Jumpstarter 8 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion

Question 8

Dean said Marpeck argued for a visible, incarnate church—“both spirit and flesh”—and contrasted that with “modern American evangelicalism and classic Anabaptism”; what practices in your church life signal that you believe the church is a real, embodied community (not just an invisible idea), and what practices signal the opposite?

Another way to ask: Marpeck argued the church should be a visible, real community, not just an invisible idea. What in your church life shows you believe that, and what shows you don’t?

Direct Answer Dean’s contrast implies that a truly “incarnate” church is visibly embodied—actual practices and order that display Christ in community—rather than treating church as mostly invisible, private, or optional. Practices that prioritize concrete shared life and obedience point to a visible church; practices that reduce church to individual belief or loose association point the other way.

Support from Transcript:

Dean says Marpeck’s debates (especially with Schweckfeld) produced “beautiful writings…on the incarnation and the whole idea of the church as the incarnation.”
Dean summarizes Marpeck: “the beautiful thing of the visible church. It’s not just the invisible, but Jesus Christ came in the flesh, and he was both spirit and flesh.”
Therefore, “we have an incarnate church that’s both spirit and flesh.”
Dean explicitly contrasts: “a little bit of different between modern American evangelicalism and classic…Anabaptism, a visible church.”
He also mentions Marpeck’s concern about “strict legalism” on one side and “liberalism” on the other, suggesting visible church must still be spiritual, not merely external.

Discussion Follow-ups If someone watched your church for a month, what would they conclude: that the church is a real body with a shared life, or mainly a collection of individual Christians who happen to meet?

Jumpstarter 8 of 10

Add your phone number?

Thank you!

Jumpstarter 8 of 10