According to the Bible, the church, meaning the congregation of God, is not merely a community formed by people. The church is God’s own flock, the body of Christ, and a reality brought forth by the Holy Spirit. Its beginning, growth, and future depend on the work of the Holy Spirit. God has established it as part of His plan of salvation. In this article, we will examine what the Bible and, for example, the Lutheran confessional writings teach about the church of God and the work of the Holy Spirit within it.
The Body of Christ
Paul reminds us in the Acts of the Apostles: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). The church is therefore not founded by people, but is the result of Christ’s work of redemption. That is why it is holy and belongs to God. Paul calls the church of God the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15).
In the Epistle to the Ephesians, the church is described as the body of Christ, whose head is Christ: “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Eph. 1:22–23). Each member has his or her own role, and the whole church lives in connection with Christ. Paul also writes: “you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor. 12:27).
The Bible tells how a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin named Nicodemus talked with Jesus. In that conversation, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). Being born again means receiving faith and becoming a child of God. To the outside eye, the kingdom of God is just a field, but believers want to possess it because they know that a treasure is hidden there.
The Reformer Martin Luther explains that the holy church is a community gathered, sanctified, and enlightened by the Holy Spirit (Luther, Large Catechism). In Greek, the church is “ekklesia,” which means those who are called out. Holy, in turn, means being set apart for something. The congregation is thus a “community of saints” that lives by the holiness of Christ. Although God’s congregation is a “community of saints,” its members are not holy or sinless in or of themselves. Believers also carry original sin and experience its corrupting effects. However, God calls people into his kingdom. To those who have become its inhabitants through repentance, he has given the power to forgive sins. They proclaim this through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The work of the Holy Spirit in individuals
Jesus promised: “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit does not bring a new gospel, but it makes Christ’s teachings alive and understandable to believers.
It is noteworthy that Jesus speaks to his audience on two levels, both individually and as a congregation. Regarding the individual, Paul writes: “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26–27).
The Spirit helps believers, guides them in various choices, and above all, brings to life the gospel of forgiveness, which, in Paul’s words, “is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). If the forgiveness of sins depended on human qualities or achievements, no one would be able to attain the eternal bliss promised by God. It would be just as futile to try to achieve salvation through one’s own strength, merits, and spiritual growth. However, there is no need for that. God has fulfilled everything in His Son.
The Holy Spirit produces in believers the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). The effects of the flesh and blood are often visible in us and cause sorrow.
Love is the greatest manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit. The apostle writes to the Corinthians: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). Through Christ’s love, God’s children are taught to love God and all their neighbors, even their enemies. It is good to cherish the love between believers and the unity of the Spirit. Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
As a fruit of the Spirit, joy is above all the joy born of the gospel, the forgiveness of sins. Joy is also inseparably linked to the peace of God. When sins are forgiven, joy and peace dwell in the heart of the believer. The joy and peace experienced by Christians are also reflected in their neighbors and surroundings. Faith is a joyful matter and a foundation that supports our whole life. As bearers of God’s peace, we also want to live in peace with all people.
Believers are asked to be patient in faith and in life. This fruit is brought about by the Holy Spirit. The gospel is the power of God that helps Christians to live patiently in their daily tasks and in the race of faith, where the goal is the home in heaven.
Kindness and goodness are closely related. They have a constructive effect on our closest relationships, but also outside the home, at work, and among other neighbors. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal. 6:10).
As a fruit of the Spirit, faithfulness is sought above all in one’s personal struggle of faith. When we have the desire to believe and keep a good conscience in the love of God’s people, our heavenly Father promises to guide us and bring us to our destination. Faithfulness is required in holy matrimony, in relationships and at work, as well as in the tasks entrusted to Christians in God’s kingdom.
The fruits of the Spirit also include gentleness and self-control. It is good to pray that through the Spirit we may restrain the effects of our corrupt nature for the glory of God and the salvation of our souls. The apostle writes that there is no law against the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23).
The work of the Holy Spirit in the church of God
The Holy Spirit also works—and above all—in the church of God. Martin Luther teaches in his Small Catechism that God’s work continues uninterrupted. The world has been created, and Jesus’ work of redemption has been accomplished, but the work of the Holy Spirit continues until the last day. The Christian church is not yet complete in number, and therefore the Holy Spirit must continue to bestow forgiveness. According to Luther, we believe in the Holy Spirit, who draws us daily into the fellowship of the church through God’s word. The Holy Spirit does his sanctifying work in and through the church. (Luther, Small Catechism)
As the Creator, God is close to all people. Paul preached at the Areopagus in Athens: “he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:27–28). God calls and awakens people in many ways, but He justifies them in only one way. The justifying God can only be found in His church, where the Holy Spirit does His justifying and sanctifying work. Jesus gave His disciples a task related to this: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (John 20:22–23).
It is important for believers to be closely connected to the church, because the Holy Spirit reveals God’s will in His church. If this connection is broken, a person is like a withered branch that cannot bear fruit apart from the vine. The work of the Holy Spirit continues in believers, for without His influence, no person who is corrupt by nature can remain in Christ or in connection with His church.
According to the Bible, the communion of saints is realized in the church. Paul writes: “you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). The members live and function only in union with the body. They have no life apart from the body. “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Cor. 12:26).
Luther would have preferred to change the word “communion” to “community,” but he did not deny that the church is also a communion of saints. In his Small Catechism, he describes the church and the unity of spirit that prevails there as follows: “I believe that there is upon earth a little holy group and congregation of pure saints, under one head, even Christ, called together by the Holy Spirit in one faith, one mind, and understanding, with manifold gifts, yet agreeing in love, without sects or schisms. I am also a part and member of the same, a sharer and joint owner of all the goods it possesses, brought to it and incorporated into it by the Holy Spirit by having heard and continuing to hear the Word of God”.
The communion of saints is a communion of the Spirit and love, but above all it is a communion with Christ. Human beings have the opportunity to live and experience this already here in time, in the midst of the battling congregation. This communion knows no boundaries of time, but it transcends them. When we read about the lives of people in the Bible, it is easy to identify with them. Their experiences and struggles have been the same as those of people today.
This is particularly evident in the Letter to the Hebrews, which describes the church as God’s people on a journey. Some have already arrived at the destination, but some are still on the way. Those who have arrived now support those who are still traveling with their living example, so that no one will grow weary: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
The church and the work of the Holy Spirit are inseparable. The church of God is born through the Spirit, lives in the power of the Spirit, and remains united in the fellowship maintained by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches, comforts, gives strength, supports in weakness, distributes gifts, and produces fruit. Thus, the church of God is not just a human community, but a spiritual reality in which Christ is the head and the Holy Spirit is its living power.
Author: Taneli Kalliokoski
Image: Juha Alanko, Credits: SRK, Finland
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