The Holy Universal Church

As we begin our time in study, let’s recite the Apostles Creed together. This morning, we consider the first work of the Holy Spirit in the statement, “the holy, universal church, the communion of saints.” As Christians, we do not believe that Christ ended his works on the cross of calvary, or that he even stopped with his resurrection. His works only began there. Starting in Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, and working out into all the earth, Jesus has been building his kingdom through the growth of a family and institution that we call the church. Jesus Christ has established the church as his chief authority in this world and the only place where godly unity, edification, and sanctification are found. The church is the unique institution through which God’s Spirit is at work in this world. So, we confess that the church is holy, universal, and a communion of blood-bought saints because it is the bride and body of Christ. As we confess our belief in the one holy, universal church, I want you to understand what we don’t mean and what we do.

To address what we don’t mean in confessing our belief in the church, we have to face a pernicious virus that has infected American society, and by consequence, the American church. I will call this virus libertarian individualism. Now, individualism, by itself, is not all bad. Individualism is the belief that each person is gifted by God with the rights and responsibilities to live his or her own life. This means that you are morally responsible to God and to your fellow man for what you do with your life. But, unfortunately, over the last century, this focus on individualism has taken a libertarian bent, meaning that we have removed the sense of individual responsibility and only focused on individual rights. So, now we believe that as long as a person is not harming anyone else, he is free to do with his life whatever he pleases. Gone are any concerns for social order, the good of the family, civic institutions, or the future of our country. What matters is what you do with your story, and that is all that matters. As an American, let me say, that there is no way that our country can stand on this mentality. And, as a Christian, I can say with all confidence that there is no justification for libertarian individualism in Scripture. But, this form of individualism has led to two false beliefs that I want to address today.

For one, there has arisen the belief that you can be a Christian without being a part of a local church. Unfortunately, I think this false belief has been encouraged by the church itself because for years church leaders have said, with good intention, that church membership can’t save you. It’s certainly true, that if you think that you will be saved by simply joining a church without having personal faith in Christ, then you are wrong. But, having said that, I would be willing to bet that most if not all of you in this room came to faith in Christ through the ministry of the church. Many of you came to faith at a revival, or sitting in a Sunday school class, or listening to the preacher on a Sunday morning. Even if you heard the Gospel through a radio program, a Bible in a hotel room, or an evangelistic rally, those were all still a result of the ministry of the church. Also, as we will see in a bit, the church is the only place, authorized by Jesus Christ himself and empowered by his Spirit, where discipleship and edification happen. You cannot walk in the Christian way apart from the ministry of the church.

Second, there is the false belief of cafeteria Christianity. We are so individualistic in our society that we believe ourselves to be the sole judge of our Spiritual diet. So, like a customer at a buffet, we take a bit of doctrine from a TV evangelist, a scoop of discipleship from Christian radio, a splash of teaching from Instagram, and a hint of accountability from our local church. So, instead of being faithful to a consistent doctrine and way of faith, we are a hodgepodge of different beliefs, some contradictory and even heretical. Instead of being under the discipline of our local church and its leadership, we question everything because some celebrity preacher that we don’t know said something different.

Now that we understand what we don’t mean when we confess our belief in the holy universal church, let’s consider what we do mean. To see that, let’s read Eph. 4:1-16 together. From this passage I want you to see that the church is one in purity, practice, and purpose.

First, in verses 1-4, notice that the church is one in purity. In the Apostles Creed, we confess that the church is holy, and we do so because we believe that it is a body of those who have been called out by God’s Spirit and washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Notice two aspects of this purity in verses 3 and 4. First, Paul says that believers should be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit. If you are a part of the church of Jesus Christ, it is because you have been joined to it by the Holy Spirit. At some point, through the preaching of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit brought you to understand the truth and you were changed. When that happened, you were united to the body of Christ, which is the church. Second, in verse 4 he says that you were called to one hope. Every Christian in this room, and every believer throughout this world holds to one hope. We hope in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because we are united by his Spirit in the hope of the resurrection, the church is holy. Malign her if you will, but the church is the bride of Christ, and so she is holy. Hate her if you want, but the church is the temple of God, and she is pure. Persecute her if you will, but the church is the New Israel, and she is chosen of God.

