ZIklag 11.1 - Una Sancta

There can only be one.

The Free “Lutheran” Stand Against Division

Let’s get one thing straight: the Lutheran belief that there is only one Church is rock-solid, deeply rooted in Scripture, the creeds, and the confessions. This conviction says the Church isn’t defined by human institutions or split by denominational lines. It’s a spiritual reality, united in Christ.

Not only are Lutherans going to heaven, but all Christians are going to heaven, even some of the blasphemous ones. Just because you’re deceived by a false teacher doesn’t mean Jesus has abandoned your baptism into him.

Here’s how it all stacks up:

1. Biblical Foundations: One Church, No Divisions

The Bible is clear: the Church is the “Body of Christ,” a single, unified entity. The Lutheran belief in one Church is firmly grounded in Jesus and the apostles. Key passages include:

• Ephesians 4:4-6: “There is one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.”

• John 17:20-21: Jesus prays that all believers “may be one… so that the world may believe.”

• 1 Corinthians 12:12-13: Paul teaches that believers, though many, are “one body” in Christ.

These verses tell it straight: the Church is united by the Spirit, centered on Christ, and goes beyond any earthly or denominational boundaries.

2. The Creeds: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic

Lutherans stand firm on the historic creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian), which confess belief in “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”

• “One” points to unity in Christ.

• “Holy” means set apart by God, even with imperfect members.

• “Catholic” here means “universal,” spanning time, space, and culture.

• “Apostolic” means grounded in the teachings of the apostles, as preserved in Scripture.

Despite earthly fragmentation, the Church is one in essence, bound by faith in Christ across time and place.

3. Confessions: The Real Markers of the True Church

The Augsburg Confession (Article VII) defines the Church as “the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.” The true Church is identified not by institutional unity but by faithfulness to God’s Word and the sacraments.

The Apology of the Augsburg Confession takes it further: the Church is “hidden” yet evident wherever the Gospel is preached and the sacraments are given. The true Church can’t be boxed in by human structures; it’s known by its adherence to the Word and Sacraments.

4. The Seen and Unseen Church: Unity Beyond Earthly Divisions

Lutherans recognize the visible and invisible aspects of the Church to explain its existence in a broken world:

• Unseen Church: Known only to God, this is all true believers—those justified through faith in Christ.

• Seen Church: The congregations and denominations we see. They contain true believers but don’t define the Church entirely.

Human divisions exist, but they don’t ultimately split the true Church, which remains unified in Christ.

5. Unity by Word and Sacrament, Not Human Authority

For Lutherans, the Church’s unity isn’t based on institutional structure or a central authority (like the Pope) but on faithfulness to God’s Word. Martin Luther outright rejected the idea that a single earthly authority is what unifies the Church. Instead, unity is in shared faith, the Gospel, and the sacraments.

• Augsburg Confession (Article VII): “The Church is the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.”

6. The Church Militant and Triumphant: a Living Chu ch in Heaven and Earth

Lutherans understand the Church in two forms:

• Church Militant: The Church on earth, in active spiritual warfare against sin and darkness by means oF trust in the Word of God.

• Church Triumphant: The Church in heaven, where believers are united in eternal worship, praying for the earth according to this revelation:

Revelation 6:9-10 (NKJV) I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

All believers, living or departed, belong to this one Church, with unity fully realized in eternity.

7. Ecumenism: True Unity Without Compromise

Lutherans hold to the oneness of the Church but insist on the doctrinal purity oF the Scriptures, especially their “perspicuity.”

Perspicuity is a fancy term that means clarity or understandability. In theology, especially within Protestant traditions, it refers to the idea that the essential teachings of the Bible are clear enough that an average person, with sincere effort and the help of the Holy Spirit, can understand them without needing an expert or priest to interpret everything for them.

The doctrine of perspicuity of Scripture doesn’t mean every part of the Bible is easy to understand—there are certainly complex passages. But it emphasizes that the key teachings, like those about salvation, faith, and morality, are accessible to all believers. This idea encourages people to read the Bible directly, trusting that they can grasp its main message on their own.

While all true free Evangelical Protestants (including Lutherans) value ecumenical efforts, but we also know from Scripture that true unity comes at the cost of the Gospel. Lutherans , then, by definition are those Protestants most willing to work with other traditions where possible but stay faithful to core Lutheran doctrine.

Of course, I am only speaking of our theories, not our practice….

Conclusion: The One True Church—Unbreakable and Eternal

But that’s the point! Our practice is not our substance (root) but our discipline (fruit.) enough bad fruit and you’re a bad tree. But the Lutheran conviction is that no Christian is good will is a bad tree, and the Church we all worship Jesus at on Sunday isn’t just a theory. It’s a biblical, spiritual reality that transcends visible denominations and earthly divisions, a Kingdom that (obviously) only Jesus could possibly be in control of, a promise that is worthy to be trusted.

United by the Holy Spirit, who reminds us of Jesus’ Words, the Church is rooted in the faith of Christ, the Gospel, his mind, and the sacraments, his deeds. Even with fractures in earthly institutions, the spiritual unity of believers is undisturbed. The one true Church is hidden yet alive, bound by God’s promise and revealed in Christ’s love—a unity that stands firm and eternal.

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed.
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.