The Origin, Foundation, and Mission of the Church

OBJECTIVES:
1. Explain the Church is both visible and spiritual.
2. Discuss the Church as the mystery of the union of God and humanity.
3. Discuss the importance of the Church in the work of salvation.

The Meaning of the Church:

• The word "Church" (Latin ecclesia, from the Greek Ek-ka-lein, to "call out of") means
an assembly convoked by God.
• Faith assembly whose root cause is God’s free call to all to share His divine goodness
and love in Christ.

Scriptural Images of the Church:

❖ the Flock of Christ, the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep;
❖ the Vineyard of God, cultivated by the heavenly Vinedresser. Christ is the true vine who
gives life and fruitfulness to us, the branches;
❖ the Temple of God, with Christ as the cornerstone and the apostles as the foundation;
and
❖ our Mother, the spotless Spouse of the spotless Lamb, “whom Christ loved and for
whom he gave himself up that he might sanctify her”

The Church as Mystery:

• A mystery is not something we cannot know nor understand, but rather a reality we can
never fully grasp because there is always more to learn.
“a reality imbued with the hidden presence of God . . . always open to new and greater exploration”

• The Church is the corporate presence of God in Christ, with a unity created and sustained
by the Holy Spirit.
• The Church is related to each Person of the Blessed Trinity.

In the Father’s plan, the Church was:

❖ prefigured from the beginning of the world;

❖ prepared wonderfully in the history of Israel,

❖ instituted finally in these last times,

❖ manifested in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,

❖ to be brought to completion at the end of time.

Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ:

• “All men are called to this union with Christ who is the light of the world, from whom we go
forth, through whom we live, and toward whom our whole life leads us”
• Like the Incarnate Son, the Church is both visible and invisible, human and divine.

Holy Spirit:
• The Spirit guides the Church into the fullness of truth (cf. Jn 16:13), gives her a unity of
fellowship and service, and constantly renews and leads her to perfect union with her
Spouse, Christ (cf. CCC 767).
Church is mystery by reason of:
❖ its origin in the Father’s plan of salvation,

❖ its ongoing life in the Risen Christ and the Spirit, and

❖ its ultimate goal in the fully achieved Kingdom of God.

The Church is mystery because of its relationship to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
❖ origin

❖ structure

❖ mission

❖ destiny

First, by its origin, the Church arose from the saving design of the Father, the redemptive mission
of the Son and the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Second, in structure: just as the Trinity is a community, the communion of love of Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, so too the Church is a community, a communion of believers drawn together
by Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Third, the mission of the Church originates “from the mission of the Son and the mission of the
Holy Spirit, in accordance with the decree of God the Father”
Fourth, the destiny of the Church is the full realization of this communion in the Kingdom of God.
We are pilgrims, because we “joined with Christ in the Church and signed with the Holy Spirit
‘who is the pledge of our inheritance, we have not yet appeared with Christ in the state of glory in
which we shall be like God since we shall see Him as He is”

The Church as Sacrament:

Church is the effective sign and symbol of:
1) our union with God;
2) the unity among men; and
3) of salvation.

Church as “sacrament”: