The Church Of Christ

I invite you to turn with me this morning to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 this morning, as we continue our study of the Word of God as summarized in the Belgian Confession of Faith, we consider article 27, found on page 82 and 83, the bottom of 82, top of 83, in the back of the Psalter hymnal, dealing with the truth of Christ's church. And among a number of passages, Ephesians chapter 2 is one of the foundational portions of the scripture teaching the truth of the church of Jesus Christ. But before we read those, a few words of introduction as we continue, beloved, our study of the Word of God as it is summarized in the Belgic Confession of Faith. We now, with this article, make a transition as we come to the last articles of the Confession. And just to recap, if you will, to broadly summarize where we have been so far, as believers, we have already confessed our faith in God and in His work. We've already confessed what we believe about man and his greatest need. And we have confessed our faith in Jesus Christ and the salvation which He earned and secured for those who are His own, and how that salvation then becomes our very own. And again, now the confession makes a transition to talk about what becomes of the company of the elect. What becomes of the company of those who are brought to faith in Christ Jesus. The confession, you see, now introduces us to Scripture's teaching of the church and her calling. And spends, really, quite a bit of time, a fair portion of the confession dealing with the church. Article 27, which is before us this morning, deals with the truth of the church of Jesus Christ. What is the church? Article 28 then talks about why we must belong to the true church. Article 29 takes up the distinction between the true church and the false church, dealing with the visible churches in this life. And then Articles 30 to 35 deal with the government, the office bearers, the discipline of the church, as well as the sacraments administered in the church. But again, this morning, we consider the truth of the church of Christ. And this is no small doctrine, it is no unimportant doctrine, but it is one that is to be of great comfort for us as God's people. In the Apostles' Creed, we say, boys and girls, Maybe you've already caught this as you have learned the Apostles' Creed. We confess, I believe in God the Father. I believe in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I believe in the Holy Spirit. But when it comes to the church and forgiveness of sins and resurrection of the body and life everlasting and communion of saints, we don't say, I believe in these things. Instead, for example, with the church we confess, I believe a holy Catholic Church. Because to believe in something means to put your trust in that something, to rely upon that something, and we put our trust in God alone. We rely upon Him alone. We do not put our trust in the church or in the forgiveness of sins or in life everlasting. We do confess, though, that we believe the truth of the existence of the holy Catholic Church. We believe that this true church, this holy Catholic church is real. We believe the forgiveness of sins is real. We believe life everlasting is real. Now also by way of introduction, we use the term church in different ways, don't we? Boys and girls, last night your mom or dad may have said to you, tomorrow is Sunday. And as I said to my youngest boys, then I went on to say with this in my mind already from working on this all week, we are going to church. And I had to think twice about that. And you probably thought of this building. And we talk about this church located here at 1864 North Broadway, and with that we think of this congregation, which we call the Escondido United Reformed Church. And there are different denominations and federations and organizations of churches that we speak of. Again, there are the United Reformed Churches, the Christian Reformed Church, the Protestant Reformed Church, the Reformed Church of America, and many other Reformed categories or Reformed designations of churches, not to mention the Baptist Church, the Lutheran Church, the Roman Catholic Church, community churches. Our confession of one holy Catholic Church doesn't seem to fit what's visible, does it? It doesn't seem to fit the practice in the world today. In the study of theology, we talk about the church in different ways. The visible church and the invisible church. The church militant. The church triumphant. And as well, there is so much misunderstanding and error about the church today with regard to what the church is and what takes place or is to take place in the church. Some think that it is only a human institution. Others think that it has outlived her usefulness and the church needs to get with it and be more of an institution modeled by the psychology of our day and to provide whatever it takes to keep the people interested and coming back. Beloved, we need to listen to what God says about the church and not the opinions of men. The real truth about the church comes only from God. Article 27 summarizes the Word of God as it deals with the one church of Christ, not as we see the church divided, but as God sees the church united in Christ. And what we want to be reminded of this morning is its miraculous reality and its gracious appearance. Ephesians 2, this is the Word of God. