It is possible that some who belong to the invisible Church never become members of the visible organization… On the other hand there may be unregenerate (people) who, while professing Christ, have no true faith in Him…and these, as long as they are in that condition, do not belong to the invisible Church.
Systematic Theology, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 1998, p. 566. Get this book!
The visible church is where you will find Christ’s kingdom on earth, and to disregard the kingdom is to disregard its King.
Forward by Michael Horton taken from Church Membership by Jonathan Leeman, copyright (2012), Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org, p. 15.
Contrast between the Visible and Invisible Church. Visible: Membership: Saved and lost, Only currently living people, Many local churches, Differing denominations, Part of the body of Christ, Differing types of government and Ministering the ordinances. Invisible: Membership: Saved only, Both dead and living in Christ, Only one universal church, No single denomination, The entire body of Christ, Christ the only head and Ordinances fulfilled.
Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine, Zondervan, 1992, p. 116.
According to Scripture, the invisible church includes everyone who has ever been genuinely born again for every age of church history. This church will not meet in a visible way until Christ returns. The visible church consists of believers who are alive and meeting together right now.
To Be or Not To Be a Church Member, Calvary Press, 2004, p. 19.
As the manifestation of the invisible church to the world in time and place, the visible church, though imperfect, remains the true church, because it displays the marks of the church: the Word, sacraments, and discipline. And it is the only church that we can see and fellowship with; we have no Gnostic recourse to any other church than the visible church.
Knowing His Voice, Tabletalk, March, 2009, p. 16. Used by Permission.
The visible church may be distressingly and sorely fractured and fragmented into all different kinds of denominations and groups, but the invisible church is the true body of Christ. Everyone who is in Christ, and in whom Christ dwells, is a member of this one universal church.
The Purpose of God, An Exposition of Ephesians, Christian Focus Publications, 1994, p. 99.
The visible church refers to the institution called ‘the church’ that has visible participants whose names appear on the roll of a local congregation. In most churches anyone who makes an outward profession of faith (and meets other criteria for membership) is admitted to active fellowship in the visible church.
The Purpose of God, An Exposition of Ephesians, Christian Focus Publications, 1994, p. 88.
