Bible In One Year Day 301 (2 Maccabees 4, Sirach 47-49, Proverbs 24: 13-16)

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A Daily Defense 

DAY 301 The Church: Visible or Invisible?

CHALLENGE: “Catholics are wrong to believe that Christ’s Church is a visible, hierarchical institution; it is the invisible union of all believers."

DEFENSE: This does not fit the scriptural data.

First, if Jesus wished to found an “invisible” Church, he wouldn’t have instituted baptism. As the Christian equivalent of circumcision (Col. 2:11–12), baptism is the Christian initiation ritual. It thus gives the Church an identifiable membership.

Second, if Jesus didn’t wish to found a hierarchical Church, he wouldn’t have established a hierarchy. Yet he did. He appointed leaders, beginning with the apostles, who then appointed other leaders, resulting in the ministry of bishops, priests (presbyters) and deacons.

What’s more, entrance into these offices was accomplished by ordination through the laying on of hands (Acts 6:6, 13:3; 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6), so membership in the hierarchy was objectively verifiable.

Third, the nature of the Church as a “visible” entity is underscored by the duty of obedience that the members have toward their ordained leaders (1 Cor. 16:16; 1 Thess. 5:12; Heb. 13:7, 17).

Fourth, Jesus speaks of his Church—using that term—in only two passages in the Gospels: Matthew 16 and 18. In both, he indicates the visible nature of the institution.

Thus in Matthew 16:18–19, Jesus says he will build his Church on Peter, indicating that Peter is its leader (see Day 256). He also gives Peter “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” and tells him, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” indicating Peter’s authority in the Church (see Days 30 and 349).

Similarly, in Matthew 18:15–18, Jesus shares the power of binding and loosing with the hierarchy more broadly, in the context of Church discipline. He states that if “your brother” (i .e., a fellow Christian) sins against you then the matter may need to be referred to the Church, “and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” This indicates the authority of the Church to discipline and exclude members who commit offenses.

Far from instituting an invisible Church that is merely the spiritual union of all believers, Jesus instituted a visible one with a definite membership and an authoritative hierarchy.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist