LESSON- RELIGION 10: NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH

HUMAN EXPERIENCE

STORY: ADVANTAGES OF BEING IN A COMMUNITY

-need for interdependence

-alone, you are a nobody
-Filipino traditional practices:
- Bayanihan
-Lamayan
-Damayan
-town fiestas
-close family ties

*The spirit of community prevails when there is belongingness and solidarity among people and where gratitude and
respect are present.

SCRIPTURE: UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE CHURCH ( Ephesians 4: 1-16)

4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  2  Be
completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  3  Make every effort to keep the
unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  4  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one
hope when you were called;  5  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  6  one God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all.
7 
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.  8  This is why it  says: [a]

“When he ascended on high, he took many captives  and gave gifts to his people.” [b]

9 
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ?  10  He who [c]

descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)  11  So
Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  12  to equip his people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  13  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every
wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.  15  Instead, speaking
the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is,
Christ.  16  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds
itself up in love, as each part does its work.

LEARNING THE MESSAGE

-God built in harmony in our very nature as human persons and in nature itself.
*shown in the interdependence among different parts of the body and interdependence in an ecosystem.

-The Church, willed and designed by God also manifest innate harmony
-St.Paul’s letter to the Ephesians : he admonishes the followers of Christ to be “one body and one spirit”

*The followers of Christ have one LORD, one FAITH, one BAPTISM
*The diversity of gifts and ministries in the Church is for one single purpose, that is to build up the Body of Christ.

ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH

Church
= Qahal (Old Testament)
=Ekklesia (New Testament)
*means the people of God called together; an assembly convoked by God
INSIGHTS:
1. It is God himself who calls the people together in order to form them into one body.
*It is God who calls us all together in Christ through the unifying gifts of the Holy Spirit.
2. There is not just union but communion that exist in the Church.
*The origin of this communion is God’s own Trinitarian communion
(of the Son with the Father in the gift of the Holy Spirit- CFC 1363)
*In the Church, there is that personal communion that binds us together with the Lord and with one another.
*This makes the Church a community of believers drawn together by God in Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit.
NATURE OF THE CHURCH

The Church as a Sacrament

Sacrament- is a sensible sign that gives grace

Example: Baptism – the sensible sign is water (not only symbolize cleansing but brings about the cleansing of
original and personal sins)

*The Church is a sacrament because she is the visible sign/ instrument of our union with God and of the unity of
mankind

*HOW DOES THE CHURCH FACILITATE OUR UNION WITH GOD?

*Jesus is the Sacrament of God

- Jesus makes God present in our midst (“Emmanuel”- God with us)
- Jesus is the visible sign of God’s love for us; he is the sacrament of God’s love for us.

*The Church- is the sacrament of Christ

-The Church makes Jesus present in our midst today and brings about Christ’s redeeming love to humankind.
-The Church draws us to Christ through the proclamation of the Word of God, by administering the sacraments
and of service to all.

*HOW DOES THE CHURCH FACILITATE OUR UNION WITH ONE ANOTHER?
-our union with God is the foundation of our union with one another
-this union of mankind began when God called men and women from every nation in an assembly where no race ,
culture and status prevail but the love of God.

-The Church strives to lead its members to the realization of their unity with God and with one another.

*The Church is the Sacrament of salvation

- the Church actively communicates today the salvation brought to us by Christ when He died on the cross more than
2,000 years ago.
-everytime we celebrate the mass/Eucharist – the sacrifice of Christ is celebrated by the Church and the work of
redemption is carried out.

*WE ARE THE SACRAMENT OF GOD’S LOVE

- As members of the Church, we are called to be a sacrament – a visible sign of God’s love
-By our life of faith, hope and love, we can foster union with God and with our fellow human beings.

ACTIVITY:
Make a composition writing entitled: “ I AM A SACRAMENT OF GOD’S LOVE” ( 300- 500 WORDS)

ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH

The Church is Trinitarian in origin

*The Father prepared for the establishment of the Church
*Jesus Christ established the Church
*Holy Spirit constantly renews and guides the Church until its fullness in the Kingdom of God.

*The Father prepared for the establishment of the Church

-In His covenant with Abraham, God promised that he shall be the Father of all nations, preparing for the gathering of
people united in one head.
-Israel –chosen as the People of God; the sign of the future gathering of all nations.

*Jesus Christ established the Church

-Christ instituted the Church and preached about the coming of the Kingdom of God
-It started out as a small community whom Jesus gathered and to whom He entrusted to continue His mission.
-The Church is constantly nourished and strengthened through His Body and Blood offered in the Eucharist

*Holy Spirit constantly renews and guides the Church until its fullness in the Kingdom of God.
-The Church needs to be constantly sanctified through the Holy Spirit
*When Christ ascended to heaven, he promised to send the Holy Spirit, the Helper, who shall be the Church’s
companion in all the tasks she has been given to do (PENTECOST EVENT)
*The Holy Spirit bestows the Church with charismatic gifts which enable the members of the Church to serve one
another according to the gifts given to them.

DOING THE MESSAGE

1. Lead an authentic prayer life
- we develop intimate union with God, we grow in holiness, we become more committed to our mission of
helping build the Church.

2. Lead an active life of worship

- By our active participation in the Eucharist, we affirm our oneness with the Lord and with the community of
the faithful.
- This unity empowers us and challenges us to promote justice, peace and charity in the communities we
belong.

3. Develop and use your talents

- Our talents are gifts bestowed to us for the sake of serving the community.
- When we use our talents we glorify God and attract others to Him, thus we foster the growth of the Church.

VOCABULARY:

Charism – special grace or gift of the Holy spirit given for building up the Christian community

Charismatic gifts – St.Paul lists 9 graces – wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, discernment,
varieties of tongue , interpretation of tongues
- St. Thomas Aquinas – group these as knowledge, speech and miracles.

Evangelist – bringer of “Good news”; those who preached

- Writers of the Gospel

Trinitarian- believing or adhering to the doctrine of the Trinity.