Introduction to Total Christ & the Five Marks

Introduction: The Mission of Christ and the ChurchRead Acts 2:22-47• What is Peter’s argument about who Christ is and where Christ is now?• What is the proper response recorded here to Christ’s exaltation? What didthese first disciples specifically do?• What is the role of the Holy Spirit in this passage?• “Five Marks” at CPC means gospel-centered, missional, confessional,sacramental, and communal. Where do you see each of these in this passage?Read Matthew 28:16-20• “All authority” - Christ is King (communal) because of what He has done oncefor all (gospel-centered)• “Make disciples” is the main verb of v. 19 and the main overall mission of thechurch. We are to do that by:• “Going” (v.19) - on the move, no longer constrained to Israel, hence “allnations” (missional)• “Baptizing” (sacramental)• “Teaching” (confessional)• Christ-centered - what Christ commanded, baptized into the name, and in/with Christ’s presenceJohn 14:12 - “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the worksthat I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”• Why “because…”? Once Christ goes to the Father, He will send the Spirit,enabling the church to do “greater works” because the presence of God inChrist will be global through the church.Augustine wrote, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us; to thatflesh is joined the church, and there is made total Christ, both head and body.”2 of 4“Five Marks” at CPC also means we hope to experience the FULLNESS ofChrist, not just one emphasis or pendulum swing!1. Gospel-Centered: Trust in the gospel motivates us to be humble because weknow Christ's work to us is purely a gift, but also boldly confident in the faceof shame and sin because it's based in God's power! This grounds us in God'sfinished work on the cross, where he forgave our sins and reconciled us tohimself. Everything we do is motivated from and by the gospel. Think:Humble, honest, authentic, gracious, safe, desire to be truly known and lovedby God and others2. Missional: More (though not less!) than being evangelistic, we strive to bemissional because God promises to dwell with His people in all their Godgiven cultures, languages, and demographics through the church. Thisgrounds us in God's global presence, where the church is the evangelist for awhole new way of life, showing the world who Jesus is and what it means tofollow Him in all our relationships. Think: Culturally self-aware, open &inviting, purposeful, holistic evangelism3. Confessional - Christ as our Prophet: We are not the first ones to considerwhat church should be (thank God!). We humbly submit to God's revelationin the Word as it has been historically interpreted, seeking to be united inbelief across generations and cultures. Officially, we subscribe to thedocuments of Westminster (c.1630) as the summary of our faith. This groundsus in Christ as our Prophet who still speaks. Think: doctrine that is alive andan unwillingness to be distracted by cultural fads4. Sacramental - Christ as our Priest: Christ is "fleshed out" in a carefullydesigned four movement worship service that follows the logic of the gospeland culminates every week in a participation in eucharistic communion withChrist. Jesus is experienced in the body of Christ through different culturalstyles specific to each local community. Think: Friendly, worshipful,mysterious5. Communal - Christ as our King: Christ did not leave us as orphans, butjoined us with Himself to the church, so to be a Christian is to be a part of theredeemed community.