The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1918, Page 18

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aad aie term solmroh? is identical with “Chris-

18 | The Lutheran Pioneer.

Trust in no way in your own merit, but trust in
the merit of the Crucified, for in Him you stand
accepted before God, and enter into the fellowship
of eternal life.” And may God the Holy Spirit at-
tend such message with His grace and power unio
the salvation of many souls! F. J. Le.

ee

The Invisible Church.

As soon as a person trusts in the Redeemer for
salvation, he-is Christ's own. Christ died, as our
Catechism says, that we may be His own. The be-
lievers are also the Father's own; for Christ was
slain and has redeemed us to God by His blood, as
we read Rey. 5,9. “He died for all, that they which
live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but
unto Him which died for them and rose again,”
2 Cor. 5,5. So Christ Jesus is our King of Grace.
All Christians are. His subjects, and are collectively
called the Christian Church. To the Church of the
New Testament, “the daughter of Zion,” Zechariah’s
words are directed: “Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the
foal of an ass.” We are familiar with the inter-
pretation and fulfilment of this glorious prophecy.
—The Old Testament Church was composed only
of Jews, God’s chosen priesthood and peculiar people.

'“The times of this ignorance God winked at, but

now commandeth all’ men everywhere to repent.”
In these blessed days of the New Covenant God’s
Church comprises multitudes out of every kindred,

‘and tongue, and people, and nation, that have

washed their robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb. Jews and Gentiles now con-
stitute. one Church. Hence St. Paul, addressing
the Christians at Ephesus, which had been gathered
from among the Gentiles, writes: “Now, therefore,
ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-
citizens with the saints and of the household of
God.” The believers from the heathen world are
now on equal footing with the Jewish believers. As
far as our religion is concerned, distinctions of

~ nationality, social standing, or sex do not come into

consideration at all. See Gal. 3, ah We are all one

q: in Obrist Jesus.

The word “Church,” which is very often found

ee in the New: Testament, means assembly, and denotes
~ the assembly of all that believe in Christ and there-

are God’s. Accordingly, the Church is in various
named the “assembly” of God. That the mean-

————-———.
Se

tians” is also readily seen when we look at a few
other places where it is used. Acts 2,47 we read:
“The Lord added to the Church daily such as should
be saved,” and Acts 8,5: “Prayer was made of the
Church unto God.” Hence we confess that the
Church is “the congregation of saints, that is, all
Christendom, the whole number of all believers;
for only believers, and all believers, are members of
the Church.” Only believers are members of the
Church; for Paul calls Christ the Head of the
Chureh, and we know that no one that is without
the Holy Ghost can call Christ a Lord, 1 Cor. 12, 3.
All believers belong to the Church, because every
Christian is Christ?s own, 2 Cor. 5, 5.

The New Testament Church appears to our
spiritual eye as a most glorious and miraculous
temple of the Lord, the building of which was be-
gun on Pentecost. Eph. 2, 19—22 it is described as
a living temple, each believer being spiritually alive,
and thus forming one of its living stones (1 Pet.
2,5), which are “fitly framed together,” joined to-
gether in love and the spirit of unity, the fruits of
their common faith. All rest on Jesus Christ, the
Church’s “chief Corner-stone,” who is also called
its sole Foundation, 1 Cor. 3,11. All are “built
upon the foundation of the Bible, which was written
by the inspired “Prophets and Apostles,” its sum
and substance being the testimony concerning Christ,
Ps. 40,8; John 5,39. This temple “grows” like
a tree; for it is a living temple. Mission-work
“through the Spirit” adds stone to stone. Wars and
bloodshed, and whatever happens on earth, must
serve to further the Church as a whole, even as all
things must work together for good to -its individual
members, those that love God, who are the called
according to His purpose. When the entire number
of the elect will have been converted, the end will
appear, and the Church will be transformed from

a militant to a triumphant assembly of God. Christ |

will, at His second coming, lead His own to glory,
2 Tim. 4, 18.

The Church’s very nature implies its being in-
visible. Its nature is spiritual. Christ’s kingdom
is not of this world, cometh not with observation,
but is within us, faith being found in our hearts,
Luke 17, 20.21. As God with His gifts, forgive-
ness and heaven, so also the Church is an object of
faith; it cannot be seen with our human eye while
we are here on earth. And yet we are sure of its
existence, because we believe the statement of the
Bible that the Holy Ghost at all times gathers and
preserves a congregation of believers. Even though