I believe in the communion of saints

This line of the creed follows on from mention of the church. The church is the people of God, not a building, and in the New Testament the word saints is often used as a title for Christian believers e.g. “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (Rom.1:7; 2 Cor.1:1; Eph.1:1). So all Christians are saints, not just some who are worthy of special honour. We may not feel very ‘saintly’, but just as the church is made holy by God so too we are saints because Jesus has sanctified us – it’s because he has made us holy that we are called to be holy (1 Cor.1:2).

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Communion is another word for fellowship and its root meaning is sharing (Acts 2:42; Phil.1:5). We share in the life of Christ by his Spirit (Phil.3:10; 2 Cor.13:14), and on that basis we share in fellowship with all God’s people. The communion of saints reminds us that we are one with all Christians who have gone before us and all who will come after us (Heb.12:1). That’s a glorious truth, but for it to have real meaning we need to live it out now: “Share with God’s people who are in need” (Rom.12:13; Eph.4:28). Because we share in Christ, we have the privilege of sharing with his people (Phil.2:1-4; 2 Cor.8:4). That’s holy living.