The Church that is Holy

I came across the following paragraphs discussing the holiness of the church based on the Nicene Creed's attributes of the church:  One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  The quote is taken from The Church: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic by Richard D. Phillips, Mark E. Dever, and Philip Graham Ryken.

Holiness is a prominent theme in the NT teaching about the church.  What is the church?  It is the holy people of God.  We have ‘a holy calling’ (2 Tim. 1:9); we are ‘set apart as holy’ (2 Tim. 2:21); we were chosen to ‘be holy’ (Eph. 1:4); we are ‘God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved’ (Col. 3:12).  The Bible identifies us as ‘a holy priesthood’ (1 Peter 2:5), ‘a holy nation’ (1 Peter 2:9), and a holy temple (1 Cor. 3:17; cf. Eph. 2:21). In fact, this is why Jesus died on the cross.  It was ‘so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, w/o spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy . . .’ (Eph. 5:27; cf. Col. 1:22).
 
The holiness of the church is the logic behind the remarkable word that the Bible uses to describe Christians: ‘saints’ – literally, ‘the holy ones.’  The New Testament repeatedly uses this word to identify believers in Jesus Christ: ‘To the saints who are in Ephesus’ (Eph. :); ‘To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi’ (Phil. 1:1); ‘to the saints . . . in Christ at Colossae’ (Col. 1:2).  ‘Saint’ is not a term the Bible reserves for a special category of Christians.  Sainthood is not a lifetime achievement award – a merit badge for people who volunteer to teach junior high Sunday school, do door-to-door evangelism, and attend evening church.  It is the term the Bible uses for every believer.  The church is so holy that every one of its members is a saint. -47-48


For more:
GBC - The Holy Church: The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed   
GBC - The Nicene Creed  
GBC - Tozer on Holiness 
GBC - Third Day:  Our God is a "Consuming Fire" 

The Holy Church: The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed

I'm doing some early study and research on next Sunday's sermon which will be on the holiness of the church.  The classic Four Marks of the Church are taken from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed:  One, Holy, Universal (word used is Catholic) and Apostolic.  The church is all four of them and we will highlight the second of these Sunday.

Below is the classic creed which reflects Nicea's theology as well as hints of the Apostle's Creed. 

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, True God of True God, Begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made:

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;

And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;

And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father;

And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets;

And I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

I look for the Resurrection of the dead,

And the Life of the age to come. Amen.


For more:
GBC - The Nicene Creed 

Tozer on Holiness

Perhaps some of the most insightful bites I have come across this week regarding the holiness of God comes from A. W. Tozer's wonderful book, The knowledge of the holy: The attributes of God: their meaning in the Christian life  Just consider some of the following quotes:

Until we have see ourselves as God sees us, we are not likely to be much disturbed over conditions around us as long as they do not get so far out of hand as to threaten our comfortable way of life.  We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.  -110

Neither the writer nor the reader of these words is qualified to appreciate the holiness of God.  Quite literally a new channel must be cut through the desert of our minds to allow the sweet waters of truth that will heal our great sickness to flow in.  We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of.  God’s holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered.  We know nothing like the divine holiness.  It stands apart, unique, and unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable.  The natural man is blind to it.  He may fear God’s power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine.   -111

Holy is the way God is.  To be holy He does not conform to a standard.  He is that standard.  He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is.  Because He is holy, all His attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.  -112-113

This holiness God can and does impart to His children.  He shares it with them by imputation and by impartation, and because He has made it available to them through the blood of the Lamb, He requires it of them.  -113

Some great words here, especially that last paragraph.  When we study the holiness of God, let us always be reminded that such holiness was present in Christ and through the cross and resurrection, our unrightesouness is forgiven and we are given a new, righteous, holy nature.

Third Day: Our God is a "Consuming Fire"

As I was studying for this upcoming Sunday on the Doctrine of Divine Holiness, I couldn't help but think of this classic Third Day song called "Consuming Fire."  Though not real deep, I like it a lot.

Bonhoeffer on Matthew 5:7-9

This Sunday we will be looking at Matthew 5:7-9. As I studied this text, I was encouraged and enjoyed reading some of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to say on these verses. Here is a sampling:

Matthew 5:7 - "These men w/o possessions or power, these strangers on earth, these sinners, these followers of Jesus, have in their life with him renounced their own dignity, for they are merciful. As if their own needs and their own distress were not enough, they take upon themselves the distress and humiliation and sin of others . . . For the only honor and dignity they know is their Lord’s own mercy, to which alone they owe their very lives. He was not ashamed of his disciples, he became the brother of mankind and bore their shame unto the death of the cross. This is how Jesus, the crucified, was merciful. His followers owe their lives entirely to that mercy. It makes them forget their own honor and dignity, and seek the society of sinners . . . "Blessed are the merciful, for they have the Merciful for their Lord." (111-112)

Matthew 5:8 - "Who is pure in heart? Only those who have surrendered their hearts completely to Jesus that he may reign in them alone. Only those whose hearts are undefiled by their own evil - and by their own virtues too . . . If men renounce their own good, if in penitence they have renounced their own hearts, if they rely solely upon Jesus, then his words purifies their hearts. Purity of heart is here contrasted with all outward purity, even the purity of high intentions. The pure heart is pure alike of good and evil it belongs exclusively t Christ and looks only to him who goes on before." (112)

Matthew 5:9 - "The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace. But now they are told that they must not only have pace but make it . . . The peacemakers will carry the cross with their Lord, for it was on the cross that peace was made. Now that they are partners in Christ’s work of reconciliation, they are called the sons of God as he is the Son of God." (112-113)

To Bonhoeffer, in the end, these Beatitudes regarding Sanctification (the doctrine that describes the Christian life as growing in holiness) rooted in the cross. I think he's right. The cross is the center of everything; especially the Chrisitan life and its road to holiness.

For More:
Bonhoeffer: The Meaning of Poor In Spirit and the Joy of Being Spiritual Bankrupt
Weekly Recommendation: "The Cost of Discipleship"