The Church

Doctrine of the Church by Edmund Clowney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A solid treatment of the church from a generation ago.

Clowney begins with an introduction surveying the contemporary church (in this case, of the 60s and 70s). Its pitfalls were to socialize, secularize and sacramentalize the church. He then considers the church as the people of God, the kingdom and body of Christ, and the fellowship of the Spirit.

Packing with theological gold and insight, Clowney critiques the ecumenical movement along the way, as failing to reject heresy for the absolute principle of unity. He incorporates the Old Testament revelation of Israel as the people of God seamlessly into an understanding of His precious, redeemed people.

I read this 60 page booklet for a sermon on the church and found it very helpful theologically. There isn't much application, which isn't a fault as it was written for a different audience. Church elders would especially profit from reading this.



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