3. Of the Church
The catholic (that is, universal) church,
which is invisible, consists of all the elect
who have been, are, or shall be gathered
into one, under Christ its head. This church
is his bride, his body, and the fullness of him
who fills all in all. [WCF 25.1, MESV]
WCF
25.1
The Church
4. An “invisible” church
• This section of the WCF teaches us that believers
have vital union with Christ in his work of
mediation
• The universal church consists of all God's people
• The universal aspect of the church cannot be
witnessed at one time so it is referred to as the
"invisible" church
• "Invisible" here captures one aspect of the
existence of the church
• Church as described is always defined in
relationship to Jesus Christ (true believers are
united to Jesus Christ)
WCF
25.1
The Church
5. The head of the church
• Christ is head over all things and in a special way he is head
over his church. All rule in the church is under his leadership.
• Consequently church leaders must minister in his name
because Christ is the sole head of the church as much as he is
sole Savior
• WCF mentions not only Christ's leadership in the church, but
also in faithfulness to Scripture (Eph 1:23)
• Christ the king reigning over all (kingdom); Christ as head of
the church (body); and Christ the mediator (his people)
• Church is the fullness of the one who in himself fills all in all
• The church is Christ's 'spouse', his 'body', even his 'fullness'
Jesus is the “head” and Christians are the “body” of the church
WCF
25.1
The Church
6. Of the Church
The visible church, which is also catholic
(that is, universal) under the gospel (that is,
not confined to one nation, as it was before
under the law), would who profess the true
religion, together with their children. It is
the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
house and family of God, outside of which
there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.
[WCF 25.2, MESV]
WCF
25.2
The Church
7. Universal and visible
• Church is both universal (invisible) and
visible (and universal)
• Who are in the church?
• Christ's inheritance of those who were once
unbelievers, ushered into the church from all
nations, is a major focus on the Scriptures
• The church consists of all those throughout the
world that profess the true religion
WCF
25.2
The Church
8. Professors and “their children”
• Yesterdays "professors" are today's "believers" who
acknowledged and owned the one true Redeemer
and assembled in Christ's name
• Church consists of "professors" and their children
(not automatically Christians by this relationship)
• Children of "professing" Christians are God's before
they are ours
• God takes ownership of covenant children
• Church is visible, universal and covenantal,
includes believing parent(s) and their children
Covenant children are not to be treated as “little
pagans”
WCF
25.2
The Church
9. The church as kingdom, house,
and family
• Church is a family and a kingdom
• However, the kingdom of God is not limited
to the church but the church is certainly the
kingdom of Jesus Christ
• Christ's kingdom is certainly bigger than the
church but it certainly includes the church
WCF
25.2
The Church
10. Inside and outside the church
• Who are out of the church?
• Outside of the church there is no ordinary
possibility of salvation
• New Testament pattern: People joined to
Christ were joined to his church
WCF
25.2
The Church
11. Of the Church
To this universal, visible church, Christ has
given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of
God for the gathering and perfecting of the
saints, in this life, to the end of the age. For
this purpose he makes these means effectual
by his own presence and Spirit, according to
his promise. [WCF 25.3, MESV]
WCF
25.3
The Church
12. The ministry, oracles, and
ordinances
• The God ordained context for ministry is a
churchly context. The church is a unique
institution of which Christ is the head and it is
the repository for special gifts related to the
gospel.
• These gifts are for the universal visible church,
for the church of Christ as a whole
• The main purpose of the "gifts" is for perfecting
the saints, to make us more like the perfect
man
WCF
25.3
The Church
13. Gathering and perfecting
• When a person is brought to Christ the work has only
begun to address spiritual immaturity, doctrinal error
and equipping to minister
• These gifts are needed in our own lifetime, useful to the
ends of the earth and the end of the world
• First truth is Jesus' command to teach and baptize all
nations and second truth is Christ's assurance that he
would be with his preachers and teachers until the end
of time (Mt 28:19-20)
• Christ promised his presence before he ascended to
heaven
The main purpose of spiritual gifts is for “perfecting”
saints
WCF
25.3
The Church
14. Of the Church
This universal church has been sometimes
more and sometimes less visible. Particular
churches, which are members of this
universal church, are more or less pure to the
extent to which the doctrine of the gospel is
taught and embraced, the ordinances are
administered, and public worship is
performed more or less purely in them. [WCF
25.4, MESV]
WCF
25.4
The Church
15. The visibility of the church, and
the marks of the church
• The universal church is more or less evident. There
have been periods both in OT and NT when it
proved very hard to see the church surviving at all.
• The Westminster Assembly was willing to calibrate
the purity of a church based on the relative purity
of the three marks of a church: (1) relative purity
of the gospel taught and embraced in those
churches; (2) administration of the sacraments; and
(3) conduct of public worship.
• Proper administration of the sacraments also
includes discipline
WCF
25.4
The Church
16. Of the Church
The purest churches on earth are subject to
both mixture and error, and some have so
degenerated that they have become no
churches of Christ at all, but rather
synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there
shall always be a church on earth to worship
God according to his will. [WCF 25.5, MESV]
WCF
25.5
The Church
17. Mixed churches
• Even the purest of churches is subject to
error
• We are sinners and now we see in a mirror
dimly (1 Cor 13:12)
• Some churches have so degenerated as to
become no churches at all in the true sense
• But there will always be a true church on
earth to worship God according to his will
No true church is totally pure, but there is
such a thing as a false “church”
WCF
25.5
The Church
18. The pope as the antichrist?
There is no other head of the church but the
Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the Pope of Rome be
its head in any sense. [WCF 25.6, MESV]
• The historic WCF text continues the sentence:
• … “but is, that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of
perdition, that exalts himself, in the church, against
Christ, and all that is called God.”
• Bible proof-texts the Westminster Assembly
provided (Mt 23:8-10; 2 Thess 2:3-4, 8-9; Rev 13:6)
• Edited in 1903 by American Presbyterians to remove
language that provided "antichrist" labels to the
Pope
WCF
25.6
The Church
19. Of the Communion of Saints
All saints - who are united to Jesus Christ
their head by his Spirit and by faith - have
fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings,
death, resurrection, and glory. And, being
united to one another in love, they
participate in each other's gifts and graces
and are obligated to perform those public and
private duties which lead to their mutual
good, both inwardly and outwardly. [WCF
26.1, MESV]
WCF
26.1
The Church
20. Union with Christ
• Teaches that believers have vital union with Christ
in his work of mediation and as a consequence of
vital union with Christ that believers also have
communion with each other and in each other's
gifts and graces
• Shifts from the topic of headship of Christ with his
whole church to the union of Christ with every
Christian
• States how we are united to Christ, in what way we
fellowship with him, and how we are to find
communion with the saints
All saints are savingly united to Jesus Christ
WCF
26.1
The Church
21. Sharing in the grace of Christ
• Once united to Christ we cannot but have
fellowship with him
• We not only share in the grace of Christ but
we share in his grace by sharing in his
sufferings, his death, resurrection, and glory
WCF
26.1
The Church
22. Communion with the saints
• If all Christians are united to Christ, then that
in Christ we are united to one another
• It is to him that we are joined and held
together, and together we speak the truth in
love and are built up in love (Eph 4:15-16)
• This communion of the saints in gifts and graces
is so important that the Holy Spirit is given for
the common good (1 Cor 12:7)
To be united to Christ necessarily results in unity
with other Christians
WCF
26.1
The Church
23. Christian communion in
community
• Because we are in union with Christ and in
communion with each other, we are obliged to
perform public and private duties for our mutual
good taking care of the Christians around us
• Christian communion is not simply occupied with
the inner man, it also cares about the outer man
• This love for each other cannot be restricted to
what we have; it needs to encompass who we are
Our communion with Christ informs our communion
with each other
WCF
26.1
The Church
24. Of the Communion of Saints
It is the duty of professing saints to maintain
a holy fellowship and communion in the
worship of God and in performing such other
spiritual services as help them to edify one
another. It is their duty also to come to the
aid of one another in material things
according to their various abilities and
necessities. As God affords opportunity, this
communion is to be extended to all those in
every place who call on the name of the Lord
Jesus. [WCF 26.2, MESV]
WCF
26.2
The Church
25. The worship of God
• Teaches that this communion entails certain mutual
duties and obligations among believers
