Wednesday, March 01, 2006

The Necessity of the Church


As a part of a Wednesday night class at my church, I am reading The Communion of Saints: Living in Fellowship with the People of God, ed. Philip Ryken. The book has some really good points. One can be seen in the quote below which states well that the church is not simply a ‘good idea’ but the communion of saints within a specific congregation is a necessary part of Christian living.

“We are not “united in love,” as Luther put it, simply because once we are saved it then makes sense to engage in communal duties. The Christian church is not merely a convenient way for individuals to practice their social piety. Rather, we are united in love because we are united to Christ by the Holy Spirit through faith. The Puritan Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) put it like this: ‘As we are knit to Christ by faith, so we must be knit to the communion of saints by love.’ There is no other kind of new life but common life, because fellowship with Christ in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory is communal. We enjoy his graces by sharing our gifts. We participate in his sufferings by carrying one another’s burdens.” (p. 60)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ray - I read Communion of Saints back in 2002 and as a ministers wife I find this book of great value to the Church. I am a big fan of Dr. Ryken and his books.
I hope all is well in Jackson and that you, Tammy and the boys (plus?) are doing well.

SDG
KK

Ray Van Neste said...

Thanks for commenting KK!
We are all doing well, and now awaiting the arrival of our little girl in April!

Anonymous said...

Ray tell Tammy I am so so excited for you all - a girl - a beautiful (God ordained) surprise for the male dominated Van Neste home to shake things up a little I would say and I am loving it!

SDG
KK