One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic: Communion of Saints with R.C. Sproul

Devotional

Day 1: Fractured Ladders, One Foundation: Unity Beyond Denominations

The church’s unity is not found in organizational structures but in shared confession of Christ. Though denominations multiply like splintered "Churches of the Ladder," the core truths of Trinity, atonement, and baptism bind believers. This unity transcends geography and tradition, visible when a Methodist recognizes a Lutheran’s baptism. The church’s oneness is not uniformity but a chorus of voices declaring the same Lord. Its foundation remains unshaken even when human institutions falter. [02:48]

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
(Ephesians 4:4–6, ESV)

Reflection: When have you felt tension between denominational distinctives and the church’s shared core faith? How might focusing on “one Lord, one faith” reshape your view of other believers?

Day 2: Whispers to Luther: Communion Beyond the Veil

The church is a fellowship stretching across time and death. A dying young man’s anticipation of meeting Augustine and Calvin mirrors the creed’s “communion of saints.” This unity isn’t limited to Sunday gatherings but includes every believer—past and present—linked through Christ. To worship now is to join a chorus begun centuries ago, a foretaste of eternity where all divisions dissolve. [08:49]

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
(Hebrews 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: Which historical saint do you long to meet in eternity? How does their faithfulness encourage your walk with Christ today?

Day 3: Saints Who Still Sin: Holiness in Imperfection

The church is holy not because its people are flawless, but because the Holy Spirit dwells within them. Like the Corinthians called “saints” amid their failures, believers are set apart by God’s consecration, not personal merit. Scandals expose human frailty, but the Spirit’s sanctifying work continues—polishing cracked vessels to reflect divine glory. [13:53]

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Corinthians 1:2–3, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you most feel the tension between being called “saint” and your ongoing struggles? How does the Spirit’s indwelling comfort and challenge you?

Day 4: Spaghetti Exports and Global Faith: The Church Uncontained

Catholicity means the church cannot be confined to nations or traditions—it is Christ’s body spanning continents and cultures. Like Italy “exporting” Roman Catholicism, every local church participates in a universal reality. Reformed, Lutheran, or Methodist distinctives matter less than shared allegiance to the Trinity and Scripture. True unity flourishes when particularity serves catholic truth. [20:20]

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
(Revelation 7:9–10, ESV)

Reflection: How does your local church both reflect and obscure the global body of Christ? What step could you take to better embrace the church’s universality?

Day 5: Paul’s Mailbag: Apostolic Authority in Every Age

To reject the apostles’ teaching is to reject Christ who sent them. Modern critiques of Paul or preference for “Jesus over Scripture” fracture the church’s apostolic foundation. The Bible remains the living voice of commissioned witnesses, anchoring the church when cultural currents shift. Heresy arises not from new ideas but abandoned apostolic truth. [27:50]

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
(2 Timothy 3:16–17, ESV)

Reflection: Which biblical teaching feels most culturally “out of step” to you? How does trusting its apostolic origin strengthen your resolve to uphold it?

Sermon Summary

The Nicene Creed confesses the church as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and each word says something essential about its nature. The church can no longer claim the kind of visible, numerical unity enjoyed before the great schism and the Protestant Reformation, when denominational divisions shattered that outward organization into thousands of pieces. Yet the church still possesses a real unity in the common core of the catholic faith: one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the atoning work of the cross remain the shared substance confessed across true Christian bodies, even where serious differences remain.

The communion of saints deepens that unity beyond denominations, towns, and even the boundary of death. Christ joins believers to Himself by the Spirit, and all who are joined to Him are thereby joined to one another. The fellowship of the church therefore includes not only Christians presently worshiping in different congregations, but also the whole host of witnesses who have already crossed through death's door and abide with Christ. The word communion itself points to being "with union," a mystical fellowship grounded in the living Christ.

The holiness of the church does not mean that its members are perfect. The church requires sinners as members, and the New Testament can call troubled Corinthians saints while rebuking their fighting and immorality. God makes the church holy first because He calls it out of the world and consecrates it to Himself. The Holy Spirit makes the church holy also because He dwells in every true Christian and works through the means of grace to bring God's people along in sanctification. The title Holy Spirit particularly points to this divine work of making a sinful people holy.

The catholicity of the church does not mean Roman Catholicism. Catholic means universal, and the universal faith belongs to every church that holds the foundational doctrines of Christ and Scripture. Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, and other denominational names identify distinctives, but distinctives must never replace catholicity. Evangelical faith stands within the larger catholic faith, and truly Reformed or Lutheran faith must remain evangelical.

The apostolic character of the church finally rests on the authority of Christ's appointed apostles. An apostle is not merely someone sent, but one authorized to speak for the one who sends him. Christ was sent by the Father, and Christ sent the apostles with His own authority; therefore, rejection of the apostles is rejection of Christ Himself. Apostolic authority does not depend upon an unbroken chain of bishops, but remains intact in the sacred Scriptures, where the church continues to hear the authoritative word of the apostles.

