Saturday, June 17, 2006
1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH, THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS
What is a church? Usually the first thing that we think of when we hear the word "church" is the place where we go on Sunday morning -- a building of some kind. There are many of you who have not always had the luxury of worshiping in a "church building." In order to follow your Lord's command to beware of false teachers and avoid them, you may have worshipped in a home, a hotel room, or some other makeshift building for a time. Do we think of that as a church? We should!
It is not a building, but people who make a church. In the New Testament, whenever the word "church" is used, it is used not to describe a building, but to describe people -- the people who gather together for worship, and all people who have faith in Jesus as their Savior.
Notice that this word church is used to describe two different groups of people. It can be used to describe all those who believe in Jesus as their Savior. This is what we call the Holy Christian Church, or the Communion of Saints. Notice how Paul describes this Church: "Those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord." We also call this group of all believers the "invisible church" because faith is something that we cannot see, and which crosses denominational lines. The invisible church can and will be found wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, through which the Holy Spirit works to create and strengthen faith in the hearts of believers.
But the word church in the New Testament is also used to describe visible churches (or congregations): "To the church of God which is at Corinth." This visible church is made up of people who say that they believe, and who become members of a particular congregation. The visible church will contain true believers, but it may also contain unbelievers or hypocrites.
May we ever be thankful that the Holy Spirit has made us members of that One, Invisible, Holy, Christian Church, along with all those everywhere who are called to be saints!
