The Church
Sacrament of Salvation
The Church
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Jesus Christ Instituted
the Church
Chapter Objectives
The student will be able to understand:
• The relationship between the
Old and New Testaments
• The Incarnation
• The proclamation of the
Kingdom of God in relation
to the Church
• The calling of the Twelve
Apostles as it relates to
the Church
• Why Jesus died on the Cross
• The Eucharist
• God fulfilled the Old
Testament covenants in
the Church
• The Church as the Mystical
Body of Christ
• The Church as the Bride
of Christ
• The Church as the Family
of God
• The Church as the People
of God
• The Kingdom of God and
the Davidic Covenant
Keys to Chapter 2
• The New Covenant brings to completion that which the
Old Covenant promises.
• The Kingdom of God refers variously to God himself, to
God’s action in the world, and to the Church.
• Christ’s primary desire is to restore humanity’s original
communion with God by forgiving our sins and making
us God’s own children.
• Christ gave his Church her hierarchical structure.
• The Church is Christ’s Mystical Body, his Bride, the
children of his Father’s family, and the new people
of God.
For Discussion:
• What is the significance of the Incarnation?
• What are the two names of Christ?
• What did Christ teach about the Kingdom
of Heaven?
• What is our source of salvation?
• How is the Old Testament fulfilled in the Church?
continued
For Discussion:
• What are some of the metaphorical images used to
describe the Church?
• How is the Church the Family of God?
• How is the Church the People of God?
• What does it mean to say that the Church is the
Mystical Body of Christ?
God Prepares His
People: The Incarnation
Lesson Objectives
•The relationship between the Old and
New Testaments
•The Incarnation
God Prepares His People:
The Incarnation
Basic Questions
What is the relationship between the Old and
New Testaments?
The New Testament fulfills the Old Testament, which
prefigures it, by bringing to completion that which the
Old Testament promises through covenant and type.
God Prepares His People:
The Incarnation
Basic Questions
What is the Incarnation?
The Incarnation is the coming into the world of Jesus
Christ, true God and true man, in the fullness of time,
so that we might receive adoption as sons and daughters.
Guided Exercise
Look over the nine questions this chapter
will address (p. 37) and write on the one
about which you currently know the most.
Focus Question
How did the covenants of the Old Testament
develop “outwardly”?
They expanded the boundaries of God’s family from
two people (Adam and Eve) to include the entire
kingdom of David.
Focus Question
Based on the paragraph beginning, “Each of
these stages,” what is the relationship between
the covenants of the Old Testament and
Christ and his Church?
Apart from her communion in Christ and her
intimate sharing in the Divine Life of the Blessed
Trinity, the Church has no life.
Focus Question
What are some ways that the New Testament
presents Christ as the culmination and
fulfillment of the Old?
St. John opens his Gospel with the same words found in
the opening verses of the Book of Genesis. St. Matthew
begins his Gospel by identifying Jesus as “the son of
David” and “the son of Abraham.” In the Sermon on
the Mount, St. Matthew highlights Jesus’ role as a
second Moses.
Focus Question
What is typology?
Typology is the connection between the Old and New
Testaments in which a character, event, or thing in
the Old Testament allegorically foreshadows
something in the New Testament.
Focus Question
What are some examples of Old
Testament types?
Moses as the giver of the Old Law was a type for
Jesus, who was the giver of the New Law. Isaac, the
sacrificial beloved son of Abraham, was a type for
Jesus, the sacrificial beloved Son of God. The
Passover meal is a type for the Mass.
Focus Question
Who was St. Augustine?
St. Augustine was one of the most influential saints
and theologians of the Church.
Focus Question
What was St. Augustine’s important
contribution to the study of Scripture?
St. Augustine contributed to the understanding of
the inner unity of God’s plan for salvation,
becoming a master of typology, which is the
discernment of the Old Testament foreshadowing of
New Testament realities.
Focus Question
What did St. Augustine mean when he said,
“The New Testament is concealed in the
Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in
the New”?
