Here's a question: What constitutes the "One True Church? The Creed says the church "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic" or there abouts depending on which creed. The Articles say "XIX. Of the Church. The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." After googling the question, I found an historical Lutheran doctrinal statement which gave an answer in great detail: "We believe that there is one holy Christian Church on earth, the Head of which is Christ and which is gathered, preserved, and governed by Christ through the Gospel. The members of the Christian Church are the Christians, that is, all those who have despaired of their own righteousness before God and believe that God forgives their sins for Christ's sake. The Christian Church, in the proper sense of the term, is composed of believers only, Acts 5:14; 26:18; which means that no person in whom the Holy Ghost has wrought faith in the Gospel, or -- which is the same thing -- in the doctrine of justification, can be divested of his membership in the Christian Church; and, on the other hand, that no person in whose heart this faith does not dwell can be invested with such membership. All unbelievers, though they be in external communion with the Church and even hold the office of teacher or any other office in the Church, are not members of the Church, but, on the contrary, dwelling-places and instruments of Satan, Eph. 2:2. This is also the teaching of our Lutheran Confessions: "It is certain, however, that the wicked are in the power of the devil and members of the kingdom of the devil, as Paul teaches, Eph. 2:2, when he says that `the devil now worketh in the children of disobedience,"' etc. (Apology, Triglot, p. 231, Paragraph 16; M., p. 154.) Since it is by faith in the gospel alone that men become members of the Christian Church, and since this faith cannot be seen by men, but is known to God alone, 1 Kings 8:39; Acts 1:24; 2 Tim. 2:19, therefore the Christian Church on earth is invisible till Judgment Day, Col. 3:3, 4. In our day some Lutherans speak of two sides of the Church, taking the means of grace to be its "visible side." It is true, the means of grace [ie, the Sacraments] are necessarily related to the Church, seeing that the Church is created and preserved through them. But the means of grace are not for that reason a part of the Church; for the Church, in the proper sense of the word, consists only of believers, Eph. 2:19, 20; Acts 5:14. Lest we abet the notion that the Christian Church in the proper sense of the term is an external institution, we shall continue to call the means of grace the "marks" of the Church. Just as wheat is to be found only where it has been sown, so the Church can be found only where the Word of God is in use. We teach that this Church, which is the invisible communion of all believers, is to be found not only in those external church communions which teach the Word of God purely in every part, but also where, along with error, so much of the Word of God still remains that men may be brought to the knowledge of their sins and to faith in the forgiveness of sins, which Christ has gained for all men, Mark 16:16; Samaritans: Luke 17:16; John 4:25." I find this very agreeable but I wanted to learn your thoughts on the matter.
I don't particularly like this explication of the visible/invisible Church distinction because I think it denigrates the importance of the Visible Church too much. This is the kind of explication that leads down the road to the sort of typical Baptist/Congregationalist hermeneutic common in modern Protestantism. It basically makes the Visible Church a sort of association, a kind of Christian version of the local Moose Lodge. You find the association that you agree with the most, has your preferred worship style, has the best preacher, etc. I believe the Visible Church is a divine institution, and can be really and truly called the Church. That is not to say there is no visible/invisible distinction, or that the faithless within the flock truly partake of the Holy Spirit's operation within the Church in the same way as the faithful. The way I prefer to think of it is that the Visible Church is the necessary, though imperfect, manifestation of the Invisible Church. They are two sides of the same coin, albeit with one side clean and the other dirty. Sort of the way that good works are the necessary manifestation of Faith, not that they are identical or that works are truly justifying in anyway, but it is false to say you have faith when you have no works ordinarily. In the same way, it is ordinarily false to say that you are a member of the Church Invisible if you are not attached to the Church Visible. Obviously, there are exceptions to both rules. However, as the old adage goes, "hard cases make bad law." If you do not make due use of the means of grace available through the Visible Church, then you should not ordinarily be certain that you are a Christian. Personally, I am motivated by Hebrews 6 apostasy combined with my firm belief in the Perseverance of the Saints to come to these conclusions. I do believe that those who lack true faith really do experience some measure of the Holy Spirit and His presence in and through the operations of the Visible Church. Through the reading of the Word, and the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Communion, I believe that the Holy Spirit and Christ are truly present so that it can be said that you have partaken of the Spirit even if you are not truly faithful. As Jesus said in Mt. 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Is it only the case if both of those two are truly faithful Christians? No, I think He is present regardless, and if you are faithless, then you are in the holy presence of Christ, and it only adds to your condemnation. Edit: Not to mention this sort of invisible communion makes senseless our testimony to unity to the outside world. We are supposed to be united so that it can be a testimony that we truly are disciples (Jn. 17:21). That makes no sense if that unity is some sort of ethereal reality that does not really manifest itself on earth. That is not to say we are united, or that unity is necessary to the Church's existence.
The true church is the Holy Catholic Church, of which the Anglican communion is part. At an ecumenical service one we said the Apostle's Creed and it referred to simply, "The Holy Church". When I queried this I was told that some people found using the word "catholic" in this context uncomfortable.
Apostolic Succession? Both the Word and Orders. Revelation, i.e. The entering in to scripture of the whole of Christ's Covenant, the New Gospel and its interpretation,explanation & Completion by the Bishops of the Seven Councils. Having said the above, we have to know that everyone who is baptised becomes a member of Christ & a Child of God. Neither is there any alternative and on our Membership and preferences we will ultimately be judged. There's no alternative except some people mention,"Desire," and 'Blood.' How and ever we remain baptised forever, it cannot be washed off.We have to remember that we will be judged ultimately as Members of Christ & Children of God on our behaviour as Catholics, Anglican Catholics that is.