The Parliamentary Theory of Sacraments

The New Testament employs political language for the authority and function of the church. For example, Jesus speaks of "keys to the kingdom" and "binding and loosing"—an authority he vests in the consensus of two or more disciples (Matthew 18:18-20). Paul, similarly, employs the language of "ekklesia", a term which surely would have evoked the Greek political assembly, the "parliament" of Greek democracy.

This language suggests the church was seen almost as a parliamentary body, a body which gathers to wield its inherent power and authority. Accordingly, Paul advises that when the church is gathered, and the power of the Lord is present, that the church may issue authoritative judgments (1 Corinthians 5:4-5).

This suggests a "Parliamentary Model of the Sacraments".

When gathered, a parliament or congress will take certain actions to pass laws, enact resolutions, affirm prior resolutions, induct new members, recognize existing members, etc. These actions will be real actions, enacting real change, and exercising real power. Yet these actions will simultaneously have symbolic, material, and linguistic forms. For example, these actions may involve voicing support, raising hands, signing documents. They may involve technical or symbolic language. They may convey authority to representatives, or remove it from them.

The power of the community itself 'vests' the material and linguistic forms with power.

We might interpret the sacraments along similar lines. When we as a church gather, when we baptize, when we extend communion, when we bless and marry and ordain—we need not look for a "magic" inherent in those specific material or linguistic acts, nor need we look for specific scriptural authorization to ensure that those forms will be recognized.

We can instead look to the authority and power vested in the community of disciples, by Jesus himself.