Topic 7

1. The church invisible, also known as the invisible church, the mystical church, or the church
mystical, is a Christian theological concept of a "invisible" Christian Church of the elect known
only to God, as opposed to the "visible church"—that is, the institutional body on earth that
preaches the gospel and administers the sacraments.

2. The invisible church, according to John Calvin, is "that which is actually in God's presence, into
which no persons are received but those who are children of God by grace of adoption and true
members of Christ by sanctification of the Holy Spirit... [The invisible church] includes not only
the saints presently living on earth, but all the elect from the beginning of the world."

Topic 8

1. We have to stay attached to Jesus in order to grow. So Jesus is the vine and we
are the branches. We need to remain in, cling close to Jesus, in order to grow as
Christians. Without Jesus, we die spiritually.
2. The Church simply sees the lay faithful as persons who are baptized into the
Church, who have a secular quality and whose functions in the Church differ
from those who are ordained. The Church has a long history with regard to the laity
and their activities in the Church.
3. When we come to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior,
our lives become united to Christ's life. We begin a
journey of faith, united to Christ. We renounce service to
sin and give our loyalty and service to Christ. christ's
resurrection guides us into “newness of life,” which is life
here and now, but with a new, eschatological dimension.
we examine everything we feel, think, and do from a new
perspective that takes our present bodies, our
resurrectional bodies, and christ's body (which is the
church) ever more seriously.
4. Baptism is a rebirth, a regeneration. The Apostle Peter declares that by God’s great mercy we
have been born to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (cf Pt 1: 3-4) He
 calls Christians those who have been born anew. (cf Pt 1:23) The Pope tells us that with
Baptism we become children of the Father in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. What was
said of Jesus at the Jordan can be said of us at our baptism, “You are my beloved Son; with
you I am well pleased.” (Lk 3:22) In the Son we become children of adoption (cf Gal 4:4f) and
in this way the eternal plan of the Father for each person is realized in history. It is the Holy
Spirit who constitutes the baptized as Children of God and members of Christ’s Body. St. Paul
reminds us of this: “for by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body (1 Cor 12:13) …and
because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.” (cf Gal 4:6; Rom
8:15f)
5. The Church is divided into three categories: Priestly, Prophetic, and Kingly. Priestly leads
worship and sacrifice, Prophetic spreads the Word of God, and Kingly governs the Body of
Christ in love and care.
6. The Church has a human structure because on earth it is
made up of people who experience communion
(koinonia) with God by grace. This society has a purpose
that transcends earth, though it is on earth. As such, all
the baptized are formed and participate in the life and
mission of the Persons of the Trinity.
7. The Church's ministries are Holy Spirit-given gifts given for the building up of the body of
Christ and its purpose of redemption in the world. This begins with those ordained as
ministers (the pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons), who hold the primary
ministerial position. They have been given sacred authority and power to act in the person of
Christ, the head, proclaiming the Gospel and administering the sacraments. The lay faithful
come to engage in the mission of the Church through the sacraments, particularly baptism,
confirmation, and, for some, matrimony, as well as the power of the Holy Spirit.
8. Literally, holy living means that the Christian lives a life that is set apart for God's honor. It is a
life of focus, discipline, and devotion to matters of righteous living. As Paul says in Romans
12:1-2, it is a life fully presented to God in such a way that it changes our lives to God's glory
rather than adapting our lives to the ways of the world. In 1:27, James expands on the topic
by stating that really virtuous religious practice is uncontaminated by the perversion of
secular thinking. Because God is holy, we are to be holy as well.
9. Holiness is the perfection of the love of God within us.
Holiness is only possible by God's love and grace.
Through authentic imitation of Jesus Christ and complete
submission to God's will, we can hope to attain perfection
in and through Him.
10. What is the secular character of the lay faithful?

According to the Council, the secular character of the Christian lay faithful means that lay people
are called by God to seek God's Kingdom by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them
according to God's will, as well as infusing the world with a Christian spirit that changes it from
within like leaven.

11.