No separate invisible church on earth. One Single Family – Imperfect on Earth & Perfect in Heaven

This church on earth of imperfect members is part of the church in heaven, as it is said in Heb 12:18-24.

Heb:12:18-24: For ye (Hebrew members) are not come unto the mount that

 might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and

 darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words;

 which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to

 them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And

 if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or  thrust  

through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I

 exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye (Hebrew members) are come unto

 mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and

 to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church

 of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all,

 and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator

 of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh

 better things than that of Abel.

Here the Hebrew believers to whom this letter is addressed (not just to those saved in God’s sight, but as the letter discloses, this church is a church with weaknesses and infirmities) is also said to have come to ‘Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel’. Paul acknowledges that they ‘are not come unto the mountain that might be touched’ but the members of the Hebrew church had come to the heavenly church. The visible imperfect church on earth is the one that is in direct fellowship with the church in heaven. There is no separate invisible church on earth.

Thus a general assembly consisting of the visible Hebrew church with the invisible assembly in heaven.

In Eph 2:18-22 he says,

Eph:2:18-22: For through him we both (Jews & Gentiles)  have access by one

Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and

 foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ

 himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building  fitly framed

 together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are

builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

This body or church, is ‘the fullness of Him (Christ)’. In the above passage, it is again beautifully stressed that the members of the church in Ephesus (to whom this letter is addressed to) were ‘by the one Spirit made fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, and built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, that they are 'no more strangers or foreigners but fellowcitizens with the saints of the household' and that, in Christ both the visible imperfect church of Ephesus and the saints in heaven or the invisible are ‘builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit’. St. Paul does not address his letter to the  elects but as the letter suggests, to the whole congregation which had their infirmities and weaknesses, and to us as well.

And again, in his letter to the Corinthians he says,

1Co:12:11-13, 20, 25, 28: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit,

 dividing to  every man severally as he will. 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,

 whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free (human

 considerations); and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 20: But now

 are they many members, yet but one body. 25: That there should be no schism

 in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets,

 thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,

 governments, diversities of tongues.

1Cor 12:5 to 14:40 talks of the visible physical church administration, a  single body by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body’ 12:13 ‘with no schism’ 12:25 ‘that ‘God hath set some in the church, prophets, apostles, governments, etc’ 12:28 : with gifts of tongues, prophecy, etc’. 

The members of the church in Corinth whether Jews or Gentiles, bond or free are baptized into one body by the same Spirit. It is not said that ‘some of you may have been baptized into one body by the Spirit as to denote that nobody knew who belonged, but said that ‘all of them’ were given the same Spirit to drink’ and so are baptized into one body. Is it then that the Spirit brings into one body those in heaven, and into another body those on earth? Then that would mean two bodies. But the Bible talks of one body not two. It is this One Spirit that brings all the members into that one body. The church is the body of Christ. To say Christ has two bodies amounts to blasphemy. The Bible in fact does not talk of an invisible and a visible church as two distinct bodies. In the Acts of the apostles, when Saul persecutes Christians, the Lord appears to him and asks, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute ‘me’, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest? (Ac:9:4-5; Ac:22:4, 7-8; Ac:26:11, 14-15). The church on earth is Christ Himself.

Chapter 1 of Revelation presents to us the Heavenly Kingdom where Jesus is seen 'in the midst of the seven candlesticks (seven local churches; imperfect churches'

Re:1:11: Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What

 thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in

 Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto

 Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Re:1:12, 13: And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being

 turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;  And in the midst of the seven

 candlesticks (seven local churches; imperfect churches)  one like unto the

 Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps

 with a golden girdle.

Re:1:20: The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand,

and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven

churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven

 churches.

The Son of man in the midst of these local imperfect churches admonishing them and no separate invisible  or distinct church then, but seven imperfect churches that are part of the Single church with both visible of the present and the invisible of the past being members). One church with both qualities.

1Co:6:13,15-20: Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall

destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord;

and the Lord for the body.Know ye not that your bodies are the members

of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the

members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is

joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication.

Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth

fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your

body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God,

and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore

glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

The physical body of every baptized believer is joined to Christ and forms His body the church. The physical body is also the member of Christ’s body. This surely denies the protestant doctrine that the true body of Christ the church is invisible only.

