Guy Prentiss Waters https://reformedforum.org Reformed Theological Resources Fri, 18 Jul 2025 12:24:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://reformedforum.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2020/04/cropped-reformed-forum-logo-300dpi-side_by_side-1-32x32.png Guy Prentiss Waters – Reformed Forum https://reformedforum.org 32 32 One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc916/ Fri, 18 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000 https://reformedforum.org/?post_type=podcast&p=48671 Dr. Guy Waters is the Professor of New Testament at the Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi and a teaching elder in the Mississippi presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America. […]]]>

Dr. Guy Waters is the Professor of New Testament at the Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi and a teaching elder in the Mississippi presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America. Today, he joins us to speak about his book, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church (Lexham Academic), in which he sets out a full-scale Reformed doctrine of the church. The title echoes the four classical “marks” confessed in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. This study is an extended exploration of how Scripture, read through a Reformed lens, fills out each of those creedal descriptors and binds them together into a single, coherent doctrine of the church.

Dr. Waters organizes the book in three movements:

  1. Biblical Revelation (Part I). Seven chapters trace “the people of God” from creation and Eden through Abraham, Moses, the prophets, Christ and the apostles, showing that God has always had one covenant people that reaches its eschatological maturity in the new-covenant church.
  2. Doctrinal Construction (Part II). Waters treats the classic loci of ecclesiology: the church’s four attributes (one, holy, catholic, apostolic); its marks (pure preaching, right sacraments, biblical discipline); its government (Christ the king, officers and courts); its worship (word, sacraments, prayer, Lord’s Day); its life (gifts and discipline); and its mission (“gathering and perfecting the saints” until Christ returns) .
  3. Truth for Life and Mission (Part III). A final chapter applies the doctrine to church-state relations, defending a robust spirituality of the church and principled religious liberty.

The conclusion distills the argument into seven theses that function as a theological checksum. Throughout, Waters interlaces biblical exegesis, historical theology and confessional sources (especially the Westminster Standards). The result is both an academic survey and a pastoral manifesto aimed at equipping the church for faithful witness today.

The conversation explores the essential identity and mission of the church, the continuity between the Old and New Testaments, and what is distinctly new through Christ’s redemptive work. Waters outlines the seven theses of his book, offering clarity on ecclesiology for today’s church, particularly in light of confusion over polity, worship, and the church’s relation to the state.

This episode is an invitation to recover a robust, Reformed understanding of the church’s nature and calling, rooted in Scripture and developed in the tradition of historic confessions.

Watch on YouTube

Chapters

  • 00:00 Mid-America Reformed Seminary CME Conference
  • 01:30 Introduction
  • 03:20 The Story Behind the Book
  • 06:54 The Emphasis of this Book
  • 10:43 The Need for Ecclesiology Today
  • 15:33 The Seven Theses of the Book
  • 18:54 The Continuity of God’s People in the Old and New Testaments
  • 22:02 What Is New in the NT through Christ
  • 28:02 The Mission of the Church
  • 33:56 The Relation of Scripture to Polity
  • 38:00 Worship
  • 43:32 Ministering in Word and Deed
  • 47:28 The Church and the State
  • 52:26 The Spirituality of the Church
  • 56:27 Conclusion

Participants: ,

]]> Dr Guy Waters is the Professor of New Testament at the Reformed Theological Seminary Jackson Mississippi and a teaching elder in the Mississippi presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America ...EcclesiologyReformed Forumnono How Jesus Runs the Church https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc222/ https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc222/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:00:54 +0000 http://reformedforum.wpengine.com/?p=1903 On this program we welcome Guy Prentiss Waters to speak about his book How Jesus Runs the Church. The doctrine of the church is critically important for the Christian life, but often lags behind in received attention. Dr. Waters brings us back to the Scriptural foundation that shows us how Jesus Christ actively reigns in and through his body. Dr. Waters is Associate Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. He holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.), Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Duke University (Ph.D.). He is ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America and is the author of Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul. Dr. Waters previously visited Christ the Center to speak about N.T. Wright’s doctrine of justification. You may listen to the entire two-part conversation (part 1 and part 2).

Participants: , , ,

]]> https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc222/feed/ 3 1:03:18On this program we welcome Guy Prentiss Waters to speak about his book How Jesus Runs the Church The doctrine of the church is critically important for the Christian life ...Ecclesiology,PracticalTheologyReformed Forumnono Church Membership https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc93/ https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc93/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:00:30 +0000 http://reformedforum.wpengine.com/?p=826 The Christ the Center panel met with Dr. Guy Waters, associate professor of NT at RTS/Jackson, about the importance of membership in a local congregation. The biblical basis for church membership was explored along with its connection to mutual support, discipline and observance of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Also discussed was the significance of the non-communicant/communicant member distinction. It was noted that aversion to local church membership among Christians is a relatively recent phenomenon and so this proved to be a very practical conversation. ctc093 photo is by claudio_ar [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]

