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"Bound to Love" — The Covenant Ecclesiology of Paul S. Fiddes

“Bound to Love” ― The Covenant Ecclesiology of Paul S. Fiddes

Lindsay ROBERTSON

This paper explores the distinctive Baptist contribution to ecclesiology made by Paul S. Fiddes, Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Oxford. Fiddes's contention is that the shape of our ecclesiology is determined by the nature of the Trinity, which implies that church is a covenant community.

His particular understanding of the Trinity as movement of being characterized by relationships in which we can participate, means two things: first, the communion in God of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are acts of covenant; second, our participation in God means that believers enter into both a vertical covenant with God (this is common to the Reformers) and also enter into a horizontal covenant with each other (a distinctively Baptist understanding). Hence, church is a covenant community, where members bind themselves to walk in God's ways but also bind themselves in promise to each other to have mutual oversight and care.

After exploring the background of this view, especially in Barth's Trinitarian thinking, and discussing the Trinitarian nature of church, various implications of this for ecclesiology are then given, such as the role of the church, relations between clergy and members, authority structures, etc .

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Message from the Editor of Issue 48

Editor's Note: Wu Guojie Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the number of people infected worldwide has exceeded 250 million, and the number of deaths has exceeded 5 million. This number does not include poor third-world countries with weak testing capabilities and inability to determine the cause of death. Due to the epidemic, the lives, economy, and travel of people around the world have been affected to varying degrees; for example, people have to wear masks when going out, maintain social distance, the number of gatherings is limited, quarantine is required when entering the country, travel has been greatly reduced, related industries have laid off employees, and unemployment has Rates thus increase and so on. In this environment, church gatherings have also been affected to a considerable extent. During the period when the epidemic was severe and gatherings were restricted, physical church gatherings were suspended, and online live broadcasts and video conversations became necessary alternative modes; even if the epidemic eased and physical gatherings reopened, online Synchronization has also become the new normal. In the face of this disaster, which is called the "pandemic of the century," what resources does the Christian faith have that can help the church respond and turn the crisis into an opportunity? This issue of "Sandow Journal" takes "Epidemics and Disasters" as the theme, and brings together different scholars to discuss it from the perspectives of the two Testaments, doctrinal theology, and practical theology, hoping to enlighten modern Christians on how to deal with the challenges of this era. ...