Pastor Terrie Beede's "Studies in Theology" series, grounded in Paul's admonition in 1 Timothy 4:16 to "take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine," continued with The Doctrine of The Church Part 2: Attributes and Apostolicity. The session underscored that doctrine is a "living and vibrant" truth, directly impacting a believer's life.
Reviewing the previous session, Beede reminded listeners that the church was inaugurated at Pentecost (Acts 2) and defined by the Greek term ecclesia, meaning "the called out ones," permanently separated from sin and evil (1 Peter 2:9). The church is called out of the world, called together into one body, and called for God's purposes of obedience and fellowship. The universal church comprises all born-again believers, with local church membership in the early church based simply on new birth and participation. The church is both universal and local, transcending ethnic, racial, social, gender, terrestrial (appearing in heaven), and temporal boundaries, thus reflecting God's unity as one body and bride of Christ.
The core of this session focused on the attributes of the church. Drawing from historical creeds, Beede identified three traditional attributes from the Apostles' Creed: the church is "one, holy, Catholic" (with "Catholic" understood as universal). The Nicene Creed expanded this to include a fourth attribute: the church is apostolic.
Beede addressed the modern disinterest in creeds, explaining that while they are "words of men," they are the product of "godly men" who painstakingly arrived at these statements in response to urgent doctrinal needs and emerging heresies in the early church. He emphasized that creeds are not scripture but serve as valuable teaching tools, deriving their authority by "proclaim[ing], appeal[ing] to and point[ing] to the word of God".
The attribute of apostolicity was explored in depth, meaning "of or pertaining to the apostles". A fundamental principle articulated was: "if it is true, it is not new; and if it is new, it is not true". A church's apostolicity is determined by its commitment to teaching "the word of God and only the word of God". Introducing human wisdom from sources like psychology, finance, or corporate management into scriptural teaching renders it "non-apostolic" and "unchristian," as it implicitly denies the sufficiency of scripture. The early church "continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine" (Acts 2:42), demonstrating that this doctrine, though simple enough for a child, is also profound enough for a lifelong scholar. The message of an apostolic church must be centered on the gospel, and "new and novel interpretations" that deviate from the apostles' original teachings indicate a departure from apostolicity.
This session concluded by laying the "fitting groundwork" for the subsequent discussion on the "marks or notes of the church"—the practical identifiers of a true church, firmly rooted in this understanding of apostolic faithfulness to God's Word.