The Church Holy

Minister:
Date: AM
Text: I Peter 2; Lord's Day 21
Psalters: 373, 328, 268, 133
  1. The fact.
    1. The Church is not visibly perfect, yet God’s Word describes the Church as holy.
    2. First, consider what holiness is.
      1. It is a virtue of God. He is the Holy One (Lev. 19:2; 20:7; Matt. 5:48).
      2. Objectively, holiness is to be taken out of the world and set aside for the service of the holy God.
      3. Subjectively, God makes the church ethically holy within via regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
    3. Holiness relates to the essence of the Church, and is not just a characteristic of it.
      1. Holiness (separated from sin and dedicated to God) is what constitutes it the Church.
      2. The Church of Christ is the only organization in the world which is holy.
  2. How does the Church on earth possess and experience this holiness?
    1. First, her holiness is a gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ.
    2. The Church’s holiness is experienced, though never perfectly in this life, only in the way of her conscious submission to the Spirit’s leading her into the Truth of Jesus.
  3. The holiness of the Church is manifested in the Church performing her calling.
    1. The Church has a holy ministry to fulfill, the ministry of the Word.
    2. The Church’s holiness is manifested in the holy walk of the members.
    3. The Church is holy, for that is how God sees her and that is how He made her.
      1. See the church as God views her: spotless in the Lamb.
      2. The chief manifestations of the holiness of the Church while she is on earth are the following: