The visible church is different from the invisible church because outward appearances can be deceiving. The invisible church at any one moment consists of those who are in Christ. The visible church is in the world, consisting of all those who call themselves Christians whether they are in Christ or not. The invisible church is the good seed in the Parable of the Weeds, the people of the kingdom (Matthew 13:38). All genuine believers are members of the invisible church. Not all professing Christians are members of the invisible church. The invisible church cannot be fully discerned by human eyes and hearts. The visible church is a mixture of genuine believers and false Christians who are never regenerated, saved, forgiven, united to Christ and sanctified (1 John 2:19-20; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 9:6; 2 Peter 2:20-22).
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