ST.

PAUL ON THE CHURCH

AND COMMUNITY LIFE
 THEMES TO EXPLORE
A. Paul’s Description of the
Church/Communities of Believers
B. Paul’s Images/Metaphors for the
Church
C. Paul’s Perception of His Role in the
Churches/Communities
D. The Church and Her Charisms
E. Issues/Concerns in the Pauline
Churches
F. Summary-Conclusion
G. Relevance to Our Present Church
Situation
 TERMS PAUL USED TO NAME
OR DESCRIBE THE CHURCH
a. “ekklēsia” = church
+ descriptions

“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those

sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints
together with all those who in every place call on
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord
and ours:
• “And I was still not known by sight to the
churches of Christ in Judea…” (Gal. 1,22)

• To the church of the Thessalonians in God the

Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you
and peace” (1 Th. 1,1)

• “if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to

behave in the household of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1Tm.
3,15)
 b. “hagioi” = saints

“Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice

hospitality” (Rm. 12,13)

“At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem with

aid for the saints” (Rm. 15,25).
“To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all
the saints who are in the whole of Achaia” (2Cor.
1,1).

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of

God, To the saints who are also faithful in Christ
Jesus” (Eph. 1,1).
 3. “oikos/oikeios theou” = (members of
the) household of God

“So then you are no longer strangers and

sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the
saints and members of the household of God”
(Eph. 2,19).
“if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to
behave in the household of God, which is the
church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of
the truth” (1Tm. 3,15).
 Summary
• The Church for Paul is a community
of believers called and formed by
God’s will and thus shares in God’s
holiness.

• It is not just, then, a human institution

or a social organization.
 PAUL’S IMAGES/METAPHORS
FOR THE CHURCH
A. Members of the Body of
Christ/Body of Christ
“For just as the body is one and has many
members, and all the members of the body,
though many, are one body, so it is with Christ”
(1Cor. 12,12)
“Now you are the body of Christ and individually
members of it” (1Cor. 12,27)

“so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and

individually members one of another” (Rm. 12,5)
 B. The Church as Body with Christ as
its Head
“that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs,
members of the same body, and partakers of the
promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph.
3,6).
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to
which indeed you were called in the one body. And
be thankful” (Col. 3,15).
“and he has put all things under his feet and has
made him the head over all things for the church,
which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in
all” (Eph. 1,22-23).

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow

up in every way into him who is the head, into
Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit
together by every joint with which it is supplied,
when each part is working properly, makes bodily
growth and upbuilds itself in love” (Eph. 4,15-16).
“He is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in
everything he might be pre-eminent” (Col. 1,18)

“and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the

whole body, nourished and knit together through
its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is
from God” (Col. 2,19).
 C. An Organized Entity Led by
a Hierarchy
“The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office
of bishop, he desires a noble task. Now a bishop
must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,
temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt
teacher, no drunkard, not violent but gentle, not
quarrelsome, and no lover of money” (1 Tim. 3,1-3)
“Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-
tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for
gain; they must hold the mystery of the faith with a
clear conscience. And let them also be tested first;
then if they prove themselves blameless let them
serve as deacons” (1Tim. 3,8-10).
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a
deaconess of the church at Cenchreae, that you
may receive her in the Lord as befits the saints,
and help her in whatever she may require from
you, for she has been a helper of many and of
myself as well” (Rom. 16,1-2).
“Do not neglect the gift you have, which
was given you by prophetic utterance
when the council of elders laid their
hands upon you” (1Tim. 4,14).
D. The Temple of God/Holy Spirit

“For we are the temple of the living

God; as God said, "I will live in them
and move among them, and I will be
their God, and they shall be my people”
(2Cor. 6,16b).
“Do you not know that you are God's temple and
that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys
God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's
temple is holy, and that temple you are” (1Cor.
3,16-17).

