Question 54: "Concerning the Holy Catholic Church" What do you believe?

 

Question 54: "Concerning the Holy Catholic Church" What do you believe?

Answer: I believe that the Son of God, through the Holy Spirit and the Word, from the beginning of time to the end, gathers, protects, and preserves the saints chosen for eternal life from among all mankind, united in the true faith. Of course, I belong to this community and will always remain a member of it.

The fourteenth clause of the Apostles' Creed in Latin reads as follows: And the Latin, translated into English, reads as follows:

sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam.

the holy Catholic Church

Unlike the Latin, the English Apostles' Creed was changed to the holy universal church.

In Latin, it refers to the Holy Catholic Church, with the Pope as its supreme leader, and can be seen as referring to the Catholic Church as a denomination. However, the Reformation, led by leaders like Martin Luther and Calvin, expanded from criticism of the Catholic Church's corruption and doctrinal problems into a large-scale reform movement, and Martin Luther's publication of the 95 Theses marked the beginning of Protestantism's separation from the Catholic Church.

A council is generally a gathering or group of people assembled for a specific purpose. In the past, it was a group or organization similar to the Sanhedrin of Judaism. Jesus was crucified by the religious leaders of the Sanhedrin.

The term "public church" can generally be understood to refer to a Christian church organization. It extends to church councils, presbyteries, general assemblies, and even the National Council of Churches in Korea and the Christian Council of Korea. However, can these organizations truly be considered holy organizations?

In the Bible, the holy church refers to the saints. The saints become the holy church through the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 1:2-3: "To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—both theirs and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

The church of God (τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ) mentioned here firstly refers to the community of saints who have been sanctified in Christ. If one is not in Christ, he is not a saint. This does not mean that the believers in the church of Corinth were sanctified saints, but that they are saints who have been sanctified in Christ.

A saint is someone who has been made holy in Christ Jesus. This means that they are not sanctified through hard work, but rather by entering into Christ and being in Him. To enter into Jesus Christ, a believer must die with Jesus on the cross and believe that they were resurrected with Him. Those who believe in Him are those who are in Christ.

Those who died with Jesus are those who died to the world, to the law, and to sin. Those who were resurrected with Jesus are those who believe that they have received resurrection life, have been born of the Holy Spirit, and have been seated in heaven, and have been guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Question 64. What is the invisible church?

  Question 64. What is the invisible church? Answer. The invisible church is the total number of the elect who are gathered together and will be gathered together in the future under Christ, the head. In the catechism, the doctrine states that the invisible church is "the total number of the elect who are gathered together and will gather together in the future under Christ, the head," so it can be understood as those who make heaven in Christ. However, the invisible church can be said to be an invisible church community, but this was only used as a means to divide the visible church and the invisible church, and dividing them into visible and invisible is not biblical. The church is the church of the saints, and the church community is the gathering of the saints. The expression "true member" is also ambiguous.  
Read more

Question 28. What is the punishment of sin in this life?

  Question 28. What is the punishment of sin in this life? Answer. The punishment of sin in this life is inwardly, hardening of the heart, corrupted senses, strong temptations, stubbornness of the mind, fear and shame of conscience, lust, and the like; and outwardly, the curse of God upon all things for our sakes, and all other evils that come to our bodies, names, positions, relations, and occupations, and so forth, which lead to death.   In this world, the punishment for sin is the spirit being imprisoned in the flesh. Original sin is when evil angels want to be like God in the kingdom of God, so they oppose God and die with their spirits imprisoned in human flesh. This is hell. The world is like a prison, and life is like a wanderer. All people who do not know God are suffering spiritually. That is why their hearts are broken. No matter how much you enjoy material blessings in life, there will surely come a day when your body dies. The day of judgment will surely co...
Read more

The tradition of the elders

  The tradition of the elders   Mark 7:5-9  『 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered and said to them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 』 In the Galilee region, Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus. They came with accusations against Jesus. This is because Jesus' disciples neglected washing their hands, a Jewish ritual of purification. They called it  “ the tradition of the elders. ”  The Jewish leaders ...
Read more