The Communion of Saints

              Another week is behind us, and I hope your weekend has been pleasant to this point. Hopefully, your weather has been better than what we have had here in Middle Tennessee. We’ve had heavy rain, wind, thunder, lightning, hail, and everything in between.  God has also given us a measure of sunshine here and there! Luckily, damage from the storms seems to have been very minor and limited to some downed tree branches. It’s been a very relaxing weekend for me thus far. I spent yesterday dog-sitting and watching Michigan advance to the College World Series finals. Michigan began the postseason with 200-1 odds to win a national championship and is now only two wins away from doing so. They will face my hometown Vanderbilt Commodores in a best of three series beginning Monday evening. Go Blue!

              In the meantime, I wanted to introduce a new segment to this blog. Over time, I plan to write pieces covering various phrases found in the Apostles’ Creed.  So, what is the Apostles’ Creed? A creed is essentially a statement of belief. The Apostles’ Creed is believed to be the earliest of the Christian creeds, or statements of belief. The earliest version of this creed is believed to have appeared as early as 180 AD.  Our faith is ancient, folks! This primitive version evolved over the next few centuries into the final version of what we know today as the Apostles’ Creed.  A quick Google search produces many articles outlining the history and evolution of the creed in much greater detail than what I have done here. The creed is generally accepted in Western churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant. The Apostles’ creed as we know it today is as follows:

“We believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth,

 And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

 who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,

 suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

 He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead.

 He ascended into Heaven

and now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,

 from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

 We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church,

The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

 The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

* “Catholic” refers to the universal church of God’s people throughout all time and from all places

              To start my series, I’d like to start with the emboldened phrase in the creed above – the communion of saints. If you belong to a church that doesn’t recite the Apostles’ Creed on a regular basis, you may be wondering what in the world I mean by “The Communion of Saints”. Using Google’s dictionary feature, to commune means to “share one's intimate thoughts or feelings with (someone), especially on a spiritual level”. For example, when we pray and share the deepest recesses of our hearts with God, we are engaging in communion with him.

              Who then are the saints that are communing in the doctrine affirmed in the Apostles’ Creed?  There are two varieties of saints being spoken of in this context. The first are the saints of the church “militant”. These saints are those that are currently on earth persevering towards salvation and everlasting glory with God. There are numerous passages in Holy Scripture in which the earthly Christian community at large is referred to as saints.

Take for instance Romans 1:7 “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Also, in Colossians 1:2 “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”

              As noted in the definition above, communion requires two distinct parties. The second half of this Biblical communion pair is the saints of heaven – those who persevered in the faith while on earth and now enjoy the wonderous glory of God for all eternity. This class of saints is commonly referred to as the church “triumphant”.  Revelation 5:8 indicates a relationship between the saints of the church militant and those of the church triumphant. For it reads, “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” This passage suggests that the glorified saints in heaven hear our prayers on earth and take the prayers to our Heavenly Father. Furthermore, we read in James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

A “righteous man” could certainly be a very holy man that is a part of the church militant – God’s people on Earth.  However, it is also true that no saint on earth can be considered as righteous as those saints that have passed through earthly trials and into eternity with God. The saints of the church triumphant have not only been covered by the bloodshed of Christ but have now been wholly sanctified and made perfect in His image.  It makes complete sense that the prayers of those made perfect in Christ would carry a heavy weight. The saints in heaven are more alive than we could ever hope to be here on earth! No, I’m in no way suggesting we break communion with God in favor of communion with the Church triumphant. I’m certainly not advocating worship of heavenly saints. For as we read in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,”.  I’m simply asserting that there is Scriptural evidence that suggests that the church triumphant are active in the affairs of the church militant.

Why is it so important that the doctrine of The Communion of Saints is true? The answer is simple yet profound.  Without the connection between earthly saints and heavenly saints, death wins. That is, death, darkness, sin, and evil have the last word. What a horrible fate that would be! Thankfully, due to Christ’s atoning work on the cross, we can avoid that horrible destruction. By simply believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and persevering in that faith until the end of our days, we too can pass into the church triumphant. As the communion of saints dictates, death has no finality in our lives. When we die, we don't cease to be part of the body of Christ, we simply become a perfected part of the body. The power of Christ to raise us to eternal life has the final word over death. I’m forever grateful that it does!

In Christ,

Kendal May