The church of Jesus Christ must be a place of justice and righteousness. The church of Jesus Christ must be a place where there is reconciliation. The church of Jesus Christ must value and welcome every believer; it must be catholic.

In the Apostles’ and Nicene Creed we confess that God's church is catholic—catholic not in the sense of a denomination, but catholic in the sense that all those who belong to Christ must be welcomed. In the words of the Heidelberg Catechism: I believe that the Son of God out of the whole human race, from the beginning of the world to its end, gathers, defends, and preserves for himself, by his Spirit and Word, in the unity of the true faith, a church chosen to everlasting life.¹

Out of the whole human race; that means everyone must be welcome in God’s church. We are not allowed to make divisions according to ethnicity, sex, culture, or social status. That is to say, there must not be one church for black and one church for white, one church for women and one church for men, one church for the poor and one church for the middle class, one church for students and one church for pensioners. Our unity is in submission to Christ.

Historically this is an area where the church has really struggled. Throughout the world, pre-existing divisions in society are often reflected also amongst God’s people. In the middle ages and at the time of the Reformation, everyone was expected to go to church. Typically the wealthy would sit in a certain section where they had the best view and warmest seats whilst the poor would have to make do with a view blocked by a pillar. This was also the time where the practice of buying or reserving a seat developed. And the result of it all was that the division seen in society remained in God’s church. It made it harder for Christians to love and serve together as a family. In South Africa, there was a forced division between black and white—a division that was sanctioned and justified by many churches instead of being challenged.

All such divisions are wrong and deny the catholicity of God’s church. We must be very careful that we do not introduce similar divisions today—a division between men and women so husbands do not sit together with wives and children; a division between adults and children, separate services where children receive their own lesson and where they are out of sight and out of mind. Often division comes with a good motive but we must be very careful, since it always conveys a message about the church. And if the message is not one family gathering together to worship the Lord, then the message is wrong.

Thinking of catholicity, there is perhaps nothing which portrays the message of family quite as clearly as the sacraments. Consider baptism, how we all receive the same sign of belonging when we become part of God’s church—male and female, young and old. Everyone who belongs is given the family's surname, so to speak. The same goes for the Lord’s Supper, where we come to sit together at the table—drinking from the same cup, eating from the same bread...Nothing portrays the message of family quite as clearly. Just imagine Philemon and Onesimus: usually, the master would have most certainly eaten separately from his slaves, but now they sit at the same table.

The church of Jesus Christ is catholic (universal). Having been reconciled to God through his blood, we are now brothers. Hierarchies from society do not have a place in the gathering of God’s people, so let us make sure that we do not introduce them. Let us also make sure that we treat every believer with dignity and respect. Black or white, rich or poor, all those who belong to God must be welcome in his church.