"I am astonished that
you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the
grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel-- not
that there is another gospel, but there are some who
trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But
even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you
a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let
him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say
again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary
to that which you received, let him be
accursed."(Galatians 1:6-9)
- Notice what these
passage teach? They teach that, even in the
Apostle's day, there were other people preaching
OTHER GOSPELS. There was not just one. So the
$64,000 question is: how do you know that the
Gospel you are hearing on Sunday is the same
Gospel that the Apostle Paul preached? How can
you be so sure that the Church down the street is
not preaching the true Gospel while the one you
are listening to is preaching a false one? The
answer to this is rather simple: the only way you
can guarantee the truth of the Gospel message is
to trace the message by the messenger. If
you can't trace your messenger back to one of the
Apostles, then it's not likely that it will be
authentic. There is only one Church who can do
so.
The Body
Throughout the Gospels,
the Church is referred to as a unified, supernatural body
of believers which Catholics sometimes call the 'Mystical
Body of Christ.' This body is not a fragmented,
disjointed collection of believers each professing
different doctrines, but rather one supernatural,
catholic and unified family who profess one Lord, one
faith, and one baptism (Cf. Ephesians 4:5).
- "For as in one
body we have many members, and all the members do
nothave the same function, so we, though many,
are one body in Christ, and individually members
one of another. Having gifts that differ
according to the grace given to us, let us use
them: if prophecy, in proportion to our
faith…" (Romans 12:4-6)
- "And his gifts
were that some should be apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to
equip the saints for the work of ministry, for
building up the body of Christ, until we all
attain to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ..." (Ephesians 4:11-13)
- "He is before
all things, and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in
everything he might be pre-eminent."
(Colosians 1:17-18)
- "And let the
peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which
indeed you were called in the one body. And be
thankful." (Colosians 3:15)
- "Remember those
who are in prison, as though in prison with them;
and those who are ill-treated, since you also are
in the body. (Hebrews 13:3)
- "For just as the
body is one and has many members, and all the
members of the body, though many, are one body,
so it is with Christ" (1 Cor 12:12).
John Pacheco
The Catholic Legate
August 1, 2002
www.catholic-legate.com