The communion of saints is a beautiful, demanding reality. It means that when you suffer, you do not suffer alone, for the Body suffers with you. It means that when you lack, the Body provides for you. And it means that your time, your spiritual gifts, and your bank account are no longer exclusively your own—they are tools given by the Head to be deployed for the joy and survival of the Body.

Millions of Christians gather every Sunday and recite the Apostles’ Creed, declaring, “I believe in… the communion of saints.” But what exactly does that mean? For many, the phrase conjures up vague ideas about believers who have died and gone to heaven.

However, the Reformed understanding of this doctrine is far more grounded, practical, and demanding. In Chapter 26, the Westminster Confession unpacks this glorious reality, demonstrating that our salvation is not merely a private transaction between an individual and God. When we are united to Jesus Christ, we are instantly and irrevocably united to everyone else who belongs to Him.

The Confession teaches that because believers are united to Christ by His Spirit, they share in His graces and sufferings; that this union binds them to one another in love, requiring them to share their spiritual gifts and material resources; but that this communion does not make believers equal with God, nor does it abolish private property.

The Foundation: Union with Christ (WCF 26.1a)

The entire doctrine of the communion of saints rests upon one foundational reality: Union with Christ.

The Confession states that all saints are “united to Jesus Christ their Head, by His Spirit, and by faith.” Salvation is not just God handing us a ticket to heaven; it is the Holy Spirit grafting us into the living vine of the Son of God. Because we are united to Him, we have “fellowship with Him in His grace, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory.”

Whatever belongs to Christ becomes ours. His perfect righteousness covers us, His resurrection guarantees our eternal life, and His Spirit empowers us. Conversely, because we are united to Him, we also share in His sufferings. When the world hates the Head, it will naturally strike at the Body (John 15:18-19 ).

The Outflow: Union with One Another (WCF 26.1b–26.2)

If a hundred different branches are all grafted into the exact same vine, those branches are necessarily connected to each other. Because believers are united to Christ, “being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces.”

This destroys the modern, hyper-individualized notion of Christianity. You cannot have God for your Father and refuse to live with His children. The Confession outlines the practical duties of this communion in three specific areas:

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