Kingdom, Office, And Church

by Janssen, Allan J.

• ISBN13: 9780802840417
• ISBN10: 0802840418
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-06-15
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

A. A. van Ruler is one of the Netherlands's most influential twentieth-century theologians. His theology of the Kingdom of God and its relationship to the church, and to the ecclesiastical offices of the church is one of the challenging aspects of van Ruler's work. His insights, together with their implications for the church today, are the subject of Janssen's closely reasoned analysis.""A major contribution to the ecumenical discussion on ministry and office."" -- A. van de Beek Free University of Amsterdam

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	xi
Preface	xiii
Chapter 1 Introduction	1	(40)
1.1 The Ecumenical Motivation	2	(15)
1.1.1 The Apostolic Nature of the Church	5	(2)
1.1.2 The Singularity or Plurality of Office	7	(1)
1.1.3 The Office of Oversight	8	(1)
1.1.4 The Relation of the Particular Office and the Priesthood of Believers	9	(3)
1.1.5 The Nature of Representation in Office	12	(1)
1.1.6 The Sacramental Nature of Office	13	(2)
1.1.7 The Relation of Ordination to Office	15	(2)
1.2 Office as an Issue among Reformed Churches	17	(3)
1.3 A Way Forward	20	(4)
1.4 A. A. Van Ruler	24	(10)
1.5 The Approach of this Study	34	(4)
1.6 Studies of Van Ruler's Doctrine of Office	38	(3)
Chapter 2 Theology of the Kingdom: An Outline of the Theology of A.A. Van Ruler	41	(40)
2.1 Van Ruler's Theological Method	44	(3)
2.2 The Kingdom of God	47	(10)
2.2.1 Theocracy	56	(1)
2.3 The Human	57	(4)
2.4 Time in an Eschatological Perspective	61	(4)
2.5 Creation	65	(2)
2.6 Messiah	67	(4)
2.7 The Spirit	71	(5)
2.8 Trinity	76	(3)
2.9 Summary	79	(2)
Chapter 3 The Church as Bearer of the Gospel and as Gestalt of the Kingdom	81	(44)
3.1 The Apostolic Essence of the Church	85	(26)
3.1.1 The Predestinarian Heart	89	(2)
3.1.2 The Eschatological Reach	91	(5)
3.1.3 Christianizing	96	(3)
3.1.4 Volkskerk	99	(4)
3.1.5 Confessional	103	(4)
3.1.6 The Church as a Peculiar Gestalt	107	(4)
3.2 The Cathedral of Love—The Liturgical Gestalt of the Church	111	(10)
3.2.1 Liturgy	113	(3)
3.2.2 Sacraments	116	(4)
3.2.3 Life in Communion	120	(1)
3.3 Summary	121	(4)
Chapter 4 Office in the Work of the Triune God	125	(60)
4.1 A Preliminary Look at the Notion of Office	129	(2)
4.2 The Theology of Office	131	(26)
4.2.1 The Predestinarian Heart of Office	131	(4)
4.2.2 The Eschatological Position of Office	135	(5)
4.2.3 Office as Representing Christ	140	(5)
4.2.4 Office as a Moment in the Work of the Spirit	145	(5)
4.2.5 Office in the Economy of Salvation	150	(5)
4.2.6 Women in Office	155	(1)
4.2.7 Summary	156	(1)
4.3 The Office of Apostle as the Original Office	157	(10)
4.3.1 Bishops	164	(2)
4.3.2 The Petrine Office	166	(1)
4.4 The Priesthood of Believers?	167	(8)
4.4.1 Office and Sacrament	173	(2)
4.5 Office and Congregation	175	(6)
4.6 Summary and Conclusions	181	(4)
Chapter 5 The Offices of Elder, Deacon, and Minister in their Particular and United Ministry	185	(52)
5.1 Elder	188	(14)
5.1.1 Home Visitation	189	(6)
5.1.2 Discipline	195	(2)
5.1.3 Governance	197	(3)
5.1.4 The Elder Present in the Worshiping Congregation	200	(1)
5.1.5 The Elder as Church-warden	201	(1)
5.2 Deacon	202	(7)
5.2.1 Justice	205	(1)
5.2.2 Mercy	206	(1)
5.2.3 The Deacon and the State	207	(1)
5.2.4 The Deacon in the Congregation	208	(1)
5.3 Minister of the Word	209	(18)
5.3.1 Apostolic	210	(4)
5.3.2 Eschatological	214	(5)
5.3.3 Kingdom-oriented	219	(5)
5.3.4 Trinitarian	224	(1)
5.2.5 Communal	224	(3)
5.4 The Offices Gathered	227	(6)
5.5 Summary	233	(4)
Chapter 6 Used by God: Office within Van Ruler's Theological Project	237	(8)
6.1 Formal Remarks	238	(2)
6.2 Material Remarks	240	(5)
Chapter 7 A Lutheran-Reformed Dialogue on Office: A North American Discussion	245	(28)
7.1 The Formula of Agreement	246	(2)
7.2 Lutheran-Reformed "Joint Statement on Ministry"	248	(13)
7.2.1 The Nature of the Statement	249	(2)
7.2.2 The Theological Framework	251	(2)
7.2.3 Ministry as One in Christ	253	(2)
7.2.4 The Ministry of All God's People	255	(3)
7.2.5 The Pastoral Office	258	(3)
7.2.6 The Ministry of Oversight	261	(1)
7.3 A Van Rulerian Reading of the "Joint Statement"	261	(6)
7.4 Van Ruler's Contribution to the North American Discussion	267	(6)
Chapter 8 An Evaluation of Van Ruler's Theology of Office	273	(16)
8.1 Aporiae in Van Ruler's Theology of Office	273	(5)
8.2 A Positive Evaluation of Van Ruler's Doctrine of Office	278	(3)
8.3 Van Ruler's Doctrine of Office in an American Protestant Context	281	(8)
8.3.1 Ministry in the American Protestant Context	282	(1)
8.3.2 A Theocentric Approach to Office	283	(3)
8.3.3 Van Ruler and the American Reformed Churches of Dutch Heritage	286	(3)
Abbreviations	289	(4)
Bibliography	293	(22)
Index	315