The Creed - I Believe In The Communion Of Saints

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker

The Creed
of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only
Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born
of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose
again fromIthe dead; he ascended into in the sitteth on the
BELIEVE heaven, and
right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to
COMMUNIONinOF SAINTS
judge the quick and the dead. I believe the Holy Ghost; the holy
catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker
of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only
Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born
of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose
again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the
right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to
judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy
catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen

Key Question…
“What is the Communion of
Saints?”

The Creed – I Believe in the Communion of Saints

“In this communion there is no loss of individuality,
yet such an interdependence that the saints are
quot;members one of anotherquot; (Romans 12:5), not only
sharing the same blessings (1 Corinthians 12:13)
and exchanging good offices (1 Corinthians 12:25)
and prayers (Ephesians 6:18), but also partaking of
the same corporate life, for quot;the whole body . . . by
what every joint supplieth . . . maketh increase . . .
unto the edifying of itself in charityquot; (Ephesians
4:16).
- Dr. James Dodds

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those
also who believe in Me through their word; that they
may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I
in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the
world may believe that You sent Me. The glory
which You have given Me I have given to them, that
they may be one, just as We are one;quot;
(John 17:20-22)


So Why So Many Denominations…?


quot;“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,
even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this
all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for
one another.”quot;
(John 13:34-35)

quot; Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying:
“The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the
chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe,
but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and
do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on
men‟s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them
with so much as a finger.quot;
(Matthew 23:1-4)


“Everyone in my church
gave me advice about how
to raise my son, but a lot of
the time they seemed to be
reminding me that I have no
husband – and besides,
most of them were not
following their own advice.
It made it hard to care what
they said. They were not
practicing what they
preached.”
- Victoria, age 24

So What is Going On?


Step 1 – To Experience
the Communion of Saints,
One Must be a Saint


Saint…
“Hagios”
Lit. “Holy One”
“to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God”


Usage of “Saint” in the Old Testament
quot;As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones
in whom is all my delight.quot;
(Psalm 16:3)

quot;O fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him
there is no want.quot;
(Psalm 34:9)

quot;„But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and
possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.‟quot;
(Daniel 7:18)

Qadosh: “holy; singled out; consecrated for”

Usage of “Saint” in the Old Testament
quot;“I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering
them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the
saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took
possession of the kingdom. “Thus he said: „The fourth beast will be a fourth
kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will
devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. „As for the ten horns, out
of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will
be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. „He will speak
out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and
he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into
his hand for a time, times, and half a time. „But the court will sit for judgment, and
his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. „Then the
sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole
heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His
kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey
Him.‟quot;(Daniel 7:21-27)

Many Uses in the Old Testament
quot;But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this
man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem;quot;
(Acts 9:13)

quot;Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? quot;
(1 Corinthians 6:2)

quot;All the saints greet you.quot;
(2 Corinthians 13:13)

quot;Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the
commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.quot;
(Revelation 14:12)

Christian/Believer = Saint


Step 2 – To Experience the
Communion of Saints, One
Must Have Union with Christ


“The title of this book,
unChristian, reflects
outsider‟s most common
reaction to the faith:
they think Christians
no longer represent
what Jesus had in mind,
that Christianity in our
society is not what it
was meant to be.”


Union with Christ
quot; “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every
branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every
branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken
to you. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless
you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who
abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me
you can do nothing.quot;
(John 15:1-5)


quot;One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men,
and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly
believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth, He really does
want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of
Himself--creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be
qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but
because their wills freely conform to His. We want cattle who can
finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become
sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empty and
would be filled; He is full and flows over. Our war aim is a world in
which Our Father Below has drawn all other beings into himself:
the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still
distinct.”
- C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters


quot;For those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, so that He would be the firstborn
among many brethren; and these whom He
predestined, He also called; and these whom He
called, He also justified; and these whom He
justified, He also glorified.quot;
(Romans 8:29-30)


quot; Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.


Must Join a Local Body


quot;Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
and let us consider how to stimulate one another
to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own
assembling together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another; and all the more as you
see the day drawing near.quot;
(Hebrews 10:23-25)


What Should We Practice as a Body?

quot;They were continually devoting themselves
to the apostles‟ teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer.quot;
(Acts 2:42)


Worship

Lit. “Worth-Ship”
“to kiss the hand as a token of reverence”; “

“proskynéō “ – where we get our word for „prostrate‟


Bible-Centered Teaching

quot;Until I come, give attention to the public
reading of Scripture, to exhortation and
teaching.quot;
(1 Timothy 4:13)


Since 1975, Willow Creek has avoided conventional church approaches, using its
Sunday services to reach the unchurched through polished music, multimedia, and
sermons referencing popular culture and other familiar themes. The church's leadership
believed the approach would attract people searching for answers, bring them into a
relationship with Christ, and then capitalize on their contagious fervor to evangelize
others.
But the analysis in Reveal, which surveyed congregants at Willow Creek and six other
churches, suggested that evangelistic impact was greater from those who self-reported
as quot;close to Christquot; or quot;Christ-centeredquot; than from new church attendees. In addition, a
quarter of the quot;close to Christquot; and quot;Christcenteredquot; crowd described themselves as
spiritually quot;stalledquot; or quot;dissatisfiedquot; with the role of the church in their spiritual growth.
Even more alarming to Willow Creek: About a quarter of the quot;stalledquot; segment and 63
percent of the quot;dissatisfiedquot; segment contemplated leaving the church.
- “Willow Creek's 'Huge Shift„”, Christianity Today, 2008

“Greg Pritchard, author of Willow Creek Seeker
Services, told CT the church quot;sporadically has
recognized it was not teaching a robust enough biblical
theology and needed to turn the ship around.””
- “Willow Creek's 'Huge Shift„”, Christianity Today, 2008


Observance of the Lord‟s Supper
quot;On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break
bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he
prolonged his message until midnight.quot;
(Acts 20:7)

quot; For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord
Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had
given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this
in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper,
saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you
drink it, in remembrance of Me.”quot;
(1 Corinthians 11:23-25)


Must Serve Their Local Body


quot;Bear one another‟s burdens, and thereby fulfill
the law of Christ.quot;
(Galatians 6:2)

quot;So then, while we have opportunity, let us do
good to all people, and especially to those who
are of the household of the faith.quot;
(Galatians 6:10)


quot; Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You
know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however
you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the
Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,”
except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of
effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one
is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given
the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge
according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to
another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of
miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits,
to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of
tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to
each one individually just as He wills.quot;


Gift…
“Charisma”
“that which is freely bestowed and graciously given;
favor bestowed; gift”

quot;So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts,
seek to abound for the edification of the church.quot;


Service Among the Saints
quot;“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”quot;(Mark 10:45)

quot;For just as we have many members in one body and all the
members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are
one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,
each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according
to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who
teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he
who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who
shows mercy, with cheerfulness.quot;(Romans 12:4-8)


Do You Believe All the
Gifts of the Spirit
Spoken of in Scripture
are Active Today?

Final Things to Keep in Mind


The Communion of Saints
1. Become a Saint
2. Experience Union with Christ
3. Join a local body
4. Serve the/with the Saints


Unity vs. Uniformity

“Unity of faith
doesn't mean
uniformity of
expressionquot;
– Ravi Zacharias


The Most Important Thing
quot; If I speak with the tongues of men
and of angels, but do not have love, I
have become a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of
prophecy, and know all mysteries and
all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so
as to remove mountains, but do not
have love, I am nothing. And if I give
all my possessions to feed the poor,
and if I surrender my body to be
burned, but do not have love, it
profits me nothing.quot;


The Creed - I Believe In The Communion Of Saints

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