Question 61. Will all those who hear the gospel and live in the church be saved?

 

Question 61. Will all those who hear the gospel and live in the church be saved?

Answer. Not all those who hear the gospel and live in the visible church will be saved; only true members of the invisible church will be saved.

 

The doctrine divides the church into the visible church and the invisible church. However, nowhere in the Bible does this phrase appear. Who are the true members of the invisible church? It is an ambiguous expression. The names of the Jerusalem church and the Antioch church in the early church meant the church community rather than the church.

In the Bible, the church refers to the saints. In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, it says, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are."

The presence of the Holy Spirit in the temple means that the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are together. In the Ark of the Covenant in the temple of the Old Testament, there were three things that symbolized the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit: the stone tablets of the commandments and Aaron's rod that budded and sprouted. Hebrews 9:3-4 "After the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Most Holy Place, had a golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded and the stone tablets of the covenant."

Therefore, those who die on the cross with Jesus, receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and receive the life of resurrection are saved by God. Those who receive the life of resurrection through the baptism of the Holy Spirit have a temple built in their hearts, and Jesus comes into that temple. That is why the saints are called the temple or the church.

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