He was referring to the typology of the Scriptures in
which New Testament realities could be discerned in
the Old Testament.
Focus Question
How could St. Augustine be described as a
“revert” to the Faith?
He was raised by a devout Christian mother,
became a heretic during his youth, then returned to
the Faith at age thirty under the influence of St.
Ambrose.
Focus Question
How did St. Augustine spend the rest of
his life?
He became a priest, then a bishop, devoting himself
to the pastoral care of his diocese and fighting
heresies within the Church.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to examine in detail what
St. Paul tells us about the Incarnation (Gal 4:4).
St. Paul on the Incarnation
When the time had fully come…
God sent forth his Son…
Born of a woman…
So that we might receive adoption
as sons and daughters
Focus Question
What does it mean that Christ was born in the
“fullness of time”?
It is the time that God chose to send his Son into
the world to accomplish all that he promised.
Focus Question
What three promises of God are mentioned in
the paragraph beginning “For generations…”
(p. 40)?
The three promises are those God promised in the
Protoevangelium, the worldwide blessing promised to
Abraham, and the coming of the everlasting
kingdom promised to David.
Focus Question
How does Simeon reveal Jesus as the universal
savior?
In seeing the baby Jesus, Simeon says, “mine eyes
have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in
the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to
the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.”
In other words, God’s salvation is not just for the
nation of Israel but also for the Gentiles, that is,
for the whole world.
Focus Question
How does the beginning of the Gospel of
St. Matthew relate that the message of
salvation is also for the Gentiles?
It is seen in the worship of the Christ child by the
Magi, who were Gentiles. The magi “seek in Israel,
in the messianic light of the star of David, the one
who will be king of the nations.”
Focus Question
How does the angel Gabriel speak of Jesus as
the fulfillment of God’s covenant with David?
Gabriel says God will give Jesus the throne of his
father David and he will reign over the house of
Jacob in an everlasting kingdom.
Extension:
This is part of the promise made to David, that the
kingdom given to David and his descendants will
last forever.
Focus Question
How does the angel who speaks to the
shepherds refer to Jesus?
He says the baby just born is “Savior” and
“Christ the Lord,” or Messiah.
God Prepares His People:
The Proclamation of
the Kingdom of God and
the Calling of the Twelve
Lesson Objectives
•The proclamation of the Kingdom of God in
relation to the Church
•The calling of the Twelve Apostles as it relates to
the Church
God Prepares His People:
The Proclamation of the Kingdom
and the Calling of the Twelve
Basic Questions
What is the relationship between the Kingdom of
God and the Church?
One of Christ’s central teachings, often communicated
through parables, was on the Kingdom of God, which is
that state of communion between God and man that
was intended from the very beginning, and which was
reinstituted on earth through the Incarnation of Christ
and is embodied in the Church.
God Prepares His People:
The Proclamation of the Kingdom
and the Calling of the Twelve
Basic Questions
What do we learn about the Church through Christ’s
appointing of the Twelve Apostles?
Christ gave his Church a hierarchical structure,
appointing twelve of his disciples as Apostles, or leaders,
with St. Peter as their head. They, in turn, appointed
successors to their offices.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to organize your
knowledge on how the Kingdom of God is present
visibly and invisibly.
Visibly
Invisibly
Focus Question
What is Christ’s public ministry and when did
it begin?
This was the period of preaching and healing of the
sick beginning about the age of thirty.
Focus Question
What was the central theme of Christ’s
preaching?
The arrival of the Kingdom of God—what the
Kingdom of Heaven is like, and how we are to
live in it.
Focus Question
Why did Christ teach using parables?
They were means of communicating his kingdom
was heavenly, not earthly and political. Parables
could help his listeners understand profound truths
about himself and the Church using simple
language and images.
Focus Question
What does the Parable of the Wheat and the
Weeds reveal about the Church?