The church on earth in the imperfect stage, is the one for which Christ gave Himself so that ‘He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,  that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish’ (Eph 5:23-32). The words ‘that he might present it to himself a glorious church’ shows that the perfect is not yet but it is in the stages of purification.. Members of this church is said to be ‘members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones’. The imperfect church becomes a glorious church in the end when it is presented as the Bride to the Lamb without spot or wrinkle as said here and in Revelation (Rev 21:2).

Eph:5:23-32: For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head

 of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is

 subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every

 thing.Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and

 gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of

 water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not

 having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and

 without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He

 that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his  own flesh;

 but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are

 members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a

 man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they

 two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I

 speak concerning Christ and the church.

Though the reformers claimed there existed ‘another church’ other than the Catholic church, all the way through the centuries, consisting of true believers, not even one of these leaders of the reformation were part of that church because these leaders, Luther, Hus, Zwingli were ordained priests of the Catholic church who had done years of seminary life, accepted the vow of celibacy, and administering the 7 sacraments, Prayers for the dead, prayers to saints (Luther himself having decided to become a monk on the mediation of St. Anna, as his life history shows), devotion to the Mother of God (which is evident from their writings), and of course the devotion to the Eucharist (on which subject Luther and Zwingli later differed as to the real meaning). Calvin also was a devout Catholic who wanted to become a priest but later turned to law instead. They were all Catholics. Above all they were all celibate till then. Catholic priests serving the catholic church for years till the reformation and Luther’s intention was to cleanse the Catholic church from clerical corruption within the church rather than to form a new one and that was the reason to nail his 95 theses to the Castle church door at Wittenberg. They were then not in succession to any of the heretical primitive sects of Christianity as well. They were all Catholics. Moreover, all three, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and others had a variety of doctrines, while if they were successors of the True church, they would have had a uniform doctrine because the True church of course did not have varying doctrines. They were all part of the only church ever institued by Christ, the Catholic church. Till their time there existed only this One church, the Catholic church. The others who formed later churches such as the Revivalists, Pentecostals all belonged to one or the other breakaway sects. None came from a church that existed from the beginning or a church in succession to the first and only church.

By their claim that the True church had gone apostate at some period of time, it can be obviously seen that then this church that had gone apostate was the church in line with the One, True church that existed. That is, this apostate church was the church Christ instituted, but it had gone apostate. And, their intention was to ‘Reform’ or cleanse this church back to what they felt was the true doctrine. But the Bible clearly affirms that the Church cannot go corrupt. The Bible shows that the church of God is infallible, i.e it cannot go corrupt doctrinally. From Jesus’s own words

M't:23:1-3: Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The

 scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they

 bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they

 say, and do not.

Joh:11:49-51: And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that

 same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is

 expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole

 nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that

 year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

M't:16:18: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I

 will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Joh:14:16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another

 Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Joh:14:26: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will

send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your

 remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Joh:15:26: But when the  Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from

the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he

 shall testify of me:

Joh:16:13: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into

 all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that

 shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of

 the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

M't:28:20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded

 you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

1Tm:3:15: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to

 behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the

 pillar and ground of the truth.

Though the Jewish authorities of then were corrupt even intending to kill the Lord’s Christ, their doctrine was said to be infallible. Jesus tells disciples to follow the doctrine of the Scribes and Pharisees though the scribe and pharisees themselves did not live by it.  And later, the High priest Caiaphas is seen prophesying though he was also corrupt. He is said to be prophesying because he was the High priest that year.

Jesus promises that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. He says the Comforter, the Spirit of truth who will ‘abide with the church forever’ will guide the church into ‘all truth’. He is the Saviour of the church. He is with the church always till the end,  the church is the pillar and ground of truth. Then the church is infallible.

Protestant and Pentecostal churches came into existence after the Protestant Reformation of the 16^th century. And these churches were formed by rebel Catholic men like, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Hus and a lot of others. The rest being the offshoots of these mainline sects. Not even one of them being part of their self claimed ‘other true church’. They were all devout Catholics.

Pentecostals and protestants though there are 35,500 or more of their sects, all of them say they are the true church, though they all were formed by men and not Jesus himself. And all these so called churches attack the Catholic church and this is foretold by Jesus Himself,

M't:10:25: It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant

 as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much

 more shall they call them of his household?

