THE SPIRITUAL FINGERPRINTS OF THE VISIBLE CHURCH
The Spiritual Fingerprints of the Visible Church
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
No fingerprints are alike. Today, should a criminal leave a good set of fingerprints at the
scene of the crime, that criminal could be identified by them. Were you to be in an accident and
your fingerprints are on file, you would be identified as well.
In this matter of fingerprints we find the very personal attention God has given to each one
of us. It means that you and I are separate individuals, having separate personalities and no one
who has ever lived - or ever will live - in this world can take your place. You were created by
God with infinite care for a very definite purpose.
Added to the spiritual significance of fingerprints and the individual, we find another spiritual
truth suggested here. For the honest inquirer, there lies before him a very real problem in
this day of truth and error, for both truth and error are moving forward under the common caption
of "the church." Today right and wrong come wrapped in identical packages and the average
person cannot distinguish, nor can he evaluate, the difference between that which is truth
and that which is error. Therefore, the question arises, "How can each be brought into bold
relief? Is there some positive method of identification in spiritual matters such as the system of
fingerprints in the physical field?" Certainly the markings of the true and the false are not the
same - therefore, we believe that we have spiritual fingerprints of the visible church and can
identify that which is genuine and that which is counterfeit in this present age.
First of all, the true church is invisible. Paul said to the Corinthians:
For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Greeks,
whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1
Corinthians 12:13)
Certainly the whole tenor of Scripture would bear that out. If you would turn to Ephesians 1:22,
23 you would read langu ...
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
No fingerprints are alike. Today, should a criminal leave a good set of fingerprints at the
scene of the crime, that criminal could be identified by them. Were you to be in an accident and
your fingerprints are on file, you would be identified as well.
In this matter of fingerprints we find the very personal attention God has given to each one
of us. It means that you and I are separate individuals, having separate personalities and no one
who has ever lived - or ever will live - in this world can take your place. You were created by
God with infinite care for a very definite purpose.
Added to the spiritual significance of fingerprints and the individual, we find another spiritual
truth suggested here. For the honest inquirer, there lies before him a very real problem in
this day of truth and error, for both truth and error are moving forward under the common caption
of "the church." Today right and wrong come wrapped in identical packages and the average
person cannot distinguish, nor can he evaluate, the difference between that which is truth
and that which is error. Therefore, the question arises, "How can each be brought into bold
relief? Is there some positive method of identification in spiritual matters such as the system of
fingerprints in the physical field?" Certainly the markings of the true and the false are not the
same - therefore, we believe that we have spiritual fingerprints of the visible church and can
identify that which is genuine and that which is counterfeit in this present age.
First of all, the true church is invisible. Paul said to the Corinthians:
For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Greeks,
whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1
Corinthians 12:13)
Certainly the whole tenor of Scripture would bear that out. If you would turn to Ephesians 1:22,
23 you would read langu ...
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