Ecclesiology: Chapter 13
Chapter 13: The Messianic Community and Individuals Pannenberg begins with a discussion of the fellowship of individuals with Jesus Christ and the church as the fellowship of believers. The church aims its missionary message to the salvation of individuals. Jesus addressed his message of the imminent rule of God to individuals rather than the development of a political program. He will want to explore the relation between the fellowship of individuals with Jesus Christ and their gathering in the church. One, Pannenberg discusses the church as the fellowship of believers and the body of Christ. As the body of Christ, the image addresses the inseparable union of believers with Christ. We see this reality particularly in Word and Sacrament. The unity of the body is one we perceive only through faith. Two, he discusses the mediating of the fellowship of believers by the common confession. The confession of...