The Gift of the Church and the Gifts God Give It
Stanley Hauerwas and Samuel Wells
“God’s Holy Spirit gives God’s people eve-rything they need to follow Jesus.” This claim is not easy to grasp. Much contemporary ethics strives to act in a Christian way without using the tools given to us. God’s Holy Spirit offers us actions that make Christians better people, witnesses, disciples.
God. In the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist the purpose of Christian ethics is revealed—to fulfill all righteousness. Three dimensions of the baptism are important for CE (Christian ethics):
- Heaven is opened.
- God’s Spirit descends like a dove.
- God speaks.
“This book is a study of how Christians … may practice CE by fulfilling God’s longing for them to worship God, be God’s friends, and eat with God.”
The Gifts of God. We are given the gift of Jesus in three forms.
- Jesus himself who lived, died, and rose again. The story of Jesus is embedded in the Scripture, has the hope of the kingdom, and leads to the work of the Holy Spirit.
- The body of Christ—the Church. The church had gifts as well.
- Those that bring people into the company of God (preaching)
- Those that relate to the life of the church (praise, thanksgiving, and intercession)
- Those that maintain the character of the body (admonition, penitence, and reconciliation).
- The Eucharist—eating with God.
The Gift of the Church. What, where, and who is the Church? Which Church? How does the Church embody Christ.
- What: The church is a prophet and priest that points to a king.
- Who and Where: It is where Jesus is and the Eucharist is.
- Which church: This question is not helpful because it implies that there is a right church.
- How: Discussed in the next section.
Ethics. What does following Christ mean? The characteristics of a disciple are illustrative of what it means.
- The disciple is conformed to Christ.
- The disciple participates in the Church.
- The disciple engages in the reconciling practice of God and the Church.
- The disciple enters in the into the rhythm of God’s life.
“The disciple enters into the rhythm of God’s live, the patter of the dance of the Trinity. The disciple who accepts the humility of repeat-ing the same practices over and over again re-ceives the wonder of discovering through them the God who is ever new.”
Worship is key to Christian Ethics. In worship we learn to imitate God in habit, instinct, and reflex.