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The Invisible Church

Posted by Nathanael Szobody on

Jesus told the Samaritan woman that one day people would worship neither in Jerusalem nor on the mountain in Samaria, but that “the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” If then the church does not consist in a place of worship, nor in outward forms, but in spirit and in truth, then we may truly speak of an ‘invisible church.

However, this Spirit is active; it is this Spirit which obeys the Word to create. This Truth is also incarnate, for he hung on the cross and rose from the dead to give life. So if the Church visible wants to excuse its divisions and its lack of faith in actions of love by saying that it is only the ‘invisible church’ dwelling within the visible church that matters, then it has unwittingly confessed its estrangement from the true church of Christ. If one is truly a part of the invisible, spiritual church, then one will seek to bring about the visible unity of that church. For the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

The Faith of Ruth

Posted by Nathanael Szobody on

Ruth’s faith in the God of Naomi caused her to leave her people for the enemies of her people. She served Naomi with diligence and obedience. She left all that she knew and cast herself into the arms of God’s providence, and grabbed every opportunity handed to her with a tenacity of one who holds on to what they are sure of receiving. She did not receive a direct promise of God, but the voice of her mother-in-law was effectively the voice of God, mediated through the authority that God had ordained for her.

In Ruth we see the aspect of faith which is a new identity. Noah and Abraham and Joseph and many other great people of faith all received a new identity when they rested in God by faith, and this is seen most dramatically in Ruth. For her faith was not in a God who had spoken directly to her, but in a God that she knew was compassionate and faithful to those who sought him with all of their heart. And on that basis she gave up all and received all that God had promised for humanity.