Modern-day Christians are inclined to think of the Christian faith in an individualistic way. Our culture, with its concentration on the self, encourages this trend. We rightly stress the importance of a personal relationship with Christ, but this should not result in our underestimating the importance of the church in helping us to come to experience that relationship, to grow in grace, and to worship and serve the Lord. The Christian life, rightly understood, is a life in community.

The Westminster Assembly therefore gave much attention to the teaching of the Scriptures about the church. That teaching is expressed in this chapter, “Of the Church,” and also in three other chapters: chapter 26 (“Of the Communion of Saints”); chapter 30 (“Of Church Censures”); and chapter 31 (“Of Synods and Councils”). Even these four chapters do not contain all that the Assembly wrote on the doctrine of the church. Before the Confession was written, the “Form of Presbyterian Church-Government” was issued, which dealt with the subjects of church membership, the officers of the church, and ordination. The Confession’s emphasis on the church will give us a helpful counterbalance to the individualism of our day.

The first two sections of the chapter deal with the important distinction between the church as invisible, on the one hand, and the church as visible, on the other. These are not two different churches, but rather two ways of looking at the one church of Jesus Christ. The invisible church is the church as known to God alone, which cannot be seen in its full extent by human eyes. The visible church is the church as seen by us, made up of those who profess faith in Christ and join together in worship and service.

Calvin spoke of this distinction in the following words: “Holy Scripture speaks of the church in two ways. Sometimes by the term ‘church’ it means 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 Spirit. Then, indeed, the church includes not only the saints presently living on earth, but all the elect from the beginning of the world. Often, however, the name ‘church’ designates the whole multitude of men spread over the earth who profess to worship one God and Christ” (Institutes, IV💯7).

When Calvin and the Confession speak of the invisible church, they have in mind the church as it is described in the first chapter of Ephesians. In the purpose of God, which will surely be accomplished, the church embraces people from all times and places who are chosen, adopted, and redeemed by the blood of Christ, destined to be holy and without blame in the sight of God, enjoying His glorious inheritance.

In contrast to the ultimate perfection of the invisible church, the visible church is imperfect, since it includes some whose profession is only outward. Jesus spoke of the visible church when He gave the parable of the sower, and of the wheat and the tares (Matt. 13).

In both of these paragraphs, the church is spoken of as catholic, or universal. This is a reference to the fact that the church, since the coming of Christ, includes people from all the nations of the world. We have a natural tendency to limit our view of the church in terms of our own ethnic and denominational group (the two often go together). In Christ, however, “there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Col. 3:11). Viewing the church in this way should encourage us to pray for the work of Christ all over the world, and to sense our essential unity with all those who love the Lord Jesus. And it should encourage us to seek a more visible unity in the church, as Christ prayed (John 17:21).

The Scripture uses rich metaphors to picture the church, which are repeated in these sections: The church is the bride (spouse), body, and kingdom of Christ, the house and family of God. These expressions are explained in the proof texts listed in the Confession.

One expression requires a comment. From Ephesians 1:23, the Confession applies these words to the church: “the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” Some commentators think these words refer to Christ, not the church. Calvin applied them to the church, however, with the following comment: “This is the highest honour of the Church, that, unless He is united to us, the Son of God reckons Himself in some measure imperfect.” (For further explanation, consult Calvin’s Commentary on Ephesians.)

The Confession stresses the importance of the visible church by asserting in modified form the claim often made by the Roman Catholic Church: “Out of which [the visible church] there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.” This does not mean that church membership saves. It does mean that God has established the church to be the instrument of bringing people to salvation, and that normally those who are saved will publicly profess their faith and become active in some congregation of God’s people. The word “ordinarily” acknowledges that sometimes God works differently, and that some people are prevented by circumstances from identifying with the church. But it is a rare thing to find a vital, mature, fruitful believer who is not connected to other believers in Christ’s church.

The third paragraph of the chapter highlights God’s purpose for this visible church: “the gathering and perfecting of the saints”—in other words, evangelism and edification. To accomplish this purpose He has given to the church “ministry, oracles, and ordinances.” “Ministry” refers to the officers of the church, especially those who preach the gospel. “Oracles” means the Scriptures, which are committed to the church as the source of her message and the guide for her life. “Ordinances” are the God-ordained functions of the church: worship, instruction, the sacraments, discipline. Christ continues to work in the church to make these things effective to accomplish His purpose. When He gave the Great Commission, Christ promised, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

Paragraphs 4 and 5 speak of degrees of visibility and purity in the visible church. Since the visible church is imperfect, particular parts of it are closer to, or further from, what Christ wants the church to be. The members of the Westminster Assembly were called “Puritans” because they were striving to bring the Church of England into closer conformity to the teaching of Scripture, to make it more pure.

The Assembly did not anticipate the division of the church into the multiplicity of denominations that exist today. In the light of churches being more or less pure, Christians face difficult choices regarding which branch of the church they should be part of. Church affiliation should not be a matter of heritage alone, or of personal likes and dislikes. We should seek to be obedient to Christ and to serve Him in a church where we may follow His Word with a good conscience. The Confession points to the sad reality of churches becoming apostate; when that happens, believers must separate from them.

Particular churches may lose the gospel, but Christ has promised to build His church (Matt. 16:18). We can be encouraged by the knowledge that the church will endure.

The final paragraph of the chapter deals with the precious doctrine of the sole headship of Christ over His church. This doctrine is taught clearly in Ephesians 1:20-22; 5:22-24; and Colossians 2:16-23. In Britain, the Covenanters and Puritans faced great suffering as they bore witness to this truth over against the pretensions of the Tudor and Stuart kings. Then and now, the Pope of Rome also claims to be head on earth of Christ’s church. It is important still to maintain that we have only one Lord, Jesus Christ, “Zion’s only King and Head.”