why children pray in this way, “I believe in one holy Christian church.” This holiness does not consist of surplices, tonsures, long albs, or other ceremonies of theirs that they have invented over and above the Holy Scriptures. Its holiness exists in the Word of God and true faith. — Smalcald Articles 3.12.2

Yet the main way we use the word is for the whole church in heaven and on earth. It comprises all who have ever trusted in God’s promises, especially those to save us. The first generations of Missouri Synod pastors tended to use the word kirche (church) for the invisible church (that term in another post), synode (synod) for church bodies and gemeinde (local community) for congregations. It is this church that has one Lord, one faith and one God the Father. (Ephesians 4:4-5) They are “the assembly of all believers and saints” (Augsburg Confession 1.8)

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Blog Post Series

©2019-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.

And He Shall Reign Forever and Ever

Encore Post: When Handel’s Messiah premiered in London, even the King of England attended. When the choir sang, “The Kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,” King George II, moved by the music, stood and with him all the audiences from that day forward to the present — or so the legend goes. These words from Scripture set as a liturgical gospel verse capture a profound truth. No matter how evil and chaotic the world looks, God’s kingdom rules the universe.

So, why does Jesus have us pray: “your kingdom come?” Luther explains that God’s kingdom comes whether or not we pray for it. But we pray that it will come to us. Jesus himself suggests this when he sums up his message: “the kingdom of heaven is here! Repent (literally: change your mind completely) and believe the good news.”

God’s kingdom comes to us in two ways. First, when God the Holy Spirit plants faith in our hearts, we believe our sins are forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. We turn away from our sins and desire to live according to his word. We do this together with all our fellow citizens of his kingdom. Our prayer is that God will give us the strength to live this way.

The second way the kingdom comes when, on the day known only by the Heavenly Father, Jesus returns with his angels to bring an end to sin, disease, grief and death, to open the graves of all people, raise them from death and bring them before his throne. On that day, all will be set right. The devil, his angels and unbelievers cast into hell and God’s children go to live with him forever. Then he will reign forever and ever.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Blog Post Series

Church and State Relations

The State, as we learned, is to wield the sword and keep rampant evil and sin at bay. The Church is given to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

So, how do we citizens of the State and the Church fit into both categories? What ought we be doing? The answer, I believe, comes through vocation.

One vocation that we all have is being citizen of the State. This vocation is informed by the many others we have, as well as the Word of God, especially the vocation that comes from being baptized into Christ. Each vocation places duties on us, and the Small Catechism gives us a small picture into some of those duties. Peter in his first letter reminds us to honor all, even the Emperor.

Christ our Lord says in the Gospel of John, be in the world but not of the world. And Paul also reminds us that our citizenship truly lies in heaven. But we aren’t in heaven yet, but we live in that hope. We are here in the world to serve our neighbor through our various vocations, and that includes the State and our government leaders. The Church is in the unique position to inform the State of God’s law and gospel.

We are even given the command that when the state compels us by law to do something against the Lord’s will, we are to obey God rather than men. The Church has a voice in the public sphere, particularly to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How else will the citizens of the state receive the grace of God? Certainly, they will not see that grace from the State. That is not the State’s job or purpose.

What do we do as citizens of the State? We desire peace and prosperity. We pray for our government leaders in our worship services, even those we don’t agree with politically. We pray that the Lord God use them to fulfill their vocation as leaders and give us a peaceful and quiet life that allows us to worship our God and Savior Jesus Christ without fear.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp

Christ Lutheran Church

Noblesville, Indiana

The Church and the State

Encore Post: The Church and State have always had an interesting relationship at least here in the U.S.A. And if we look across the pond to Europe, the history is even more blurry because for the longest time the Church and the State were essentially working together. The Holy Roman Empire, for instance, was given that name because of its connections to the Holy Roman Catholic Church. The Pope actually was the one who crowned the emperor. Hence, Luther and the Lutheran Confessions dealt with both the Emperor and the Pope during the time of the Reformation. The Church and State went hand in hand, so it seemed.

However, that is not necessarily always a good thing. St. Paul tells us that the Church and the State serve two distinctly different purposes. The State was given to curb evil and violence. The State wields the sword. You could say that they help people follow and enforce the first use of the Law. The State (government) keeps its citizens from committing rampant sin against other civilians and even themselves.

