The Holy Universal Church

I love talking about the church. Apart from looking at the nature of God and the various doctrinal truths having to do with who God is and what was accomplished on the cross, the church is probably my favorite thing to talk about.

In order to talk about the church, I want to think about the Greek word for church, ekklesia. This word refers to those who have been called out as referenced in 1 Peter 2:9.

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Because we have been called out of darkness into the marvelous light of Christ. We walk in a different manner, which we will look at today.

Read Colossians 1:18-20

We will look at the three aspects of belief in the holy universal or catholic church. First, we begin with

The Nature of the Church

It has been said more times than I can count that the church is more than simply a building or an organization. I would point us to 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 which we read in our call to worship today.

1 Corinthians 12:12–27 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

When it comes to the church, we would do well to alter our understanding to include the people that are within the church. To believe in the church is to believe that Christ is the head of the priesthood of all believers and dictates all that the group aims to do.

A person who then has faith in Christ is a part of the church and we experience that faith within the church. This is where it is helpful to keep in mind that the faith experience of a Christian was never meant to be merely a private experience. We certainly experience various aspects of belief and faith in private but this belief was always meant to be exercised in public with the people of God.

I’ll give you a small example of the truth of this by examining the word of God. Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 21 of those are letters written by an individual. Of those letters written, ten were written to churches. And the remaining eleven letters written to individuals, either the church is mentioned or there is work regarding the church that is discussed.

I’m afraid that American Christianity has privatized faith because it is more comfortable to keep our beliefs, struggles, and general conduct to ourselves. To belong to a body of believers as described in 1 Corinthians 12 is to practice your faith in public, to share the life that God has called us to live even in the midst of messiness, and understand that we are stronger as a unit than as individuals.

It is also worth pointing out that church is something that a person belongs to rather than attends. A pastor friend of mine, Darren shared this with his church on Facebook over the weekend and it is timely.

Attending means you notice what is missing.

Belonging means you feel responsible for it.

Attending says, “They really need more people serving.”

Belonging says, “Maybe I can help.”

Attending says, “The music could be a lot better.”

Belonging says, “Who could I encourage?”

Attending says, “Nobody really connects here.”

Belonging says, “We are having people over Friday.”

The church stops being “them.”

It becomes “us.”

In order to have a greater understanding of the church, I want to lay out for you four traditional markers of the church as proposed by Alister McGrath.

The Church is one. As noted in Colossians 1, the church is united under Christ as the head of the body. This is a core tenant of the church and it defines all other doctrinal beliefs as well as how we practice.

The Church is holy, which we will delve into in a bit.

The church is catholic or universal. Again, we will discuss what exactly this means momentarily.

Finally, the church is apostolic, meaning that it continues in the faith and teaching of the apostles. While this aspect is not mentioned in the Apostles’ Creed, it is implied based on the fact that every aspect of the Creed is in step with the faith of the apostles.

The two most important things to remember when it comes to the church is that it extends beyond these walls and that you and I have a responsibility to engage in it. The church is nothing without the people that belong to it.

There is more that could be said in regards to the church but this is a basic foundation for us to begin with. I want to next look at the fact that

The Church is Universal

When we use the word catholic, I want to be clear that I am not referring to the Roman Catholic church. Instead, it is beneficial to look at the greek word which is katholikos and means “according to the whole” or “universal”. When we have this understanding of the church it makes sense to see the various doctrinal interpretations. The word “catholic” does not appear in the Apostles’ Creed until the fourth century but it is still beneficial in our understanding of the church.

I know that I have a tendency to criticize the church when I view it through the lens of the American church but reports from across the world tell us that there is much to be encouraged about. There is diversity in churches that are still gospel-believing and preaching.

Next we turn our attention to the holiness of the church.

The Church is Holy

When we consider the holiness of the church, I always want to point out that the best understanding we can have is that to be holy is to be set apart. This points back to what I mentioned earlier from 1 Peter 2 and the calling out of the church. The church is set apart because she is near to God and called to a different way of living. A way of loving your neighbor. A way of pursuing moral purity.

This is possible because of two different reasons. First, as has been mentioned at various points, Christ is the head of the church. Because of that, the church both pursues that same holiness as well as takes on the righteousness of Christ.

The second reason the church is holy is because of the Holy Spirit that is within each member of the church. It is vital for you and I to walk according to the Spirit as Galatians 5 calls us to.

As we talk about the church, I do need to step outside of the Creed for a moment.

The Church Will Not Be Prevailed Against

I’ll turn our attention to one of my favorite New Testament passages of scripture in Matthew 16:15-20.

Matthew 16:15–20 ESV

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

After asking His disciples who He is, Jesus praises Peter for identifying Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God. And in that moment he pronounces that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. This ought to be a matter of encouragement for each of us. The holiness of the church and the universal nature of the church will propel her forward!

So, how do we apply this belief in the church to our lives?

Pray for this church!

Pray for gospel-minded churches around the world!

Pursue personal holiness!

Practice your faith in the church!