Visible & Invisible
Is there in fact a "visible" church and an "invisible" church? While we know that not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel (Rom 9:6), does this correspond to the New Testament church? Are there weeds sown among the wheat (Mat 13:25)? Some argue that there is no such thing as the "visible and invisible church". I believe the New Testament teaches that there is in fact a physical church that the human being is capable of seeing, and there is an invisible church that only God in Heaven with all certainty sets His eyes upon.
God has a chosen people. We are called the Church. All others are vessels of wrath, sons of disobedience owned by the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). Yes, we were all at one time in such a state, but God created life in us, the Church, freeing us from the enslaving chains of death in which the vessels of wrath remain. Can these sons of disobedience, put on sheeps clothing and mingle in the blessings that the children of God receive in the sanctifying life they now live? Can their prince sneak in during the night and sow his weeds in the same field that is cultivated for the wheat? Can we not by our own discernment answer an emphatic YES to these questions? Yes!
There are more than several references in the New Testament that teach this truth. I'll mention a few.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
(Mat 7:15-23)
These weeds sown among us we sometimes will recognize by their fruits, or lack of, but will some be able to deceive the Church all the days of their lives? These particular people at least tried to keep up their false righteousness until the end. They will dare tell the Lord they did all things for His sake, but they were "never" known by Him.
Some will last until harvest.
He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
(Mat 13:24-30)
They are sown in by the enemy in hopes of choking the Master's wheat and deminishing the grain or fruit that will be produced by true wheat.
Most will leave, in order that it might become plain that they are sons of disobedience, weeds once growing with the wheat.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
(1Jo 2:19)
There are many many references to there being a church within the church, just as there was indeed an Israel within Israel. I hope to study this more in depth in the coming weeks. I pray that in better understanding this, it will lead to a better understanding of some other things I'm hashing out at the moment.
Rom 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
Mat 13:25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
Heb 6:7-8 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. (8) But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
Mat 7:22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
1Jo 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
It's been a great week, and I praise God for it.
God has a chosen people. We are called the Church. All others are vessels of wrath, sons of disobedience owned by the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). Yes, we were all at one time in such a state, but God created life in us, the Church, freeing us from the enslaving chains of death in which the vessels of wrath remain. Can these sons of disobedience, put on sheeps clothing and mingle in the blessings that the children of God receive in the sanctifying life they now live? Can their prince sneak in during the night and sow his weeds in the same field that is cultivated for the wheat? Can we not by our own discernment answer an emphatic YES to these questions? Yes!
There are more than several references in the New Testament that teach this truth. I'll mention a few.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
(Mat 7:15-23)
These weeds sown among us we sometimes will recognize by their fruits, or lack of, but will some be able to deceive the Church all the days of their lives? These particular people at least tried to keep up their false righteousness until the end. They will dare tell the Lord they did all things for His sake, but they were "never" known by Him.
Some will last until harvest.
He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
(Mat 13:24-30)
They are sown in by the enemy in hopes of choking the Master's wheat and deminishing the grain or fruit that will be produced by true wheat.
Most will leave, in order that it might become plain that they are sons of disobedience, weeds once growing with the wheat.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
(1Jo 2:19)
There are many many references to there being a church within the church, just as there was indeed an Israel within Israel. I hope to study this more in depth in the coming weeks. I pray that in better understanding this, it will lead to a better understanding of some other things I'm hashing out at the moment.
Rom 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
Mat 13:25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
Heb 6:7-8 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. (8) But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
Mat 7:22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
1Jo 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
It's been a great week, and I praise God for it.
posted by Rick Harper @ 10:11 PM
10 Comments:
At 9:25 AM,
Anonymous said…
Good Work. Here's something that I think you should address that may settle my thinking on this: The term "invisible church" is almost a contradiction in terms. "Church," meaning "called out believers," preceded by "invisible" makes no sense. Invisible called out believers? Can we truly equate Israel and the Church, biblically? Although the idea of an "invisible church" and a "visible church" sort of makes sense, I think that the terminology is misleading. This type of terminology paints our interpretations. With this in mind, it may cause us to read into the text. For instance, when the "church" is referred to in the NT, do we read into this term both meanings? Or are we to understand the term to mean what it means--"called out believers," not "not-called out unbelievers"? My thoughts (keep in mind that they often change with new revelation and insight)on this matter seem to lean towards "invisible church" as a speculative term that should be called something else to avoid confusion (i.e., false believers, apostates, hypocrites, etc.) Speculative terms as a premise lead to speculative doctrine. So these are my thoughts on the matter for now. I look forward to keeping up with your blog concerning this.
At 2:48 PM,
Rick Harper said…
I see your point for sure. It may be misleading for some. By "visible" or physical church I am speaking of the church that we see; including like you said, the false-believers, apostates, etc. We know that they masquerade among us. Of course the true Church is only one that God can unmistakingly see. We look at the church (that we see) today and hope that all are in fact Christians, but as God sees the same group of people, He may only see a certain number as part of the true church.
What are your thoughts on this topic?
Is this an accurate equation:
Not all Israel (the phsyical nation; circumcised) are Israel (God's chosen people; spiritual).
Not all the church (the physical assembly (multinational)) are the Church (God's chosen people; spiritual).
?
At 5:06 PM,
Anonymous said…
I wrote, "'invisible church' as a speculative term that should be called something else to avoid confusion (i.e., false believers, apostates, hypocrites, etc.)" I'm not sure I was making much sense when I wrote this statement. I had something in my mind, but I don't why I expressed it like this. Anyway, you wrote:
"Is this an accurate equation:
Not all Israel (the phsyical nation; circumcised) are Israel (God's chosen people; spiritual).
Not all the church (the physical assembly (multinational)) are the Church (God's chosen people; spiritual).?"
Both are definitely accurate statements. But how far should we take these true statements? How much speculative theology (theology not expressly taught, but assumed, or carried over) can we pile on them? (These are real questions, not rhetorical wisecracks)By the way, I've got a blog in the works. You guys have inspired me.
At 2:37 PM,
jomato said…
Douglas Wilson summarizes the historic Protestant view of the covenant.
" The church is therefore a covenanted body, organically connected to Christ. As a covenant body in history, it contains organic members who are faithful and organic members who are not. The faithful members persevere to the end only because God has decreed it and given it to them. The unfaithful members are cut out because of unbelief. While they experienced grace, they were not given persevering grace."
At 2:40 PM,
jomato said…
Here is the reference link for the above quote.
http://www.credenda.org/issues/15-1thema.php
At 1:32 PM,
Rick Harper said…
Thank you Shawn and Marq. Forgive my slowness to respond, I'm juggling school and personal studies such as this one.
Although, I will soon respond.
I think this is a complicated subject. A question that by its answer can determine, or at least contribute to understanding, many doctrinal truths in itself. It is definitely worth the time and effort to dig into.
At 2:15 PM,
Rick Harper said…
Wow, Marq, that was an awesome essay.
"Instead of thinking in terms of the categories of the invisible Church and the visible Church, perhaps we can make better sense of all this if we think of the historical Church and the eschatological Church. The covenant breakers who fall away will never be members of the eschatological Church at the Last Day. The bride that day is without spot or blemish. But what do these covenant breakers fall away from? They fall away from the historical Church, of which they are true members." - Douglas Wilson
I've never heard it that way. That's interesting.
Marq, in the essay, is he saying that everyone baptized into Christ are covenant elect, but not necessarily persevering elect? Does that mean that everyone baptized into the "historical" Church receives everything done for him on the cross, but then loses it when he is cut off as a covenant breaker, or because of his unbelief? I'm trying to sort this stuff out.
At 10:44 PM,
Rick Harper said…
Which is correct?
(God saw a physical Israel and a spiritual Israel within the physical Israel. Man saw a physical Israel and considered it spiritual, everyone circumcized.
God sees a physical Church and a spiritual Church within the physical Church. Man sees a physical Church and considers it spiritual, everyone baptized.)
OR
(God saw a physical Israel and a spiritual Israel within the physical Israel. Man saw a physical Israel and considered it spiritual, everyone circumcized.
God sees a spiritual Church. Man sees a physical Church and sees it as spiritual, everyone baptized.)
By spiritual I mean true sons of promise or sons of God or the elect.
What is an apostate considered after baptism? Are they a part of the Church? If not, then they do not leave the Church since they were never part of it. If there is such thing as the visible and invisible Church, then the apostate was in fact part of the Church (not spiritual, being non-elect), and fell away from any grace he may have had while growing in the same field as the elect (he left the physical church). But the question remains, does God see a physical and spiritual Church, or do we only recognize that there must be a physical and spiritual Church, being that we see actual apostates and know they, non-believers, exist among us? Does God consider a baptized non-elect person part of the Church on earth?
I know I'm only offering more questions, but I'm hoping by study as well as your comments and discussion and most importantly the Spirit's guidance, I'll understand this more and more. I appreciate the comments; keep 'em coming.
At 10:44 PM,
jomato said…
rick, you should have a cup of green tea or a mug of coffee or a pint of ale before you hurt yourself. i will see you in december and give you the right answers to all your questions...just kidding man. the truth is, none of knows as we should. pray, study, reflect, wait...the Lord will give you insight into all these things.
At 8:29 PM,
Rick Harper said…
green tea, check, coffee, check, ale, check
Can't wait to see ya, Marq!
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