What Does It Mean By "Holy, Catholic Church"?

 

Back when I was saved - I really no longer liked the term catholic. The apostles' creed described the church to be holy and catholic. But if you consider the meaning of the word catholic - it actually is a synonym for the word universal. Yes, I acknowledge the fact that Acts 9:31 has the words "kath" and "oles" from "all throughout". The Greek words for "all throughout" is where we get the word catholic though the word universal has been more commonly used. Yes, I belong to the holy, catholic church but the church is not Roman Catholic. The church is holy and catholic but not holy and Roman Catholic. Even the early Reformers used the term catholic. John Calvin's The Institutes of the Christian Religion has its third volume called The Holy Catholic Church. It's because to be part of the catholic church means to be part of the universal church where Jesus is the Head of it, not the Pope of Rome.

I was thinking of the idea of Roman Catholics using the word "catholic" to define themselves as the supposedly "one true Church" founded in 33 A.D. However, nowhere in the Scriptures was the church to be called Roman Catholic, neither was a central organization founded in Rome, neither did Peter sit in Rome as its bishop as he was the apostle to the Jews, Peter never accepted homage from anyone nor did he elevate himself as the Vicar of Christ, and a lot of teachings of Rome never match the Bible. A good example is when taken into context - 1st Corinthians 7:32-35 is not about priestly celibacy. Yes, the apostles were catholic in the sense that they were part of the holy universal church but not Roman Catholic. Peter never taught others he was the Vicar of Christ. Rather, Peter would be the first anointed pastor in Jerusalem where his mission was. 

A Roman Catholic may ask, "But there are many Protestant denominations!" Some even claim that there are supposedly 33,000. Why did it even come to be? One interesting fact is that many denominations claiming to be Christian are erroneously labeled as "Protestant" when they are not. "Christian" denominations such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, members of the Iglesia ni Cristo, Seventh Day Adventists, Charismatics, and other similar cults are not Protestant. The Protestant movement was all about standing by Biblical truth. Also, the myth of 33,000 denominations is even refuted by the National Catholic Register! Claiming Roman Catholics have no division is just utterly preposterous. 

But how can there be one body when there are Protestant denominations? Here's a good illustration. I'm a Baptist and I don't consider myself a Protestant. I still think Baptists emerged during the Dark Ages while I reject the silly notion that John the Baptist was the first Baptist. That's because John the Baptist was called as such because he was baptizing. Baptist means baptizer. However, I currently have Calvinistic leanings which more or less I may become a Reformed Baptist. However, I embrace any Protestant as a brother or sister in Christ if they show signs of being truly being born again. I'm not talking about just carrying the tag born again. Instead, I'm talking about somebody who has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior not in just repeat after me evangelisms. Rather, I'm talking about believing (pisteon, relying on) in Jesus as Lord and Savior to be saved. I'm a Baptist and I embrace various Protestant denominations. However, I still reject the sacrament of infant baptism that some Protestant denominations do. A Lutheran writes for Table Talk but I don't like the term Lutheran either. This embracing each other as brothers and sisters in Christ is evidence in believing in the holy, catholic Church founded in 33 A.D.

What makes a true Church? Ligonier.org in its article "The Holy Catholic Church" says the following:

Although we find ourselves in a world filled with many Christian denominations and individual congregations, we believe in a church that is much bigger than any one of these entities. There is a universal church that is not defined by geographical boundaries, ethnicity, social class, manuals of church order, or any other such factor. Instead, the church universal — the catholic church — includes everyone who trusts in Christ alone for salvation, no matter who they are or where they live. Ultimately, there is but one church, and it includes everyone who is united to Christ Jesus by faith alone. As the Apostle Paul reveals in Ephesians 4:4–6, “There is one body and one Spirit … one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.”

The true Church is not an earthly organization. Rather, it's a spiritual collective of believers wherever they are with Jesus as the Head of it. The central organization is not in the Vatican, not in Salt Lake City, not in Taft Avenue, not in wherever any person may claim it. The central organization of the holy catholic Church is in Heaven where Jesus reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit.