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Dear Dave,
The Church is the Body of Christ --- Christ is the Head and all
the baptized are His members, forming one mystical Body, the
visible Church (cf. Eph. 5:25 f.). St. Paul calls the Church the
"Body of Christ" eighteen times --- it is his favorite way to
describe her. Now, if the Church were not a visible, concrete,
corporate reality, it would not have occurred to the Apostle to
call the Church precisely Christ's BODY. In fact, the expression
"Body of Christ" is meaningless if the Church is merely
invisible.
Many other New Testament references to the Church so strongly
imply her visible nature as to be unintelligible otherwise. I
refer to such passages as Matt. 18:17, 3rd John 9-10, and Rev.
1:11-3:22.
"Denominations" differ from one another and from Christ's Church
in large part because their doctrines are different. And many of
their disagreements are not trivial. They disagree about the
very essentials of Christianity. And so it is a question of
TRUTH: which of these various teachings are TRUE? Which of them,
in fact, square with the teachings of Christ and the Apostles?
To be "in Christ", a member of the Body of Christ, is to be
vitally connected with the One who said, "I am the TRUTH" (John
14:6). Therefore, the member of Christ must be concerned about
what teachings are TRUE, and he must be eager to find the Church
which presents precisely those teachings, that doctrine in fact
which is consistent within itself and with the teachings of
Christ and His Apostles.
This is absolutely crucial. When Christ was on trial for His
life, He said of Himself and of all His future members: "For this
I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the
truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice"
(John 18:37). Pilate then asked: "What is truth" (verse 38).
That question could imply that truth is unobtainable, or even
that truth does not matter. Pilate would be quite comfortable
with an "invisible church" coexisting with a multitude of
conflicting "denominations" unable to agree on what is truth.
But to be a member of Christ's BODY implies not only visibility
and commitment to discernible truth, but also unity among all the
members, based on a single, common faith: "one Lord, one faith,
one baptism" (Eph. 4:5). Therefore, Saint Paul defines the
purpose of all Christian activity as "building up the Body of
Christ until we all attain to the UNITY OF FAITH" (Eph. 4:12 f.).
Conflicting "denominations" are ruled out as contrary to the very
essence of Christianity (verse 14 - 16).
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo
- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit -
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