THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.
"The Saints on earth, and those above,
But one communion make;
Joined to their Lord in bonds of love,
All of His grace partake."
The history of the extension of the Church of Christ from one land to
another, and of the successive victories won by the Cross over heathen
races from age to age, gives by itself a very imperfect idea of the
meaning of the words "The Holy Catholic Church." Because, with the
outward extension of the Church, its influence upon the inner man
needs always to be considered. For when our Lord described the
extension of "The Kingdom of Heaven," He not only likened it to the
spread of a tree branching out on every side, but He also declared
that it would work as leaven, secretly, by changing the hearts of men.
This truth may be said to be kept prominently before Christians by
the term "Holy" being applied to the "Catholic Church." The Church of
Christ is of necessity and essentially "Holy." We see that this must
be so, when we understand what Holy Scripture says of it; that it is
builded entirely by the Holy Ghost (Eph. ii. 20-22); that its members
are "called with an holy calling" (2 Tim. i. 9), "called to be saints"
(1 Cor. i. 2), that is, holy persons; and that a day will come when
the Lord Jesus, who "loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that
He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
word," will "present it unto Himself a glorious Church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish"
(Eph. v. 25-27).
But yet we know that at present the Church of Christ is very far from
being perfect. And the mingling together of holy and unholy in the
Church is exactly in accordance with the prediction of our Lord
Himself. For whilst He spoke of the power of His grace to change and
sanctify the hearts of the subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven," He
also expressly foretold that there would be tares in His field
amongst the wheat (S. Matt. xiii. 24-30), which would remain as long
as the world lasts; and that the Gospel net would enclose bad fish as
well as good, and both would be retained in it until the Angels make
the separation at the end (S. Matt. xiii. 47-50). The truth of His
teaching has been confirmed by the subsequent history of the Church in
all ages. Holy and unholy are together; and though we are forbidden to
attempt to separate them, we know that there is, as it were, a gulf
between them, which though not impassable is very great. The words of
S. Paul to the Jews, "They are not all Israel, which are of Israel"
(Rom. ix. 6), apply to God's people still. And as he went on to quote
from the prophet Isaiah, "Though the number of the children of Israel
be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved" (Rom. ix. 27),
so, we know by experience, that it is still the "remnant" only, which
really live up to "the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," and
"press toward the mark for the prize" (Phil. iii. 14). "Many are
called, but few chosen" (S. Matt. xxii. 14).
Consequently, since there are unholy as well as holy members of "The
Holy Catholic Church," the question arises, What is the portion of
those who are, what they are called to be, "Saints"? And how shall we
express it? Shall we accept the theory of some who say that there are
two Churches; an outward and visible Church which is a mixed company
of good and bad; and an inner and invisible Church which is known to
God alone, and which consists of the good only? A moment's
consideration of what has been pointed out in previous chapters to be
the teaching of Holy Scripture, about "The Kingdom of Heaven," will
show that the idea is untenable; because it is "The Kingdom of Heaven"
which is distinctly described as imperfect in its present state here
on earth; and we cannot conceive the idea of two universal Kingdoms of
Messiah. What then is the teaching of Holy Scripture respecting the
position of the "Saints," who really are, what they are called to be,
holy?
It is expressed in the words of the Creed, "I believe in the Communion
of Saints."
They who live as Christians, that is, as belonging to Christ, enjoy
"The Communion of Saints." All subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven" may
enjoy this position of the Saints, if they will. If they are
unnatural children of their Heavenly Father, if they are disloyal
subjects of their King, if they resist, instead of being led by, the
Holy Spirit, they are hindering God's good-will concerning them, and
making of none effect the sufferings of their Saviour. But if they
look up to and love their Father, if they set themselves to serve
their King, if they strive to follow the guidance of the Spirit, they
are in the way of salvation, and have "The Communion of Saints."
But what is "The Communion of Saints"?
No little confusion has been brought into the consideration of these
words by the very prevalent idea that the Saints are, necessarily,
departed Saints who have finished their course in God's faith and
fear. But this is not the usual Bible sense of the word. For instance,
in the Psalms it is commonly used for the name of those who believe in
and worship God. "Sing to the Lord, O ye Saints" (Ps. xxx. 4). "O love
the Lord, all ye His Saints" (Ps. xxxi. 23). "The Lord forsaketh not
His Saints" (Ps. xxxvii. 28). And in the Book of the Acts of the
Apostles and the Epistles it is continually used in the same sense,
for the Lord's people in general. "Peter came down to the Saints
which dwelt at Lydda" (Acts ix. 32). And at Joppa, "He called the
Saints and widows" to him (Acts ix. 41). And S. Paul speaks of his
work as a persecutor in these words, "Many of the Saints did I shut up
in prison" (Acts xxvi. 10). And in most of his Epistles he addresses
those to whom he is writing as "called to be Saints" (Rom. i. 7; 1
Cor. i. 2).
Another frequent cause of misunderstanding is the idea that "the
Saints" mean only a few very holy persons, who have attained by the
grace of God such a degree of perfection, as is beyond the reach of
those who live an active life in the world. But this idea also is
found to be contrary to the ordinary Bible use of the word. Those whom
S. Paul addresses in his Epistles as "Saints," are rebuked for almost
every kind of sin. The Corinthians, especially, are an instance of the
imperfections which may yet be found in God's Saints, and may teach us
how tenderly we need to deal with the failings of those who are just
emerging from heathenism in our own days. The First Epistle to the
Corinthians administers rebukes for schism, fornication, idolatrous
tendencies, misuse of spiritual gifts, profanation of the worship of
God, and misbelief. And even the Saints at Ephesus, who are addressed
as if they had made great advance in the understanding of the
mysteries of the faith, are warned to abstain from lying, violent
anger, stealing, foul speaking, and unkind behaviour (Eph. iv. 25-32).
From which we learn to give a very wide meaning to the word "Saints;"
and to understand by it, Christian people who, with many imperfections
and frequent falls, are seeking to gain a better knowledge and deeper
love of God; and are striving to be led by the Holy Spirit to resist
sin and advance in holiness.
And what is "The Communion" which such persons enjoy?
It is Communion with God, so that their "life is hid with Christ in
God" (Col. iii. 3). They are declared to be united with God, as a
branch is united with its stem; deriving spiritual life--a new and
higher life than the natural life which belongs to all--from Him. They
are "begotten again" (1 Pet. i. 3), and "born of God" (S. John i. 13);
and the seed of this eternal life is not left dormant in them, as it
is in the careless and ungodly; for they remain not as "children," but
"grow up unto Him in all things" (Eph. iv. 14, 15); and letting "the
mind that was in Christ Jesus" (Phil. ii. 5) be in them, and "being
strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, Christ dwells
in their heart by faith" (Eph. iii. 16, 17); and they are advancing
"unto the perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ" (Eph. iv. 13).
The closeness of this union or communion with God in Christ is
expressed more fully by the figure of the body and its members. The
Saints together form the Body of Christ. "For as the body is one, and
hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized
into one body" (1 Cor. xii. 12, 13). Christ is the Head: and the
Church is the Body. For God "gave Him to be the Head over all things
to the Church, which is His Body" (Ephes. i. 22, 23). So intimately
connected are the Saints with their Lord that they are the members of
Christ--yea, S. Paul does not hesitate to say, "We are members of His
Body, of His Flesh, and of His Bones" (Ephes. v. 30). This is a great
mystery; but when faith has accepted it, it is seen to be the ground
of the Christian's strength. He is strong through grace, because his
strength is not his own, but is derived from Christ his Lord, with
Whom through the Spirit he is united.
The importance of the two holy Sacraments of Christ is in connection
with this truth. Holy Baptism is the means ordained for uniting us
with the Body of Christ (1 Cor. xii. 13). Holy Communion is the means
of maintaining this union, and of drawing supplies of grace from Him
(1 Cor. x. 16, 17), as will be considered more fully presently.
Thus through a right use of the means ordained by Christ Himself the
Saints are His own members[30]. "Why persecutest thou _Me_?" said the
Lord to the persecutor of His people. And they have the good hope to
cheer them, that when the great day of judgment comes, whilst to some
who address the Judge, "Lord, Lord," as if they had always served Him,
it will be said, "I never knew you, depart from Me" (S. Matt. vii. 22,
23); the Saints, on the other hand, will be recognised as being like
Him--as bearing God's image--and will receive the welcome, "Come, ye
blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you" (S. Matt.
xxv. 34).
The meaning of "The Communion of Saints" becomes clearer when we know
that "Communion" is the same word as that which is more often
translated "Fellowship." The Apostle S. John speaks with great
clearness about this Communion or Fellowship. Referring to the good
tidings delivered by himself and the other Apostles about the person
and work of the Saviour, he saith, "That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us." In
other words, he declares that the Gospel was preached that all might
enjoy the Communion or Fellowship which the Apostles possessed. And
then he goes on to explain with whom they enjoyed this Communion: "And
truly our Fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus
Christ" (1 S. John i. 3). And this assertion of the Communion of the
Christian with God agrees with the words of the prayer of our Lord for
His people, recorded by the same Apostle; wherein He prayed, "That
they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that
they may be made perfect in one" (S. John xvii. 22, 23).
These thoughts of the Communion of the Christian with God--the Father
and the Son--would be incomplete, did we not also think of our
Communion with the Holy Ghost. For inasmuch as the whole spiritual
life of the Christian is due to the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, this
Communion with God, which the Christian enjoys, is in reality the work
and gift of the Holy Ghost. And this is testified to us by the
familiar words of blessing, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
the love of God, and the Communion" (or Fellowship) "of the Holy
Ghost, be with you all" (2 Cor. xiii. 14).
Furthermore, "The Communion of Saints" describes the fellowship or tie
of brotherhood which unites Christians together, one with another. For
if all Saints have Communion with God, it follows that all have
Communion one with another in Him. If Christians are really striving
to be, what they are called to be, holy, they are all one family;
united together by the common bond of sonship; "For ye are all the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. iii. 26). Their
adoption into the one family of God is to them a real relationship.
And this also is expressed very clearly by S. John: "If we say we have
fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie; but if we walk in
the light, we have fellowship one with another" (1 S. John i. 6, 7).
And inasmuch as death does not sever the union between the Saint and
God, but rather intensifies it (seeing that S. Paul describes the
result of death as the "being with Christ," Phil. i. 23), it follows
that "The Communion of Saints" is not a fellowship with the living
only, but with the departed also. "All are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal.
iii. 28); whether Jews or Gentiles, whether living or departed.
Having now concluded, from the teaching of Holy Scripture, that "The
Communion of Saints" is that fellowship which Christians enjoy,
through being made one with God, and with one another; we shall do
well to consider more carefully about the means by which they are
enabled to keep up this union, and to maintain the sense of its
reality from age to age. When our Blessed Lord spoke in the synagogue
at Capernaum respecting the Bread of Life, He used these words,
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of
Man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you;" and then He added,
"He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, dwelleth in Me, and I
in Him" (S. John vi. 53, 56). His hearers had no idea about what He
meant by His Flesh and Blood. But in instituting the Holy Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper, He explained the words Himself. For "He took bread,
and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said,
This is My Body; and He took the cup, saying, This is My Blood" (S.
Matt. xxvi. 26-28). And consequently S. Paul, referring to this Holy
Sacrament, appealed to the Corinthians to remember the bond of union
with God, and with one another, in which they were joining, saying,
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the Communion of the
Blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the Communion of
the Body of Christ? For we being many are one Bread and one Body, for
we are all partakers of that one Bread" (1 Cor. x. 16, 17). And,
therefore, we conclude that this Holy Sacrament is the bond of union,
ordained by our Lord Himself, to maintain outwardly and visibly, as
well as inwardly and spiritually, "The Communion of Saints" with God
and with one another. And this is clearly expressed by the name "Holy
Communion" by which we commonly speak of this Holy Sacrament.
Does any one ask, What is "The Communion of Saints?" The answer is
clear. It is the Communion or fellowship which Christians enjoy with
God, and therefore with one another, whether in this world or in
Paradise. And the Sacrament of the Holy Communion is the ordained
means whereby this union is maintained by the Saints on earth.
It is a sad but manifest fact, that it is in the power of men to
"frustrate the grace of God" (Gal. ii. 21), and to make His good-will
concerning them to be of none effect. So that whilst all who are
called to enter the Kingdom of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ are
called to enjoy the blessings which He has gained for us, the
multitude make little or no use of His gifts. But all who will, may by
His grace be assured of sharing in all the benefits of His Sacrifice.
"If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us
from all sin" (1 S. John i. 7).
And as the Saints, by virtue of this Communion with God, have the
assurance of "The forgiveness of sins;" so likewise they look joyfully
forward in hope of "The Resurrection of the Body" and "The Life
Everlasting." For "The dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the
Lord" (1 Thess. iv. 16, 17).
FOOTNOTE:
[30] Consequently the expression "in Christ" or "in the Lord" is
frequently used to denote the fact of a person being a Christian. Thus
S. Paul sends greeting to certain, who had been converted before
himself, in these words, "Salute Andronicus and Junia who were in
Christ before me" (Rom. xvi. 7); and describes the Christians of
Palestine, at the time of his visit, as "the Churches of Judæa which
were in Christ" (Gal. i. 22). And thus of the Christian departed it is
said, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord" (Rev. xiv. 13).