LESSON 1: JESUS CHRIST

ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH

Objectives:
• explain the reason why
Christ establish the
Church.
• Examine the nature of the
Church as established by
Jesus Christ.
JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH

Jesus institutes the church. This church constitutes a significant

part in our lives as Christians and followers of Jesus. It plays a

very essential role in our quest for eternal life. In and through

the Church, God guides His people to live in harmony with

Him, their fellowmen and the world. Thus, the Church

continues the saving work of Jesus Christ. And it is in the

Church that all can experience and encounter Jesus Christ.

 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH
• HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT JESUS REALLY
ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH?

 Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission)

16
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain
where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him,
they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came
to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age.”
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH

In the Gospel of Matthew, Great Commission is

clearly the climax and conclusion of the message
of God. It emphasizes that God is indeed
Emmanuel ("God with us") and abides with
God's faithful people. The mission and response
are now entrusted to the disciples and to the
readers of the Gospel who, obedient to the Lord's
command, carry on the Lord's mission in the
meantime with the promise of his presence and
power.
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH
Christ founded the Church just before
His Ascension, when He commissioned
the apostles to make disciples of all
nations. Earlier in His public ministry
He had instituted the sacraments,
chosen the twelve apostles, instructed
them by word and example, and
conferred on them the power of
teaching, ruling, and sanctifying.
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH
Matthew 28: 16-20 emphasizes three things:

l. The church is fueled by the presence of Jesus

Christ.
2. The church is fueled by the authority of
Jesus Christ.
3. The church is called to make disciples of
Jesus Christ.
The great commission emphasizes the
following:

 In baptism, one enters a special relationship

with the Triune God
 The manifestation of the Blessed Trinity:
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
 The disciples were commissioned to teach
and immerse.

 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH

The New Testament is full of examples of individual members of the church and groups
of believers seeking to fulfill Jesus' instructions to spread the gospel message to the
world and spiritually feed the flock of God. Even as the early Church, they made a great
effort to preach the good news of God's Kingdom. The modern Christians are under the
same obligation to communicate and teach the word of God.
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH
The Catechism for Filipino Catholics stressed that the
Catholic Church traces its origin back to the Old Testament
qahal and the New Testament escclesia. Both terms mean
"the people of God called together," or an "assembly
convoked by God." Hence, they stress the action of God in
calling the people together. The Church claims to be a faith-
assembly whose root cause is God's free call to all to share
His divine goodness and love of Christ. The Church is not
merely a human social organization, but "the people of God
called together." The Church originates according to the
Father's eternal plan, structured as community of love
modeled on the Blessed Trinity, missioned (sent) by the
Triune God, and destined as a pilgrim people to journey
toward perfect communion with Trinity in heaven (CFC
1355, 1445-1446).
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

"The Mystery of the Church," provides a summary of the very nature of the
Church as both the visible and invisible reality through which all persons are
called to participate in the Trinitarian, divine life of God through, with and in
Christ Jesus. God "planned to assemble in the holy Church all those who
would believe in Christ" (LG, 2).
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

The mystery of the holy Church is already brought to light in the

way it was founded. Jesus inaugurated his Church by preaching the
Good News, that is, the coming of the kingdom of God, promised
over the ages in the scriptures: "The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand". The word of the Lord is compared to
a seed which is sown in a field; those who hear it with faith and are
numbered among the little flock of Christ have truly received the
kingdom. The miracles of Jesus also demonstrate that the kingdom
has already come on earth. But principally the kingdom is revealed
in the person of Christ himself, Son of God and Son of Man, who
came "to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many" (LG, 5).
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

The Church will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven. Christ
lifted up from the earth, has drawn all men to himself. Rising from the dead
He sent his life-giving Spirit upon His disciples and through Him set up his
Body which is the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. The
promised and hoped for restoration has already begun in Christ. It is carried
forward in the sending of the Holy Spirit and through Him continues in the
Church (LG, 48).
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

"Church" designates assemblies of people. Ecclesia means the Chosen People.

“Church” has three inseparable meanings: the liturgical, assembly, the local
community and the universal community. God gathers his people from all
over the world into local communities which are especially made real in the
liturgical Eucharistic assembly (CCC 751-752).
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

The Kingdom of God is promised and revealed to those who do the will of the
Father. It is promised to those who serve the "least" brothers and sisters of Christ:
the hungry, the thirsty, the sorrowful, the sick, the meek, the naked, and the pure in
heart and to those who thirst and hunger for justice. The Church has to continue its
journey towards the fulfillment of the Kingdom. "The Church serves as leaven and
as a kind of soul for human society to be renewed in Christ and transformed into
God’s family” (GS 40).
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

Jesus wants us, baptized Christians, to finish what He began. He called the
disciples, taught them, and worked with them. He died on the cross and rose
from the dead. But, before He ascended into heaven, He gave them, and us,
the commission to convert the world. He will not ask us to do the impossible.
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

We need to know that our effort to honor Christ by obeying His call to make
disciples of all nations is something that we can do. Do it where we are, with
those whom we meet, with those we work with, and everyone we meet. Be a
witness for Jesus in our lives and when necessary, talk about Him. When seek
to accomplish God's will, He will bless our efforts.
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

We have our own struggles in fulfilling the Great Commission. We want as

many people as possible to encounter the gospel. We want to reach out to
people who have never heard the gospel, but without imposing our culture on
them. We want to show them the benefits and blessings of living as a
Christian, while avoiding the temptation of making the faith seem easy and
convenient.
 JESUS CHRIST ESTABLISED THE CHURCH

"It is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of

whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the
Christian life and to the perfection of charity. In order that the
faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength
accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ.
They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to
His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They
must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God
and the service of their neighbor. In this way, the holiness of
the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good,
 LESSON: 2

HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE

CHURCH
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE CHURCH

Through Jesus' life, death and resurrection, the full realization

of God's kingdom was made possible. Before Jesus ascended
to His heavenly Father, He entrusted the kingdom to His
followers and promised to stay with them till the end of time.
He sent Holy Spirit to help them bring God's kingdom to every
part of the earth.
HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE CHURCH
The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 1-4)

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place
together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong
driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there
appeared to them tongues as if of fire, which parted and came to rest on
each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
The Pentecost event took place during the celebration of the Sinai covenant.
Jews were present in Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. They now all heard the
good news of Jesus proclaimed to them in their own language. It is good to
recall the event of Babel. It was the time when human's language was confused.
No one could understand those who spoke the language of pride. In contrast, the
Pentecost event describes how everyone can understand the message of the
Risen Lord. This is made possible through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Indeed,
when human speaks in the language of love, everyone can understand.
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
The descent of the Holy Spirit empowers Jesus followers to proclaim His good
news throughout the world through the Church. The apostles set out for a
mission after the Holy Spirit was given to them on Pentecost. United by the same
faith in the Risen Lord, the first Christians formed a community. This community
became the sign and instrument of Jesus' continued saving presence on earth.
Pentecost means that the power of the Spirit isn't given just to make us happy. It
is given to make us holy so that our lives and our words bring glory to God as we
bear witness to His saving grace.
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
Pentecost is a mission, and the goal of mission is that "the earth will be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14). If we properly
understand this great historic event, our hearts be enflamed with cause of seeing some from
every tribe and tongue and nation bowing before the exalted Lord Jesus Christ. Note four
things:
1. God's plan for being glorified among the nations was to form the church.

2. The scope of God's plan is all the nations.

3. The necessary power for fulfilling God's plan is His Holy Spirit.

4. The goal of God's plan is that He will be glorified among the nations.
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
God's purpose at Pentecost was to equip His Church with the mighty power of
the Holy Spirit so that we would be His witnesses to all the nations, resulting in
His eternal glory.
After completing his work, Jesus sent the Spirit on Pentecost to sanctify the
Church. The Church was openly displayed to the crowds and spread to the
nations by preaching.
The Spirit gives the Church hierarchical and charismatic gifts. Endowed with
these powers, the Church receives the mission to proclaim and establish the
Kingdom Of God among all peoples. (CCC. 767678)
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catechism for Filipino Catholic and Second
Plenary Council in the Philippines emphasized the following points:
 The Spirit inspired the Scriptures, gave us Tradition, assists the Church's
Magisterium, gives us communion with Christ through the sacraments, intercedes in
prayer, bestows charisms and ministries, inspires missionary life, and witnesses
through t e saints (CCC,688).
 Jesus entrusted his disciples with a definitive mission as his own representative, to
make disciples of all the nations whom they were to teach to obey his commands. He
sent the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on Pentecost. Invested with power from on
high through the descent of the Holy Spirit, with supreme courage and holy zeal they
went to proclaim the Good News, the love of Jesus who died and rose that all might
have life (PCP 11, 47).
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
 It was the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Risen Christ that gave birth to the first
Christian community, the apostolic Church. The Holy Spirit continues to exercise three
functions: to give life, to unify, and to move the whole body (CFC, 1301).
 The Spirit vivifies and nourishes the Church in its life of GRACE through the
sacraments and charismatic gifts, unifies its members in Christ, and moves the Church
to its mission of continuing the liberating ministry of Christ (CFC, 1342).

 "Christ is the light of the nations. By proclaiming the Gospel, we hope that this light will
shine out visibly from the Church" (Second Vatican Council). Just as the moon has only
the light of the sun, the Church has only the light of Christ.

 The Church depends totally on the Spirit, because the Spirit "has endowed the Church
with holiness" (Roman Catechism) and the Church is the place "where the Spirit
flourishes" (St. Hippolytus) (CCC, 748750).
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
The Holy Spirit of God was sent on the day of Pentecost in order to continue and bring to
fruition the Church’s work of sanctification. “The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the
hearts of the faithful, as in a temple. In them He prays on their behalf and bears witness to
the fact that they are adopted sons” (LG, 4). Christ established his kingdom on earth, which
is the Church. Having endured his passion and death, the risen Christ sent his Spirit in
accordance with his promise to the disciples, that they would be led into the fullness of the
truth. “From this source the Church, equipped with the gifts of its Founder and faithfully
guarding his precepts of charity, humility and self-sacrifice, receives the mission to
proclaim and to spread among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God and to be on
earth the initial budding forth of that kingdom” (LG, 5).
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
As members of the church, God also pours His Spirit upon us. The Holy Spirit empowers us
to proclaim the Good News of salvation, to help build the Church, and to spread the faith.
The Holy Spirit calls us to sow seeds of unity and to live a life that bears witness to Jesus'
message of love. The obligation of spreading the faith is imposed on every disciple of
Christ, according to his state (LG, 17).
It is the Holy Spirit "who impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel, and it is He who in
the depths of consciences causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood." He
"will ensure continuity and identity of understanding in the midst of changing conditions
and circumstances". It is through the same Spirit the Gospel penetrates to the heart of the
world" (PCP Il, 214).
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
To live "according to the Spirit" means to respond to the Holy Spirit's creative presence,

empowering us to struggle against the enslavement of the flesh and all evil powers, and offering

the foretaste and promise of full liberation and unending joy (CFC, 1344).

"Today, the Holy Spirit accomplishes in guiding the Church and each one Of us to the Truth.

Jesus says to his disciples: The Holy Spirit, "He will guide you to all truth" (Jn 16: 13), He

himself being "the Spirit of truth". "We need to let ourselves be imbued with the light of the

Holy Spirit, so that He introduces us into the Truth of God, who is the only Lord of our lives"

(Pope Francis).
 HOLY SPIRIT: SOUL OF THE
CHURCH
The Pope added, do not be a 'part-time" Christian, at certain moments, in
certain circumstances, in certain choices, be Christian at all times. The
truth of Christ that the Holy Spirit teaches us and gives us, always and
forever involves our daily lives. Let us invoke Him more often, to guide us
on the path of Christ's disciples.
 LESSON: 3

THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF

THE CHURCH
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
Our qualities, skills and talents make us better persons. The
Church also possesses characteristics that help her achieve a
good relationship with God. Both the Sacred Scripture and the
Church Teachings affirm the reality of these characteristics.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
Jesus Reveals the Father (John 17: 20-26)
20
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their
message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also
be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you
gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as
you have loved me. 24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see
my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have
sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the
love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
Jesus reveals the Father, the Holy Spirit and the uniqueness of the Church. There
are four essential characteristics of the Catholic Church. They help us to deepen
our understanding of and love for the Church. Every time we recite the Apostles'
Creed, we proclaim these characteristics: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
They are "gifts" of the Holy Spirit. They are dynamic forces that propel the
Church to live out its mission in the world.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
1. The Church is One
 This oneness springs from the Triune God.
 The universal Church is seen to be "a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit."(LG, 4).
 The unity of the Church rests on its founder, Jesus Christ who came to save and unify the
whole human race.
 The Church is one because of her soul, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the life of the faithful,
and who unites them into one communion of believers.
 The oneness of the Church is manifested in (CFC 1392):
 Confession of one faith from the Apostles and Teachings of the Church
 The Common Celebration of Divine Worship- members of the church are bound together
to a social unity by participation in the same means of grace, like the sacraments.
 Fraternal Harmony of God's Family- All members of the Church are one under the
authority or shepherding of the Bishops and the Pope.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
Church is one because:
• its source, which is the Holy Trinity, a perfect unity of three divine persons —
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
• its founder, Jesus Christ, who came to reconcile all mankind through the
blood of the cross; and
• its "soul," the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the souls of the faithful, who unites
all of the faithful into one communion of believers, and who guides the
Church.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
The Church throughout history, experiences threats to her unity by different
groups (CFC, 1394):

• Heresy - the obstinate denial or doubt by a baptized person of a truth revealed

by God and proposed for belief by the Catholic Church.

