1Isa 4:5–6; 1 Tim 4:10; ²Ps 115; Isa 31:4–5; Zech 12:2–4, 8–9; ³Acts 2:39, 42;
⁴Ps 147:19–20; Rom 9:4; Eph 4:11–12; Mk 16:15–16; ⁵Jn 6:37

We saw in our last study that "The visible church is a society made up of all such as in all ages and places of the world do profess the true religion and of their children" (WLC 62). We also saw that water-baptism is the ratification or badge of membership in the Church Visible just as spirit baptism or regeneration is the ratification of membership in the Church Invisible. Technically, this means that so long as a person verbally professes faith, he may be regarded as a believer. However, verbal profession of faith is an extremely subjective exercise: for how do we gauge if a person’s profession is sufficiently credible in terms of, say, content and earnestness? For this reason, adults who are baptised by the church must not only profess faith, but also exhibit obedience to Christ (see WLC 166). But obedience to Christ will include desiring to be baptised, and to be a member of a local branch of the Visible Church. Thus, for all intents and purposes, we may think of the visible church as being comprised mainly of the baptised members of the true branches of the Visible Church. This means that in general any who profess faith but have no intention of being members of a true church of Christ cannot be regarded as part of the visible church, — though catechumens, committed adherents (i.e. faithful visitors) and unbaptised children in a true church may be charitably regarded as such though they may not enjoy all the privileges available to the visible church.

This background is essential in understanding what our present Answer refers to as being privileges of the visible church—for these privileges are entirely available only to baptised members of a true church or denomination.

We may think of the privileges of the visible church under four heads.

Firstly, the visible church enjoys the special providence of God. Our Answer speaks of "God’s special care and government," which indicates that God who is bringing all things to pass by His sovereign power, is particularly seeing to the welfare and safety of his Church by ‘orchestrating’ all circumstances and acts of men to work together for her benefit.

Secondly, and as a corollary to the first privilege, the Church is "being protected and preserved in all ages, notwithstanding the opposition of all enemies." This means that at all times in the history of the world until the Last Day, there will be a visible church in this world, which is represented by faithful congregations of Christ. Our Lord promised this when He says: "I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt 16:18). And the evidence of this being fulfilled may be seen in the way the Lord brought the Church through various periods of persecution, external and internal attacks upon the church. The persecutions existed in Old Testament days when Ahab and Jezebel sought to extinguish true religion from the land; but God preserved a faithful remnant of seven thousand who would not bow their knees to Baal. This persecution continued during the ministry of the Lord and the days of the apostles. The Church was persecuted by unbelieving Jews until AD. 70, and also by the Romans until AD. 313. Many were displaced in those days, but as Luke puts it: "they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word" (Acts 8:4), and so establishing faithful believers everywhere. And yes, many were martyred in the days following, but as Tertullian puts it, the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church. The church was not extinguished but strengthened through persecution!

Indeed, the Lord continued to preserve His church through the Middle Ages when Romish and Orthodox formalism and sacerdotalism nearly choked the church, for there was always a remnant of true believers (such as the Waldenses in the 13^th century). And not only so, but God raised up the Reformers in the 16^th century to extricate the true church out of dead Rome that she might again flourish in the world.

And is not the Lord still preserving the church today? Has He not prevented the proliferation of Communism, which would be a direct threat to the existence of His church? Has He not made the world realise the danger of allowing fundamental Islamic states (which would threaten the existence of true branches of the church of Christ) to flourish anywhere? And has He not also raised up faithful publishers and writers to excite the faithful members of the church to return to the old paths in the face of false and new-fangled doctrine that is being promoted everywhere today?

Thirdly, the members of the visible church enjoy the fellowship or communion of fellow saints. Left to himself or herself a Christian can easily fall into temptation and sin. But "Two are better than one" (Ecc 4:9) and "a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecc 4:12), therefore God appoints that Christians should be gathered into congregations (constituting the visible church) in order that they may support and encourage one another. To this end the word of God teaches us that every member of the Church has obligations towards other members in the Church. We have the obligation to love one another (1 Jn 3:11, 23); to speak the truth to one another in love (Eph 4:15); to edify one another (1 Thes 5:11); to receive one another (Rom 15:7); to admonish one another (Rom 15:14; Col 3:13); to be patient towards one another (1 Thes 5:14); to lay down our lives for one another (1 Jn 3:16); to help those having material needs (1 Jn 3:17); to provoke one another unto love and to good works (Heb 10:24); to exhort one another daily (Heb 3:13); to encourage one another pertaining to attendance at worship (Heb 10:25); to confess our faults one to another, and pray one for another (Jas 5:16); to prefer one another in honour (Rom 12:10); to forebear judging one another (Rom 14:13); to serve one another (Gal 5:13); to bear one another’s burden (Gal 6:2); to forebear one another (Eph 4:2; Col 3:6); to be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another (Eph 4:32). Now, as we have such duties to one another, we also enjoy the blessings of fellowship resulting from the exercise of these duties by one another.

Fourthly, the members of the visible church have the privilege of the ordinary means of salvation, which include the administration of the sacraments, pastoral oversight and church discipline, but most of all the preaching of the Gospel. Now, since the preaching of the Gospel is the primary means appointed by God for our salvation (1 Cor 1:21; Rom 10:17), and preaching is an ordinance of the God for the visible church, the opportunity to hear the preaching of the Gospel regularly is one of the most important benefits of the visible church. It is a special privilege that cannot be experienced to the same degree by those who are outside the visible church. W