The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the Gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.
The outwardly visible Church of Christ transcends denominational divides. In no Christian sense can any church body be "independent" of the Church as a whole, which is contained by no political or cultural boundaries. All churches everywhere that truly profess the biblical gospel are part of the visible Church.
The children of believers are likewise included in the visible Church, just as the children of the nation of Israel were included in that body.
The Church is "the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ." He is her head, her king. More on this point later.
The Church is also "the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation." All those who would be secure in their salvation do well to associate themselves with God's Church. This is not to say that church membership automatically conveys salvation, nor does any participation in sacramental activity, nor that from time to time individual Christians cannot be saved apart from the visible Church. The Spirit of God blows where he will--it is up to him who will be saved, apart from all human agency. But Scripture and history have taught us that ordinarily the Spirit works through the means of the visible Church.
Tomorrow: Marks and tasks of the visible Church.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment