Christ's Church is Invisible

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John 18:36

“My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants (would) be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

What does the Catholic Church have to say about this verse?
 
christcnection1 said:
John 18:36

“My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants (would) be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

What does the Catholic Church have to say about this verse?
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The question is, what do you say about this verse?? In no way does this verse imply an invisible Church. If it did, then you would have an invisible Bible because your New Testament is apostolic and acknowledged by the inspired Church. So, no Church , no Bible and no John 18:36.

Jesus’ kingdom is heavenly but we are a part of His kingdom. To say otherwise indicates Christ’s earthly presence was a waste of time. His kingdom is present in the Eucharist where heaven and earth combine… God Bless…teachccd
 
Your profile states that you identify as being Catholic. Do you believe in a heirarchial Church with the Holy Father as its head?? Just curious because you cannot be Catholic if you don’t…Contradiction here…🤷
 
The Church is the Body of Christ–bodies are visible. It is also the city on a hill that cannot be hid–that means it’s visible too 🙂
 
If two or three can’t convince him, take it to the Church. (paraphrasing from Matthew).

Does that mean you need to leave this world?
 
This is a great question to ask, and it is great that you do not merely believe without knowing why you believe something. For the best reference on the Catholic Church’s position on any given topic, I check the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here is what it says on the issue:

The Church - both visible and spiritual

771 "The one mediator, Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth his holy Church, the community of faith, hope, and charity, as a visible organization through which he communicates truth and grace to all men."184 The Church is at the same time:
  • a "society structured with hierarchical organs and the mystical body of Christ;
  • the visible society and the spiritual community;
  • the earthly Church and the Church endowed with heavenly riches."185
These dimensions together constitute “one complex reality which comes together from a human and a divine element”:186
Code: 
The Church is essentially **both human and divine**, visible but endowed with invisible realities, zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the world, but as a pilgrim, so constituted that in her the human is directed toward and subordinated to the divine, the visible to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, the object of our quest.187

O humility! O sublimity! Both tabernacle of cedar and sanctuary of God; earthly dwelling and celestial palace; house of clay and royal hall; body of death and temple of light; and at last both object of scorn to the proud and bride of Christ! She is black but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, for even if the labor and pain of her long exile may have discolored her, yet heaven's beauty has adorned her.188
I hope this helps!
 
Christ says that the church does not belong to the world, not that it is invisible.
 
I am aware of that fact, however most churches, even protestants, luthrans and most non-denominational Christian churches aggree that there are two aspects to the church - invisible and visible. I know that the origional post was not directly asking about the visibility of the church - but the location of the church, however; i consider the two points closely linked. The Catholic Church emphasizes totality and an all encompassing faith. You can not take one topic alone without considering the rest of Scripture, Tradition and doctrine. Its scaffolding, they all build on each other.
 
Thank you everyone for your comments.

I must apologize because most of you seemed to assume I was Protestant by the way I phrased my question and titled the thread.

I asked this because a close Mennonite friend of mine used this verse to make this very point, so I would like to give our response in a clear and simple way.

Evangelicals often use an expression…
“We are in the world, but not **of **the world.”

Would it be accurate to say that God’s Kingdom is in the world, but not **of **the world? (In a similar sense…)

I understand the Church’s teaching, but what does Jesus actually mean in this verse? Jesus did say my Kingdom is not here. Where is it exactly then? Did any of the Church doctors or Saints speak on this issue?

I whole-heartedly believe that if you interpret this verse in that way, it clearly contradicts other verses we use to support our perspective. Both can’t be right, so how do we interpret this verse?
 
He meant his kingdom is not a temporal one–it is not a state government like OT Israel. Neither is the Church, the new spiritual Israel. Jesus reigns over all of Creation (Heaven and this world) from Heaven. Much of the Church is in Heaven with Him (what we call the Church Triumphant). The part of the Church on earth (the Church Militant) is making our way towards our goal–Heaven. Some will unfortanetly not make it. But, while the kingdom is not of this world (like a state government) it is visible in this world and must be spread throughout the world. 👍
 
One of his objections to this would be that the Church acts like a state government would (particularly in centuries past).

Certainly the Catholic Church has Her hands deep in the political affairs of many countries. Although I do not have a major problem with this, Mennonites feel this is a great perversion of what God wants His Church to be. (This is largely what got us into trouble with corruption and other evils, as well as other Protestant groups.)

If I’m not mistaken, very few evils ever came out of the Anabaptist movement. (…other than bad theology.) Thoughts?

Is not the Catholic Church the restored and perfected Davidic Kingdom of the OT? Was that not part of His kingdom too? They were commanded to fight…
 
Are you subtly interjecting your agenda or are your questions indeed sincere? It just seems like you’re trying to move this in the third person…Just curious and not meant to offend…God Bless…teachccd 🙂
 
For information only:

Men·non·ite http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngcache.lexico.com/g/d/speaker.gif /–noun a member of an evangelical Protestant sect, originating in Europe in the 16th century, that opposes infant baptism, practices baptism of believers only, restricts marriage to members of the denomination, opposes war and bearing arms, and is noted for simplicity of living and plain dress.
Origin: 1555–65; < G Mennonit; named after Menno Simons (1492–1559), Frisian religious leader; see -ite1http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png]
 
No, I’m Catholic and fully in line the Church’s teaching. I have a friend who is Mennonite and I’m seeking answers to his objections. I thought I made this clear?
 
No problem. Maybe you have come across many people here with questionable motives.
 
I really think it was inappropriate for teachccd to question your background and motives. You asked a simple, straightforward question that should have been easy to answer.

As AcruceSALUS suggested, our model of belief should be “faith seeking understanding”, not “if you’re a Catholic you better shut up and believe this …”.

Furthermore, I don’t see any good reason why a non-Catholic shouldn’t be allowed to engage the forum with questions, as long as this is done in a spirit of true discussion. There’s nothing more boring than a discussion among people who agree on everything and are too thin-skinned to allow anyone to question their beliefs.
 
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