Colossians 1:15-18 “He
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by
Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All
things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things,
and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church,
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may
have the preeminence.”
Continuing this short study of Ecclesiology – the doctrine
of the Christian church, we discover that the Apostles identify only one head
of the church, namely Jesus Christ. A body only has one head. Our Lord does appoint
pastors and elders as undershepherds who help lead and guard His body of
Believers during its pilgrimage this side of eternity. These people have true
authority in the church, but they are not the church’s head. They may only
declare to God’s people what Christ has already spoken in His Holy Word, and
their teaching has authority only insofar as it conforms to the prophetic and
Apostolic tradition – sacred Scripture. Because Christ is head of the church,
He not only has final authority over the church but He gives life to the
church. The church finds its life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For it
is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the
heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have
tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if
they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify
again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
The Bible clearly teaches that not everyone who professes
faith in Christ and joins a church has actually trusted Jesus. But it also
tells us that even those who falsely profess faith in Christ gain real benefits
when they join a church. In the church, they are able to see the work of God’s
Spirit among the people, experience the corporate blessings that the Lord gives
His church, and hear the Word of God preached. These truths hold together in
the doctrine of the “visible” church – what we can see. We are not omniscient
(all-knowing) and cannot read other’s hearts, and a mere profession of faith is
insufficient to save a person.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus clarifies, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in
Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart
from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Thus, there may be professing Christians who do not have “saving”
faith in Christ and yet are members in the “visible” church of our local
congregation. A profession of faith alone will not get us into heaven; it is
not sufficient for membership into the “invisible” church, the body that
consists of all those who trust and rest in Christ alone for salvation. Nevertheless,
all who are members of the “visible” church are “set apart” from the
God-rejecting world system, for they are a holy part of the community that
Christ established for the nurture of His people.
Let’s continue this study of the “visible” and “invisible”
church on the next post. Blessings in Christ.
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