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the

Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?
You are not your own…” (1Cor. 6,19).
“in whom the whole structure is joined
together and grows into a holy temple
in the Lord; in whom you also are built
into it for a dwelling place of God in the
Spirit” (Eph. 2,21-22).
 E. God’s Fellow workers (synergoi),
God’s Field (georgion), God’s
Building (oikodome)

“For we are God's fellow workers; you

are God's field, God's building” (1Cor.
3,9).
F. Bride of Christ
- surprisingly, only once

“I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I

betrothed you to Christ to present you
as a pure bride to her one husband”
(2Cor. 11,2).
 PAUL’S ROLES IN THE
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES
How did Paul see himself vis-à-vis his
communities? How did he perceive his role was
among them?

a) Like a caring nurse

“But we were gentle among you, like a nurse

taking care of her children” (1Th. 2,7).
 b) like a father with his children
“for you know how, like a father with his children,
we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you”
(1Th 2,11).

“I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to

admonish you as my beloved children. For though
you have countless guides in Christ, you do not
have many fathers. For I became your father in
Christ Jesus through the gospel” (1Co. 4,14-15).
“I appeal to you for my child,
Onesimus, whose father I have
become in my imprisonment” (Phm.
1,10).
 THE CHURCH AND HER
CHARISMS
A. Spiritual Charisms/Gifts
- also called “services/ministries” (diakoniai),
“workings” (energemata), and manifestation
(phanerosis) of the Spirit
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God
who inspires them all in every one.To each is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
 B. The Source of Charisms
1. Ordinarily, the Spirit

“All these are inspired by one and the

same Spirit, who apportions to each
one individually as he wills” (1Cor.
12,11)
2. but also a Trinitarian formulation
a. Spirit – variety of gifts, same
Spirit
b. Jesus – variety of ministries,
same Lord
c. Father– varieties of working,
same God who inspires…
 C. Variety of Gifts
“To each is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good. To one is given
through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom,
and to another the utterance of knowledge
according to the same Spirit, to another faith
by the same Spirit, to another gifts of
healing by the one Spirit, to another the
working of miracles,
to another prophecy, to another the
ability to distinguish between spirits, to
another various kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues”
(1Cor. 12,7-10).
“Having gifts that differ according to the
grace given to us, let us use them: if
prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if
service, in our serving; he who teaches, in
his teaching; he who exhorts, in his
exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality;
he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does
acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Rom.
12,6-8).
 D. The Primacy of LOVE
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong
or a clangin cymbal” (1 Cor 13,1).

“So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but

the greatest of these is love” (1Cor. 13,13).
 CHURCH/COMMUNITY ISSUES
IN PAUL’S TIME
A. Moral Problems
1. Disunity/Factions/Divisions
2. Sexuality
3. Going to Pagan Courts
4. Scandalizing weak bros and sis
B. Doctrinal Problems
- re Faith and Justification
- re Christ: fullness of his divinity
- re the Resurrection and fate of the
dead
- re the Church, etc.
C. Problems Connected with Worship
1. Abuses at Lord’s Supper
2. Wearing of Veil/ Hairstyles
3. Order in Worship
D. Problems Connected with
Governance and Material Needs
1. Dissensions/Insubordination,
Questioning of Credentials
2. Submission to governing
authorities
3. Fund-raising for poorer members
E. Issues re Relationships
1. Husbands-Wives
2. Parents-Children
3. Masters-Slaves
4. Pastor-Sheep
 SUMMARY-CONCLUSION
1. For Paul, the Church is called by
God; formed by God’s will and design.

2. Thus, it is holy; the members are

called “hagioi,” saints, holy.
3. God intends the Church to be the
vehicle of His gifts; thus He endows the
members with the Gifts or Charisms

4. The Charisms are meant to build up

the Church which is His Body, with
Christ as its Head.
5. The Church is called to live a holy
and exemplary life. St. Paul always had
to remind his communities of their
calling to holiness and blamelessness
of life.
6. Hence, the Church at times, has to
discipline and correct erring members
and lead them back to the path of righteousness.
7. The Church has an
eschatological destiny: she is
destined to be with God in the life
to come.
8. The Church at present, as in Paul’s
time, is called upon to be the
instrument of God’s saving action. It is
sanctified, and yet also struggles with
her own weaknesses. Thus, it is called
upon to continually purify herself to
recover her dignity as the spotless
Bride of Christ.
APPLICATION TO PRESENT
SITUATION

Assignment: Last FB Posting

What role/roles is the Church expected
to play in today’s world, and what light
does St. Paul give in the Church’s
performance of this/these role/s?
• What issues (moral and doctrinal)
does the Church face in today’s
world?

• How do you evaluate the Church’s

response to these?