Chapter One

In Class Reading

 Read pages 2-6

In-Class

 Divide into 6 groups. Each group will answer one of the questions on p. 3. Each group will choose a spokesman who will report the answer to the entire class.

Names

 What are some names for “The Church”?

 The Family of God  The People of God  The Mystical Body of Christ  The Kingdom of Heaven  The Temple of the Holy Spirit 

The Bride of Christ

 The Sacrament of Salvation 

The Body of Christ

Names

 What are some names in the Old Testament?

 The Assembly (Congregation) of the Lord (YHWH) ○ ○ Or “The Assembly of God” Or just “The Assembly”  The Children of Israel  The Nation of Israel  My People (Ammi)

Names

 What do these names tell you about the Church?

 Community of people  Related to God

The Plan

 What was God’s plan for humanity from all eternity?

 Think: Who is God? What is God (HINT: Three in …)?

 Answer: God is Community

The Plan

 Answer: God’s Plan from Eternity was Communion with Man ○ Share in the Divine Life  IMPORTANT: This was the plan

before

sin. Sin did not change God’s plan. It simply made it necessary for God to clean up our mess first before going back to His original plan.

 The plan illustrated (we’ve got pictures…)

Who is Missing?

The Plan

 How does God —the holy, the unseen— bring man to the table with Him?

 How do we share in God’s Divine Life?

 Why must there be 2 or 3 persons in God?

 What does this tell you about the importance of humans?

 How does the creation of the world illustrate this?

 What does this tell you about the Church?

The Plan

 Why must God gradually unveil His plan?

 Because we are children, we learn gradually, over time  ○ Adam & Eve were morally and pedagogically children Because of sin, we can’t handle the (fullness of) Truth ○ Too much is distorted due to the loss of Original Holiness and Original Justice

Summary

 Why did God create man?

 Why is it important to remember that man is made

imago Dei

?  Why is it wrong to say that God is in every person?

Terms

 What is

salvation history

?

 When does it begin?

 In whom does it culminate?

 Has it ended?

 What is

moral law

?

 Where is it found?

 What is a

covenant

?

 At least two key parts to this definition

Covenants

 God uses covenants  To unite Himself to His People  To reveal gradually His salvation history  To prepare His people for the coming of the Christ

Covenants

 Five men, Five covenants  Adam  Noah 

Abraham

 Moses 

David

Covenants

 What does St Irenaeus say about covenants?

 Two covenants – Old & New  Salvation history = series of covenants  Covenants express ○ ○ ○ God’s love for creation God’s forgiveness God’s desire to redeem humanity (There’s more)

Covenants

 Covenants build on each other  Jesus is the culmination of all covenants ○ He restores what was lost by Original Sin ○ Baptism into Christ is the key for restoration

Covenant with Adam

 REVIEW: What was God’s covenant with Adam?

 God is Father  Adam is obedient caretaker of creation  Adam lives in relationship with God ○ In His “image and likeness”  How do we keep this covenant?

 Taking care of creation  Worshipping God

Covenant with Adam

 Why not the Sabbath Day today?

 Jesus is the culmination of God’s covenant  The restoration (resurrection) makes all the difference

Adam’s Disobedience

 Review: Read Genesis 3.1-7  What was the first sin of Adam and Eve sin?

 HINT: Not eating. Eating merely shows what was already believed

Adam’s Disobedience

 What tree did Adam & Eve eat from?

  Is knowledge, curiosity evil or bad?

Were Eve’s eyes opened?

 She knew good and evil —but in the same way that a 3 year old learns evil when a person is shot in from of him or her

Adam’s Disobedience

 What are at least 3 things that Adam & Eve suffered as a result of their sin?

 What did they bring into the world?

 What is spiritual death? How is it different from physical death?

  Which is worse? Why?

Spiritual death you do to yourself, and God will not force you to change your heart toward Him  Which story in Genesis 4 shows the result of sin?

Plan for Restoration

 What is the

Protoevangelium

?

 Find it in Genesis 3  How did God renew His covenant with Adam?

 THINK: Protoevangelium  THINK: Seth

Covenant with Noah

 What is God’s covenant with Noah?

 Read Genesis 9.1-11  Rainbow and…  Don’t forget Shem

Terms

 What is remote preparation?

 Earlier  Why does God use remote preparation?

 What is immediate preparation?

 Later  Who is the prophet for immediate preparation?

Call & Response

 What was God’s covenant with Abram?

 Three points  What was Abram’s response?

 Faith  Actions (at least 2)  NOTE: Faith always shows itself in action. See James 2.14-24

Call & Response

 14 What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works ? Can his faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead .

Call & Response

 18 22 But some one will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe shown, you foolish fellow, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 You see that —and shudder. 20 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works Do you want to be , 23 scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. and the 24 . 19 You You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Arrival

    What are two things that made God’s covenant with Abram hard to believe?

  No son Land filled with Canaanites So Abram had to struggle and wrestle and strive to be faithful. It did not come easily; it took work.

Why the change in Abram’s name?

 New person Why circumcision?

 A sign of how real, incarnate, God’s covenant is

Isaac

   Who is Isaac?

