Month: May 2025

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Have You Ever Met a Saint?

“I believe in the communion of saints.”

This statement in the Apostles’ Creed affirms the existence of a fellowship, a partnership, a community of people set apart to God. Who are these people called “saints?”

In the common understanding, saints are thought of as exceptional, extraordinary spiritual heroes of the past. “Too good for the rest of us,” they are separate or aloof from ordinary people. They may have been recognized as unusually holy by a religious order. The word is sometimes used of the spirits of those who have died who are honored as examples to the living.

The way the New Testament uses the word is of believers in Jesus who have been made holy in the sight of God by his grace. They called are God’s people.

The communion of saints is not a collection of stained glass heroes from ancient history. They are not marble statues adorned with halos. In the Bible they are real people, with the same successes and failures, the same strengths and weaknesses, as the rest of us.

For example, the Corinthian Christians were called saints (1 Corinthians 1:1-3). But they were far from exemplary Christians. Paul’s letters to them were written to correct a long list of sins, faults, misunderstandings and conflicts in the church. Yet they were, Paul told them, saints in the sight of God. Saints are sinners who have been declared righteous by God’s grace.

The famous Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte was approached one day by a church member who told him, “Dr. Whyte, I just love being in your presence. You are so saintly!” He looked at her with a serious expression and replied, “Madam, if you could look into my soul, what you would see would make you want to spit in my face!” He had a profound sense of his own unworthiness. The word “saintly” should not be applied the way the woman was using it.

When I think of “the communion of saints,” I think of Hebrews 12:23. “You have come . . . to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven . . . to the spirits of righteous men made perfect.” These beautiful words describe some of the privileges of sainthood.

The true church is mentioned. This is the universal Body of Christ on earth. The names of those who are in Christ are inscribed permanently in heaven. Their names are recorded in heaven but they are not there yet. They are the redeemed all over the world from “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 12:9). These are the saints on earth with whom we have communion.

Then the verse looks heavenward to “the spirits of righteous men (and women) made perfect.” These are the saints who are already with the Lord. They are believers who have died. They are with Christ awaiting their resurrection bodies. They are said to be righteous. According to the Bible, the only way to be made righteous is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In his hymn “The Church’s One Foundation,” Samuel Stone wrote: “Yet she on earth hath union with God the three in one, / And mystic sweet communion with those whose race is run. / O happy ones, and holy, God grant us grace that we, like them, the meek and lowly / may dwell on high with thee.”

Here are biblical reasons to declare our belief in the communion of saints. All who are cleansed from sin by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 12:24), are declared righteous by God’s grace. Some saints are still here on earth as part of the true church. Others have died in faith and have gone to be with Christ.

A group of schoolchildren were touring an Orthodox church. They saw icons and statues. One of the children asked, “Who are the people in those paintings on the wall?” The priest answered kindly, “They are saints. Can you tell me what a saint is?” A child piped up, “Someone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior.”

The child was right. One becomes a saint not by being canonized, but by being in Christ. Have you ever met a saint? I know many of them personally.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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Catholic with a Small “c”

The phrase, “I believe in the holy catholic church” in the Apostles’ Creed has raised more questions than any other part of the creed. This troubles some people because they think it has something to do with the Roman Catholic Church. Protestant pastors find themselves explaining to parishioners that the word “catholic” simply means “universal.”

When we say, “I believe in the holy catholic church,” we are affirming our belief in the worldwide family of God, all Christian believers everywhere. Jesus left us with the commission to make disciples in every part of the world. He said that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).

Those who believe in Jesus as savior become a part of a new humanity called the church universal. This is what the New Testament calls “the Body of Christ” (Ephesians 1:22-23). This term is used 13 times in the New Testament, always in the singular, never plural. There is one Body of Christ and Jesus is its head. It is not a denomination. It is not a local assembly. It is the universal and spiritual Body of Christ.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he is teaching about the universal, or “catholic” church.  Ephesians does not give instructions about local church order or polity. In Ephesians, rather, the emphasis is on the Body of Christ of which Jesus is the head. The terms “church” and “Body” are used interchangeably. Christ is said to fill the church with himself just as he fills the whole universe (Ephesians 4:10).

This is not to diminish the Bible’s teachings about the importance of local churches. Every believer should be an active participant in a local assembly. It is in the fellowship of local assemblies that we are taught the scriptures, pray for one another, serve our communities, unite in worship, and support worldwide missionary advancement. Each local church, if it is faithful to the gospel, is an outpost of the church universal, the Body of Christ.

Maxie Dunham wrote, “There is no Christianity apart from the church. This is true because there is no such thing as solitary Christianity. Although our Christian faith and experience must be personal, they can never be private.” I think he is right. Jesus loves his church, he promised to build his church, and he is present whenever his church is gathered in his name.

The word “church” comes from the Old English, related to the Scottish word kirk, or German kirche. These are derived from the ancient Greek word kuriake, which means “belonging to the Lord.” A Greek word translated “church” in our English Bibles is ekklesia, which means a “called out assembly.” That is precisely what Paul has in mind: a group of people called out from the world and belonging to the Lord.

We may stumble over the word “holy” in the statement, “I believe in the holy catholic church.” This is because we who are in the church know how unholy we can be at times. Saints are not always saintly. The people of God are not always godly. That is why we are taught to regularly confess our sins to God.

The church can only be called holy because Jesus Christ is holy. The church is made up of unholy sinners who, by God’s grace, have been reckoned as righteous through the merit and sacrifice of Jesus who died for our sins. Thus the church is holy in the sight of God because we are “in Christ,” clothed in his righteousness. Bumper sticker theology puts it this way: “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.”

We have no right to despise or neglect the local church. This is because it represents the universal church. Anyone who turns away from the church turns away from Christ’s Body. Loyalty to Jesus includes being loyal to the physical, visible expression of his universal Body on earth.

Will you join me in affirming, “I believe in the holy catholic church?” If you do, I expect Jesus will want to see you with his people in church on Sunday.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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God Behind the Scenes

The Holy Spirit is the silent partner in the Trinity. He does his work behind the scenes. The Spirit is, Jesus said, like the wind, invisible, yet powerful. We see the effects of his ministry, but we do not see him.

Any interest in the Holy Spirit is a good thing because of the worldliness and weakness of the church in our day. Many of us are dissatisfied with the condition of our spiritual lives. We hunger for a deeper and fuller experience of God’s Spirit working through us. Many of us pray for revival in our churches and in our nation.

If we say, as the Apostles’ Creed does, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” we are not merely reciting an abstract theory of theology. We are talking about what happens when God goes to work in the lives of people like us, when he makes himself known in the life of his church.

I have observed this in a large church in Seoul, South Korea, as I joined a gathering of over a thousand worshippers who met at five o’clock in the morning to pray for spiritual awakening in their nation. I experienced the same thing at Ambaricho Mountain in Ethiopia where over fifty thousand Christians met for an all-day prayer gathering. They were there to pray for the progress of the gospel in their land and for spiritual renewal in their lives.

These devoted followers of Jesus in Asia and Africa had a spiritual urgency that we desperately need here in America. They believe in the Holy Spirit and they are hungry for his fullness. In the words of Ray Stedman, “Ministries that genuinely touch the world can be traced to the movement of the Holy Spirit. This is a truth that seems lost to today’s church.”

Paul brings this to our attention in 2 Corinthians 3. He mentions the Holy Spirit seven times in that passage. He practically shouts, “I believe in the Holy Spirit!” He wants us to recognize the necessity of the role of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.

In 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 he wrote, “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

The Holy Spirit may be invisible, doing his work behind the scenes, but he is the Spirit of God. He is eternal. He has been at work in this world since the creation. Jesus said he has been sent from God to help, encourage, and strengthen believers (John 16:7; 14:17, 26). It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to live for Christ. “Our competence comes from God.” “The Spirit gives life.”

William Temple illustrated it this way: “It is no use giving me a Shakespearean play like Hamlet or King Lear and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it. I cannot. And it is no good showing me the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it. I cannot. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like that! And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like that!

That is what Paul was writing about in 2 Corinthians 3. It is not possible to live up to the holy standard of God’s law (the letter). We could die trying but we are simply not competent to do so. That is why Jesus has given us the promised New Covenant and the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is his life in us that gives us the ability to live for him.

John Stott had a thriving ministry as a pastor in London for over 25 years. His church, All Souls, was packed every Sunday with young professional people and students. Someone asked him, “John, what do you think of as you walk to the pulpit, knowing that a thousand people will be hanging on your words?” He replied, “As I make my journey to the pulpit, I just say over and over again, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit.'”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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He Will Come Again

“He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

This phrase from the Apostles’ Creed reminds us that Jesus promised to return and that God the Father has committed all judgment to him. Unfortunately, this teaching is sadly neglected in churches today.

I have been retired from pastoral ministry since 2018. I have attended worship services every Sunday since that time. I cannot remember hearing a single sermon on the second coming of Christ. Research in the religious life of America bears this out. People in the pews are not hearing as much as they used to about the “blessed hope” of the Lord’s return. They are uninformed about this precious truth. Ignorance of this subject led Paul to write about the coming of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4.

When he wrote about the “coming” of Jesus Christ, Paul used a word (parousia) which meant showing up in person. It was a word that might have been used of the arrival of friends from a journey, their personal presence. The apostles Peter and Paul used the word ten times in their writings to refer to the Lord’s second coming.

In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul describes some spectacular supernatural events that will accompany Christ’s coming. First, the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, or “loud command” (v.16). Most likely this refers to his call to the believing dead to rise in new bodies suited for eternity.

The archangel will speak. The only archangel named in the Bible is Michael, the defender of Israel. His voice will be a shout of victory over the devil and his dominion. This is a reminder of the role of angels in the events described in the book of the Revelation. The archangel’s announcement will mark the beginning of the end for Satan.

The trumpet of God will sound. Paul’s Jewish readers would think of the blowing of the ram’s horn (shofar) for the feast of trumpets. Paul’s Gentile readers would probably associate this with an army bugle call to close ranks and march into battle.

Of course all this represents a disruption in the status quo of history. This reminds us that all things are not going to continue as they have been indefinitely. Jesus’ second coming will be a supernatural intervention. Paul goes on to boldly describe it in terms that are nothing short of miraculous.

The miracle of resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:14-15)

“Those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” are the Christian dead. Their bodies, not their souls, are asleep, awaiting the awakening called the resurrection. For believers, death is not unconsciousness. The “dead in Christ” are as alive as he is. “Asleep” is a word picture to illustrate the temporary nature of death for their physical bodies.

At the resurrection, the bodies of those who are in Christ will be reconstituted. Their new bodies will be joined to their spirits, already with the Lord. They will “rise first” (v.16), before the living believers ascend. Then together, the living and the resurrected believers will be transformed and will be taken to be with the Lord forever.

The miracle of the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

“Rapture” is a word used to refer to the snatching away of all of God’s people worldwide “to meet the Lord in the air.” Jesus taught that no one knows when this will occur. Paul’s attitude (“we”) was one of expectancy and we should also live in anticipation of the sudden appearance of “the Lord himself” (v. 16).

Who will be “caught up,” or raptured? The context tells us that it is those who are “in Christ,” living and dead. Throughout the New Testament they are referred to as spiritually chosen in Christ, new creations in Christ, crucified and raised with Christ, seated in the heavenlies in Christ, complete in Christ, baptized into Christ, abiding in Christ and sanctified in Christ.

What will happen at the rapture? The apostle John answers, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2).”

The miracle of reunion ( 1 Thessalonians 4:17)

“Together” is a beautiful word. It implies the gathering of God’s people in the presence of Jesus and the complete absence of the sins, ignorance, and misunderstandings that spoil our relationships here on earth. There and then we will know and be known with clarity, joy and perfect harmony. If family reunions are good here on earth,  how much better will they be in heaven?

Are you ready for all this? Do you love the thought of Jesus’ return? Do you pray the way we are taught  to pray in the New Testament: “Come, Lord Jesus, come?” Can you speak the words of the Apostles’ Creed with certainty: “I believe that he will come again to judge the living and the dead”?

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

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He Ascended

“He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”

This statement from the Apostles’ Creed repeats a truth that is taught in several New Testament passages. Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus’ disciples watched in awe as he was taken up to disappear into the clouds. Angels told them that he would come again from heaven in a similar way (Acts 1:11).

Peter wrote that Jesus “has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” ( 1 Peter 3:23). Paul wrote that Jesus, the one who descended, “is the very one who ascended higher than the heavens” (Ephesians 4:10). God “seated him at his own right hand in the heavenly realms far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:20-21).

What is Jesus doing in heaven now? He is sharing in the rule of Almighty God over the universe. He has the title “Lord” which indicates his fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 110 which says that a descendant of King David will rule from God’s right hand. This present rule is in anticipation of his future coming to earth to rule his visible kingdom.

He is also preparing a place for his people in a heavenly home he calls “my Father’s house” (John 14:2-3). He told his disciples that he would be going away to get a place ready for them. He promised to come back and take them there personally. This is very good news for all who believe in Jesus.

In addition, the Lord Jesus is interceding for believers as our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14-5:10). The Jews in the Old Testament had priests who were authorized under the law to represent them before God. They offered sacrifices and prayed for the people that their sins might be forgiven. Today Jesus is the only priest anyone needs to stand in for them before a holy God. His death on the cross atoned for sinners. He is the only mediator between God and humanity.

He is praying for his people and his prayers are effective. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that though he experienced temptation and the sufferings of the human condition, he was without sin. Raymond Brown wrote, “No one on earth, before or since, has been through such spiritual desolation and human anguish. For this reason he can help us in our moments of temptation.” As our perfect representative, he is our sympathetic advocate.

Therefore, we are invited to “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). We are promised mercy to cover the sins of yesterday, and grace to meet the needs of today.

My wife and I were having a conversation with a friend who is not yet a Christian. “Why do I need an intermediary between me and God?” she asked. “Because God is holy and we are sinners,” I answered. We went on to explain how Jesus’ sacrifice and present ministry at God’s right hand make believers acceptable to God by grace.

This is what we mean when we join the confession, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner