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Christ bids us become like little children. Briefly, and to the point, does St. Hilary of Poitiers sum up their characteristics which ought to be imitated by believers. “They,” he says, “follow their father; they love their mother: they wish no evil to their neighbour; they regard not the care of riches; they are not wont to be insolent ...
In the years after the Antinomian Controversy, Congregationalists struggled with the problem of decreasing conversions among second-generation settlers. These unconverted adults had been baptized as infants, and most of them studied the Bible, attended church, and raised their children as Christians.
According to Congregationalist minister Charles Edward Jefferson, this means that "Every believer is a priest and ... every seeking child of God is given directly wisdom, guidance, power". [10] Consequently, there is an absence of godparents, since the whole congregation is the godparent to all the children in the church. [citation needed]
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:14–17) Christians are said to be children of God because through divine grace they share in the nature of ...
Congregational polity, or congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous".
Not only did he appoint more cardinals from the southern hemisphere, but he made greater use of church synods, [17] [18] and instituted a more collegial manner of governance by constituting a Council of Cardinal Advisers from throughout the world to assist him [19] [20] which a church historian calls the "most important step [21] in the history ...
The unity of a church is an essential doctrine of ecclesiology, but because the divisions between churches presuppose the absence of mutual authority, internal polity does not directly answer how these divisions are treated. For example, among churches of episcopal polity, different theories are expressed:
Members of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19th century. Rather, the whole movement is designed to reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A.D. 33. The strength of the appeal lies in the restoration of Christ's original church.