It explains why God allows evil in the world and
even among members of his Church—they are like
the weeds sown by the devil, something God
temporarily permits for the sake of the good
“wheat,” or faithful followers of Christ.
Focus Question
What does the Parable of the Mustard Seed
reveal about the Church during the time of
Christ’s public ministry?
The Church was already present in the Person of
Christ and his followers, but its full meaning and
potential was hidden until later. “The seed and
beginning of the kingdom are the ‘little flock’ of
those whom Jesus came to gather around him.”
Guided Exercise
Explain the meaning of one of the five
parables of the Kingdom of Heaven
listed in the sidebar (p. 42).
Focus Question
What is Christ’s hidden life?
These are the years between Christ’s Birth and the
beginning of his public ministry.
Focus Question
What can we assume about Christ’s
Hidden Life?
Christ lived a normal life with his parents in
Nazareth—learning the trade of his father,
enjoying his friends, and studying at the local
synagogue.
Focus Question
How do the Synoptic Gospels support the
assumption that Christ lived a normal life
during his hidden years?
When Christ preached in his hometown he was
rejected by those who knew him. The assumption
is that these persons knew Christ as an ordinary
man and did not believe he could say or do
anything extraordinary.
Focus Question
Who were Christ’s disciples?
Those who were sincerely attracted to Christ’s
message and who came to believe in him.
Focus Question
How many disciples did Christ have?
There were hundreds of men and woman of all ages
and backgrounds who followed Christ, traveling with
him as he went from town to town.
Focus Question
When did the Apostles begin to exercise their
responsibilities as shepherds of the Church?
After Christ’s Resurrection.
Focus Question
How did the Apostles receive special training
during Christ’s public ministry?
Much of Christ’s teaching in the Gospels was
given to the Apostles alone, including explanations
of parables.
Guided Exercise
Perform a focused reading on the paragraph
beginning, “In this passage…” (p. 45)
using the following question:
What does this paragraph reveal about
the hierarchical nature of the Church?
God Prepares His People:
Salvation through the Cross
and Made Known in the
Breaking of the Bread
Lesson Objectives
•Why Christ died on the Cross
•The Eucharist
God Prepares His People:
Salvation through the Cross and Made Known
in the Breaking of the Bread
Basic Questions
Why did Christ die on the Cross?
Christ, as Lamb of God and Good Shepherd,
died on the Cross to save us from our sins and to
make us children of God.
God Prepares His People:
Salvation through the Cross and Made Known
in the Breaking of the Bread
Basic Questions
What does the Eucharist do for us?
The risen Christ is really present in the Eucharist,
restoring our communion with God.
Focus Question
How would those who heard St. John the
Baptist call Christ the “Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world” have
understood this saying?
They would have understood, at a minimum,
a reference to the Passover lamb, which saved
Israel from slavery and death.
Focus Question
What is the full meaning of the expression,
“Lamb of God”?
By his sacrificial offering on the Cross, Jesus
Christ would deliver mankind from its slavery
to sin and death.
Focus Question
What is the image of the Good Shepherd?
Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd who lays
down his life for his sheep.
Guided Exercise
Explain CCC 766 by making a
bullet-point list of the ideas it contains.
Focus Question
What does it mean to be saved?
It means to be forgiven of our sins and made sons
and daughters of God.
Focus Question
What is divine filiation?
When Christians receive Baptism, they become sons
and daughters of God.
Focus Question
How is our filiation different from Christ’s?
Christ is by nature the only begotten Son of God.
Ours is participation by adoption in the Sonship of
Christ. His is uncreated and eternal, whereas our
filiation is real but created.
Focus Question
What did St. Paul mean when he said to us,
“Everything belongs to you”?
He meant that we are heirs of Christ, so
whatever belongs to him–which is everything–
also belongs to us.
Focus Question
When did Christ offer himself as a sacrifice to
the Father for our salvation?
Christ’s entire life was an offering, but the
preeminent moment of offering was his sacrifice
on the Cross.
Focus Question
Did the Apostles understand why Christ
would suffer death?