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the Spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision, that done in the body by the hands of men, remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near, and through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. May God add his blessing to the reading of his word. Article 27, bottom of page 82, given the title, The Catholic Christian Church. We believe and profess one Catholic or universal church, which is a holy congregation of true Christian believers, all expecting their salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by His blood, sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit. This church has been from the beginning of the world and will be to the end thereof, which is evident from this that Christ is an eternal King, which without subjects He cannot be. And this holy church is preserved or supported by God against the rage of the whole world, though it sometimes for a while appears very small and in the eyes of men to be reduced to nothing. As during the perilous reign of Ahab, the Lord reserved under him 7,000 men who had not bowed their knees to Baal. Furthermore, this holy church is not confined, bound, or limited to a certain place or to certain persons, but is spread and dispersed over the whole world and yet is joined and united with heart and will by the power of faith in one and the same Spirit. Beloved in Christ the Lord, we are a part of a miracle and a mystery. That's what the Bible teaches. When we strip away, when we peel away all the ideas of men with regard to the church and focus on what the Bible teaches, then we see that Christ's church is a miraculous reality. She is a supernatural work of God. The miracle is that God created the church by the power of His grace. He has taken those and continues to take those who were dead in their trespasses and sins, as Paul says, and made them, makes them alive in Christ Jesus. And throughout Scripture, the mysteries reveal just how God went about creating for Himself and continues to build the Holy Church. Article 27 clearly explains the reality of this church when it says, We believe and profess one Catholic or universal church, which is a holy congregation of true Christian believers, all expecting their salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by His blood, sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit. No matter what one may think about the church, No matter whom one might think the church is made up of, if it's not this, it's not accurate. And notice the three marks or characteristics given about you and me as Christians. True Christian believers are those and only those who expect their salvation in Jesus Christ are washed by His blood and are sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit. True Christian believers are those who are undeserving, to be sure, along with all of mankind, yet upon whom God has set His electing love, which Paul speaks of in chapter 1 of Ephesians, beginning at verse 4. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will, to the praise of His glorious grace which He has freely given us in the one He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace. And jumping down to verse 11, In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we who were the first to hope in God might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having believed you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who was a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of His glory. The church is God's adopted family, chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. And beloved, just as this is true of the church as a whole, it is also true of each individual believer. It's true of you. It's true of me as believers in Christ. The church is defined not by what man thinks, not by what we think she ought to be. But the church is defined by who she is in Jesus Christ. Scripture gives examples to show the close relationship between Christ and the church. Early in the Old Testament, God described His relationship with His people as shepherd and sheep. We've been considering that in Psalm 23. And Jesus continued that in the New Testament in John chapter 10. Jesus is the head, and the church is his body, 1 Corinthians 12. But also the end of Ephesians 1, after talking about the authority given to Christ. Paul says, beginning in verse 22, And God placed all things under his feet, and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. And then John 15 speaks of Jesus as the vine. We are the branches. He is the cornerstone. Believers are the stones, 1 Peter 2, verse 4. Christ is the bridegroom. And the church is his bride, Revelation 19. And Paul also talks about that a bit in Ephesians chapter 5. And notice again the last verses of chapter 2, how Paul takes a number of these and puts them together. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. Maybe you notice, but all of these different designations or descriptions of the church point to the same feature. And that is the church is one church. The church is one body. The church is one holy congregation. And all those who make up that one church have one thing in common. They again fit the description of Article 27. All expecting their salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by His blood, sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit. In theology, we talk about the attributes of the church, or we might say the characteristics of the church, these things that give description, identity, we might say to the church. And unity is one of those attributes. And again, this points to the truth that there is only one church of those called out of darkness and brought into God's marvelous light. And this church is gathered by Christ in the unity of true faith. and as Article 27 ends, is joined and united with heart and will by the power of faith in one and the same Spirit. Paul talks about this unity in Ephesians 4, 3-6. 