How did God use Isaac to test Abraham’s faith?

 Why did God test Abraham?

What was Abraham’s response?

 How is Isaac a type of Jesus?

 Mt Moriah  What else in the story of Isaac is a type of the sacrifice of Jesus?

 Ram

“Father of all who believe”

 How did God fulfill His covenant with Abraham?

 Land  Blessing/Great Name  Kings  Why is Abraham the father of all who believe?

 What will happen later that will severely test the faith of Abraham’s descendants as the chosen people?

God Calls Moses

 Who is Moses?

 Where was he born?

 Who was his foster mother?

 What is his ethic background?

 Why did he leave Egypt?

 Why did he return to Egypt?

Burning Bush

     What is the basic story of the burning bush?

What key thing happens to Moses at the burning bush?

What key question does Moses ask God?

What is God’s answer?

What does God’s answer tell us about God?

 He is a personal being, not a “divine force” ○ So we can have a relationship with Him; share His divine life; communion in Him  He is what is ○ Unchanging, eternal, source of all existence

The Exodus

 What is the basic story of the Exodus?

 What does the word “exodus” mean?

 What is the pattern of Moses’ conversations with the Pharaoh?

 Let My people go  No  Plague  People told to go  Mind is changed

The Exodus

 What is the last plague?

 What does the last plague have to do with “Passover”?

 Release from slavery  IMPORTANT: God had told Abraham that Israel would be enslaved in a foreign land for 400 years, but that they would leave with the riches of the people in that land

The Passover

 What the three main parts to “Passover”?

 Eating lamb  Red Sea  Manna  What do these three parts show about salvation?

 God gets us out  God gets us through  God takes care of us

God’s Covenant at Mt Sinai

 Where did Moses lead the children of Israel?

 What does God give Moses on Mt Sinai?

 What Old Testament feast remembers the giving of the Decalogue?

Israel’s Disobedience

 How do the Israelites disobey God?

 When do they disobey God?

 What did God say to Moses that He would do?

 What was Moses’ reply?

 What did Moses do when he came down from Mt Sinai?

Israel’s Disobedience

 What happened as a result?

 Common priesthood replaced with Levites as priests  Second set of laws given to separate Israel from other nations

God’s Covenant at Mt Sinai

   What is the covenant?

    My people Kingdom of priests Holy nation Bring salvation to all nations What was the condition God placed on the covenant?

 Keep the Law What was Israel’s response?

 “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient”

People & People

 What is the connection between the assembly of God and the Church?

 Qahal = ecclesia = assembly = church  My People = People of God  Nation of Israel = Church  What is the connection between the tabernacle in Israel and the tabernacle in the church?

 Reserve or preserve Christ (symbolically, then actually)

Before David

       Why was Israel was in the desert 40 years?

Who succeeded Moses?

 Who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land?

What did Israel do under Joshua’s leadership?

After Joshua, what was the pattern of Jewish history?

 Sin, Disaster, Repentance, Deliverance Why did the Israelites fall into this pattern?

Why did Israel want a king?

How was this request disrespectful to God?

King David

 Who was the first King of Israel?

 How was the king made king?

 What is the Hebrew word for “anointed one”?  What is the Greek word for “anointed one”?

 Why was David anointed?

 When did David become king?

King David

 What two major difficulties faced Israel when David became King?

 From within —not unified  From without —threats from Philistines, etc.

 What did King David do to solve these major difficulties?

 Capital ○ Political ○ Spiritual  Unification

Davidic Covenant – Primary

 What are the seven features of the Davidic Covenant?

 Kingdom  Dynasty  Son of God  Everlasting (“His Kingdom shall have no end”)  Mt Zion  Temple  Wisdom

Davidic Covenant–Secondary

Feature

Queen Mother Prime Minister Thank Offering

Davidic Covenant: Summary

  What is the key feature of the Davidic covenant?

 “His kingdom shall have no end”  What does this mean?

What was the difference between God’s covenant with David and God’s covenant with Israel?

 Conditional vs Unconditional  Permanent blessing to David & his descendants

Solomon

 Who is Solomon?

 What parts of the Davidic Covenant did Solomon fulfill?

  Kingdom: Solomon is a great king Dynasty: David’s son sits and the throne; this passes down to Joseph and then Jesus  Temple: Solomon built the temple  Wisdom: Solomon was given the gift of wisdom

Solomon

  How did Solomon go wrong?

  Overcome by lust, power, greed Turned toward idolatry What are the three secondary features of the Davidic covenant that were developed under Solomon?

 Queen Mother – a type of Mary (one who intercedes)   Prime Minister – a type of Peter (keys of the kingdom) Thank Offering – a type of the Eucharist (bread and wine)

After Solomon

 What happened after Solomon died?

 Civil War  Divided Kingdom  Exile  What was the blessing hidden in the exile?

 The promise to Abraham that his people would be a light to all nations began to be fulfilled  THINK: Magi

The Prophets

 What was the role of the prophets?

 Called Israel to repentance  Kept them focused on the promised Messiah (faith)  Spoke about hope in the fulfilled promise