Dogma 4: I Believe in the Church

It is not uncommon for an individual to nod his head in approval all the way through from “I believe in God, the Father Almighty” to “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” only to apply the brakes halting at “the holy catholic church.”  

In his book Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam cites the decline of involvement in community activity. He uses bowling as an example where statistics show that while the number of bowlers remains steady, if not increases, the number of bowlers participating in leagues continues to decline. We, in many ways, are an individualistic society. We have taken “I did it my way” to the extreme. George Gallup, Jr. reported that “Americans are among the loneliest people in the world” (Stanley 22).

Nevertheless, lonely or not, hundreds if not thousands of believers – not counting non-believers – ignore, avoid, and ridicule the Church. So, when we come to this point in the Creed, some choose to bail. Therefore, I aim this morning to speak to the value of the Church and to show why you need the church and why the Church needs you.

Join me in exploring the nature of the Church. We will discover that the Church is . . .

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1. Christ’s Church
Matthew records the very first mention of the Church. Appropriately, Jesus spoke the first word on the church.

Matthew 16:17-18 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Simon Peter’s shining moment precedes these verses. He shines as he confesses his understanding of his Teacher’s identity – “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Following that correct and God-inspired response, Jesus dubs Simon “the Rock.”  Upon that great confession and upon the one who spoke it, Christ promises to build. Notice what He will build: “my church.” The Church belongs to Jesus.

As the founder, Christ starts with Simon the Rock and begins to stack stones. What are those stones? Well, it is interesting that if we look through all the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation, we will find no mention of building a church building. So, what are the stones? Peter, the first Rock, explained this best.

1 Peter 2:5 (NIV)
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

If anyone has described you as thick-headed, maybe that is because you are a stone!

Addressing us, the living stones, R. T. France writes:

When Jesus speaks of “building his church,” the foundation rock and the verb “build” are the solid images on which the metaphor relies, but the word “church” does not contribute to the physical imagery. The Greek term ekklēsia never denotes a physical structure in the NT, but always a community of people. The new temple is not a building of literal stones, but consists of “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5). (NICNT 623)

Now that we have established the substance of the church, we need to assess the strength. Will the Church, made of flawed bricks, withstand the earthquake, the flood, the tsunami, the fights, the gossip, the pettiness, the troubles?

We find the answer in verse 18 – “the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

France says, "The imagery is rather of death being unable to swallow up the new community which Jesus is building. It will never be destroyed." (NICNT 625)

The Church will survive. We have no control over that. We do, however, have input in determining if the Church will thrive.

1 Timothy 3:15 (NIV)
if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

In our words and behavior may we honor the Lord of the House.

We also see the Church as the . . .

2. Holy Church

Martin Luther, the Priest turned Reformer, spoke up in 1517 to voice his objection that the church of his day “had . . . too low an opinion of the majesty and the holiness of God and too high an estimate of the worth and potentiality of man." (Bainton 24)

When we reclaim and/or discover the truth of God’s majesty and holiness, we will grasp why the Church must be holy, or in the Latin Creed, “sancta ecclesia.”

‘I believe one holy . . . Church.’  What is the meaning of sancta ecclesia? According to biblical usage of the term, it means ‘set apart’.  And we think of the origin of the Church, of those called out of the world. ‘Church’ will always signify a separation. (Barth 143)

Luther from the 1500s nor Barth from the 1900s originated this idea. In fact, we can trace the message of God’s holiness back to Genesis. Yet, perhaps, the first Rock himself said it best:

1 Peter 1:1 (NIV)
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,

1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

1 Peter 2:4-12 (NIV)
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”
and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Are you strange? Note, I did not ask if you are weird. I asked if you are strange. In other words, do you stand out in your faith, or do you blend in so well to the culture that no one could guess you identify yourself with Christ?

The Church is a gathering of strangers, not strangers to one another, but strangers to the world. Notice, however, that “strangers” does not imply detachment.

verse 12 - "among the pagans”

Just as Jesus, Holiness Incarnate, loved the prostitute and the tax collector, you too, while striving for holiness, are to love the “worldly.”

The Church is Christ’s and Holy; it is also the . . .

3. Catholic Church

‘I believe one holy, catholic [universal] . . . Church.’—the ecclesia catholica. The concept of Catholicity is tainted for us, because in this connexion [sic] we think of the Roman Catholics. But the Reformers undoubtedly made a claim upon this concept for themselves. What is involved is the one, holy and catholic people of God. (Barth 144)

“catholic not Catholic”

We are part of the catholic Church in that we are:  Universal and Unified

a. Universal

We, while autonomous, do not stand alone. We walk in the memory of believers throughout history and, when at our best, walk hand-in-hand with believers in our present day.

While I will identify myself as a Baptist, that is only after I identify myself as a Christian, a follower of Christ. No one group or denomination holds the patent on God.

b. Unified

"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship." (Tozer 119-120)

(1) With the Past

Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

This word follows an honor roll of the faithful from Abel the son of Adam to martyred first century Christians. The faithful dead.

In their shadow we walk. We are surrounded by the memory of their faith, sacrifice, bravery, courage, acts of honor and rich testimony. Just as my action rightfully honors the courage of veterans and fallen soldiers, so we honor our spiritual ancestors.

(2) In the Present

Ephesians 4:3-6 (NIV)
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Count the “ones.”  Seven “ones” in one sentence!

Do you hear the message Paul intended to communicate? We must commit to unity in the present. It does us no good to honor the heroes of our past while ignoring those serving alongside us today.

The Church is Christ’s, Holy, Catholic and it is the . . .

4. Local Church

We do a disservice to God’s created assembly when we view the Church as the universal church alone. It is also local. The Church, while remaining one, exists in a concrete, local congregation.

By men assembling here and there in the Holy Spirit there arises here and  there a visible Christian congregation. It is best not to apply the idea of invisibility to the Church; we are all inclined to slip away with that in the direction of a civitas platonica of some sort of Cloud-cuckooland, in which the Christians are united inwardly and invisibly, while the visible Church is devalued. (Barth 142)

I am glad that Church is much more and much clearer than “some sort of Cloud-cuckooland.”  

Within the opening of any of Paul’s letters in the New Testament one will see a local body or bodies addressed. Take the second letter to Thessalonica as an example:

2 Thessalonians 1:1 (NIV)
Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Following the New Testament example, we identify ourselves as a local church as part of the Universal Church. We at Rabbit Creek Church (the church I pastor) are the Church.

The Church is Christ’s, Holy, Catholic, Local and . . .

5. Called-Out

The Church they built was not such a howling success, it was a poor struggling thing. Yet these men and women remained unshaken in their confidence that it had the root of the matter in it, because He was in it and with it always until the end of the world. (Studdert Kennedy 75)

For sure, that early band of believers struggled – struggled physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually – struggled even unto death. Yet, they persevered. Studdert Kennedy correctly identifies their source of courage – “He was in it.”

Where did he get such an idea?

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

#ordinarylives


For further reading:
Bainton, Roland H. The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. Boston: Beacon Press, 1985.
Barth, Karl. Dogmatics in Outline. New York: Harper & Row, 1959.
France, R.T. The Gospel of Matthew - The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007.
Putnam, Robert. Bowling Alone. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Stanley, Andy and Bill Willits. Creating Community. Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2004.
Studdert Kennedy, G.A. I Believe (Sermons on the Apostles’ Creed). Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1928.
Tozer, A.W. The Pursuit of God. Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1997.