• Apostasy - a total abandonment of the faith of the Catholic Church by a

baptized person.

• Schism - an action of one who refuses to submit or obey to Church authority

and forms another sect.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
2. Church is Holy

Jesus Christ, the founder, is the source of all holiness. Jesus sanctifies the
Church. Jesus makes the Church the sign and instrument of holiness by her
teaching, prayer and worship, and good works. Church teaches Holy Doctrines.
Church has produced thousands of holy members: saints and martyrs, Therefore,
through its teaching, prayer and worship, and good works, the Church is a visible
sign of holiness.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
3. The Church is Catholic
 Church is Catholic because she is universal.
 Church is Catholic because:(CFC, 1402)
– She spread through the world;
– She possesses all saving truths;
– She is sent to all peoples;
– She can heal all kinds of sins; and
– She abounds in every kind of virtue and spiritual gift.
– The Church is indeed Catholic in that Christ is universally present in the Church
and that He has commissioned the Church to evangelize the world “Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19).
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
4. The Church is Apostolic
• Apostolic means "derived from the apostles." There are three basic ways that point to the apostolicity of
the Church: (CFC, 1407)
1. Church grounded on the "foundation of the apostles."
2. Church guards and transmits their teachings and witness.
3. Church continues to be instructed, sanctified, and guided by the apostles through their successors.
• Church is a hierarchical community.
• Church has the duty to preserve, teach, defend, and hand on the faith through her magisterium with the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• Christ founded the Church and entrusted His authority to His apostles, the first bishops. He entrusted a
special authority to St. Peter, the first Pope and Bishop of Rome, to act as His vicar here on earth. This
authority has been handed down through the Sacrament of Holy Orders in what we call apostolic
succession from bishop to bishop, and then by extension to priests and deacons.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
Lumen Gentium (8) explains the intrinsic unity of (1) the earthly, hierarchical Church, "the
community of faith, hope and charity, as an entity with visible delineation through which
Christ communicates truth and grace to all" and (2) the invisible, Mystical Body of the
Church that transcends both space and time. These two radically inter-connected realities "are
not to be considered as two realities, nor are the visible assembly and the spiritual community,
nor the earthly Church and the Church enriched with heavenly things; rather they form one
complex reality which coalesces from a divine and human element". The document uses the
analogy of the Hypostasis in Christ, whereby Christ's perfect humanity and divinity are frilly,
inseparably united in a hypostatic union in the one Divine Person of Christ. Thus, the Church,
like Christ, is simultaneously human and divine, earthly and heavenly.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
It summarizes the Church's nature and essence thus: "This is the one Church of Christ
which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which our Savior,
after his resurrection, commissioned Peter to shepherd (Jn 21:17), and him and the other
apostles to extend and direct with authority (Mt. 28:18), which he erected for all ages as
'the pillar and mainstay of the truth' (1 Tm 3:15). This Church constituted and organized
in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the
Successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him, although many elements
of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as
gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity".
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
CHURCH
The Church teaches that there are three visible bonds of unity in the Church:
(1)Profession of one faith received from the apostles;
(2)Common celebration of divine worship, especially of the sacraments; and
(3)Apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the
fraternal concord of God's family (CCC, 815).
Catholics share a common belief, worship, and Church governance. Above all,
charity, as St. Paul writes in Colossians 3: 14, binds everything together in
perfect harmony.
 THE ESSENTIAL MARKS OF THE
•
CHURCH
In our oneness, we find diversity. We bear witness to many different gifts and vocations, but we are bound to work
together to continue the mission of our Lord.
• Today, the most concrete threat to Church unity is found in the members who cannot go beyond resentments,
jealousy, selfishness and rivalries, and other similar negative sentiments that pose serious impediments to build up
unity.

