Write a 6-page review of the article on Ecclesiology to summarize its content and express

your opinion regarding the validity of the writer’s conclusions and how effectively

he has communicated his ideas.

In a thought-provoking article written for The Journal of Christian Theological Research,

Randall Otto argued that the notion of an “invisible church” was a polemical construction

by the Reformers to comply with the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds regarding the “holy

catholic church”. As the Protestant churches fragmented into different denominations at

the institutional level, it was necessary to conceive of unity at the spiritual level. In its

classical formulation, the Westminster Confession described the invisible church as

constituted by “the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered

into one, under Christ the head.”1 Although the visible church is also recognized as

universal in the sense of transcending race, language and culture, priority is given to the

invisible church which consists of saints past, present and future known only in the

secret, decretive will of God.

Otto argued that the idea of an otherworldly, ‘phantasmal’ church made up of even those

who have yet to exist seemed suspiciously Platonic and downplayed the concrete here-

and-now presence of the church. He wrote, “If the true church is already made up of all

the elect, regardless of existence, then what happens on earth in the human response to

God’s revelation in Jesus Christ appears inconsequential.”2 In the effort to correct

1
A. A. Hodge, The Confession of Faith: A Handbook of Christian Doctrine Expounding The Westminster
Confession, (London: Banner of Trust, 1961), Chapter 25, Section 1and 2, page 310
2
Randall Otto, “The Remnant Church”, Journal of Christian Theological Research 7 (2002), page 2,
http://www.luthersem.edu/ctrf/JCTR/default.htm#Volume%207 (20 November, 2007).

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problems associated with the distinction between visible and invisible church, he also

suggested that the conception of individual election itself could be in need of renovation.

In a sweeping survey of biblical theology, we are introduced to the Reformed emphasis

of continuity of the people of God in both old and new covenants. The marks of a church

could be seen even in the nation of Israel, in which the sacraments were administered (i.e.

circumcision as initiatory rite), a community set apart for worship of God (i.e.

deliverance from Egypt and atonement sacrifices), ruled by ecclesiastical leaders

(discipline for immoral behaviors and covenant-breaking) and the Word of God was

proclaimed (i.e. revelation at Sinai). Although outward forms have changed, the New

Testament church is essentially the same people of God. In the Old Testament, the

Hebrew word qāhāl means “an organized and assembled multitude” and ‘ēdâ means a

congregation or company assembled together by appointment. While these words could

describe an invisible assembly in some contexts, Otto claimed that it always referred to

‘the angelic counsel’, rather than humans.3 He favored the idea of a ‘remnant church’

who remained faithful to the teaching, discipline and worship of YHWH within the larger

covenantal community. There is a recurring OT theme of God choosing to save an

ecclesiola in ecclesia (a small church within the church) that runs through the Flood

narrative, the faithful who stood firm during national apostasy, the re-gathering of

Israelites from the exile and others.

3
The texts cited for this category of word usage were Psalm 82:1, 89:5 and 88:6. Ibid., page 3

2
On the other hand, the New Testament church is also made up of a visibly gathered

people. They have identified publicly with Christ in baptism and partook of the Lord’s

Supper. Members who unrepentantly indulged in immorality were to be expelled for the

sake of its purity (1 Corinth. 5:1-13). Describing the church, Otto wrote, “There are

numerous local manifestations of the church, but they are not merely parts of a greater

whole, but rather the whole represented in each community. Thus, for example, “the

church of God, which is at Corinth” (1 Corinth. 1:2) may be said to be the representation

of the whole church as it is visibly present in Corinth.” The necessity of the visible

church was found in Calvin’s famous quote that “those to whom God is Father the church

may also be Mother.” However, outward membership in the covenant community is not

enough if not demonstrated in persevering faith and obedience. There would be people

outwardly associated with the NT church who were led astray by sin or idolatry (Hebrew

3:12).

In the last section of this article, the author discussed the general perception that the

notion of an invisible church was influenced by the classical doctrine of predestination.

He was concerned that the idea of election incapable of outward validation is

incompatible with biblical injunction to remain in Christ, demonstrated by fruitfulness in

righteous living (John 15:4-5).4 Favoring a corporate view of election, divine election

unto salvation should be viewed as belonging to the covenant community, rather than

isolated individuals. There are significant implications to these ecclesial proposals:

Firstly, although people are not Christians by outward association with the covenant

4
“The inscrutability of the divine decree to election should not become the basis for the inscrutability of the
people of God.” Ibid., page 11.

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community, they cannot be Christians if “they do not identify with the corporate body in

the sacrament of baptism, in regular worship, and in the fellowship of the risen Christ in

the sacrament of holy communion”. Mere intellectual assent without outward

demonstration is as salvific as an “invisible ark” in the middle of a flood. Secondly, it

checks the bane of ‘lone-ranger Christianity’ where people claim to belong to an invisible

church but have little concern for the visible actions of discipline by church authorities

who act as God’s representatives (Heb 13:17).

