Tuesday, December 5, 2017

The Holy Church – Part One


Ephesians 5:25b–27 “Even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That [Jesus] might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish”.

I found this short study on the doctrine of the church as summarized in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. The church as an essential part of God’s plan, so understanding what the Bible teaches about the church is key for fulfilling our high calling as the bride of Christ. Four biblical characteristics of the church are identified in the creedal phrase one, holy, catholic, and Apostolic church. Today we will consider the church’s holiness.

Sometimes it is hard to believe that the church is a holy body, a communion of saints (meaning those sanctified). That is because we hear so often of scandals in the church that reveal its abiding sin. Ministers commit moral failures. Laypeople squabble over minor issues and church bodies split. The list goes on. Were the Apostles and church fathers being naive when they called the church a holy body?

Galatians 5:16-17 “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would.”

The answer has to be no. Participants in the early church councils were well aware that
Sin is an ever-present reality for the church on this side of glory because we are still in the flesh. Yet they also understood that despite the sin that remains, God regards the communion of saints as holy. After all, both the Old Testament and the New Testament refer to the people of the Lord as “saints,” that is, “holy ones”. Often, as for example in the case of the Corinthian Christians, these saints were anything but upright in conduct. Yet sinful believers are still called holy, and that is because the basic meaning of the word holy is “set apart unto God.” The Lord has called a people out of this world and set them apart for Himself. They are His special possession even though they still sin. Consequently, they are holy.

Romans 3:10-12, 19-24 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understand, there is none that seek after God. They are all gone out of the way; they are together become unprofitable; there is none that do good, no, not one. Now we know that what things soever the law said, it said to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of Sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

We typically associate holiness with moral purity, and that is appropriate given the ways that Scripture describes the Lord as free from evil. The creed also says that this kind of holiness is characteristic of God’s people—though the church will not be perfectly holy until it is glorified. Such experiential or practical holiness is characteristic of the church because all those who believe in Christ have the Holy Spirit, who is working in them so that they “work out their salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12–13). This work is slow, sometimes even barely perceptible, but it is occurring because the Lord promises to conform us to the image of His Son.

Nobody is perfect and everyone is a sinner, so all need a Savior. We should find it greatly comforting that God regards all those who trust in Christ alone as holy. No matter how slowly our sanctification—our growth in holiness—seems to be progressing, we know that the Lord is keeping His promise by His Spirit to conform us to Christ. When we sin, let us remember this great truth as we repent and mortify the flesh, and let us press on in our efforts to please Him with all that we are.


Blessings.

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