I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
And born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was buried;
[He descended into hell.]
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
And is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy catholic church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting. Amen.
We come this morning to a very misunderstood clause in the creed. It has been my experience that whenever I have encouraged a recital of the Apostles Creed many people find the phrase “The holy catholic church” to be a hurdle at which they stumble and refuse to jump. If we understood the words we would have no such problem. When we say I believe in the holy catholic church we do not mean the Roman Catholic Church (the architects of the creed certainly did not understand it that way). The Greek word catholicos simply means “universal” or “throughout the world.” The phrase refers to the church universal. When it comes to the church we could speak at great length as to how it is governed (elders and deacons). We could speak about the purpose of the church in worship, evangelism and the building up of the saints. We could also speak about the church as the body of Christ and that each member has a role to play as we exercise our spiritual gifts. However we must be content to highlight three subjects.
- VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE
When we attend a local church we join with a great number of people. We cannot claim to know the true spiritual condition of each individual. We might see outward evidence of inward change but we cannot claim to see into people’s hearts. In 2 Timothy 2:19 we read; “The Lord knows those who are his.” In every local church only God knows who are true believers with absolute certainty. The visible church is the church as we see it. The invisible church is the church as God truly sees it. In Acts 20:29, 30 when Paul addressed the Ephesian elders he said; I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. At that moment in time the church at Ephesus might struggle to identify them but in time they would be revealed. They were already known to God but would only be revealed to the church in due course. Augustine recognised the division between the church invisible and visible by saying; “many sheep are without and many wolves are within.” - LOCAL AND UNIVERSAL
In the New Testament the word church can be used to refer to a local church or the church throughout the world. For instance a church that meets in someone’s home (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:9) is called a church. The church in an entire city is also called a church (1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1). In Acts 9:31 the church in a region is referred to as “the church.” Finally the church throughout the world can be referred to as “the church.” When Paul says in Ephesians 5:25 that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her and in 1 Corinthians 12:28 in the church God has appointed first of all apostles the reference is clearly universal. The community of God’s people considered at any level can rightly be called a church. Interestingly the Nicene Creed which was adopted at the Council of Nicea in AD325 adds one word to the Apostolic Creed. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. By adding that simple word “apostolic” they were saying that the mark of a true church is one which is faithful to apostolic teaching. During the 16th century the reformers added the correct use of the ordinances and church discipline as further marks of a true church. - MILITANT AND TRIUMPHANT
The church on earth is referred to as the church militant and is distinguished from the church Triumphant in heaven. Put the two together and you have the full communion of the saints. I know that there are many people who say yes to Jesus but a loud No! to the church. Ephesians 3:21 highlights where God desires to be supremely glorified. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. God longs to be glorified in his Son and he longs to be glorified in his church. In Ephesians 3:10, 11 we have one of the most revolutionary verses in the bible concerning the church. His intent was that now, through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. The church is so precious to God that he chooses to use us (imperfect though we are) to serve as an audio-visual display to cosmic powers to demonstrate his wisdom. This is very humbling. Those who have no concern to join a local church are robbing God of his glory. He wants the church to demonstrate his wisdom to the heavenly authorities and they say – “I couldn’t be bothered!” The church is precious to God and should be precious to us.