Overall, I find the article helpful in articulating some possible theological reasons why

many Protestant Christians have a low emphasis on ecclesiology. Today, the

phenomenon of ‘church shopping’ is commonplace and discipline is difficult to enforce

as a disgraced leader could just pack and join another church down the street. The author

communicated his ideas with generous quotations from Reformed creeds and technical

terms that would be appropriate for a scholarly readership. A non-Reformed reader may

have issues with presuppositions about the continuity of the OT/NT church and

predestination that he took for granted. However, I felt that his case would be stronger if

he unpacked how an invisible church differs from the ‘remnant church’, a term he

preferred, leaving the impression that it could be a semantic squabble. The only

difference seems to lie in the assertion that the remnant church would publicly

demonstrate “election in saving union with Christ through abiding in him and bringing

forth fruit for his glory”. I doubt the classical formulation of the ‘invisible church’ would

deny that the elect would bear visible fruit, but the issue lies in our inability to see the

intentions and motives underlying the visible actions of the ‘remnant’.5 Only the Lord
5
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, (Inter-varsity Press : Grand Rapids, 1994), page 855

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infallibly knows those who are His (2 Tim 2:19). Although the visible marks of the true

church are necessary, it does not guarantee our ability to discern anyone’s spiritual status

with absolute certainty. However, it needs to be said that if a person is unrepentantly

living in rebellion against God, then he could not seek recourse in belonging to a

supposedly ‘invisible church’.

In any case, I find the emphasis on predestination as communitarian rather than

individualistic resonates with Stanley Grenz’s vision to rediscover in God’s redemptive

purpose “the establishment of the eschatological community – a redeemed people

dwelling in a renewed earth, enjoying reconciliation with their God, fellowship with each

other and harmony with all creation. Consequently, the goal of community lies at the

heart of God’s actions in history”.6 Of course, corporate election does not preclude

individual persons. But if we lose sight of the centrality of the church in God’s plan, then

it exists merely as a collection of disparate, autonomous individuals who by social

contract agreed to come together for pragmatic reasons like personal growth or a means

for evangelism7. Is it any wonder then that the model of a pastor today more closely

resembles a therapist or a C.E.O.? There is nothing inherently wrong with self

development or efficiency, but something is terribly amiss when the church exists for my

wants and operates on mere pragmatic basis.8 The church is not a soteriologically

6
Stanley Grenz, Revisioning Evangelical Theology, (Inter-varsity Press: Downers Grove, 1993], page 158
7
For a helpful discussion of Enlightenment individualism affecting the church, see Kevin Vanhoozer, The
Futures Of Evangelicalism: Issues and Prospects, edited by Craig Bartholomew, Robin Parry and Andrew
West, (Inter-varsity Press: Leicester, 2003), page 57-58
8
“What our troubled churches need, therefore, is what might be called a “double Copernican revolution” in
which we finally view God – not clergy and not laity – as the center of all things.” See John G. Stackhouse,
Evangelical Landscape: Facing Critical Issues Of The Day, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), page
41

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irrelevant option, but the embodiment of the gospel signifying the reign of God has

dawned.

The notion of ‘invisible church’ has been stressed at the expense of the institutional

church, but it need not be so. Also, we should caution against swinging to the other

extreme of being overconfident judges of others’ spiritual standing before God on the

basis of what we could empirically discover. The solution is not found in reversing the

focus on the church as the locus of authority. Vanhoozer proposed to keep both the

theological/spiritual aspects and the sociological/visible aspects of the church in mind at

all times. This is done with ‘eschatological imagination’, which he explained to be ‘the

ability to see creation as it is being transformed and brought into conformity with

Christ… to see the visible church in terms of the already-not yet tension.”9 For example,

present reality of schisms between churches does not define us for our true identity is the

eschatological community as sign of the age to come. Hence, we must also become what

we are as an embodied foreshadow of God’s universal purpose in the gospel to reconcile

a diverse people and renew them in a gathered community. This is especially relevant in a

pluralistic society in Malaysia where racial, economic and religious fault-lines create

societal tensions. Could the gospel provide a more complete vision of the nature of

community that all human religious traditions aspire to achieve since it embodies the

highest understanding of who God actually is?10 The remnant church urgently needs to

visibly mirror the Triune nature of the eternal God Himself as “plurality-in-unity” before

a watching world.

9
Ibid., page 80
10
Stanley Grenz, Renewing the Center: Evangelical Theology In A Post-Theological Era, (Grand Rapids:
Baker, 2000), pages 284 – 286

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 Bibliography

1. Evangelical Landscape: Facing Critical Issues Of The Day, John G. Stackhouse,

Jr., Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2002

2. Renewing the Center: Evangelical Theology In A Post-Theological Era, Stanley

Grenz, Baker: Grand Rapids, 2000

3. Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem, Inter-varsity Press: Grand Rapids, 1994

4. The Futures Of Evangelicalism: Issues and Prospects, edited by Craig

Bartholomew, Robin Parry and Andrew West, Inter-varsity Press: Leicester, 2003

5. The Remnant Church, Randall Otto, Journal of Christian Theological Research 7,

2002

6. The Younger Evangelicals, Robert Webber, Baker: Grand Rapids, 2002

Note: I have completed all the required readings in Theology IV Course