그리스도의 몸인 교회

The Church as the Body of Christ: The Theological Foundations of Calvin's Proposal of the Reformation of the Church Government

The aim of this study is to analyze Calvin's interpretation of the biblical metaphor of the church as "the body of Christ" in order to explain how his interpretation provides theological foundation of his practical proposal of the reformation of the ecclesiastical government. Calvin argues that the biblical metaphor of "the body of Christ" teaches the spiritual identity of the invisible church. He then emphasizes three important ecclesiological points in this metaphor: Christ's headship, communication of the diverse gifts, and mutual love among members. These three points, furthermore, are theological foundations of Calvin's proposal of the reformation of the visible church government. This reflects Calvin's ecclesiological conviction that the spiritual characteristics of the invisible church should be the standards of the continuous reformation of the visible church. The headship of Christ, the first ecclesiological point of Calvin's interpretation of the church as 'the body of Christ', is the theological foundation upon which he rejects the papacy of the Roman Church and proposes the new idea of pastors. In particular, Calvin suggests the multistaged election of pastors, including the consent of the congregation, because he thinks this methods as the most suitable method to realize Christ's sole headship in the ecclesiastical government. The second point of communication of diverse gifts is the theological foundation for Calvin to refute the hierarchical system of Roman Church and propose the fourfold office as the new ecclesiastical government. The ecclesiastical offices should be determined and understood not by the status of the members, but by Gods' inner calling which can be testified by the proper gifts. Calvin finds the third point of mutual love as the theological foundation of his idea that social welfare is one of the essential roles of the church. For this idea Calvin tried to recover the office of deacons and suggest the various ministries of pastoral care. If the reformed theology believes that the church should continuously be reformed according to the Word of God, Calvin's theological standards of the church as "the body of Christ" still have meanings for the present Korean Church.