The Church has the purpose of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. The Church has no use for the sword in this endeavor. Rather, the Church’s weapon of choice is her pastors’ voices proclaiming the Word of God to sinful men and women in the world. That means the Church is to inform the people, even the leaders of the State, of their sin and proclaim to them forgiveness of their sins in and through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

This post begins a series about the State and Church relationship and we will explore a bit more how we as Christians can and should pray and inform the policies of the State as well as when the State makes us Christians do things that are against our deeply held beliefs and conscience.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp

Christ Lutheran Church

Noblesville, Indiana

Worship is About God’s Gifts to You

Encore Post: In most churches, worship is about what Christians do to glorify God. It is about praying, giving contributions to support the work of the Church, singing your song, and dedicating yourself to follow Jesus. Lutherans understand worship as all about what God gives to us — Absolution, God’s Word read, sung by us and preached to us, and the Sacraments, especially the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus gives us his body to eat with bread and his blood to drink with wine. In these gifts, his means of grace, mysteriously, God places and strengthens faith in our hearts, gives us the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We sing his praises, pray to him at his invitation, and offer the sacrifice of our lives to thank him for these gifts.

So, worship really is not about us — it is about God’s gifts. God invites us to gather together the same way that our mothers and fathers gathered for dinner. When we call us to eat a well-prepared, delicious feast, we don’t say “Do I have to eat it?” or “But we just had a big dinner last week!” We get up and hurry to receive this wonderful gift of our host’s love and enjoy the time together with those we love.

So, the question we should ask ourselves and each other is not: “Do we have to go to church?” but really is “Do we get to go to church?” The Lord and Creator of the Universe is coming to church. He is the same Jesus who loved us so much that he became one of us, suffered, died and rose again so that he could give us his gifts, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. So, let’s go and unwrap them!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

The Colorful End of the Church Year

Encore post: Fall brings changing colors to landscapes in northern areas of the United States. Green leaves change to a breathtaking variety of red, orange, yellow and brown. People will drive miles to just take in all in. The beauty of it all brings out praise of God for his creation.

In Lutheran Churches, colors change in the sanctuary almost weekly during late October and early November as the church marks the last weeks of ordinary time. This time begins with red paraments for Reformation Day, celebrated on the nearest Sunday before October 31. Red is the color used for the Holy Spirit and his work and martyrdom.

The color soon changes to white for All Saints’ Sunday, celebrated the Sunday after November 1, All Saints’ Day. White is the color of the resurrection, celebration and the saints, who wash their robes white in the Blood of the Lamb.

The next week or two, the color returns to the green of Pentecost or Trinity season (the name depends on how your church counts the Sundays of ordinary time) Green is the color of life and growth. It is also used in Epiphany Season.

The theme for the last three Sundays of the church year is preparation for the Second Advent of Christ. In fact, in some lectionaries, the Sundays are referred to as the Third-Last Sunday, Second-Last Sunday and the Last Sunday of the Church year. Some churches call the last Sunday the Sunday of the Fulfillment or Christ the King Sunday. Some churches change color to white.

Finally, the new church year begins with a change to the color blue or purple for the season of Advent and the beginning of a new church year. Purple is the color of repentance and is traditionally used for Lent — where the church fasts to receive Jesus as the Son of God and Son of Mary. Blue is the color of hope and used more recently, where Advent is celebrated as a season of joy.

One more color change happens in some churches (to white) in the United States for Thanksgiving Day, which is the celebration of the good gifts God has given to us and our thanks to him for these blessings.

Enjoy this season of meditation, joy, expectation and hope as we consider the various blessing Jesus has given and will give to us because of his love for us, shown by his incarnation, sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension and soon return in glory.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018-2023 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

Last Things 7G: Stay Awake! Don’t Close Your Eyes!

Encore Post: Even with the effects of the fall, the world can be very sweet, pleasant and beautiful. When God finished creating the world, he stood back, looked it all over and said, “very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Even after sin entered the world, bringing with it death, sorrow, grief, pain, disease and the disaster, the hand of the creator is present everywhere. Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, seashore views and gentile, warm breezes, mountain valleys and peaks all speak to us of his majesty. Even cloud patterns before a storm cause us to admire his majesty. There is the pleasure of the presence of loved ones, holding your child or grandchild for the first time.

Life is very precious to us. It absorbs us in planning, working towards goals, saving, dreaming and enjoying the many gifts God gives to us. We deal as best as we can with the tragedies of life, but there are long stretches of time when we think it will never end. We forget that this world — and more to the point — our world is passing away. We go to sleep spiritually. The work that God calls us to do, especially to witness to the Good News of salvation in Jesus, doesn’t seem quite so important. When sports tournaments are held on Sunday, we skip worship to watch our kids compete. We put care for the poor, contributing to the work of the church with our resources and time second, we put off uncomfortable conversations with loved ones who wander from the faith.

