Blog


Sep 3

The Gospel Coalition: Confessional Statement (DSC+TGC Part 2)

2010 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Recommended Link,Vision

At the heart of The Gospel Coalition (TGC) are three foundational documents, one of which is a statement of shared doctrinal belief. In getting acquainted with TGC, we recommend reading the Confessional Statement which provides a basis for unified gospel partnership among the leaders and churches in network through TGC.

The following section entitled, “Creation of Humanity,” provides a good example of how this statement means to unify us around both historic commitments and timely concerns:

We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in his own image. Adam and Eve belonged to the created order that God himself declared to be very good, serving as God’s agents to care for, manage, and govern creation, living in holy and devoted fellowship with their Maker. Men and women, equally made in the image of God, enjoy equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus and are both called to move beyond passive self-indulgence to significant private and public engagement in family, church, and civic life. Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union that establishes the only normative pattern of sexual relations for men and women, such that marriage ultimately serves as a type of the union between Christ and his church. In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways. God ordains that they assume distinctive roles which reflect the loving relationship between Christ and the church, the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord. In the ministry of the church, both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential in the manifold ministries of the people of God. The distinctive leadership role within the church given to qualified men is grounded in creation, fall, and redemption and must not be sidelined by appeals to cultural developments.

When you have a moment, read the entire document.

This post is second in a series of posts introducing DSC to The Gospel Coalition (Read Part 1).