The pope recently reaffirmed the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church. He said that all other churches that have formed from Martin Luther and later are not part of the true church. It was interesting to me to hear this from the pope. I know that this has always been the position of the Roman Catholic church, however, I was surprised to hear this statement since Protestants and catholics have been trying to bridge the gap that has been between them in recent years. This seems to be a step backwards in uniting the church as the "one body many parts" that it is.
I wonder where they get this idea biblically? If you are Catholic or understand this line of thinking and where it comes from would you let me know by posting a comment? I know I am a protestant but I will try not to let that get in the way of my thinking biblically about this issue of discussing who is the church. I know I am probably preaching to the choir on this one but, as I look at the scriptures, it seems to me what is taught is that anyone who repents and believes in Jesus as Messiah and lives for Him is a part if His body. Thus the church is made up of its individual parts that form a collective whole (the body of Christ) rather than a singular denomination.
It would be nice if we could keep all this in the forefront of our minds as we proclaim the gospel (even as Protestants. We can get pretty 'high and mighty' somestimes as well). It would be good for us to cheer each other on (denominationally speaking) as we bring the kingdom of heaven to earth, proclaim the gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ. I mean if it is about winning souls, then shouldn't we be excited no matter which denomination is making disciples? This is what the church is supposed to be all about.
This is the picture of the one true church.