No. After his Resurrection, he explained that the
Scriptures said he would suffer, rise from the dead,
and repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
preached in his name to all nations.
Focus Question
Whose task would it be to preach repentance
and forgiveness of sins?
The Apostles and their successors, the bishops.
Focus Question
How does the Church continue Christ’s
ministry in regard to sins?
By preaching conversion and forgiving sins, just as
Christ did during his ministry.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to see the relationship among
the three meals which Luke speaks of in his Gospel.
Meal
The Feeding of
the Five Thousand
The Last Supper
The Meal at Emmaus
Description of Event Meaning/Relationship
Focus Question
What is the Real Presence?
The Real Presence means that in the Eucharist,
Christ is present in his Body, Blood, Soul,
and Divinity.
Focus Question
What do we receive in Holy Communion?
We receive Christ, the son of David, Son of God,
and King of Heaven and earth.
Focus Question
What was the meaning of the feeding
of the five thousand, beyond satisfying
people’s hunger?
Christ revealed that he was living bread that he
would offer for the life of the world and that
would give eternal life to those who ate it.
Focus Question
What does Christ offer at the Last Supper?
He offered his own Flesh and Blood when he
said of the bread and cup, “This is my body”
and “This is my blood.”
Focus Question
Why did Christ institute the Sacrament of
the Eucharist?
So that he could be present sacramentally in his
Church even after his Ascension into Heaven.
God Prepares His People:
Fulfillment of the Old Covenant
and a New and
Everlasting Temple
Lesson Objectives
•God fulfilled the Old Testament covenants in
the Church
God Prepares His People:
Fulfillment of the Old Covenant
and a New and Everlasting Temple
Basic Questions
How did God fulfill the Old Testament
covenants in the Church?
Christ fulfilled the covenant with Adam by
becoming the new Adam, giving birth to the
Church, the new mother of the living.
continued
God Prepares His People:
Fulfillment of the Old Covenant
and a New and Everlasting Temple
Basic Questions
How did God fulfill the Old Testament
covenants in the Church?
Christ fulfilled the covenant with Abraham by
becoming the universal blessing in redeeming
mankind and founding the Church, the new and
perfect family of God.
continued
God Prepares His People:
Fulfillment of the Old Covenant
and a New and Everlasting Temple
Basic Questions
How did God fulfill the Old Testament
covenants in the Church?
Christ fulfilled the covenant with Moses by leading
his new people, the Church, out of the bondage of
sin and giving them the New Law, the
commandment of love.
continued
God Prepares His People:
Fulfillment of the Old Covenant
and a New and Everlasting Temple
Basic Questions
How did God fulfill the Old Testament
covenants in the Church?
Christ also fulfilled the covenant with David
by building a new Temple, his Body, the Church,
in which God dwells on earth.
continued
Guided Exercise
Conduct a focused reading of the paragraph
beginning, “In reversing the sin of Adam…”
(p. 48), using the following question:
How is Christ the new Adam?
Focus Question
What did the Protoevangelium announce?
It foretold the future victory of the Messiah over
the serpent.
Focus Question
According to St. Paul, what was the role of
obedience in the fall and the restoration?
Adam’s disobedience made all men sinners.
Christ’s obedience makes all men righteous.
Focus Question
How did God fulfill in Christ the promise he
made through Abraham?
God promised Abraham that through his
descendants all people would be blessed. Jesus Christ,
“the son of Abraham,” blessed the world by his
sacrificial Death on the Cross and by instituting the
Church, the Family of God.
Focus Question
How should the Christian faithful
imitate Abraham?
We should imitate the faith and obedience
of Abraham.
Focus Question
What does the assembly of the Israelites on
Mt. Sinai foreshadow?
The assembly of the Church.
Focus Question
How did Christ fulfill God’s covenant promise
with David?
Christ, the son of David, established an
everlasting kingdom.
Focus Question
What is the relationship between Christ’s
kingdom and the world?
