ABSTRACT
Karl Barth calls the foundational concepts of his theology of the church 'christologico-ecclesiology', with the peculiar being, life, action, and history of Jesus Christ forming the determinative framework for the being of the community that He takes to Himself as His body. Beginning with the relationship between Jesus' as present and absent and the being of the church as His body, this chapter explores the relationship between Jesus, holy scripture and the being of the church, and then church proclamation as witness to Jesus. It examines the nature of the 'time between' as specifically the time of the church – that is, as the time given for human response to God in Jesus Christ, and for action in Christ's service. The ascension of Jesus to the Father's side is at once His revelation as the One to whom all authority is given, the one to whom the place at the Father's right hand belongs.
