Invisible church

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

The invisible church or church invisible is a theological concept originally taught by St. Augustine of Hippo as part of his refutation of the Donatist sect.^[1] It refers to the "invisible" body of the elect who are known only to God, and contrasts with the "visible church"—that is, the institutional body on earth which preaches the gospel and administers the sacraments. Every member of the invisible church is saved, while the visible church contains some individuals who are saved and others who are unsaved. (Compare Matthew 7:21-24.)

The concept was revived again at the Protestant reformation as a way of distinguishing between the "visible" Catholic church, which according to the Reformers was largely corrupt, and those within it who are truly believers. Later Pietism took this one step further with its ecclesiolae in ecclesia.

[edit] References

1. ^ Justo L. Gonzalez (1970-1975). A History of Christian Thought: Volume 2 (From Augustine to the eve of the Reformation). Abingdon Press. 

[edit] See also

• Augustine of Hippo
• Donatism
• Catholic
• Reformation
• One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

The Q & A below was excerpted from the website of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (lcms.org)

> Q. Where does the doctrine/understanding of an "invisible church"--the belief that all Christians, regardless of differences, are members of this "church"--originate? Scripture clearly is in opposition to this (Romans 16) and the early church fathers talk only about an invisible part of the Church that has gone on before us. Did not Christ say he would build His Church, not churches?

>A. The word "church" (ecclesia) in the New Testament is used to refer both to the church in the strict sense of all believers in Christ of all times and places, and to the church in the broader sense of visible assemblies gathered around Word and sacraments. St. Paul refers to the church in the stricter sense in 1 Cor. 1:2 as "all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours... . This is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12), whose membership is known only to God, for He alone can see into the human heart and know whether true faith in Christ is present (thus it is "invisible" to the human eye and is an article of faith). In the Apostles Creed we confess that we believe in "the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints."

At the same time, the New Testament uses the term "church" to refer to the external ("visible" to the human eye) communities (assemblies) of those who profess to be Christians and gather around the means of grace, Word and sacraments. For example, Paul addresses his epistle "to the churches in Galatia." This broader sense of the term refers to the various congregations in the Roman province of Galatia. These external communities included both true Christians (with true faith in the heart) and unbelievers and hypocrites who were members in name only.

Our Lutheran Confessions and LCMS fathers have historically and consistently made a distinction between the church "invisible" and "visible." For instance, Dr. C. F. W. Walther, the first President of our church, in his 1851 Theses on Church and Ministry writes: "The church in the proper sense of the word is invisible." At the same time, Walther also writes: "In an improper sense Scripture calls also those visible communions 'churches' which, though consisting not only of believers or such as are sanctified by faith, but having also hypocrites and wicked persons, nevertheless teach the Gospel in its purity and administer the holy sacraments according to the Gospel." (emphases added)

In response to the question "What is the holy Christian church?" our synodical catechism states, "The holy Christian church is the communion of saints, the total number of those who believe in Christ. All believers in Christ, but only believers, are members of the church (invisible church)" (1986 edition, pp. 153-54).