Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today. Eerdmans, 1996.
Referenced in: Biblical Ecclesiologies
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Ecclesiology is very important to congregational leadership and renewal. Ecclesiologies come in several varieties. LifeandLeadership.com focuses on three – biblical, comparative, and contextualized. For definitions see the essay on Church Renewal/Ecclesiology. Also, since each major section of this site has a biblical/theological component, see the other theologies categorized under missional, evangelism, social action, pastoral, practical, etc. These are conveniently compiled under one heading, Theology of Mission and Ministry.
Everett Ferguson’s work is excellent. It is a very thorough, 400-plus page “positive exposition of the material from the New Testament” on the nature and purpose of the church.
Ferguson divides the book into six chapters:
Chapter One – The People and the Messiah: History and Eschatology discusses Old Testament background and the concepts of covenant, kingdom, Messiah, and community.
Chapter Two – The Church and Her Lord: The Nature of the Church covers the centrality of Christ and then develops the meaning of the major biblical images of the church: people of God (election), body of Christ, the community of the Holy Spirit, family of God, vine and vineyard, sheep and sheepfold, building and temple. It also includes a good discussion of the meaning of ekklesia.
Chapter Three – The Church and Her Lord: Salvation and Church Membership describes the relationship between the church and salvation, beginning with human nature and sinfulness, God’s action in the atonement and the role of the preaching of the cross, human response through faith, repentance, and baptism, and the nature of salvation.
Chapter Four – The Church and Her High Priest: Worship and the Assembly explains the various English and Greek words for worship, theological foundations for worship, the church as a temple and the roles of priests and priesthood, the importance of the assembly (relation to worship, the day of the assembly, purposes, activities). This includes chapters on the Lord’s Supper, prayer, singing, giving, and reading and preaching the Bible.
Chapter Five – The Church and Her Bishop: The Continuing Ministry discusses the role of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, ministers, shepherds, preachers, deacons, etc.
Chapter Six – The Church and Her Teacher: The New Way of Life deals with the church as an ethical community, highlighting the New Testament foundations for ethics, the primacy of love, the call to holiness, the nature of fellowship, the place of discipline, and the exercise of Christian liberty. There is also a lengthy discussion on Christian unity.
This encyclopedic work approaches ecclesiology through standard categories of backgrounds, images, salvation/membership, worship assemblies, organized leadership and ministries, etc. This may reflect more influence of the “churched-culture” church than some may prefer. Ferguson’s work has enduring value, however, regardless of one’s stripe.
From the Publisher
By systematically examining the New Testament’s teaching, Ferguson unveils a comprehensive model of the church that is boh biblically centered and relevant to a world on the verge of the twenty-first century.
About the Author
Everett Ferguson (Ph.D., Harvard) is professor emeritus of Bible and distinguished scholar-in-residence at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, where he taught Greek and church history. He is the author or editor of numerous works, including Backgrounds of Early Christianity (author) and the two-volume Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (ed.).
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