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Key Takeaways

1. Unity rests in Christ's common faith [04:36] The church's unity is not built on identical preferences, structures, or denominational labels. The one Lord, one faith, and one baptism establish a deeper bond than the divisions that visibly trouble Christendom. Essential truth must be guarded without pretending that every distinction is equally central. Christ remains the center of unity because every true believer is joined to Him. [04:36]
2. Communion reaches beyond death's door [08:49] The communion of saints is larger than a local congregation and deeper than present companionship. Christ unites believers on earth with the saints who have gone before and now live in His presence. Death does not dissolve fellowship with Christ or fragment His body. The church therefore lives as part of a vast company that spans history and eternity. [08:49]
3. Holiness begins with God's consecration [13:53] The church is holy even though its members remain painfully imperfect. God sets His people apart from the world, and that consecration gives the church its holy identity before it reaches moral completion. The Holy Spirit indwells believers not to declare sin insignificant, but to carry them through sanctification. Holiness is therefore both a present calling and a work still being accomplished. [13:53]
4. Catholic faith exceeds denominational distinctives [21:08] Catholicity means holding the universal truths that every Christian must confess. Denominational convictions can be important and biblical, but they belong downstream from the foundational doctrines of the faith. A church loses perspective when its distinctives become its whole identity. The universal doctrine of Christ and Scripture must remain larger than any particular party name. [21:08]
5. Christ speaks through His apostles' Scriptures [28:38] Apostolicity is not a vague attachment to the early church or a claim to institutional pedigree. Christ authorized His apostles to speak in His name, making their testimony foundational for the church. The sacred Scriptures preserve that apostolic authority in the life of God's people today. Rejection of apostolic Scripture finally becomes rejection of the Christ who sent the apostles.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:44] - One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic
[01:50] - The Visible Unity of the Church
[03:40] - One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
[06:21] - The Communion of Saints
[08:49] - Fellowship Across Death's Door
[11:16] - Why the Church Is Holy
[13:53] - Called Out and Indwelt by the Spirit
[16:52] - Catholic Means Universal
[20:20] - Catholic, Evangelical, and Denominational
[22:41] - The Apostolic Church
[24:30] - Apostles Sent With Christ's Authority
[27:50] - Apostolic Authority in Scripture

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Ephesians 4:4-6
“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Observation questions

In Ephesians 4:4–6, what shared realities does Paul list as the basis for the church’s unity, and how do they move from the church’s life together to the one God over all?
What essential Christian truths are identified as part of the common faith shared across true churches, even when denominations have meaningful differences? [04:36]
How does the description of the communion of saints expand fellowship beyond one local congregation and beyond Christians who are presently alive? [08:49]
What two reasons are given for calling the church holy even though its members still struggle with sin? [14:17]

Interpretation questions

Paul grounds unity in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” rather than in shared customs or denominational structures. What does this suggest about which differences among Christians are important but not church-dividing?
The Corinthians could be called saints while also being corrected for conflict and immorality. How can the church be truly holy without minimizing the seriousness of sin or excusing ongoing disobedience? [13:31]
If catholic means universal, how should a church hold its own denominational convictions while recognizing the larger faith it shares with other Christians? [22:17]
Apostles were sent with Christ’s authority, and their authority remains available to the church through Scripture. What is at stake when Christians claim to follow Jesus but set aside the teaching of the apostles? [26:35]

Application questions

When Christians from another faithful denomination worship, serve, or speak about Christ differently than this group does, what first reactions tend to arise? How could the shared confession of one Lord, one faith, and one baptism reshape those reactions? [05:14]
Are there denominational labels, theological preferences, worship styles, or political instincts that can become more central than the common faith in Christ? What would it look like to keep those distinctives in their proper place? [22:41]
The communion of saints includes believers across places, centuries, and even death itself. How might this truth strengthen someone facing grief, loneliness, serious illness, or fear of death? [09:52]
The church is holy because God has set His people apart and because the Holy Spirit dwells in them. Where is there a need to take holiness more seriously—not as earning God’s acceptance, but as living as someone set apart for Him? [14:26]
The Holy Spirit uses the means of grace to continue sanctifying God’s people. What regular practices—gathered worship, Scripture, prayer, the Lord’s Supper, encouragement, or confession—most help growth in holiness, and which one may need renewed attention? [16:22]
Scripture carries the authority of Christ’s apostles. Is there an area of biblical teaching that is easy to avoid, soften, or explain away? What would humble submission to Christ’s Word look like in that area? [29:02]

