Confession of Faith: Article XXVII The Catholic Christian Church

— continued —

The Westminster Catechism says of this church, “The church invisible consists of the whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one under Christ, the Head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fulness of Him who filleth all in all.” Here we read, “We believe and profess one catholic or universal church.” One church! That church does not need to be made one; it does not need to be joined together by the efforts of man; but that church is one. There is but one church, one living church, for that church has one Head. A head does not have four or five bodies. The body of Christ is one, though the visible manifestation of it can be divided. There are sad separations between God’s children who belong to that one church. They are sometimes members of various denominations, and church walls may separate them, but this one body is a living organization; it is not just a collection of individuals put together without connection. No; it is an organism. The finger is not just there and the toes elsewhere; the body is joined together. The members of this body all have contact with the Head, and they all are joined by the same bond to the Head of that body. It is a living organism — the church is one.

We read in the Song of Solomon 6:9, “My dove, My undefiled is but one.” I hope you may feel that; I hope it may be experienced. In Ephesians 4:4 we read, “There is one body and one Spirit.” The visible church is divided; that is true, and it ought to be a cause of deep grief to all who love this body and who belong to Him.

This is a Catholic Church, which is not the name of the Romish Church, but the name of the true church, consisting of the true believers of all ages, places, and nations. The word catholic simply means universal. The church of God as it is all over the world, in all nations and all tongues, is catholic.

It is also a holy church, a holy congregation. Our confession says they are holy because they are washed in the blood of Christ. In Him they are without spot or wrinkle. They are also holy because they are set apart. The word holy in the Bible often means being placed apart for a certain purpose, a holy purpose, dedicated, a being put aside for a certain sacred goal. This church of God is set apart. We read in Numbers 23:9, “The people shall dwell alone.” We read in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress that when the travelers to the Celestial City came to Vanity Fair, where there was all idolatry and vanity, they were recognized. How? Well, their clothes were different. This does not mean that if one is dressed in a certain color then he makes his childship public and shows he is a child of God. No, it must be shown by the apparel of our lives, which includes also modesty and simplicity, according to God’s Word. God’s people should be known by their walk, their talk, and their clothing, in simplicity, and not in following the fashions of the world, not in luxury, highmindedness, and pride. It is a holy church, separated from the world.

The one, catholic, holy church is a church of all “Christian believers, all expecting their salvation in Jesus Christ.” All those true Christians (and the marks of who these are will be mentioned in Article XXIX) expect their salvation in Jesus Christ. This means that they all have learned that they are lost and that they need to be saved. They have also learned by grace that they cannot save themselves, that from their side this is absolutely hopeless. But the Lord has revealed unto them when they were lost that He Himself has provided the Lamb, the Savior. All these (the one with a weak faith, another with a strong faith, or one with an assured knowledge of it) are longing, hoping, waiting, hungering, thirsting for the same Savior, for the same Jesus. Oh, should you look in their hearts, they would all have the same hope. Who is their hope? It is Jesus; it is Christ. Oh, that does not mean they all dare to say, “He is my Savior, and He is my Redeemer”; but they all say, “To whom shall I go? Thou alone canst save me. If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” Some may also say, “He has made me clean.” That is what all God’s people will seek after and long to be able to say, “Being washed by His blood, sanctified and sealed by the Holy Ghost.” So they have salvation; they are justified in Him, but they are also sanctified and sealed by the Holy Ghost, as property has a certain seal placed upon it so that everyone can see that it belongs to a particular person. These people belong to God, they belong to Christ, and the seal is placed upon them by the Holy Ghost.

This church has been from the beginning of the world. It was there when Adam and Eve were found by God. When He brought them to their right place, they were made members of this church. They had fallen away from God, but the Lord saw them, found them, drew them. In Abel we see the separation made in the family. In the dark days of the first world there was still a Noah, and the Lord still preserved that church. Also in the days of Abraham the Lord Himself had a people, a church in the world. This church will be there to the end of the world. Why? It is because the King of that church will always be there, and a king must have subjects. This King will never be without subjects. We read that He is an eternal King, for we see in Luke 1:53, “He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” And in Isaiah 59:21 we read that the Lord speaks of a covenant: “My Spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.”

This article speaks of strife and of persecution, as it was in the days of Ahab, Jezebel, and the prophet Elijah. Elijah thought he was the only one left. However, the Lord said, “No, there are still seven thousand who have not bowed the knee before Baal.” Think only of those prophets hidden by Obadiah. Also, when Jerusalem was destroyed, terrible things happened. Many of the Jews were killed, and the city was burnt by the cruel Romans, who were so upset because of the Jews’ opposition. But the Christians escaped; they had fled to Pella, where the Lord gave them a hidingplace. The church could not be destroyed, not even in the days of the Roman empire. The emperors Nero, Domitianus, and Decius threw the Christians before the lions in the arena, before the wild beasts of prey; at times the Christians were used as living lanterns, as lamps burning in the city to spread light. But they gave another light. They were sometimes heard singing in the flames; they were heard praying for their enemies; and the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church. Also, when the Romish church persecuted the true believers, the church was not destroyed, no matter how much they tried to do so. In our days the assaults of the devil are different. Now the church is threatened by the time, the age, and the spirit of the world in which we live: lawlessness and lasciviousness. The Lord could remove the candlestick from us, as He did from Asia Minor. Those churches have ceased to exist. Oh, let us ask the Lord that He not do it, in spite of our sins and the reasons we give. But yet there will always be a church.

We read in the gospel that the Lord’s fan is in His hand; He will thoroughly purge His floor and gather His wheat into the garner. Chaff and wheat will be separated. What is the difference between chaff and wheat? The chaff has no weight; it is light, and it is blown away with the wind and does not come to the ground at the feet of Him who has the fan. Though the wheat may be small, it has some weight. The chaff is empty; it has no essence. We may have many words, may have high contemplations, but these do not have the kernel; they do not have essence. Examine your own heart. The wheat has essence; it may be small, but there is weight, the weight of the work of eternity, the work of an eternal God. Oh, it may be that they do not dare to speak of it, thinking that they are hypocrites, but there is that weight of God’s work, of the love of God which is planted in their heart. That is something which Satan cannot destroy, but which causes them to say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him”; and they fall at His feet. Now this church will be safe; “all Israel shall be saved,” Jew and Gentile (Romans 11:26); all bought with the blood of Christ.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen