Brothers and sisters

This We Believe, a statement of belief of our church body, makes this profession:

“1. We believe that there is one holy Christian church, which is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16) and the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:23; 4:12). The members of this one church are all those who are the ‘sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:26). The church, then, consists only of believers, or saints, whom God accepts as holy for the sake of Jesus’ righteousness, which has been credited to them (2 Corinthians 5:21). These saints are scattered throughout the world. All people who believe that Jesus is their Savior from sin are members of the holy Christian church, regardless of the nation, race, or church body to which they belong.

“2. We believe that this holy Christian church is a reality, although it is not an external, visible organization. Because ‘man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7), only the Lord knows ‘those who are his’ (2 Timothy 2:19). The members of the holy Christian church are known only to God; we cannot distinguish between true believers and hypocrites. The holy Christian church is therefore invisible and cannot be identified with any one church body or with the total membership of all church bodies.

“3. We believe that the presence of the holy Christian church nevertheless can be recognized. Wherever the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered, the holy Christian church is present, for through the means of grace true faith is produced and preserved (Isaiah 55:10,11). The means of grace, therefore, are called the marks of the church.”

The preceding paragraphs explain that we can have brothers and sisters in the faith “wherever the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered.” When the Holy Spirit works through the gospel and leads people to confess that Jesus Christ is their Savior from sin, those people are our brothers and sisters in the faith.

But you recognize from the preceding paragraphs that we are speaking about the invisible church: the holy Christian church, the communion of saints. God alone knows who belongs to that church; God alone can see what is in a person’s heart.

You and I operate in the world of visible churches—where we can see who the members are and what confession of faith they uphold by their membership. That is why when it comes to visible churches, the use of “brothers and sisters” is especially appropriate when we think of those with whom we are in church fellowship. So, we speak of “sister” churches and “sister” church bodies.