And again we have the words from the Lord’s mouth stressing that Evil cannot prevail in the Lord’s church unless the devil first bind up the strong man of the house and then plunder. Jesus in the gospels (M't:12:29; M'r:3:27) said that No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Jesus had said this in M't:12:29; M'r:3:27 because the Pharisees said He (Jesus) has an unclean spirit, when in truth it was by the Holy Spirit that Jesus drove out demons. How is it different when the anti-catholics say that the church built by Christ and with the presence of the Holy Spirit ‘forever’ by whom all are baptized into one body, has been subdued by the devil. Christ says there is never forgiveness for such blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but eternal damnation.

Protestants believe in a weak God who is subdued by the devil who enters God’s house and plunders it, while Catholics believe in the Almighty ever living God who is the same yesterday, today and forever and He is True to every word He said.

In spiritual terms, the hatred for the Catholic Church is inevitable since hell is attempting to prevail against it. Just as Jesus' physical body was spit upon, scourged, beaten and pierced, so too the Body of Christ, his bride, his Catholic Church, is maltreated. Yet he himself has told us that the gates of hell will not prevail against it, and we who are Catholics believe him.

If there ever existed another group of believers other than Catholics, why is it that they cannot produce a copy of a Bible that they used, containing only the books of the Protestant canon. Instead, Luther played with the Bible of the Catholic church and removed the deuterocanonical books and then played with the New Testament by removing and later placing them last the book of James, Hebrews, Revelation, 2Peter, etc., that was part of the church from the beginning.

The book of Revelation he said

‘it makes me consider it to be neither apostolic nor prophetic’

 and . ‘I can in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it’.

Luther’s words on the Book of James

Martin Luther, Preface to the New Testament, 1522: “Therefore St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it.”

  I do not regard it as the writing of an apostle; and my reasons follow.

  In the first place it is flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture in

 ascribing justification to works.

The Book of James did not agree with his theory of Sola Fide or Faith alone. These books were though later reinstated, thus proving that till then they had no set canon of their own or were not sure of which books to follow till Luther set if forth.

The oldest extant Bibles also disprove the Protestant canon, but prove a set either the same canon of the Catholic church (Latin Vulgate) or one closer to it (Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandricus). Protestants ironically hold on to the Book they received in the 16^th century from the Catholic church as their true word of God without doubt and hold it as the true Word of God. They believe that Jesus’s words (the Holy Bible) were safe in the hands of the Catholic church though the church went corrupt. That the Bible was infallible in the hands of the church taken over by corruption.

Protestants claim that though they be of the variety of sects with the variety of doctrines, and even though these different sects interpret the Bible in their own different ways with different meanings (then, not knowing what the Lord is actually telling to them through the Bible), they are the true church of believers, from among which only God knows who will be saved. That is to say that even if they belong to churches with different doctrines the selection of God will be from among them. But the Bible in the gospel of Mathew,Jesus Himself says that ‘he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad’ (M't:12:30). And through St. Paul plainly denies this and curses such sects. He says,

Ga:1:8, 9: But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel

 unto you than  that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel

unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

The Bible says there should uniformity in doctrine or else they are accursed, even if it be an angel or an apostle. When St. Paul stresses thus, how then can a group of churches with distinct doctrines be part of Christ’s church.

Believers with varying belief under one roof? A supermarket with a choice of beliefs at discounted rates. One church says Jesus was God alone, another says no he was both. One acknowledges infant baptism other says no, one acknowledges divorce other says no. Churches acknowledging homosexualism, abortion of fullborn foetuses are also said to be part of God’s church? A church in confusion and chaos. Then why not include the church of satan also to the fold? God forgive.

St. Paul himself criticized the believers at Corinth who, even when they having a common doctrine but followed their preachers Apollos, Cephas, and Paul himself. And we know that Paul or Peter or Apollos all preached the same thing, the same doctrine (1Cor 1:12-31). If Paul criticized those who had the same doctrine but followed their preachers rather than the church (they did not have the written Bible at the time) how can those of varying doctrines be treated as under one roof in God’ sight?

And further Jesus had said that, Lu:10:16: He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

And M't:18:17, 18: And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 

Which church does the protestant or Pentecostal believer have to ‘hear’ from among the 35,500 sects?

The only church or Pillar seen and known to all, of being in succession to the One and only church instituted by Christ Himself is the Catholic church. The others are the 'many' portrayed by the Lord in Lk 21:8.

Lk 21:8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

To believe in the One or the 'Many' is for the elect to decide.

Christ Reigns!