Although it is ultimately “not of this world,”
Christ’s kingdom was still established in this world.
Therefore, it is a pilgrim Church journeying toward
its final end in heaven.
Focus Question
How is Christ the new Moses?
Just as Moses led God’s Chosen People out of
slavery in the Exodus and gave them the Ten
Commandments as their moral law, so too does
Christ lead us, the new People of God, the
Church, out of bondage to sin, giving us a new
commandment—that we love one another as
Christ has loved us.
Focus Question
What is the relationship between the Kingdom
of Israel and the Church?
The Church is the new Kingdom of Israel and
Christ is her king.
Focus Question
Why is the Kingdom of the Church called
“catholic”?
Catholic, in Greek, means universal. The Church
is meant to reach out to all nations and to include
all people.
Focus Question
How did Solomon fulfill an essential
component of God’s covenant with David?
He built the Temple in Jerusalem.
Focus Question
What was the nature of Solomon’s Temple?
It was a “house of prayer” for all the nations.
Focus Question
In the Old Testament, what did the Temple in
Jerusalem signify?
It signified God’s abiding presence with his people;
it was his dwelling place in the world.
Focus Question
How is Christ the new Temple?
With the coming of Christ, God’s presence among
his people reaches perfection; “And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us.” Christ’s bodily presence
in the world is the new and everlasting temple, for
Christ is Emmanuel, meaning “God with us.”
Focus Question
How did Christ identify his Body with
the Temple?
When the Jews asked Christ for a sign, he said,
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it
up.” Christ was foretelling the raising of his physical
body from the dead. He was also speaking of how he
would raise up his Mystical Body, the Church, which
is the continuation of his presence on earth.
Focus Question
What is the source of the life of the Church?
The Holy Spirit, who has dwelled within the
Church since Pentecost.
Focus Question
What are the living stones of Christ’s Temple?
They are Christians, members of the Body
of Christ.
Guided Exercise
Write and answer three focus questions
based on the section “A New and
Everlasting Covenant” (p. 51).
Names and Images
of the Church: Mystical
Body and Bride of Christ
Lesson Objectives
•The Church as the Mystical Body of Christ
•The Church as the Bride of Christ
Names and Images of the Church:
Mystical Body and Bride of Christ
Basic Questions
What is the meaning of the image of the Church
as the Mystical Body of Christ?
The Mystical Body of Christ is the faithful People
of God, who in a supernatural way become one
Body, with Christ as head. The Faithful are
brought into communion with one another through
their communion with Christ.
Names and Images of the Church:
Mystical Body and Bride of Christ
Basic Questions
What is the meaning of the image of the Church
as the Bride of Christ?
The Church as the Bride of Christ is an image
which highlights the purity and holiness that
Christ has bestowed upon the Church, analogous
to the close relationship between Adam and Eve
in marriage.
Focus Question
What does it mean to say that the Church is
a mystery?
It means that the reality of the Church is not
incomprehensible but rather inexhaustible.
Focus Question
What are the sources of our understanding of
the mystery of the Church?
Our understanding of the Church depends upon
God’s Revelation of her in Sacred Scripture and
Sacred Tradition.
Focus Question
As reflected in the New Testament, how did
the primitive Church come to an understanding
of herself ?
With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and
evangelical writers interpreted the Old Testament in
light of the Revelation of Christ. They reflected upon
the persons, events, and institutions through which God
had prepared the world for the Incarnation and Christ’s
establishing of the Church, giving those Old Testament
realities a new significance in her.
Guided Exercise
Choose one of the eight images of the Church
listed under “Images of the Church” (p. 54)
that you know the least about and write an
interpretation of what that image may mean.
Focus Question
Where are most of the teachings regarding the
Church as the Body of Christ found?
In the letters of St. Paul.
Focus Question
How did Christ reveal the essence of the
truth of the Church as the Body of Christ
when he revealed himself to St. Paul on the
road to Damascus?
