Basic Questions:
What is God's cosmic plan for man?
What is the Church?
What is the Kindom of God?
The Church/Kindom
God created man to partake in his divine life.
Man rejected it.
God sought out man to reconcile him and restore him to what he was created for
The Son brought redemption by his Pashcal Mystery and preached of the Kindom of God
He instituted a New Covenant in a New Passover and New Paschal Lamb
The New Chosen People, New Priesthood in this New Covenant he established and called the Church, with Peter as his Rock
He formed the apostles and taught them about th Kindom of Gos preparing them for the reception of the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifying grace God created us to participate in
It is in the Church, establish by Christ, that the Holy Spirit and sanctifying grace is received for our transformation and salvation
What is God's plan for man?
- God's Plan for man
- Share in his divine life
- Inaugurated by creation/salvation history
- Reached fullness with Christ and his Church
- Will be fulfilled at end time
- When all who cooperated with grace are gathered together in the universal Church
How does God make it possible for man to participate in the divine life?
- Man has a share in divine life through:
- The Incarnation
- The graces if the redemption
- Example: Apostles receive grace of the Holy Spirit after "I believe"
- I believe is a necessary requirement, but it is not the source of grace or means by which we receive it
- Mediated through the Church Christ founded
What is the Church?
- The Church is the New Assembly of God's people, redeemed by Christ, and is the instrument of this redemption