• The Holiness of the Church is our struggle against sin. The Church is a Church of sinners, not of self-righteous and
self-assured members. The church continues to be the visible instrument of sanctification. The prayer in the Mass
expresses it clearly: "Lord, look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church." In order to continue walking in
the path holiness and in the friendship of God, we need to repent and avail ourselves of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. Each member of the Church is called to advance in holiness that comes from Jesus Christ Himself.

•These Catholic characteristics of the Church challenge us to reach out to others, even to those who belong to other
faith, to be open to them in the true spirit of ecumenism.
•The challenge that comes with the apostolic character of the Church is treated under the term "apostolate", meaning
the work of all the faithful who carry on the original mission entrusted by Christ to His apostles.
 LESSON: 4

THE BIBLICAL IMAGES OF THE CHURCH

 THE BIBLICAL IMAGES OF THE
CHURCH
Every Catholic may have a picture or image of the Church based
on how he or she experiences it. It is significant to examine these
images to see if they are consistent or not with images of the
Church presented in the Scriptures.
 THE BIBLICAL IMAGES OF THE
CHURCH
• Body of Christ: Romans 12: 4-5

For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we,
though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.
• Vineyard of God: John 15: 1, 4-7
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just
as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you
unless you remain in me. lam the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in
him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not
remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw
them into afire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask
for whatever you want, and it will be done for you.”
 THE BIBLICAL IMAGES OF THE
CHURCH
•Flock of God: John 10:1, 14-15

I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I am
the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father
knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
• Temple of God: Ephesians 2:19-22

So, then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens
with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the
capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a
temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
 THE BIBLICAL IMAGES OF THE
CHURCH
•The Body of Christ

The Church as the "Body of Christ" is one of the Scriptural images of the
Church. It deals with those who belong to Jesus Christ through baptism, faith,
and profession. In Romans 12: 4-5, believers are described as "members" of
the one body of Christ. Despite the diversity of individual members, as
members of the body of Christ, we care for, and are united with, one another:
"But now indeed there are many members, yet one body" (1 Corinthians 12:
20).
 THE BIBLICAL IMAGES OF THE
CHURCH
In the letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1: 22-23, Christ is shown as the head of the
church and the ruler of all things. This builds on the hymn recorded in the epistle
to the Colossians which says: "He is the head of the body, the Church”
(Colossians 2: 18). In this imagery, the church of Christ is equated with the
“body of Christ” It shares in the perfection of its Lord.
The growth of the body occurs through the activity of God (Colossians 2: 19).
This growth is oriented toward Christ. As the head, He is the Lord, the standard,
and the goal (Ephesians 4: 15). For the edification of the body of Christ, God
provided ministries and commissions.
 THE BIBLICAL IMAGES OF THE
CHURCH
Christ's body can refer to:

a) PHYSICAL BODY of the Historical Jesus

b) EUCHARISTIC BODY, making sacramentally present to us the Person of the

Risen Christ

c) MYSTICAL BODY, the Church

Read Romans 3.29-30, Read Romans 12.3-11, Within Christ's body, the church,
there is a great variety of members and functions (PCP Il 91-94)
 THE BIBLICAL IMAGES OF THE
CHURCH
• Vineyard of God

In the Gospel of John 1: 9, Christ is the true vine in the sense that He is "the true Light". There
have been many times when God revealed His truth before, but Christ is its perfect revelation.
All that could be conceived in the concept of spiritual light is realized in Christ. He is the
highest essence of spiritual light, as opposed to physical light and to believers, who are lights
in the world (Matt. 5:14). Similarly, Jesus called Himself the "true bread" (John 6:35).
“Christ is the vine in the New Testament and He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever"
(Heb. 13:8). He is a vine that will never wither. The kind of vine we want to be attached He is
the source of life for all the branches. Only by abiding in him, the Vine, do the branches live
He assumes that alive branches produce fruit. If a branch does not produce fruit, God the
Father' removes that branch from the Vine.
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CHURCH
The Flock of God

"Flock of God" portrays Jesus Christ as the good shepherd. He knows His own
and gives His life for them. He continuously calls upon human beings to believe
in Him and His church. In the end, there will be one flock and one shepherd
(John 10: 11-16). Jesus speaks to His own through the Holy Spirit. Those who
believe and follow Him will receive eternal life from Him (John 10: 25-28). It
also shows the church as a community that follows Christ. It receives its care,
protection, and leadership through Jesus Christ, the good shepherd.
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CHURCH
Before Jesus' ascension into heaven, the Risen One entrusted His lambs and sheep
to the care of the Apostle Peter (John 21: 15-17). This Apostle bore responsibility
for the care of those who belonged to the Church of Christ. As the flock of Jesus
Christ, the faithful remained His people.

