Preaching on the Communion of Saints

Preaching on the Communion of  Saints

The next phrase in the Apostles’ Creed is: “I believe in the communion of saints”.  Preaching on the communion of saints is another opportunity to make doctrine live for your people.   This post is part of a series of posts about preaching on doctrine in the church.  The first in the series is here.

Who Is A Saint?

In the Protestant tradition we don’t talk about saints very much.  I remember one of my professors from years ago talking about being part of a large Christian gathering for inspiration and education.   The person who opened the proceedings asked everyone to introduce themselves to each other, but in a unique way.  He quoted Ephesians 1:1, where Paul says that the letter is written, “To God’s saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.”  “So,” he said, “we are all saints.  Let’s introduce ourselves to each other by saying, “I’m saint…’ and use your first name.”

There was some obvious enjoyment of the process as laughter ripped through the gathering.  My professors’ name was Peter, so, he had a lot of fun introducing himself as Saint Peter.  However, the greatest laughter came when  the person who called the meeting back to order by introducing himself.  He said, “Good Morning.  I’m Saint Bernard.”  Preaching on the communion of saints means we are calling all people to be saints.

Most of think of saints as statues of people designated as such in the history of the Catholic Church.  Partly in order to correct this misconception, the newest NIV translation of the Bible doesn’t use the word chapter 1:1.  Now it says merely, “To God’s holy people in “Ephesus”.

So, how do we bring this old creed to life?  That’s what this post is about.

Bible Passages for Preaching on The Communion Of Saints

There are, of course, many passages you can use.  I particularly like Ephesians 4:16.  Here are the first few verses:

4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 

There are other passages, of course.  I Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 give exhortation about spiritual gifts.  But I like the Ephesians passage because it begins with God.  We are all connected to each other because of what God has done in Jesus Christ and what he continues to do.

Our Responsibility as a Saint

Paul was giving a corrective here.  Apparently, there were some divisions in the church in Ephesus.  And so, he gives a corrective command to be completely humble and gentle.  This is the attitude we adopt as we use our positions and gifts in the church for God’s greater glory.  We are to be in communion with our fellow believers.  Communion–that’s another word that only usually speak of in regard to the Lord’s Supper.  However, here it means that we are committed to each other.  I like the way a woman named Anne Robertson put it in her sermon on this topic.  She said,

So…the Communion of Saints…is talking about the way Christians commune with each

other…how we do and should interact with each other…how we should live out our unity in Jesus.

I think there are two great examples of what that looks like. Remember back a week or so ago to

the miners caught in the Pennsylvania coal mine. Probably they weren’t thinking, “Hey, if we tie

ourselves together, we’ll be a great illustration for the Communion of Saints,” but it turned out

that way anyhow. Those nine men were determined that they would stick together no matter

what. Nobody who died would just float away into oblivion, and if one were found, all of them

would be found together.

Preaching on the communion of the saints means that we call our people to a commitment to each other.

Conclusion

This is a great theme.  It’s doctrine.  Preaching on the communion of saints, done well, can bring renewal through the power of the Holy Spirit to your people.