The communion of saints

It is amazing to experience the unity across nations and languages among the believers in Jesus. The church is really just one family. The differences in
culture and language make this unity just the more rich. In European countries people tend to be very individualistic. This leads them into isolation and
loneliness. The community of the church is really good news to many of the lonely people of this continent.

Jesus cares for the church. He calls the church his body (1 Cor 12:27). The body should not be mutilated into separate parts. For any efforts for unity, it is essential to belong to Christ who is the head of the body. Believers can experience closeness with each other only as far as we are in one faith and one Spirit (Eph 4:3-6).

When the apostles received the Holy Spirit it looked as if flames of fire were above their heads. Then they started speaking in other languages which they had never studied. The people present heard the Gospel in their mother tongue (Acts 2:1-4). Preaching the Gospel was accompanied with many kinds of miracles in the following weeks and years. Paul explains in his letters to different churches that God gives gifts for each believer, so that we could serve each other more effectively. These gifts include performing miracles, speaking in other tongues and more natural kind of gifts like teaching, leading and giving (Rom 12:6-8).

The normal way for the Holy Spirit is to work in us through the Bible. Sometimes he chooses to give us dreams or miraculous signs. If Satan is
attacking us with demon possession, witchcraft, curse or other frightening direct attacks, the Holy Spirit gives us the tools to oppose the enemy
victoriously (Eph 6:10-17 & Luke 10:17).

You may be wondering who are these “saints”, which the creed is speaking about here. Are these some special individuals like St Francis and St Augustine? If
we look for the answer from the Bible, it is clear and simple: Saints are all those sinful people who have believed in Jesus Christ and are counted as holy
because of him (1 Cor 1:2 & 2 Cor 1:1). This indeed authorises you to use the title “saint” in front of your name! But it is not just a title: we are invited to live out the holiness of Jesus in our every day life. The faith in Jesus
renews us from inside out to follow the will of God (Rom 12:2).