Visible and Invisible Church

Definition and Meaning

This concept distinguishes two aspects of the church. The invisible church is the whole company of true believers, across all times and places, known only to God. The visible church is the actual community on earth that professes the faith, worships, and administers the sacraments. The visible church may include both true believers and those who are not. The distinction does not mean that there are two separate churches. Rather, it views the one church from two perspectives: as God sees it and as human beings see it.

Biblical and Historical Background

The following passages are frequently cited in support of this distinction:

• Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24–30): the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest.
• Parable of the Net (Matthew 13:47–50): the good and the bad are gathered together.
• 2 Timothy 2:19: "The Lord knoweth them that are his."
• 1 John 2:19

In his controversy with the Donatists, Augustine described the church on earth as a mixed body of the righteous and the wicked. During the Reformation, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others appealed to this distinction to oppose the claim that the institution of the Roman church was itself the true church. Chapter 25 of the Westminster Confession of Faith defines the invisible church as the whole number of the elect and the visible church as those who profess the true religion, together with their children.

The Catholic Church regards the visible structure of the church and its spiritual reality as joined together in a single, unified whole. It therefore does not accept an understanding that separates the two.

Practice in the Korean Church

Denominations treat this distinction in different ways.

• Presbyterians: Following the Reformed tradition, they teach this distinction together with the doctrine of predestination. The constitutions of several Presbyterian denominations reportedly contain provisions dividing the church into the visible church and the invisible church.
• Methodists and the Anglican Church of Korea: Both have inherited a confessional tradition that defines the visible church as a congregation of believers in which the Word is rightly preached and the sacraments are duly administered.
• Baptists: They hold that only regenerate believers are to be baptized and received as members of a local church. They therefore emphasize making the visible church correspond as closely as possible to the company of true believers.

In preaching, the concept is often used to convey that having one's name on a church membership roll or being a baptized member does not in itself guarantee salvation. More recently, opinions have been divided over so-called "Canaan believers", Christians who do not attend church. Some argue that belonging to the invisible church is sufficient, while others counter that belonging to a visible church community is also necessary.