Chapter II of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is entitled “On the People of God.” It continues as follows:
“9. . . . That messianic people has Christ for its head, ‘Who was delivered up for our sins, and rose again for our justification’,(91) and now, having won a name which is above all names, reigns in glory in heaven. The state of this people is that of the dignity and freedom of the sons of God, in whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as in His temple. Its law is the new commandment to love as Christ loved us.(92) Its end is the kingdom of God, which has been begun by God Himself on earth, and which is to be further extended until it is brought to perfection by Him at the end of time, when Christ, our life,(93) shall appear, and ‘creation itself will be delivered from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the sons of God’.(94) So it is that that messianic people, although it does not actually include all men, and at times may look like a small flock, is nonetheless a lasting and sure seed of unity, hope and salvation for the whole human race. Established by Christ as a communion of life, charity and truth, it is also used by Him as an instrument for the redemption of all, and is sent forth into the whole world as the light of the world and the salt of the earth.(95)”
(91) Romans 4:25.
992) Cf. John 13:34.
(93) Cf. Colossians 3:4.
(94) Romans 8:21.
(95) Cf. Matthew 5:13-16.
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