• Explains how we are to hold communion with one
another in and out of the boundaries of corporate
worship
• Part of our profession of Christians is to maintain
fellowship and communion in all that we do and
have and are
• We are especially bound to maintain a holy
fellowship and a holy communion both with God
and with each other
WCF
26.2
The Church
26. The tendency to drift from
worship
• While many Christians have a taste of heaven in
Lord's Day worship (communion with God and
communion with each other), there has always
been a drift in the Christian church away from
active, corporate worship
• Word of God has actively warned Christians against
neglecting to meet together and directs us instead
to be always encouraging one another (Heb 10:25)
• In all of these spiritual services to God there is a
spiritual service offered to each other
Mutual edification should be one of our goals as we
worship
WCF
26.2
The Church
27. The “outward things”
• One overflow of this communion in worship
is a communion in goods
• This communion in goods is to be extended
to all those who in every place call upon the
name of the Lord Jesus (2 Cor 8:9; Acts
11:29-30)
• The communion of the saints extends
beyond the confines of our church or
locality. It is to be an expression of the
overflow of Christ's love for all his people,
among all his people.
WCF
26.2
The Church
28. Of the Communion of saints
The communion which the saints have with
Christ does not make them in any way
partakers of the substance of his Godhead, or
in any respect equal with Christ. To affirm
either is irreverent and blasphemous. Nor
does their fellowship with one another as
saints take away or infringe upon any
person’s title to, or right to, his own goods
and possessions. [WCF 26.3, MESV]
WCF
26.3
The Church
29. No possibility of divinization
• The union and communion with Christ which are
enjoyed by believers
• does not mean that they become divine, or equal with
Christ
• nor does the communion of believers with each other
destroy the right of private property
• Clarifies the limits of union and communion with
Christ and his people
• The communion that we have with Christ is with
Christ as our mediator, not with Christ in his being
• We do not share in Christ's divine qualities and we
are not equal with Christ in any respect
WCF
26.3
The Church
30. No requirement for communalism
• There are also limits to the parameters so
our communion with one another
• Scriptures both exhibit and require saints
sharing with those who are in need
Communion does not require communalism!
WCF
26.3
The Church
31. Summary of key points
WCF
25-26
• Jesus is the “head” and Christians are the “body” of the church
• Covenant children are not to be treated as “little pagans”
• The main purpose of spiritual gifts is for “perfecting” saints
• No true church is totally pure, but there is such a thing as a false
“church”
• All saints are savingly united to Jesus Christ
• To be united to Christ necessarily results in unity with other
Christians
• Our communion with Christ informs our communion with each
other
• Mutual edification should be one of our goals as we worship
• Communion does not require communalism
The Church
32. Consider and discuss
1. The WCF teaches the church is a kingdom,
a house, and a family. What are some
other biblical metaphors for the church?
Which resonates most with you?
2. List some common criticisms and praises of
the church. How does the Bible speak to
each of these?
3. “I love Jesus but I can’t stand the church.”
Discuss.
WCF
25-26
4. Why do you think the Westminster Assembly confessed the
Pope is the antichrist? Why would later Presbyterians
remove this language from the WCF?
5. Jesus gave his life on the cross for his church. If you loved
the church as Jesus does, how would your life change?
The Church
33. Memorize
And he [Christ] is the head of the
body, the church. He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, that in
everything he might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was
pleased to dwell, and through him to
reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven, making
peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:18-20
WCF
25-26
The Church
34. Going deeper
Books
• Allberry, Sam. Why Bother With Church? (Beginner)
• Savage, Timothy. The Church: God’s New People.
(Beginner)
• Ryken, Philip. The Communion of Saints. (Intermediate)
• Clowney, Edmund. The Church. (Advanced)
Articles
• Packer, J.I. The Church.
• DeYoung, Kevin. 9 Marks of an Unhealthy Church.
• Articles on Ecclesiology at Monergism.com.
WCF
25-26
The Church
