Part 1: In Christ.
Ephesians 1.1- 6 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoptions as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
The first essential thing that comes out of this text is that it is littered with language of Christ and more especially the union with him. The original reference of the Ephesus people is calling them ‘saints’. The term is levied on them as they are the holy ones of God being reconciled, redeemed, predestined, chosen, and adopted. These varying terms are to describe the nature of these saints. So how can one be counted holy? The term of saints (or holy ones) depends on the relationship those ones have with the God and Father of Jesus.
Repeated is the concept of ‘in Christ’. The saints are faithful, in Christ; they are blessed, in Christ; they are chosen, in him; and they are adopted, through Jesus Christ. The theme is glaring and the manner in which one is made a saint is through the union with Christ. Being in him and uniting with him is the only way whereby one would be able to be redeemed, adopted, and forgiven as mentioned in these verses.
So the question then becomes, to whom does Christ have this manner of union? Jesus is a monogamous Lord and his bride is his church. The mode of salvation and becoming a bride, the union with him, the redemption, adoption, and saint-making is reserved for his spouse. This means that Christ is uniting with a people he as called out and is not entering relationships ad hoc with selected individuals.
Radically speaking, you cannot be saved apart from the church. That is not to say what others of the Roman Catholic variety attempt to say. Principally speaking, those who are God’s saints are the church – only. Put in a participial format, it would look like this: those who are the saved ones must be a part of the church and those who are apart from the church are those who are cannot be saved ones.
There is no salvation, saintly sanctification, redemption apart from Christ’s church, because it is she alone who he is manifestly saving, sanctifying, and redeeming. Humans cannot be saved, sanctified, or redeemed without being in the church (refer to the Westminster Confession Chapter 25, article 2, sub-point 4).
If you are separate from the church of God, which is the bride of Christ, you will be one who is not saved. The characterization of the saved ones, the saints, the adopted happens within the confines of the church, and apart from her, there is no ordinary means of salvation.
Ask yourself this question, are you a part of the church or are you apart from the church? Stars are exclusively found in the sky. If you want to know where stars are, you look to the sky. Christians are found in the church. If you want to know where Christians are, you look to the church.
April 2nd, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Not sure if you are being true to your statement that this is not a Roman Catholic tenet you are trumpeting. It seems to be that you think that the only means by which one is saved is exclusively through church membership, but the beauty of the Reformation was that this was shattered noting that salvation was for all irrespective of church affiliation.
Are you saying you would not legitimately believe the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch because it happened outside the walls of the church? What about the secret churches hiding out in places like China and do not have formal structure or format of worship?
Maybe you will clarify this is part 2
April 2nd, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Heather,
Thank you for your comment. I am not intending to confuse the concept of the exclusivity of salvation within the Catholic church with the concept that the bride of Christ, namely the church he established, is the one being saved. For example, if you are unwilling to be within the church (e.g. I believe in Jesus, but not formal institutional church, etc) that would be a mistake. If that characterized an individual, it is probably accurate to say that individual is not actually been saved by Christ, for when one is, the church becomes irresistible, because one is immediately identified with the church as a part of that bride.
Hopefully, part 2, Community will resolve these concerns you wrote.
April 3rd, 2011 at 5:01 am
[...] We have no idea what date J.C. was âborn’, if a virgin birth can be interpreted as being somehow naturally born. The 25th of December is a pure invention on the part of the Christian Church â even the exact year is uncertain. The so-called âStar of Bethlehem’ is of little use. Despite speculation that the âstar’ was a conjunction of two or more stellar and/or planetary objects, the âstar’ would still resolve itself into two or more points of light, even though apparently Additionally you can check out: http://beharsozialistim.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/on-the-creation-of-a-halachic-kingdom/ For more on this topic you can read: http://livingorpancakes.com/2011/04/02/in-christ-and-community-part-1/ [...]