"The Church" & "Salvation" Kathryn Kuhlman The Apostle's Creed #9

The most widely accepted statement of Christian doctrine written in the history of the Church is found embodied in the Apostles' Creed. And this is the ninth in a series of messages that I am bringing to you on this, the Great Christian Pledge. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints. the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints. Now, the meaning of the term Catholic is general. are universal. It covers a wide range and when used in connection with the church, implies the worldwide missionary scope of the institution. The idea declared in this section of the creed is also found in Mark, the 16th chapter and the 15th verse, where Jesus said, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The word Catholic is an adjective rather than a proper noun. In the subject called Christian Evidences, the Church of Jesus Christ is correctly presented as the greatest phenomenon of history. A man appeared on this earth 1 ,900 years ago, possessing none of those human achievements which are generally associated with greatness. He lived, toiled, preached, healed, and then was crucified. He made bitter enemies. His life was one of poverty. Foxes have holes. and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. Crucified at the age of only thirty -three, his body was laid to rest in a quiet tomb, and then the thing happened which only a few persons were expecting. He came forth in triumphant resurrection. After that, he presented himself to his followers. Before sending into heaven, he admonished them to return to Jerusalem for special prayer in order to be clothed with supernatural power. There was a lightning flash at Pentecost, and the church started its march across the centuries. That was the beginning of the church. Many women talk about the day of Pentecost. There is no day of Pentecost. We are living now in the day of Pentecost. Know that. The church started. its marvelous march across the centuries when the Holy Ghost came. Our Lord warned his followers that they would live in an unfriendly environment. He told them, he warned them. In fact, he said, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. And despite all the changes of the centuries, In spite of the dissension within, enemies without fire, dungeon, sword, the cause of Christ has prevailed. Like the mighty army moves the church of God. Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trodged. The communion of saints. Do you want to know something? Finest fraternal feelings known to mankind exist between the members of Christ's body. Christians throughout the world, regardless of where they are, whether they're in Russia today or whether they are in the United States of America, regardless of racial or geographical boundaries, are partakers of the same eternal life stream. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members of one another. Members of the same church. Oh, I know somebody says, I'm a member of this church and I'm a member of the other church. You just had your membership in that church. The church that Jesus is talking about, you do not join. You are born into his church. And when you are born into his church, then you become a member of his body. Thus, in the truest sense, Christianity is an organism rather than an organization. If one part of the human body suffers, pain is registered throughout the system. And in like manner, when Christians in any part of the world suffer persecution, regardless of where they are, The entire body of Christ reacts. From the stoning of Stephen down to the present hour, the blood of martyrs has been the seed of the church. Persecution drove the early Christians close together. Persecution will do the same thing today. Those early Christians leaned heavily upon each other. In time of sorrow and suffering, they sought to comfort one another. To them, communion and fellowship became the sweetest thing next to heaven. John wrote about this feeling of heart, this marvelous warmth of the heart, which existed in apostolic times. This is what he said. We know that we have passed from death unto life. How? Because we love the brethren. And I pray to God that there shall again return to every one of us who are members of his body, members of the body of Christ, who have passed from death unto life, that again we shall have this marvelous love among the brethren. That we too can say with John, we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. We need a fresh baptism of the love of God in our hearts, one for the other. When the writers of the Creed referred to the communion of the saints, they were undoubtedly thinking of two groups, the saints in heaven and also those remaining on earth. Now the word saints means a devoted one. Saints are persons devoted. The forgiveness of sins. Sin originated in the bosom of a free moral agent, Lucifer, the archangel. The prophet Isaiah, looking back upon the collapse of the kingdom of Lucifer, described this exalted being as deliberately and defiantly. placing his will in opposition to the will of God. And this is what the word says. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like. the most high. Now the word sins is not the plural for sin. There was one root sin known to the human family and all sins originate from this source. Sin is perverted free moral agency. Lucifer had the capacity to accept or reject. He could say yes. He could say no. He could choose to defy God, or he could choose to accept the rulership of God. It was his wrong choice that brought discord into the universe. This ultimately resulted in sin and suffering for our humanity. Man is likewise a free moral agent. He can either accept or reject the plan of salvation. By yielding the will to God, one is literally transplanted from the first Adam to the second Adam. Remember, every person listening to me this very moment has been created with free moral agency. The Lord is not willing that any should be lost. He is not willing that any should perish. In the day of judgment, no man can look the Father in the face and say, you made the decision for me. You... sent me to hell. No. He is not willing that any should perish. You make the decision. The choice is yours. You choose to do as you please. Know that man is a free moral agent. If you are lost, it is because you choose to be lost. The will of the Lord Jesus Christ was completely submerged with that of his Father. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. This attitude was exactly the opposite of Lucifer who said, I will. The story of the temptation in Eden is lived in every mind. Sin appearing first in Satan, then in man, finally brought about the defilement of nature. All have sinned. Every man, every woman, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No amount of human effort can restore the right relationship between God and man. The fallen man made necessary the atonement of Christ. But watch something now. Something that is most important. The law could not atone for sin. For the word says, it is the blood that maketh an atonement. for sin. All that the law could do was to reveal sin, nothing more, nothing less. It could only reveal the sin in man. There was no salvation. There was no forgiveness for sin in the law. That's the reason the apostle says that the law was given for this purpose. The purpose of revealing right from wrong, of revealing sin, till the seed should come. That is, pure Christ should come. And when the seed, Christ, came. When Christ came, who is the seed, a fuller discovery of divine grace was made. For... In Christ we are pardoned and justified. We are not pardoned and justified through the law. We are only pardoned. We are only justified. We are only forgiven through Jesus Christ our Lord. The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. It teaches what is right. It teaches what is wrong. But the forgiveness of sins only comes through the Son of God and atonement is made through His shed blood. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What is one to do? Look up and say, Dear Jesus, I confess I'm a sinner. I am sorry for my sins. The only person that Jesus Christ cannot help, the only one whose sins he cannot forgive, is the man or the woman who refuses to acknowledge that he is a sinner. But your starting point right now is to acknowledge you're a sinner. Confess your sins to Him. And the minute that you confess those sins, that moment, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth you from all sin. You pass from death unto life. You become a member of His body. And your mighty Creator becomes your... Heavenly Father, Amen.