The Church and the Holy Ministry: Theses IV & V — June 1, 2025
Thesis IV It is to this true Church of believers and saints that Christ gave the Keys of the kingdom of heaven, and it is the proper and only possessor and bearer of the spiritual, divine, and heavenly gifts, rights, authority, offices, and the like that Christ has procured and are found in His Church.
Thesis V Although the true Church in the proper sense of the word is in its essence invisible, nevertheless its existence can be (definitely) recognizable, namely, by the marks of the pure preaching of God’s Word and the administration of the Sacraments according to Christ’s institution.