Links

  • Guy Waters on N. T. Wright’s Doctrine of Justification, Part 1 and Part 2

Participants: , , , ,

]]> https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc93/feed/ 3 50:32The Christ the Center panel met with Dr Guy Waters associate professor of NT at RTS Jackson about the importance of membership in a local congregation The biblical basis for ...Ecclesiology,PracticalTheology,ReformedChurch,SystematicTheologyReformed Forumnono N.T. Wright’s Doctrine of Justification, Part 2 https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc59/ https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc59/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:00:06 +0000 http://reformedforum.wpengine.com/?p=601 This is part 2 of a 2 part discussion with Guy Prentiss Waters. Part 1 is also available for download. The Christ the Center panel had the distinct privilege of discussing N. T. Wright’s new book Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision with Guy Prentiss Waters, associate professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS. Dr. Waters is an ordained minister in Presbyterian Church in America and did his doctoral work under the supervision of E. P. Sanders at Duke University. Dr. Waters has written numerous books and articles, including The End of Deuteronomy in the Epistles of Paul, Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul, The Federal Vision and Covenant Theology, and he has co-edited with Gary Johnson By Faith Alone and has contributed a chapter to the recent publication The Law is Not of Faith. Dr. Waters and the panel discuss various features of Wright’s book, such as what is new in the book from what Wright has previously published, continuities with Wright’s past work, and the tone of the book. This a fascinating and detailed discussion that we have divided into two episodes.
Archive.org

Panel

  • Guy Prentiss Waters
  • Jim Cassidy
  • Nick Batzig
  • Jeff Waddington
  • Camden Bucey

Bibliography

Carson, D. A., Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark A. Seifrid. Justification And Variegated Nomism. Baker Academic, 2004.

Fesko, J. Justification: Understanding the Classic Reformed Doctrine. Phillipsburg N.J.: P&R Pub., 2008.

Johnson, Gary L. W., and Guy Prentiss Waters. By Faith Alone : Answering the Challenges to the Doctrine of Justification. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2006.

Waters, Guy. The end of Deuteronomy in the Epistles of Paul. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006.

Waters, Guy Prentiss. Justification and the new perspectives on Paul : a review and response. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub., 2004.

—. The Federal Vision and Covenant Theology : A Comparative Analysis. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publ., 2006.

Wright, N. T. Justification : God’s plan and Paul’s vision. London: SPCK, 2009

Participants: , , , ,

]]> https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc59/feed/ 14 52:57This is part 2 of a 2 part discussion with Guy Prentiss Waters Part 1 is also available for download The Christ the Center panel had the distinct privilege of ...Justification,NewTestament,Soteriology,SystematicTheologyReformed Forumnono N.T. Wright’s Doctrine of Justification, Part 1 https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc58/ https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc58/#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:00:09 +0000 http://reformedforum.wpengine.com/?p=595 The Christ the Center panel had the distinct privilege of discussing N. T. Wright’s new book Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision with Guy Prentiss Waters, associate professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS. Dr. Waters is an ordained minister in Presbyterian Church in America and did his doctoral work under the supervision of E. P. Sanders at Duke University. Dr. Waters has written numerous books and articles, including The End of Deuteronomy in the Epistles of Paul, Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul, The Federal Vision and Covenant Theology, and he has co-edited with Gary Johnson By Faith Alone and has contributed a chapter to the recent publication The Law is Not of Faith. Dr. Waters and the panel discuss various features of Wright’s book, such as what is new in the book from what Wright has previously published, continuities with Wright’s past work, and the tone of the book. This a fascinating and detailed discussion that we have divided into two episodes. Part 2 of this discussion is also available.
Archive.org

Panel

  • Guy Prentiss Waters
  • Jim Cassidy
  • Nick Batzig
  • Jeff Waddington
  • Camden Bucey

Bibliography

Carson, D. A., Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark A. Seifrid. Justification And Variegated Nomism. Baker Academic, 2004.

Fesko, J. Justification: Understanding the Classic Reformed Doctrine. Phillipsburg N.J.: P&R Pub., 2008.

Johnson, Gary L. W., and Guy Prentiss Waters. By Faith Alone : Answering the Challenges to the Doctrine of Justification. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2006.

Waters, Guy. The end of Deuteronomy in the Epistles of Paul. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006.

Waters, Guy Prentiss. Justification and the new perspectives on Paul : a review and response. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub., 2004.

—. The Federal Vision and Covenant Theology : A Comparative Analysis. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publ., 2006.

Wright, N. T. Justification : God’s plan and Paul’s vision. London: SPCK, 2009.

Participants: , , , ,

]]> https://reformedforum.org/podcasts/ctc58/feed/ 20 59:27The Christ the Center panel had the distinct privilege of discussing N T Wright s new book Justification God s Plan and Paul s Vision with Guy Prentiss Waters associate ...Justification,KeyEpisodes,NewTestament,Soteriology,SystematicTheologyReformed Forumnono