The Church in the Eternal Purpose of the Triune God: Toward a Pentecostal Trinitarian Ecclesiology of Theosis drawing on the early theology of the Apostolic Church in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This dissertation examines the ecclesiology of the early writers of the Apostolic Church in the United Kingdom, and seeks to build upon this largely neglected body of Pentecostal thought for the contrastive work of contemporary Pentecostal systematic theology. A particular emphasis is placed on the thought of D.P. Williams as the most significant Apostolic writer of the early years of the movement. Connections between Apostolic ecclesiology and the Pentecostal distinctive of the baptism in the Holy Spirit are examined, as well as the role of Trinitarian theology in early Apostolic ecclesiology. Attention is then given both to distinctive Apostolic themes, including the 5-fold ministry and the Eternal Purpose, as well as their approach to other ecclesiological doctrines including the Totus Christus and the Lord’s Supper, before moving on to a constructive synthesis.