Christ asked St. Paul why he was persecuting him,
whereas St. Paul thought he was persecuting Christ’s
followers. This reveals the intimate relationship
between Christ and the Church, where the two are
spoken of as one.
Focus Question
What is an example of how Christ associates
his own Body and our bodies?
Jesus said, “He who eats my body and drinks my
blood abides in me, and I in him.”
Focus Question
Is the Church simply a community of
members gathered around Christ?
No. The Church is united in Christ, as his Body.
Focus Question
How is the reception of the Eucharist
related to the communion of the members
of Christ’s Body?
The Faithful are brought into communion with one
another through communion with Christ.
Guided Exercise
Formulate and answer three of your
own focus questions on the section
“The Mystical Body of Christ” (p. 55).
Focus Question
Who is the head of the Mystical Body
of Christ?
Jesus Christ.
Focus Question
According to Pope Pius XII, where is the
Mystical Body of Christ found on earth?
It is found in the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic,
Roman Church.
Focus Question
What is the relationship between the diversity
of the members of the Body of Christ and
the unity of the Church?
Just as in the natural human body the various
parts play different functions, the different gifts
that the Holy Spirit gives to the various members
of the Body of Christ serve the welfare and unity
of the Church.
Focus Question
How is the Holy Spirit to the Church like the
soul is to the human body?
Just as the soul gives the body life and unity, the
Holy Spirit gives life, unity, and movement to the
Church through grace.
Focus Question
How do the individual members of the Body
of Christ receive life?
Through the Seven Sacraments, especially through
Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, the
three Sacraments of Initiation.
Focus Question
According to St. Paul, how is the relationship
between Christ and the Church like the
relationship between a husband and wife?
St. Paul said that Christ is the head of his Body,
the Church, in the same way that a husband is the
“head” of his wife.
Focus Question
According to Genesis, how many bodies do a
husband and wife form?
Just one; they are “one flesh.”
Extension:
This is a metaphor which describes a real
relationship, even though physically husband
and wife have separate human bodies.
Focus Question
What three dimensions does CCC 789 note in
regard to the Church as the Body of Christ?
(1) The unity of all the members with each other
as a result of their union with Christ; (2) Christ
as head of the Body; and (3) the Church as Bride
of Christ.
Focus Question
According to Genesis, what was Eve
for Adam?
Eve was both his bride and a part of himself.
Focus Question
How does the relationship between Eve and
Adam relate to the Church and Christ?
St. Paul recognizes that it is specifically as Christ’s
Bride that the Church is made “one flesh” with him
and is therefore truly his Body.
Focus Question
How long has the Church been referred to in
the feminine?
Since the time of the Apostles.
Focus Question
Why is the Church referred to as a “she”?
Because of the Church’s relationship to Jesus
Christ, which is described by St. Paul in terms of
marriage—the Church is the Bride of Christ.
Names and Images of the
Church: Family of God
Lesson Objectives
•The Church as the Family of God
Names and Images of the Church:
Family of God
Basic Questions
What is the meaning of the image of the Church
as the Family of God?
Family of God is a name of the Church derived
from the teachings of Christ, which highlight the
intimate communion that the Father offers to man
in the Person of Jesus Christ, in whom we are
made sons and daughters.
Focus Question
Is the Fatherhood of God a metaphor?
No. God is not just like a father. God is an eternal
and perfect father.
Focus Question
What Aramaic term did Jesus use to refer to
God the Father?
Abba, meaning “Father” or, still closer, “Daddy.”
Focus Question
What is one of Christ’s favorite images for
the Church?
He spoke often of the Family of God.
Focus Question
Who are the members of the household
of God?
God is the Father of the family, Christ the Master
of the house, and we are the children of the Father.
Focus Question
How does Matthew 12:49 describe the family
of God?
Christ said, “Whoever does the will of my Father
in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share
using the following question:
How does birth, covenant, and marriage relate
to Christ’s desire to form a new family on earth?
Focus Question
What does the term “family” mean for most
ancient cultures?
