Overview

This chapter unfolds what membership in the church means in practice: union with Christ and, through Him, fellowship with one another. Saints share in Christ’s grace and glory, and in mutual duties of love and service, both spiritual and material — yet this communion does not erase the believer’s personal property or make him divine. It is the warm, practical outworking of being one body in Christ.

The Confession, Section by Section

26.1 — Communion with Christ and one another

All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their Head, by his Spirit, and by faith, have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory: and, being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:9, ESV)

“…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” (Phil. 3:10, ESV)

Further proofs: John 1:16; Eph. 2:5–6; 3:16–19; 1 John 1:3; Rom. 6:5–6; 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12.

Exposition: The foundation of all Christian fellowship is union with Christ — “united to Jesus Christ their Head, by his Spirit, and by faith.” Because we are joined to the Head, we share in His graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory. And because we are all joined to Him, we are joined “to one another in love.” Horizontal fellowship flows from vertical union. The communion of saints is not first a club we join but a body we are made part of.

26.2 — The duties of communion

Saints by profession are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification; as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities. Which communion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And all who believed were together and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:42, 44, ESV)

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal. 6:10, ESV)

Further proofs: Heb. 10:24–25; 1 Thess. 5:11, 14; Rom. 1:11–12; 1 John 3:17; Acts 11:29–30; 2 Cor. 8–9.

Exposition: Communion is concrete. It includes shared worship and “spiritual services” for mutual edification, and practical relief “in outward things” — meeting one another’s material needs “according to their several abilities and necessities.” The early church’s sharing (Acts 2) and the offerings for the poor (2 Cor. 8–9) model this. And the circle widens: communion extends “unto all those who… call upon the name of the Lord Jesus” — not just one’s own congregation, but the whole household of faith.

26.3 — The limits of communion

This communion which the saints have with Christ, doth not make them in any wise partakers of the substance of his Godhead, or to be equal with Christ in any respect: either of which to affirm, is impious and blasphemous. Nor doth their communion one with another, as saints, take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man hath in his goods and possessions.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“…holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” (Col. 2:19, ESV)

Further proofs: 1 Cor. 8:6; Isa. 42:8; 1 Tim. 6:15–16; Acts 5:4 (Ananias retained title to his property); Eph. 4:15–16.

Exposition: Two careful boundaries. First, union with Christ does not make us “partakers of the substance of his Godhead” — we are united to Christ but not deified; to claim equality with Him is “impious and blasphemous.” Second, the sharing of goods does not abolish private property: Peter tells Ananias the land and its proceeds were his own (Acts 5:4). Christian generosity is voluntary and from the heart, not enforced communism. Communion is real but does not erase either Christ’s uniqueness or the believer’s personal stewardship.

Doctrinal Summary

By the Spirit and faith, all saints are united to Christ their Head and so share in His graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory; and being united to one another in love, they hold communion in each other’s gifts and graces. They are bound to maintain holy fellowship in worship and mutual edification, and to relieve one another’s outward needs, extending this to all who call on Christ’s name. Yet this communion neither makes them partakers of Christ’s deity nor abolishes the believer’s title to his own possessions.

Connections

• WLC Q65–69 — the communion in grace which members of the invisible church have with Christ; their union with Him; the benefits they share; and the communion in glory to come.
• WSC Q36 — the benefits which flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, enjoyed in fellowship with Christ and His people.
• WCF 25 (the church — the body within which communion exists), WCF 27–29 (the sacraments, especially the Lord’s Supper as communion), WCF 16 (good works toward the household of faith).
• Loci: Union with Christ; the communion of saints; the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4).

Pastoral & Practical Significance

This chapter turns the doctrine of the church into the texture of daily Christian life. It tells you that you are not a solitary believer but a member of a body, knit to Christ and therefore to every other believer in love. That has practical weight: you are “bound” to gather for worship, to use your gifts for others’ edification, and to share your resources with brothers and sisters in need — and to receive the same when you are in need. The communion of saints means no Christian carries his burdens alone and no Christian hoards his gifts. It also widens our hearts beyond our own congregation to “all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.” Yet the chapter’s limits are pastoral too: it guards against unhealthy enmeshment (we are united to Christ, not absorbed into His deity) and against coerced collectivism (generosity is willing, not compelled). The fellowship of the saints is meant to be one of the great comforts and joys of the Christian life — a foretaste of the communion of glory.

For Reflection

• Do I live as a connected member of Christ’s body, or as a spiritual individualist?
• Where can I use my gifts for others’ edification, and where might I “relieve” a brother or sister “in outward things”?
• Am I as ready to receive the communion of the saints in my own need as I am to give it?