Second, in verses 5-6, notice that the church is one in practice. In these verses, Paul expounds on this one hope that we all share. We have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all.” This is why the Apostles Creed confesses that the church is “universal”. I’ve mentioned before that there are two words that I changed in the version of the creed that we recite. I changed the word “hell” to “grave”, and here I changed the word “catholic” to “universal”. I changed it, not because I believe that “catholic” is a bad word, but because I wanted to avoid anyone freaking out until we could get to this point. The word “catholic” is not the sole domain of the Roman Catholic Church any more than the word “Orthodox” is the domain of the Eastern Orthodox Church or “Christ” is the domain of The Church of Christ. The word “catholic” means “universal” or “all embracing”. It is not identifying a specific denomination or organization, but the fact that all of Christianity is united together under a common confession. Now, at first blush, this might seem to be the furthest thing from reality. There are estimated to be over 45,000 Christian denominations in the world, each with its own flavor of practices around worship, baptism, communion, and church government. So, how can we say that there is a universal church when there are so many denominations? There are a few things to consider in answering this question. First of all, not all denominations exist because of doctrinal disagreements, but because of regional, ethnic, and practical differences. For example, there are 65 different Baptist denominations in the US. Some are black denominations, some separated based on region of the country, and some just because they were started by different missionary efforts. But, for the majority of those denominations, we would find that we hold mostly the same practices and would probably accept pastors across denominational lines. The same could be said of Methodists, Presbyterians, and Lutherans. Second, just because there are differences of conscience as it relates to certain practices, it doesn’t mean that we think that every other denomination is non-Christian. If a denomination holds to the essential doctrines of the Apostles Creed, they are Christian, and all Bible-believing denominations, from the Presbyterians to the Pentecostals hold to that. Lastly, I have found that denominations do have some benefit in Christian life. One could argue that the Protestant Reformation that sparked the rise in the denominations we have today started because the Roman Catholic Church became so entrenched in its own understanding of Scripture that it dangerously neglected important doctrines of the faith. So, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg, the sparks from his hammer flamed across Europe as believers began to read the Bible for themselves and trust in the power of the Spirit to lead them into truth. So, when John Calvin read Scripture, he saw the importance of God’s sovereignty and grace in salvation. When Thomas Hewlys read the Bible, he could not escape the importance of personal conversion and believers’ baptism. When John Wesley read it, he saw the necessity for personal holiness and piety. All of these insights are good and right and true, and the Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists that came out of them have preserved those insights in each generation. I have good friends who serve as pastors in other denominations, and I have found their insights challenging and edifying to my own faith and practice as a Baptist. And so, even though we go to different churches formed around specific doctrines and practices, we each benefit the universal church in our own way.

Finally, in verses 7-16, notice that the church is one in its purpose. In these verses, Paul says that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to the church for some important purposes. Those gifts are listed in verse 11, “apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors.” The Holy Spirit has worked through the apostles and prophets to give us God’s Word, and by that same Spirit he has preserved that word for over 2000 years. He has so perfectly preserved it that the New Testament has been translated into around 1658 languages, and you can find Bibles everywhere, from church pews to hotel rooms. But, God has not left us alone with our Bibles. He has gifted evangelists, pastors, and teachers to build us up in that word. Understand that you cannot faithfully walk in the Christian life without the Word of God and the ministry of his church. Paul says that very thing right here. In fact, he gives two positive purposes in the ministry of the church, and one protective purpose. First, in verse 13 it says that the ministry of the church enables us to attain the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God. My friend, Rob Fossett, gave the analogy of a rule book and referee to explain this aspect of the ministry of the church. In every sport, there is a rule book and a referee. The rule book says how the game is played, but that rule book is applied through the work of the referee. Now, there are certainly times when the referee gets it wrong, and when he does the fans and the league call him out. But, when he’s right, you play by what he says. In a similar way, we have the rule book of God’s Word, but we also have referees in the pastors and teachers that minister to us. They are gifts of God to lead us in unity and knowledge.

Second, verses 15 and 16 say that the ministry of the church joins us to the life and work of Christ. By being a part of a local church, you are participating in the body of Christ. In 1 Cor. 12, Paul expounds on this analogy of the church being the body of Christ, and there he explains that every member of the church is like a different member of the body. Each member of the body benefits the body in an invaluable way, and so it is with the church. Each one of you has been gifted so that you might benefit the church, and the church would not be the same without you.

Finally, in verse 14 we see one way that the church protects us. Paul says that the ministry of the church keeps us from being immature children who are tossed about by every error and false teaching out there. In the church we have the protection of unity and accountability. Outside of the church, we are like sheep thrown to wolves. In the church, there is sound teaching. Outside the church, there is the confusion of every wind of doctrine.

Brothers and sisters, the church is essential to our sanctification. To walk outside of the church is to live apart from the life of Christ. But in the church is found edification, accountability, and unity. So, let us commit to the church in our attendance, our support, and the use of our gifts.