Articles 19-22: The Household Of Faith – The Church

ARTICLES 19-22: THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH – THE CHURCH
“The Visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacrament be duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same..” “The Church has power to decree Rites and Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of faith; and yet it is not lawful for the church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word..” “Wherefore things ordained by the General Councils (Synod) as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless .. they be taken out of Holy Scripture.” “The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping… of images… and also invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.” (Articles 19 -22 (abridged)).
The church refers to a meeting of a people called out and summoned together. In the N.T. it designates primarily the congregation of God’s people in Christ, who come together as citizens of God’s Kingdom (Eph. 2: 19) for the purpose of worshiping God. The word “church” can refer to a local church (Mat 18:17; Act 15:4) or the universal church (Matt 16: 18; Acts 20:28).
The church is presented as the people of God (1 Cor. 1:2; 10: 32; 1 Pet. 2: 4-10), the company of redeemed believers made possible by the death of Christ. (1 Pet. 1: 18-19). It is a pilgrim people no longer belonging to this earth (Heb. 13: 12-14), whose first function is to stand as a community in a living, personal relationship with God (1 Pet. 2:5)
The church has been called out of the world and into the Kingdom of God. Separation from the world by its members is inherent to the nature of the church and is rewarded by having the Lord as such members’ God and Father (2 Cor. 6: 16-18).    The church is the temple of God and of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; Eph. 2: 11-22; 1 Pet. 2: 4-10). This truth about the church demands separation from unrighteousness and from worldly, pagan immorality.
The church is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15-16; 10: 16-17; 12: 12-27). This indicates that no true church exists apart from vital union of the members with Christ, the head of the body  (Col. 1: 18; Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23).
The church is the bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5: 21-27; Rev 19: 7-9). This nuptial concept emphasizes both the loyalty, devotion, and faithfulness of the church of Christ, and Christ’s love for and intimacy with His church.
The church is a spiritual fellowship (2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1). This involves the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Luke 11: 13; John 7:37-39; 20:22), the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:4), and the baptism in the Spirit (Acts 1:5; 2:4; 8: 14-17; 10:44; 19: 1-7). This fellowship is to demonstrate observable love and care one to another (John 13: 34-35).   The church is a spiritual ministry. It ministers by gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 1:7; 12: 4-11, 20-31; Eph. 4:11).    The church is an army involved in spiritual conflict, fighting by the sword and power of the Spirit (Eph. 6: 17) in a spiritual struggle against Satan and sin. The Spirit with which the church is filled is like a warrior wielding the living Word of God, delivering people from the dominion of Satan and conquering every power of darkness (Acts 26:18; Eph. 6: 10-18; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16; 19: 15, 21).
The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), supporting the truth that God has revealed just as a foundation supports a building. The church must uphold the truth and keep it safe, defending it against distorters and false teachers (Jude 3). The church is a people with a future hope. This hope is centred on the promise of the return of Christ for His people (John 14:3; 1 Tim 6: 14; 2 Tim. 4:8; Tit. 2: 13; Heb 9: 28).
The church is both invisible and visible. The church invisible is the body of true believers united by their living faith in Christ. The visible church consists of local congregations containing faithful overcomers (Rev. 2: 11, 17, 26) as well as those professed Christians who are false (Matt. 2:2), “fallen” (Matt. 2:5), spiritually “dead” (Matt. 3:1), and “lukewarm” (Rev. 3: 16).
Following the footprints of Christ on the formation of the visible church, the early church members devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching- training others for the work of evangelism, fellowship to encourage one another, breaking of bread (Holy communion) and prayer. Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts, praising God and enjoying favour of all the people (Acts 2: 42-47). Evangelism was the force behind the spreading of the word of God and the establishment of churches outside Jerusalem. We are partakers through our faith in Jesus Christ and must contribute our efforts (time, talents and treasure) to evangelism.
The church has power to decree Rites (Services) or Ceremonies (Action accompanying rites), and has authorities in “controversies of Faith”. Every society has its own constitution/guiding principles. The constitution of the church is the Bible/Word of God. The church’s authority to decree Rites or Ceremonies and authority in controversies of Faith are derived from the Bible (Matt. 18:18; 16:19; 1 Cor. 11: 4-5; 14: 26-40). The church is not to enforce anything to be believed for necessity of salvation that is not contained in the Holy Bible. The Church can only interpret the scripture through guidance of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Tim. 6: 20; Jude 3; 2John 2), but on matters of worship, she can decree so that members can worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
If the church possessed authority in controversies of faith, she must have some means of exercising that authority. The Bishops are the guardian of the faith not only as individuals, but as a body – the College of Bishops (Acts 11: 1- 3, 18; Gal. 2: 11-13). The church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has both the General Synod (Bishops, Clergy, and Laity) and the Episcopal Synod. The Episcopal Synod has more authority on matters of Faith, Doctrine, and Worship.
The doctrine of Purgatory, Pardons (Indulgence), Worshipping and Adoration of Images, Relics, and also Invocation of Saints are not biblical. In the practice of purgatory, it is believed that there is a process of purification after death. That the dead, especially Christians, who did not practice their Christianity well still have a chance; that he/she can be cleansed through a divine chastisement and the length of his/her punishment depends on how much the deceased family can pay to buy “pardon” for the dead – A belief that a penal purgatory between death and judgement is possible. No portion of the Scripture teaches that. It is a clear misinterpretation of 1 Cor. 3: 13-15. What the Scripture teaches is that after death, we shall face judgememnt and receive our reward (Heb 9: 27; Luke 16: 19-31). It is true that there is a future life (Mark 12:2), but it is only those who have been saved in this world that will enjoy eternal life (Mark 16:16; 1 Thess. 4: 13-17; Rev. 14:13). There is no pardon in the grave/sheol/hades for those who die in their sin (Ezek. 18: 21-24).
Beloved, salvation has come to us today, and it is important that we all embrace it now because tomorrow may be too late (2 Cor. 6:2) and only those who are saved will have a share in God’s Kingdom.
Have a Spirit-filled week as you receive grace to reject false/unbiblical doctrines that would adversely affect your faith in Christ and destiny!

Your brother, Vicar & Archdeacon
Igein Isemede.