Discussion
Every part except the catholic church
The Greek word katholikos means “general,” “universal,” or “pertaining to the whole.
While we do not confess our faith in the Roman Catholic Church, we do confess to believing in the catholic, or universal, church.
there is only one church, because there is only one Lord.
“Though there have been many Christian communities spread out across different times, places, and cultures, they are all mysteriously united in one Spirit. Each local gathering of believers is a full expression of that mysterious catholicity.
the church of Christ is ‘catholic’ in at least 4 ways:
1. It’s for everyone! the church includes every kind of person:
Galatians 3:26–28 ESV
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith . For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
this means that when a person is converted, whatever defined that person BEFORE Christ, is now subordinate to the new defining mark of membership in the company of Jesus’ followers.
what is most true of the christian is that he is united to Christ by faith and is spiritually, phsyciall, visibly, practically conneceted to his poeple.
2. The message of the gospel is universal.
The gospel is not addressed to one particular social class or ethnic group. It is addressed to every imaginable human being.
one author writes: “There is nobody in the world for whom the message of Jesus could be irrelevant.”
furthermore, we can also say here that the church is catholic because it only has one universal message.
Paul writes to the galatians
Galatians 1:6–7 ESV
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
there is only ONE message.
As John Stott said: “to turn from the gospel of grace is to turn from the God of grace.”
3. Speaks to the human condition.
The deepest human needs are addressed in the gospel. The message of Jesus doesn’t just speak to a special part of life—the moral or spiritual part, for example. It speaks to the whole person, body and soul, individual and social. It is a catholic message because it embraces the whole person in a word of grace and truth. The gospel is as broad and deep as human life itself.
4. Transcends Time.
The body of Christ is the most inclusive community imaginable because it includes not only those who are now living but also all believers who have ever lived.
i hope this brief overview helps you understand and appreciate the word ‘catholic’