Family meant the extended family that included all
the descendants of one’s patriarch.
Focus Question
How does the lack of a word for “cousin” in
most ancient Semitic languages relate to the
notion of family?
In such tribes, everyone was child of a common
patriarch, so everyone was a brother or sister.
Focus Question
What was Christ’s family?
The nation of Israel and the Tribe of Judah.
Focus Question
How did Christ see family differently from
his peers?
Christ spoke of God as not merely the “God of
our fathers,” but as the universal Father of all
human beings.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to organize the ways we can
know we are God’s children and members of his family.
Way
We live in his house.
We are called by his name.
We eat at his table.
We share in his Flesh and Blood.
His Bride is our Mother.
We celebrate together.
We receive instruction and discipline from him.
Explanation
Focus Question
What is the nature of God’s Fatherhood?
God the Father is the eternal Father, just as Christ
is the eternal Son.
Focus Question
Is God’s Fatherhood created in the image of
human fatherhood?
No. St. Paul reminds us that God’s fatherhood is the
origin and standard of human fatherhood.
Extension:
Some have theorized that we anthropomorphize God,
projecting human fatherhood on him. However, this is
a notion that St. Paul explicitly rejected.
Focus Question
How can we know God our Father in a
personal way?
Through his Son, for “no one knows the Father
except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses
to reveal him.”
Names and Images of the
Church: People of God
and Kingdom of God
Lesson Objectives
•The Church as the People of God
•The Kingdom of God and the Davidic Covenant
Names and Images of the Church:
People of God and Kingdom of God
Basic Questions
What is the meaning of the image of the Church
as the People of God?
The image of the Church as the People of God
comes from the assembly of the Israelite
community on Mt. Sinai. Both assemblies reveal
that God ordinarily wills to save people as a
community rather than as individuals.
Names and Images of the Church:
People of God and Kingdom of God
Basic Questions
How does the Kingdom of God fulfill the
Davidic Covenant?
Christ’s kingdom fulfills the primary and
secondary characteristic of the Davidic covenant.
Focus Question
To what is the image of the Church as the
People of God most closely related?
The assembly of Israel at Mt. Sinai.
Focus Question
What happened to the assembly of Israel
at Mt. Sinai?
God made his covenant with Moses and the
Israelites, promising that if they kept the covenant,
they would be his Chosen People, a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation.
Focus Question
What does God’s decision to form a people,
rather than saving men individually, reflect?
This reflects the social nature of man.
Focus Question
What is the social nature of man?
The human person always lives and functions
in relation to others. We are made to live in
communities. We have received all we have
from someone else, whether it be the gift of life,
our knowledge and skills, or even the truth of
the Gospel.
Focus Question
Who were the first People of God?
Israel.
Focus Question
What was Israel’s mission?
Israel was chosen and commissioned by God to bring
all the nations into the communion with him that he
had desired from the beginning.
Focus Question
What was the outcome of this mission?
Israel failed.
Focus Question
What did God promise, despite this failure?
God promised a new covenant about which he said,
“I will put my law within them, and I will write it
upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people” (Jer 31:33).
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share
using the following question:
How did St. Francis go about obeying Christ’s
command that he “rebuild my Church”?
Focus Question
What is the most common image that Christ
used to describe the Church?
The Kingdom of God.
Focus Question
What does Christ’s lineage establish?
That Christ is the Son of David.
Focus Question
How is Christ’s kingdom fundamentally
different from David’s?
Christ’s kingdom is not of this world, not a
temporal kingdom.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to show how the seven main
features of God’s covenant with David take on new
meaning of the kingdom established by Jesus Christ.
Feature
Royal Dynasty
Son of God
Messiah
Jerusalem and Mt. Zion as Israel’s center
Temple as visible covenant sign
Worldwide rule
Everlasting
New Meaning
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to show how the three
additional or secondary features of God’s covenant with
David are fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
Feature
Queen Mother
Prime minister
Thank offering
New Meaning