In 1 Peter 5: 2-4, the ministers of the church are called upon to shepherd the
congregation as the "flock of God". In doing so, they are not to act as lords over the
congregation, but rather serve as examples. They fulfill their tasks with a view to
the return of Jesus Christ, the "Chief Shepherd"
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Temple of God

St. Paul tells us that when we choose to follow Christ, we become citizens of the Kingdom
of God as well as members of God's household. As citizens of God's Kingdom, we become
vessels through which God shows Himself to our world and become members of God's
household. When we are in Christ, He is forming His character in us, and then churches
will be places in which there is an abundance of forgiveness, healing, comfort, wholeness,
faithfulness, freedom, generosity and peace.

Christ Jesus is the cornerstone of the church and for us. The foundation and position of the
Church as a whole, and each stone is hinged on Christ.
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The temples where people came to learn about God, experience God, and see His power,
and now Paul tells us that we are the temple. The Church is not a building, we are the
church. All of us are being built together to be the body of Christ on earth. We are being
made into the place where people will learn about who God is. We are the place where
people will experience Him. We are the place where people will see God's power.

St Paul wrote: "You are the temple, and spirit of God dwells in you" (1 Cor. 3:16/ 1 Cor.
6.19-20). Traditional teaching of the Church declares "As Christ is the Head of the church,
so is the Holy Spirit its soul". The church is the creation of the Holy Spirit. It is the action of
the Holy Spirit that creates the church.
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The nature of the kingdom of God, or the Church established by Christ, is conveyed and
depicted by the Lord via the use of metaphors. "The Church is a sheepfold whose one and
indispensable door is Christ. It is a flock of which God himself foretold he would be the
shepherd, and whose sheep, although ruled by human shepherds, are nevertheless
continuously led and nourished by Christ himself, the good shepherd and the prince of the
shepherds, who gave his life for the sheep. The Church is the Building of God, as Christ refers
to himself as "the stone which the builders have rejected which has become the cornerstone",
and this edifice is built on the foundation of the apostles. Consequently, "the true vine is Christ
who gives life and the power to bear abundant fruit to the branches, that is, to us" (LG 6).
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The Church, Body of Christ, is communion with Jesus (CCC 787-789)

Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to
them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings. Jesus spoke of a still more
intimate communion between Him and those who would follow him: "Abide in me, and I in
you. I am the vine, you are the branches. "He proclaimed a mysterious and real communion
between his own body and ours: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me,
and I in him." Jesus promised to remain with them until the end of time.

Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more specifically noted: the unity
of all her members with each other because of their union with Christ; Christ as head of the
Body; and the Church as bride of Christ.
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The Church is the Temple of The Holy Spirit (797-798)

"What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is
the Church." "To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact
that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head;
for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the
whole Spirit is in each of the members."
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CHURCH
The Holy Spirit makes the Church "the temple of the living God":

The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part
of the Body." He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity: by
God's Word "which is able to build you up"; by Baptism, through which he forms
Christ's Body; by the sacraments, which give growth and healing to Christ's
members; by "the grace of the apostles, which holds first place among his gifts"; by
the virtues, which make us act according to what is good; finally, by the many
special graces (called "charisms"), by which he makes the faithful "fit and ready to
undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church.”
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It is important to remember that Christ is the whole vine and the believer is a branch. To abide in
Christ is to abide in the body of Christ, the church. Our involvement in Christ through the life of
his Body, the church, nurtures us as members of His flock. Certainly, isolated from the body of
Christ none of the branches can do anything to significantly impact the world with Christ.

Through the sacrament of baptism, we become members of this mystical body of Christ, for we
are baptized by the same and one Spirit. In this oneness in Spirit and as members of the Church,
we are called to perform various ministries and different roles. These gifts, ministries and roles
account for the existence of the diversity in the Church, a diversity that is not lost even as the
members are united by a common aspiration, a common goal.
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The Holy Spirit accounts for the solidarity found among the members of the
Church. The Spirit gives life, moves and unifies Christ's body, the Church. The Holy
Spirit that dwells in the Church, produces and motivates love among the faithful. It
follows then that each member must give reverence to the Church, respect to
himself and to teach member of the Church, so that the Spirit's work of
sanctification in and through the Church may be realized.
 THANK YOU!

JAKE A. JANGAO,
LPT
jakejangao@gmail.co
m