Apostles Creed #10

For the last two weeks we have looked at the Apostles’ Creed’s statement, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” As we went through that together we saw how the Bible shows the Spirit’s work of making things new as well as His work within our individual lives as His people. Well, as we continue into the next section, we will build upon what we saw concerning His work as we look at the creed’s statement, “I believe in the holy catholic church and the communion of saints.”

Now, we have made mention of the Church quite a bit the last few weeks, so, we won’t be too long today. Essentially, what we will learn as we consider the creed’s statement today is that the Church is different, unified and for my good.

The Scriptures I want us to use today are 1 Corinthians 1:2

1 Corinthians 1:2 NKJV

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:

as well as Matthew 16:18-19

Matthew 16:18–19 NKJV

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

So, as we consider the creed’s wording and those texts, we will find, first of all, that:

The Church is Different

Now, what I want us to catch is how the creed uses the word “Holy” as it says, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, and the communion of saints (or the holy ones).” What is significant here is that they are teaching us that the holiness of us personally who make up the church is all flowing from the Holy Spirit.

What does it mean that the Church is “holy?” It means that we are set aside, we are called out, we are different from the world. We are representatives of Jesus Christ.

Now, when that verse in Matthew 16:18-19 says

Matthew 16:18–19 NKJV

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

I believe that Jesus is making clear the relentless pursuit of the Church for holiness. That we won’t fall to the wickedness of Hell but will overcome it and that within the Church we will exercise discipline by binding and loosing those who are approached concerning unrepentant sin.

So how is the church different? Well, in a world of changing positions and increasing sinfulness, we are the pillar and ground of truth. We are called and empowered of God to make war with our sin and to live in Christlikeness no matter the cost. And this leads us to our second point, because it is hard for us to stand alone. The Bible knows nothing of lone wolf believers. However, we will have a hard time standing if we aren’t unified. So what we find second of all is that:

The Church is Unified.

Now, all throughout history we find controversies and splits within the Church but the reality is that although there are many local churches and denominations, if we are truly in Christ, we are One universal family or Church in Him. This is hinted at in 1 Corinthians 1:2 as it mentions, “With all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.”

1 Corinthians 1:2 NKJV

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:

This is also argued by Paul in Galatians 3:26-28 where he says:

Galatians 3:26–28 NKJV

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we just ditch what we believe the Scriptures teach and fight for unity at all cost, even the cost of biblical truth. As we look at our history as Baptist, we find that they were certainly not willing to do that as they killed us for our beliefs. However, what it does mean is that we rejoice in their preaching of the gospel, if they are in fact preaching the gospel, and that we pray for them as our brothers in the Lord. When Paul was in prison there were some guys apparently preaching in such a way that in was supposed to add affliction to his suffering, but he said in Philippians 1:18

Philippians 1:18 NKJV

18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

So, what does it mean that we are one catholic church? It means that in Jesus we are united as brothers and sisters in Christ and where the gospel is faithfully preached and the ordinances are faithfully given, there are our brothers and sisters who we rejoice to be united in Christ with. This also means that we are to be unified with those who sit across the isle from us on Sundays, that there shouldn’t be divisions among us but that we are to love one another as Christ loves us.

My good friend Sawyer said, “Communalism, or Christian community, is such a powerful evangelistic and discipleship tool, but beyond that it is simply Christian as it’s bedrock.”

What he means by that is that the love that we have is a witness to the world that is unknown to them which is exactly what Jesus meant in John 13:35

John 13:35 NKJV

35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This kind of love, builds up to our last point which is that:

The Church is for my Good.

The last part of our section for today says, “and the communion of the saints.” Now, that’s an interesting phrase there because in Latin it is Communio Sanctorum which could come out to mean, “The sharing of holy things among the saints.”

What does this mean? Well, I believe that this is probably speaking specifically about our fellowship around communion, or the Lord’s Table. But in a broader sense, I think it is teaching us that we are to be bound to meet the needs of one another. That we are a united family that fellowships together and nourishes each other.

The Church used to be often called, “Mater Fidelium” or the Mother Church. Since it was through her that God nourishes and cares for us with really highlights that the Church of God is for our good. However, we live in a day where people can simply walk in and out of church without ever lovingly talking to others and still tell people that they are committed members of the Church. But that’s not really the case because you aren’t meant to just stamp your card, sit in your seat and disappear. You’re meant to do life with these people, not be a lone wolf. John Wesley said,

Directly opposite to this is the gospel of Christ. Solitary religion is not to be found there. “Holy solitaries” is a phrase no more consistent with the gospel than holy adulterers. The gospel of Christ knows of no religion, but social; no holiness but social holiness.

It is here that we are to teach each other, encourage one another, and yes, have difficult conversations with one another as we come together for the purpose of faithfully pursuing Christ together.