The Theosis of the Body of Christ

From the Early British Apostolics to a Pentecostal Trinitarian Ecclesiology

Series: 

Author:
Jonathan Black
In The Theosis of the Body of Christ: From the early British Apostolics to a Pentecostal Trinitarian Ecclesiology Jonathan Black builds on the ecclesiology of one of the UK’s original Pentecostal movements, the Apostolic Church, demonstrating the connection between ecclesiology and the Pentecostal distinctive of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. These early British Pentecostals were not naïve fundamentalists with the addition of a few Pentecostal distinctives, but rather engaged in significant theological reflexion, rooted in Trinitarian theology, resulting in a theology of theosis which resonates in many ways with the Great Tradition, yet is held together with a forensic/Reformation approach to justification. This approach then opens new possibilities in understanding the theological nature of the Pentecostal baptism in the Spirit.
Copyright Year:
2020
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ISBN:
978-90-04-41223-1
Publication:
06 Apr 2020
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ISBN:
978-90-04-41222-4
Publication:
09 Apr 2020
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Jonathan Black, Ph.D. (2016), University of Chester, is Lecturer in Theology at Regents Theological College, West Malvern, UK.
"The author is to be congratulated upon an original book contributing to Pentecostal theology and history as well as to other streams within the worldwide church. B.'s wide scholarship is articulated in clear and precise writing. The book is structured into manageable sections; judgements are made without fear or favour; new and hitherto liguistically inaccessible documents have been translated into English; and the concept of theosis, for so long overlooked, is confidently introduced into current discussion. B.'s voice is an important one and his contribution deserve to resonate in many theological circles." — William Kay, Bangor, U.K., in: Theologische Literaturzeitung Volume 147.11 (2022).

"Theosis is often viewed as a prerogative of Eastern Orthodox doctrine and as incompatible with dominant evangelical teachings or as foreign to Pentecostal theology. Jonathan Black challenges these stereotypes by offering surprising resources from British Apostolic and Pentecostal ecclesiology that reveal how theosis as part of the search for a definition of Spirit baptism also served as ground for an ontological theology of the church as the totus Christus. This book will delight historians with new material and fresh readings of renowned leaders while breaking new ground for a Pentecostal ecclesiology rooted in the headship of Christ and the eternal purpose of the triune God." — Professor Wolfgang Vondey, Professor of Christian Theology and Pentecostal Studies, University of Birmingham, U.K.

"For almost a generation, Pentecostal scholars engaged in ecumenical dialogues with the Catholic Church have noted that sacramental beliefs and practices are not entirely foreign to the movement. But these are often seen as minor aberrations. Black’s in-depth historical study of the early Apostolics is likely to force a major rethink. Future constructive works in Pentecostal ecclesiology cannot afford to ignore this important book." — Professor Simon Chan taught at Trinity Theological College, Singapore and is currently the editor of Asia Journal of Theology
 Abbreviations
 Preface: Is a Pentecostal Theology of Theosis Even a Possibility (and why that matters even if you aren’t a Pentecostal)
  Defining Theosis
  Evangelical Protestant Theosis?
  Not Just for Pentecostals

1Introduction: Why Draw on the Early British Apostolics for a Pentecostal EcclesiologicalRessourcement

2The Spirit and the Bride: Pneumatology for a Pentecostal Ecclesiology
 2.1 The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
  2.1.1.Classical Pentecostal Attempts at DefiningBHS
   2.1.1.1 Myer Pearlman: ‘Enduement with Power’
   2.1.1.2 Ralph M. Riggs: ‘The Spirit Himself’
   2.1.1.3 Harold Horton: ‘That we might receive power’
   2.1.1.4 George Jeffreys: ‘The Life will flow out’
   2.1.1.5 Conclusions from Pearlman, Riggs, Horton and Jeffreys
   2.1.1.6 Donald Gee: An Alternative Classical Pentecostal Understanding
  2.1.2 Searching for an Apostolic Definition of Baptism in the Holy Spirit in Foundational Dogmatic Writings
   2.1.2.1 The Tenets of the Apostolic Church
   2.1.2.2 Fundamental Truths (Guiding Principles)
   2.1.2.3 The Guidebook of the Apostolic Church
   2.1.2.4 Fundamentals
   2.1.2.5 Athrawiaethau Sylfeinol Eglwys y Ffydd Apostolaidd yn Nghymru
 2.1.3Searching for a Definition of Baptism in the Holy Spirit in the Early Apostolic Theological Thinkers
   2.1.3.1 D.P. Williams: Baptised in the Cruciform God
   2.1.3.2 Frank Hodges: Baptism of Love
   2.1.3.3 T.N. Turnbull: Filled with the Spirit Who Speaks
   2.1.3.4 W.R. Thomas: Communion with the Triune God
 2.1.4The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Early Apostolic Ecclesiology
   2.1.4.1 Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the Inception of the Church
   2.1.4.2 Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Membership of the Body of Christ
 2.1.5The Trinitarian Nature of Spirit Baptism in Early Apostolic Thought
   2.1.5.1 Spirit Baptism and Theosis
 2.2 The Spirit and the Ecclesial Fullness
  2.2.1 D.P. Williams
  2.2.2 Thomas Rees
  2.2.3 W.R. Thomas
 2.3Conclusion