Yet it is very much at times like these that our Lord will return for us. He will do so suddenly, without warning, the way that the flood came in the day of Noah, the way the sudden attacks on Pearl Harbor Day and 9/11 came. It may be at the end of time or at the end of our time. So it is that Jesus calls on us to stay awake! We remember that he came at the fullness of time, lived the perfect life for us, suffered and died for us, rose again for us and ascended to prepare a place for us. And so we set the watch, day and night, knowing that he is coming for us. In the meantime, we work, for the day in short and the time is coming when we cannot work. All the while, we pray: come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #14: The Missing Millennium

Encore Post: Called the “Jewish opinion” by the Lutheran Confessions, the belief in a Millennium comes from a face value reading of Old Testament prophecy and poetry about the Church or about eternal life with God after the Second Advent. It also treats the Book of Revelation, written in a symbolic code called apocalyptic, in a similar way. By doing so, it uses difficult to understand passages to complicate the very clear words of Jesus, Peter, Paul and other New Testament writers. It is the view of the Pharisees that caused them to rule out Jesus as the Messiah, because he did not intend to battle the Romans and to miss that the Scriptures pointed to the birth, life, sufferings, death and Resurrection of the Son of God.

The word itself comes from Revelation 20, where the reign of Christ through in his church is described as 1000 years. This number is not a literal 1000 years, but is Jewish numerology. The number ten meant to them perfection and when multiplied three times, the number of God, it means when everything is completed. It points to our times when the Gospel has reached every corner of the earth.

While it may seem harmless to believe such things, it detracts from the what Christ has commanded us in order to read every event, looking for the return of Christ. Instead, we should be ready, as Jesus instructs us, making disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching them, knowing he is with us always.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2018, 2023 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

Last Things #13: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Encore Post: They were ordinary days. The seaside resort of Pompeii was bustling with the daily activities of the luxurious retreat for the richest of Romans, escaping the pressures of the imperial capital of ancient Rome. That is until Mount Vesuvius buried it in ash for 1700 years. It was a lazy Sunday morning in Hawaii, slower than normal for a navy base — until Japanese bombs shattered Pearl Harbor that December 7, 1941. On a bright, lovely September morning, a pastor drove from downtown Fort Wayne, practicing a sermon for chapel on the first regular day of classes for Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne — a sermon he rewrote on the ride in as he learned airplanes had destroyed the Twin Towers in New York City that September 11, 2001. Life was normal — until the world changed.

On another ordinary day, when people will go about daily life as usual, eating, drinking, marrying, working in the field and in businesses, Jesus will return from Heaven. (Matthew 24:37-41) He will appear in the sky with the angel armies of Heaven and the souls of his people with him. Every eye will see him. He will send his angels to gather both those who are saved to meet him and the damned to be judged. ( Matthew 13:41, 49, Matthew 24:30-31) There will be no rapture, where Christ appears secretly to claim his own and leave the world in tribulation. This notion comes from a misunderstanding of the dispensationalists.

At that time, Jesus will break the seal of the grave forever. All people will rise from the dead in the great resurrection of the dead. All souls will be reunited with their bodies and Christ’s own will be transformed to be just like him. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17) As much as great dread has been put in this day, it is for Christians, the most joyful day of all, even with the next event — the Last Judgment — coming. For the goal of the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord is this day — when all is made right, we are restored to his image and we will shine like the stars in his kingdom. So, the Church has always prayed: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastoral Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things #11: Rapture and Tribulation and Millennium — Oh My!

Encore Post: Many of our evangelical brothers and sisters are fascinated by Biblical prophecy. Seeing the evil around us, they are convinced that we are living in the very last years and months before Christ returns to raise the dead, bring an end to sin, death and the power of the devil, gather all in the final judgement and begin the marriage feast of the lamb that has no end. They are not alone — in every period, Christians were convinced they were living in such times — even St. Paul and Martin Luther!

What makes their view unique in the church’s history is they accept a theological view called Dispensationalism, a Christian school of thought that was born in the 1800s. It adopted the ancient view that Christ would reign on earth literally for 1000 years after he returned in glory. It set this view in a way of looking at history inspired by the 19th century cultural movement known as Romanticism. Dispensationalism was developed by Charles Nelson Darby, D. L. Moody and C. I. Scofield.

Dispensationalists believe God divided the world into seven dispensations (also called economies and administrations). In each age, God supposedly revealed himself in different ways. Salvation was offered according to different plans for each age (for example, under the Law of Moses, salvation was by works, but in the church age, by grace) and humans were held accountable to the set of rules for that age. They get to these views by treating at face value prophecies written in figurative and symbolic language and using the interpretations they discover to understand in a complex way the simple and clear words of Jesus and the apostles.

For them, this age will end when events predicted in prophecy occur. They look to current events to fulfill these prophecies, treating the Bible as a giant algebra problem. Some have used such calculations to predict end-time events. Among these are the rapture, when all true Christians will suddenly be removed from the world, leaving only unbelievers, the Tribulation, when they will be punished, and those who come to faith seeing these events are persecuted and the Millennium, when Christ and the church will rule the world a thousand years. Two problems with this: Christ promised he would return suddenly and the last judgement follows immediately (so the Bible is not an algebra problem) and these versions of a rapture, millennium and tribulation are not in the Bible.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana