Good Morning!
As we start to descend to the end of the Confession of Faith the next chapter we will be looking at is #26, “Of the Communion of Saints”. Here the Divines are interested in expanding a little bit on what it means to be a member of the church of Jesus Christ. There is a lot more to being a part of our Lord’s Bride than sometimes we understand. It is certainly more than just “joining Bethany” and receiving a nice ARP-designed certificate. There are a quite a lot of spiritual blessings which are bestowed to those who come before the elders to either profess faith, reaffirm their faith, or transfer from another embassy of the Kingdom of Glory. In the confession help today we are going to look some more at the second section of the chapter to help us see more clearly why being at Bethany (or at whatever church you are a member of) matters.
Saints by profession are bound to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God; and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification;(d) as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities, and necessities. Which communion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus
At this point we see that there are four things worth considering.
First of all when you become a member of a local church you are “bound”. That simply means that when you said yes to the questions read during your meeting with the Session you made promises to the people at Bethany. Part of this is to be in attendance in worship on Sunday. That much is obvious, but it is not just a bare physical presence that is required. The “holy fellowship and communion” is a mutual encouragement we are called to in order to provide for one another. Here is another example of where our “American” idea of individuality can get in the way of experiencing fully the union we have with one another in Jesus Christ. Worship is neither about what “we” need, nor is it about “you” directly. When we gather in our Bethany meeting hall on the Lord’s Day morning we are there as one body, to praise God as one voice, with one soul and heart. What we are meant to get out of worship is in fact the building up of one another in love, for the Glory of Jehovah. Now, obviously we receive personal benefits from the power of the Holy Spirit in worship, but it is expressed most clearly in how the whole community of faith is being made more like Christ. Our Confession understands this to be for our advantage, because we can’t do things on our own. We are like an ecosystem that needs all parts working well for the mutual blessings designed by our heavenly Father to reach their full benefit. When we skip out on worship for worldly matters, or because we think we can get what we need better somewhere else, the section is telling us that we are not just starving our own soul, but those of our spiritual brothers and sisters as well. Folks who we have covenanted to help out spiritually. We need the fellowship and spiritual communion of each part of the body. It is exactly to this point that Paul is speaking to in 1 Cor. 12.
Second is the call to “other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification”. This is a fancy way of saying that we are all responsible for one another’s growth in grace. One of the duties in our Form of Government assigned to the Elders is that they care for, and oversee, the spiritual health of the congregation. One of the ways this is accomplished is through the establishment of things like Sabbath School, prayer meetings, bible studies, and the like. While they may not have the same “requirement” as worship on Sunday in regards to attendance, they fulfill the type of idea meant here in section two. It’s hard to know what to pray for, or where we need to learn more about our own walks with Christ if we are not joining with one another for the purpose of “mutual edification”. We also understand that this isn’t just about what we do together, but also what we are doing when we are apart. Part of this mutual edification is praying for one another, regularly, purposefully, strategically, and with a desire to see our brothers and sisters be sanctified. So much of the glories of the Christian life are missed out on when we are not doing the basic, important work that God gifted to us in His means of grace.
Next is something that is a little bit trickier to talk about. Another part of our call as brothers and sisters in Christ is taking care of the kind of things we see in Acts 2 and elsewhere in the Bible. We have a duty to care for the physical, and financial, needs of the members of our church. Too whom much is given, much is required. If one part of the body is lacking then the whole body suffers. Now, with the caveats of a passage like 2 Thessalonians 3 in mind this is one of the reasons why the Deacons exist as an ordained office of the church. There is great wisdom and judgment needed when thinking through how best to serve in this way, which is why the Bible requires Deacons to be men of sound spiritual maturity and to be trustworthy in all things. The parable of the Good Samaritan is apropos here. This mutual love is born out not only in how we pray for one another, and not only how we give help, but receive it as well.
Lastly, the writers of the Confession want to make sure that we understand that this call to mutual edification, spiritual uplifting, and a high tide lifting all boats includes the desire that we extend the same courtesy to all those who name the name of Jesus Christ throughout the world. We have more in common with our dear brother in Bhutan than we do with someone who lives down the road, and this is because of the spiritual bond we have with all Christians, no matter their physical location. Believing in the communion of the saints means that we can rest in the fact that somewhere, some place at this very moment a fellow Christian is praying for you and y’all by grace through faith. It is such a wonderful thing to think about from time to time. The fullness of God’s providence is never not amazing. But it is not just the believer who exists in the same period of history that you are united together with, and benefit from, but from Seth to John the Apostle to the present day all your fellow Christian family, that great cloud of witnesses which will one day soon be gathered together around the throne of our Redeemer and King have sought the Lord of glory for your blessing, and so to will those who come after us in life. Here we see one of the great motivators to make sure we are enjoying the communion of the saints, so that the Church is stronger when we leave it, than when we first came into her pasture.
To help us further comprehend what the Confession is teaching here is a good article from Craig Troxel:
https://opc.org/nh.html?article_id=691
Blessings in Christ!
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church