3The Early Apostolics and the Trinity
 3.1 D.P. Williams and Thomas Rees: The Trinity and the Trinitarian Undergirding of All Theology
 3.2 The Trinitarian Hymnody of D.P. Williams
  3.2.1 The Economic Trinity
  3.2.2 The Immanent Trinity
  3.2.3 The Trinitarian Covenant of Redemption
  3.2.4 The Eternal Purpose of the Triune God
 3.3 The Significance of the Role of Election and the Covenant of Redemption in D.P. Williams’ theology for Apostolic Trinitarian Thought
 3.4 W.R. Thomas’ Italian Trilogy and the Trinity
 3.5 Hugh Dawson’s Strong Trinitarianism and Its Detachment from the Other Theological Loci
 3.6 W.A.C. Rowe’s One Lord, One Faith and the Drift from the Three Persons to the One Substance

4Totus Christus: The Church which Ontologically is the Body of Christ in the Theology of D.P. Williams
 4.1 The Beginnings of Williams’ Apostolic Ecclesiology: The Athrawiaethau Sylfeinol
 4.2 The Church in the Thought of D.P. Williams: The Body of the Incarnate Word
  4.2.1 The Church as the Body of the Crucified Christ
   4.2.1.1 Theologia Crucis
   4.2.1.2 The Breaking of Bread
  4.2.2 The Church as the Body of the Risen Christ
  4.2.3 The Church as the Body of the Ascended Christ
   4.2.3.1 The Spirit Outpoured Upon the Body
   4.2.3.2 The Ordained Ministry
  4.2.4 The Church as the Body of the Coming Christ

5The Eternal Purpose of God: An Ecclesiology of Theosis
 5.1 D.P. Williams and the Eternal Purpose
  5.1.1 The Purpose of the Father: The Trinitarian Origin and Basis of the Eternal Purpose
  5.1.2 Sons in the Son: The Church’s Participation in the Trinity
  5.1.3 Now Through the Spirit: The Holy Spirit’s Role in the Outworking of the Eternal Purpose and the Experience of Theosis
 5.2 The Eternal Purpose in the thought of Other Key early Apostolic Writers
  5.2.1 The Prophetic Theology of William Jones Williams: The Election of
 sons to be Found in God’s Essence
 5.2 William Cathcart: Inheriting the Son’s Relationship to His Father
  5.2.3 Thomas Rees: The Masterpiece of Love
  5.2.4 W.R. Ricketts: The Body Baptised in Love
  5.2.5 W.H. Lewis: The Outworking of Eternity through the Cross
  5.2.6 W.R. Thomas: The Eternal Purpose of the Totus Christus

6Concorporeal Theosis: Toward an Apostolic and Pentecostal Ecclesiology
 6.1 The Body of Christ, the Crucified and Risen Head
  6.1.1 Concorporeal with the Son
   6.1.1.1 Cyril of Alexandria on Theosis through the Body of Christ
   6.1.1.2 The Apostolic C onnection of Theosis with the Totus Christus
   6.1.1.3 The Body of Christ as an Ontological Reality
   6.1.1.4 The Theosis of the Church as the Eternal Purpose of the Triune God
    6.1.1.4.1 Summing up a ll Things in Christ
    6.1.1.4.2 Partakers of the Divine Nature
    6.1.1.4.3 Sonship in the Son
    6.1.1.4.4 Transfiguration
    6.1.1.4.5 Conformity to the Image of Christ
    6.1.1.4.6 The Formula of Exchange (Admirabile Commercium)
   6.1.1.5 Ecclesial Theosis and Love
  6.1.2 Grace, Theosis, Justification and Pentecostal Theology
  6.1.3 The Body Under Christ’s Headship
   6.1.3.1 The Authority of the Head: Headship Ministries and the Word
   6.1.3.2 Supply from the Head: A Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet in the Breaking of Bread
 6.2 The Body of the Father’s Election in Christ
  6.2.1 Predestined for Sonship
  6.2.2 The Priority of the Church
  6.2.3 Three Things before the Foundation of the World
 6.3 The Body Baptised by Christ in the Spirit
  6.3.1 Filled with all the Fullness of God: Theosis and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
  6.3.2 What is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?
  6.3.3 The Meaning of the Spirit’s Personal Presence in the Pentecostal Baptism: Sonship, Power and Love
  6.3.4 Immersion in the Trinity
   6.3.4.1 Baptism of the Holy Spirit as an Experience of Theosis
   6.3.4.2 An Ecclesial Experience
   6.3.4.3 Corporatizing the Experience: Baptised in the Spirit into the Body
 6.4Conclusion: The Body which Lives in the Trinity (or Concorporeal Theosis)

7Conclusion

 Bibliography
 Index
All interested in Pentecostal systematic theology and ecclesiology, British Pentecostal history and theology, theological understandings of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and Western versions of theosis.
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Publisher:
Brill
Language:
English
Pages:
xx, 265 pp.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004412231

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