The Marks and Purpose of the Church

I believe in…the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins.

            I like to think of the next three phrases of the Third Article as going together to answer the questions, “Where and how does the Holy Spirit accomplish His work of creating and sustaining faith?”

            A preliminary issue concerns what the phrase, “communion of saints,” means. Let me lay some Latin on you. In Latin, the phrase is communio sanctorum. It’s an ambiguous form that could be translated, “the communion of holy persons,” hence “communion of saints,” or it could be translated, “the communion of holy things,” in which case it is a reference to the means of grace, God’s Word and the Sacraments. I prefer the latter translation.

            So, if we ask the questions, “Where and how does the Spirit accomplish His work?” the answer is, “He accomplishes His work—summarized neatly as the forgiveness of sins—in and through the Church, the people established and sustained by His Word and Sacrament.”

            The Spirit doesn’t work in a vacuum. He doesn’t just throw lightning bolts from heaven. It’s not like some unbeliever somewhere is just sitting there when suddenly he says, “Wow! Jesus!” No, that unbeliever needs the Church. He needs someone who will go and tell him about Jesus. The Holy Spirit works through the Church.

            Our work and our witness as the people of God are essential for the salvation of the world.