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. God's people are united into one body with one head, even Jesus Christ. And in Him alone, the church enjoys another attribute and that is holiness. Paul says the church is a holy temple in the Lord. Those who are called out of the world and are washed by His blood are set apart as holy and are dedicated to the service of God. Peter, we know, gives that beautiful description of the church as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. And the church isn't holy in and of herself. We sometimes like to think that we are. But she is only holy in Christ. As far as a visible demonstration of the church, this doesn't mean that we're perfect. Or even that all the names in the directory is a born-again Christian. We hope so. But the Bible clearly warns of hypocrisy and wolves in sheep's clothing. Another attribute of the church is that she is Catholic. Now most of us, even many of the boys and girls, I think, know that we're not claiming to be the Roman Catholic Church, which has the Pope and the Vatican. But Catholic simply means universal. It means worldwide. There is one holy congregation, and this one holy congregation is not limited, as the confession says. It's not limited, confined, or bound to one time, or place, or persons, but is spread over the whole world from the beginning to the end of time. The ministry of the apostles already was a demonstration of the church's Catholicity. Verse 13 says, But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away, you who once were Gentiles and had no part, have been brought near through the blood of Christ. One more attribute that we can mention is that the church is apostolic. In the Nicene Creed, we say that we believe one holy Catholic and apostolic church. As Paul says, she is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. And that apostolic foundation, beloved, is made up of all the apostles had seen and heard concerning the Christ. And all that he had revealed and taught to them concerning the redemptive work of the Christ. And what did the apostles teach? They taught that salvation is only in Jesus Christ. They taught that forgiveness is only through His shed blood. They taught that our guarantee is the Holy Spirit who lives in and with us, preparing us for glory. And that means, beloved, that the church, in a sense, stands or falls according to whether or not she confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. She stands or falls according to whether or not she is bound to the words of the apostles. Whether or not she perseveres in what the apostles have taught. Whether or not she rejects anything contrary to the Apostles' teaching. Beloved, the church is united in the truth of Jesus Christ. And sometimes we also speak of, in Article 27, talks about the church's indestructibility. She will never be destroyed. The gates of hell cannot prevail against her. As the Confession says, this church has been from the beginning of the world and will be to the end thereof. Why? Because Christ is an eternal King. And He will present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. That's true comfort for the true believer. That He will present us, the church, to Himself. Perfect. And all of this means that true spiritual blessing is to be found only in being a part of the Church of Christ. That's the reality of the situation. That means it is fatal, it is eternally deadly to be outside of the true Church, as Article 28 will consider. Dr. P.Y. DeYoung, in his commentary on the Confession, says of these attributes, these characteristics of the Church, he says, perfectly do the characteristics apply to the church as God sees the company of His people. Perfectly is how God sees it. Relatively, he says, but nonetheless really do they apply to the church as we learn to know her and share in her life on earth. Only relatively for us as we look around and see the church on this earth. Yet by God's grace, we come to understand that the true church is holy, is apostolic, is Catholic or universal, is indestructible, and so forth. But what a comfort it is to be for us as believers to know how God sees the church. He sees her as a holy congregation of true Christian believers. He sees her as the bride of the Son in whom He is well pleased. and since god is not bound by time he sees this bride as complete as beautiful majestic and glorious doesn't mean to say that he doesn't see the imperfections in the visible church but we're talking about the one holy congregation but in this life we don't see that yet as god does we don't see the church as god sees the church but we must confess that the church enjoys a gracious appearance. Now we get into a bit the visible aspect of the church, of the true church. The church has always had a visible appearance in this life, in this world. That's what the article says as we said a moment ago. This church has been from the beginning of the world and will be to the end thereof. But when it comes to mankind, there are a variety of opinions about what it is that ought to characterize the church. What is it we should see? What is it that we should be looking for when we look for a church? Some say friendliness. Others say a great music program. So others, all kinds of extra programs to fit the needs of the various ages of people. And these may all be good things, but the single greatest feature or characteristic of the church in her appearance, as she is seen, is and is to be true faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the obedience of faith in what God says is to be the chief mark of this one holy congregation. Not what man wants. We don't go out and take a poll of people and say, well, what would you like to see in a church? What would there need to be in order to draw you into the church, into our church in particular? That's not how we do it. It's what God says and only what God says. True faith has characterized the true church in every age. The church appeared in the beginning with only a couple of people, Adam and Eve. A bit later in Genesis, we read about men beginning to call upon the name of the Lord. And the idea there is that men came together in the form of a congregation for worship. The nation of Israel was the church of Christ in the Old Testament. On Pentecost, with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, We might say the church went worldwide. The apostles planted churches in almost every city they visited. The church spread visibly of faithful, true believers. But by God's grace, the true church has always appeared with the characteristic of faith. Our Lord deposited the treasure of His Gospel in His church, has given to her the glorious task of preaching the Word of God. She is the pillar and ground of truth and must hold firmly to that truth. And it has always been through the church that Christ continues to build His church. John Calvin speaks of the church as our spiritual mother, and he says, We may learn even from the title of mother how useful and even necessary it is for us to know her, since there is no other way of entrance into life unless we are conceived by her, born of her, nursed at her breast, and continually preserved under her care and government till we are divested of this mortal flesh and become like angels. He's talking about that one holy congregation of true Christian believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Beloved, the body of Christ can always be found wherever there are people who expect their salvation in Christ alone. Where they are found, there is the church. And this is all of God's grace because as long as this life remains, the church's sworn enemy is still prowling around seeking to destroy the church. And if you are a member of the true church, you know this. We must ask ourselves, do I have true faith? We must know if we are in the number of the redeemed. You know, you know for yourself, you know the signs, you know if there is genuine faith in your life. God gives to all true Christian believers assurance of faith. Maybe in some that assurance is greater than in others, but it's there. And then as those who know, have confidence that we belong to this one holy congregation, we know then that we can't expect an easy time. The church as she has appeared on this earth has never had an easy time. Satan positively, actually, and literally hates this holy congregation. He wants us to think that he loves us, only to become friendly with him and then to destroy us. The church is an outcast in this world because she doesn't fit with the ruler of this dark world. And therefore, Christ's church is always under attack in this life, sometimes from within, sometimes from without. But God in His grace has always preserved and supported the church against Satan and the attacks of the world. In fact, in Acts, we are given a visible, we might say a visible demonstration of that as we read that the more the early church was persecuted, the more she spread throughout the world, the more she grew. Whenever the church in history, whether in the time of Elijah and Ahab or when Israel was in captivity or in the time of the Reformation, whenever the church in history looked defeated, God has always preserved a remnant for himself whose faith was in him alone, those who believed every bit of God's word. Now, beloved, some have a very limited view of the true church, most often by some organizational name. A very limited view. Indeed, the church is limited. She is made up of only true Christian believers, again, all expecting their salvation in Jesus Christ. And there are many who claim to be a part of the church, but they're not because these things aren't true for them. Many claim to be a part of the church, but will have nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Yet these Christian marks also make the church a lot broader than many think. Transcending denominational lines and boundaries. There are people all over this earth throughout all of time in whom these three things are true. We are to remember, beloved, how God looks at the church. And that is to be our comfort. He says in Isaiah, as we sang, that His people are engraved on the palm of His hand. And the Bible says God guards His people as the apple of His eye. No one can change how God looks upon His church, His people. The church of Christ is the center of His concern. All of world history revolves around and is for the good of the church. And when the church is complete, we might say that the rest will be history. And beloved, we are called to believe this truth of the church and to show that we believe it by living and walking by faith. Faith that demonstrates to the world, even though we may be attacked, faith that demonstrates that we expect our salvation in Jesus Christ. We consciously expect that. We consciously look forward to that. That's our conscious assurance. And that faith then will experience fellowship with other believers. See, the church isn't just a bunch of individuals. It's a family. It's a congregation. The Christian individual knows no life apart from Christ's body. And that body appears. That body is made manifest in the believer's fellowship with those who are Christ's. There is a unity in Christ that no person, nothing, can change or destroy. And that doesn't mean, unfortunately, that we always get along. It doesn't mean that we always like each other. Shame on us for that. Sometimes we are quick to criticize each other. We are quick to nitpick at each other or find fault with each other even over silly minor things. Beloved, there are many in this world who are on the road to hell and we don't give them a second thought. Yet sometimes we complain if our phone number is wrong in the church directory or if we don't get some sort of recognition in the bulletin or in the share and care that we thought we deserved or any other trivial matter that serves to drive a wedge between God's people. Let us think about the things that are really important, beloved. Those who are loved by Christ are called to love each other and pray for and encourage each other and build each other up. God has given us to each other. Isn't that a precious gift? God has given us as brothers and sisters in Christ to each other. Indeed, sometimes the situation in the church looks hopeless, but that's part of the miracle. That's part of the mystery. Satan will work however he can, whether through the world or whether through ungodly laws or even through each other. He will work to destroy the church, but God will preserve it. Christ said, I will build my church and He will finish it. The truth of the church. is that there is only one church composed of all who own Jesus as their Savior. And beloved, even if Christians who own Christ differ on some things, they are still one in Him. And nobody can destroy that unity. Indeed, the church appears in different denominations and federations in this life. There is not one word in my understanding, Not one word in the Bible that says there has to be one organizational appearance of the church of Jesus Christ. Not to say we should further fragment it for no good biblical reason. But we can expect, beloved, that God who is rich in mercy will call people from all over, from all kinds of circumstances, from all times in history, and He will unite them in Christ. And we can learn a lot from our fellow true Christian believers. Yet having said that, at the very same time, our calling in this world is to stay as close to the Bible as we possibly can and to seek out and to be a member of a Bible-believing congregation. There are visible false churches. Lord willing, we'll talk about that with Article 29. Beloved, the terms for the church in this world, Some that are used are struggling church, visible church, militant church. But there is also the church triumphant. And many of our loved ones, along with the saints of old, are even now rejoicing in the grace that has brought them there. There is a church invisible to which all true Christian believers belong. and that church invisible whose traits we still today in the visible church are to try to capture. But most important, we must remember how God sees us. When we are described as all expecting our salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by His blood, sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit, then God says, I'll keep you forever. Because you are that by my grace. And my gifts and my calling are irrevocable. I will not change my mind. And no one can change it for me. No one can undo what I have done. God will continue to work out His plan no matter how weak and scattered the church may seem to be in this world to the human eye. But we are safe forevermore. Not because we are strong, but because we are in Christ and we belong to His body. Apart from belonging to Christ and His body, there is no hope. But for those who repent of their sins and look to Him, they own this comfort. As 1 John 5, verse 4 says, For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Beloved, may each of us have and rejoice in this faith. Amen. Shall we pray? father we do thank you and praise you this morning for the truth of your word the truth of the church of jesus christ which you have elected from before the foundation of the world which you continue to call together throughout history all for the sake of the blood of jesus Christ, which he used to purchase this church. Father, we pray that you would continue to unite us more and more to each other, and also to the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. May we rejoice in the church of Jesus Christ, and may our prayers constantly go up for her. And Father, may we have that blessed assurance that we are a part of that bride, which the bridegroom will present to himself, perfect, without stain, without wrinkle one day. Oh, that will be the day, O Lord. And may we anxiously look forward to it. In the name of Jesus Christ alone we pray. Amen.