Sermon Clips

“called Paul. We worship Jesus, but not Paul.” Beloved, you can’t have Jesus without Paul. You don’t know anything about Jesus except what you have learned through the testimony of the apostles. It was Jesus Himself who said that the very foundation of the church is the apostles.” [00:27:15]

“The Father sent me. This is the will of the Father: that you believe the one whom the Father sent,” and so Jesus would not allow the Pharisees to have their cake and eat it too because Jesus was the first apostle. He was the one the Father sent, and the Father sent him saying, “All authority on heaven and earth is given to you.” So what Jesus says, the Father says. And one of the things that Jesus said was, with respect to the apostles after He commissioned them was, “Those who receive you receive me. Those who will not receive you do not receive me.” [00:25:56]

“Do you realize that you’re about to embark on an adventure that every Christian up until this point in history who, you know, for those of us still alive are excluded, but every Christian from the past has already crossed the veil, and every one of them has made that pilgrimage through death’s door before us, and everyone who is in Christ died in faith, and they have joined that whole host of witnesses; and that the fellowship that we enjoy, the mystical communion that we enjoy as members of the body of Christ transcends the local congregation of which we are a part.” [00:08:18]

“church members who are truly Christians are people who are really indwelt by the living presence of the Holy Ghost. In other words, the Holy Spirit descends upon the church, upon the people of God and takes His dwelling place within them; and we know that every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Ghost. That doesn’t mean that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit automatically conveys or confers perfection. We are not glorified; we are not yet perfectly sanctified. But insofar as the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we can said to be the hagioi, or the holy ones. You see that?” [00:14:46]

“the word “apostle,” in its basic meaning in the New Testament, means, simply, “one who is sent.” But in the technical sense, if I send my son to the church – to the store – for a loaf of bread, I have not made him an apostle in the technical sense of biblical apostleship. There’s another dimension to it. To be an apostle in the narrow sense of the New Testament is not only to be sent by somebody but to be authorized for that mission to speak with the authority of the one who sends you.” [00:24:51]

“how this works? That there’s the catholicity, which is the foundational, essential doctrines of the Christian faith, that every Christian has to hold to, and there’s the evangelical, which means you believe in justification by faith alone, and then there’re you’re distinctives that define the various groups. But we don’t throw away our catholicity – that is, the universal truth of Christianity – when we embrace the particular denomination that we do.” [00:22:17]

“we are catholic.” And so the protestants said, “Yes, the faith that we embrace – the one Lord, the one faith, the one baptism – that is catholic. That remains universal, and we still hold to the catholic faith – the universal doctrine of Christ and of the Scriptures – and that catholicity is still a vitally important element of every church.” [00:20:20]

“Because the emphasis in the ministry of the Holy Spirit as the third member of the Trinity is to make the people of God holy. And so the Spirit, as He works in this institution, is working by the means of grace that are concentrated in it to bring you through your sanctification.” [00:16:22]

“the fathers called it holy. The simple reason is because the Word of God calls it holy. Believers in the New Testament are called the hagioi – the saints, which means “the holy ones.” The word “hagios” is the word that is part of the name of the Holy Spirit; that’s the title of the Holy Spirit and yet, we wonder, how can we be called saints when we are so manifestly unholy.” [00:12:45]

“Here is how the authority of the apostles is expressed in the life of the church today: through the sacred Scriptures. And so, we conclude with the Nicene fathers that the church is one, the church is holy, the church is catholic, and the church is apostolic.” [00:28:52]

“if you reject the apostle, then you reject the one who sent the apostle. For, ladies and gentlemen, the word “apostle,” in its basic meaning in the New Testament, means, simply, “one who is sent.”” [00:24:40]

“In the first instance, the unity is still found throughout Christendom, whereby in spite of the points of doctrine with which we disagree and by which our distinctives are determined, there is still a certain core or catholic or universal faith that we all embrace. Virtually every church in the world council of churches, for example, in their – or in each one of its constituent creeds or confessions testify, or at least profess belief in the substance of teaching found in the so-called ecumenical councils, like the council of Nicea, like the council of Chalcedon, and so on, which means simply this, that there is a common core of truth that every church affirms.” [00:03:40]

“the church fathers of the fourth century that the church is numerically one in the visible, unified sense; but there still is a sense in which some unity of the body of Christ has been preserved.” [00:03:19]

“church could say, “Where the bishop is, there is the church.” Now that catholicity in the visible, institutional sense, has been lost, although in the sixteenth century part of the controversy between Rome and the reformers was precisely over this point. I mean, what was Rome to do with the churches that were springing up that had broken away from Roman Catholic communion, with the Lutheran church in Germany, and the reformed church in Switzerland and in Scotland?” [00:18:14]

“adjectives that I want to look at in this session are these: the creed describes the church as one, holy, catholic, and what? Apostolic church. We believe in one, holy, catholic, apostolic church.” [00:01:17]

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