Lesson 40

What does the title “the Holy Christian Church,

the Communion of Saints” tell us about the

people who belong to this Church?

Who belongs to the holy Christian Church?

Acts 5:14

Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were

added to their number.

everyone in the world who

Who belongs to the holy Christian Church?

1 Corinthians 1:2

To the church of God in Corinth, to those

sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those

everywhere who call on the name of our Lord

Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours… believes in

Jesus

everyone in the world who

Key Point #1

The holy Christian Church is everyone in the world who

believes in Jesus as the Savior.

Why are the members of this Church called holy and saints?

Ephesians 5:25-27Husbands, love your wives,

just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up

for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing

with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy

and blameless.holy

all sins awayJesus took

&

Why are the members of this Church called holy and saints?

Romans 1:7

To all in Rome who are loved by God and

called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our

Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

saintholy

all sins awayJesus took

&

Key Point #2

All believers everywhere in the world are called holy and

saints because Jesus took away all their sins.

Why is this Church called the Christian church?

1 Corinthians 3:11

For no one can lay any foundation

other than the one already laid, which

is Jesus Christ.

Christian

Christ

faith

the hope of every member is

Why is this Church called the Christian church?

1 Timothy 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our

hope…

founded on Christ

Christian

Christ

faith

the hope of every member is

Key Point #3The Church of all believers everywhere in the world is

called Christian because the hope of every member is

founded on Christ.

Why is this Church called a communion of saints?

Romans 12:5

…so in Christ we who are many form one body,

and each member belongs to all the others. we all belong to

Communion

Why is this Church called a communion of saints?

Ephesians 5:23

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the

church, his body, of which he is the

Savior.one body

Communion

we all belong to

Christ

believers

Key Point #4All believers everywhere in

the world are called a communion of saints

because we all belong to one body and have Christ as our

head.

Why is God the only one who knows the members of the holy Christian Church?

Luke 17:20-21

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would

come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful

observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of

God is within you.”

Invisible Church =

only God

Why is God the only one who knows the members of the holy Christian Church?

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider

his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not

look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but

the LORD looks at the heart.”

knows its members

(communion of saints)

Holy Christian ChurchInvisible Church =

only God

Key Point #5Only God knows who the members of this Church

are because he alone knows those who have

faith in their hearts.

List several things that are wrong with this statement: “All

people who go to church on Sunday are members of the holy

Christian Church.”

Another student in your class says, “The way we use the word communion

has me confused. Today we spoke about the communion of saints, but we also talk about Holy Communion. I’m all mixed up.” How would you explain the two terms to help him understand why we use the word communion to

talk about two different things?

Evaluate…

There are believers in every religion that exists in the world.

Lesson 40

The holy Christian Church and the communion of saints are the same group of people that includes all who are united by faith in Christ.

Vocabulary…

“Communion”

two or more things that are connected

Vocabulary…

“Invisible Church”

all believers everywhere