Tuesday, October 18, 2005
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 that word is the place we go on Sunday morning -- a building of some kind. But there are many who have not always had the luxury of worshiping in such a building. In order to follow your Lord's command to beware of false teachers and avoid them, you may have worshiped in a home or a hotel room, or some other make-do "church" 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 not describing a building, but people -- either all people who trust in Jesus as Savior or a group who gather for worship in a certain locale.
Notice that this word church is used to describe two different groups. It can be used to describe all those who believe in Jesus as their Savior. This 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 can also call this group of all believers the "invisible church" because faith is something that we cannot see, and which crosses denominational lines. This invisible church is found wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, through which the Holy Spirit works to create and maintain 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." Visible churches are made up of people who say that they believe, and who become members of a particular congregation. The visible church will contain believers, but it may also contain unbelievers (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!
