Colossians
1:18-20 Jesus
Christ is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the
firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the
supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and
through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
There is no other head of the church than the Lord
Jesus Christ.
The catholic or universal church is invisible and
consists of all the elect who have been, are, or ever will be gathered into one
under Christ, the head. The church is his body and spouse, the fullness of God,
who fills all in all.
The visible church is also catholic or universal
under the gospel, i.e., it is not confined to one nation as previously under
the Mosaic Law. It consists of everyone in the world who professes the true
religion together with their children. The visible church is the kingdom of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the house and family of God, outside of which people
cannot ordinarily be saved.
.
In order to gather and perfect the saints in this
life until the end of the world Christ has given the ministry, Scriptures, and
ordinances of God to this universal visible church, and by his own presence and
Spirit he enables the church to function in this way according to his promise.
This universal church has been sometimes more and
sometimes less visible. Particular churches, which are members of it, are also
more or less pure, depending on how the gospel is accepted and taught, how the ordinances
of God are administered, and how public worship is performed.
The purest churches under heaven are subject both to
impurity and error. Some churches have so degenerated that they are not
churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there will always be
a church on earth to worship God according to his will.
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith
