Ahhh....gool ole wiki.........
Invisible church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The
invisible church or
church invisible is a
theological concept of an "invisible" body of the
elect who are known only to
God, in contrast to the "
visible church"—that is, the
institutional body on earth which preaches the
gospel and administers the
sacraments. Every member of the invisible church is saved, while the visible church contains some individuals who are
saved and others who are unsaved. (Compare
Matthew 7:21-24.)
The concept was insisted upon at the
Protestant reformation as a way of distinguishing between the "visible"
Catholic church, which according to the Reformers was largely corrupt, and those within it who are truly believers.
John Calvin described the church invisible as "that which is actually in God's presence, into which no persons are received but those who are children of God by grace of adoption and true members of Christ by sanctification of the Holy Spirit... [it] includes not only the saints presently living on earth, but all the elect from the beginning of the world." (
Institutes 4.1.7)
Roman Catholic theology, reacting against the concept of a purely invisible Church, emphasized the visible aspect of the Church founded by Christ, but in the twentieth century placed more stress on the interior life of the Church as a
supernatural organism, identifying the Church, as in the encyclical
Mystici Corporis Christi[5] of
Pope Pius XII, with the Mystical Body of Christ.
[6]
http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/05/the_visible_vs_the_invisible_c.php
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The Visible Vs. The Invisible Church
What do we mean when we make the distinction between the visible and invisible church? And what is the reason for this distinction? Starting around the 4th century - the expression "Visible Church" was refered to by theologians, not to a building, but to the members on the rolls of a local church. In other words, all persons who are members of a local church are considered to be a part of the
visible church.
On the other hand,
the invisible church refers to those persons who have actually been regenerated or quickened by the Holy Sprit, God's elect or true believers. Augustine referred to the church as a mixed body, a visible people, but this people has both tares and wheat, as described by Jesus. In other words, there is no such thing as a perfect church, and there will always people in the church there with bad motives or are there for the wrong reason. There will always be people who claim to love Christ but whose heart is far from Him. Many, Jesus says, will say on that day, did we not do this and that in your name? Jesus wil then say, "I never knew you".
These are descriptions of some people now sitting in your local church and Jesus says of them that he "never knew them!!!" Some persons are in church for show, to be seen by men as pious, others perhaps for a social club or to show of their ability to wax eloquent when discussing theology. These persons hearts are completely invisible to us, but of course, they are not invisible to God and only He can know who is truly regenerate, so we must be generous in our judgements.
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