One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

(This is another essay I wrote for college. Enjoy!)

There seems to be much confusion in American Evangelicalism as to what the word “church” means. Evangelicals tend to define the church in terms of denominations, buildings, and Christian traditions. While these terms are not wrong when thinking of the local, visible church, they are narrow and fail to capture the essence of the one true Church. The true Church is nothing short of the body of Christ, the family of God, Christ’s pure and spotless bride. She crosses denominational lines, is not confined to buildings, nor is she to be restricted to any one Christian tradition. The historic Nicene Creed, which has been widely accepted by many Christian traditions as a coherent statement of orthodoxy, puts forth several terms that are helpful in understanding the essence of the Church. If we are to understand the Church’s true nature, we must understand her in the terms put forth by this creed when it states, “We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church” (Roberts et al. 523).

When defining the Church as holy we must be clear as to what we mean. It does not mean that she is perfect. As John Calvin writes, “If we are not willing to admit to a Church unless it be perfect in every respect, we leave no Church at all” (Book IV, i, 2 ). It is not the Church’s works that make her holy, although those works are a testimony of her holiness, rather she is holy because Christ gave himself up for her (Eph. 5:25-27). Christ has purified and perfected his bride already in the sense that her sins have been atoned for at the cross. However, the Church is also being made holy on a daily basis. It is a tension between what theologians call the “already/not yet” (Horton 30). The Church has already been proclaimed to be holy because of Christ, but that holiness has not yet been fully realized in her. The sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in her, and the Church has the assurance, despite her flaws, of being presented before the Lord as a pure and spotless bride upon Christ’s Second Advent.

We must also be clear as to what it means to define the Church as catholic. The term catholic can carry with it a negative connotation, particularly for Protestant Evangelicals. Many tend to think of the Roman Catholic Church when they hear the word, rather than the historic definition. The word catholic in this context simply means “universal” (Cross, Livingstone 308). When the writers of creeds such as the Apostle’s Creed or Nicene Creed wrote that they believed in the holy catholic Church, what they were stating is a belief in a Church that is not limited by time, culture, race, or geographical location. They were stating a belief that the Church is fully united in Christ, made up of all believers throughout all of history and all geographical locations. This reality may be hard to see at times, given the wide array of traditions and denominations within Christianity, but this visible division in no way takes away from the spiritual unity of the Church. Michael Horton writes that, “The Church is one, not in the sense of being visibly united, but in the sense of the faithful-in spite of appearances to the contrary-being the one people of God” (30). To define the one true Church as catholic is to confess in one people of God, united by Christ, with him serving as the head of this spiritual body.

Furthermore, if we are to understand the true nature of the Church, we must understand what it means to confess that the Church is apostolic. To state a belief that the Church is apostolic is to state a belief in the idea that the Church today is one in the same with the Church who’s foundation was laid by Christ and the Apostles. Lutheran scholar Mickey L. Mattox puts it this way:

“We devote ourselves unreservedly ‘to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers’ (Acts 2:42). The faith believed and practiced in the Church is the one faith, given in ‘the pattern of the sound words’ (2 Tim. 1:13) by which the apostles witnessed to Christ the Savior. The Word proclaimed and administered by the apostles unites us and makes us their successors” (42-43).

By sharing in the same faith as the apostles, we are members of the very same Church as the apostles. Christ is the Church’s head, however her foundation was laid by the ministry of the apostles. By following the apostle’s teachings, by administering the very same sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper that the apostles administered, we are giving testimony to the apostolic nature of the Church.

Our local congregations, denominations, and traditions are all good things. They are vital parts of the body of Christ. However, they are small pieces of a greater community. They must not overshadow the great truth of the one true Church. We must always remember the greater reality. The Church is the body of Christ. She is his bride for whom he died, making her holy so that she will be presented as pure and spotless. She is catholic, not limited by time and space, but rather encompassing all true believers throughout all of history. She is apostolic, united in teaching and practice with Christ and the apostles. This is the true nature of the Church. We as Christians are fortunate to be part of such a mysterious and wonderful community.

Cited Works:
Horton, Michael. “Truly Catholic: The Impossible Dream?” Modern Reformation March/April 2003: 25-38. Print.
Mattox, Mickey L. “Being and Remaining: The Apostolicity of the Church in Lutheran Perspective.” Modern Reformation March/April 2003: 39-46. Print.
Roberts, Alexander, James Donaldson and A. Cleveland Coxe. The Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. VII : Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1997.
Cross, F. L. and Elizabeth A. Livingstone. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd ed. rev. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997