What is the church?

The Church, the body of Christ, is the community of all who believe in Jesus Christ and in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. The church is commissioned to preach the gospel, to teach all that Christ commanded to be baptized, and to feed the flock. In fulfilling this mandate, the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, takes the Bible as a guideline and is constantly oriented towards Jesus Christ, her living head (1. Corinthians 12,13; Romans 8,9; Matthew 28,19-20; Colossians 1,18; Ephesians 1,22).

The church as a sacred assembly

"...the church is not created by a gathering of men who share the same opinions, but by a divine convocation [assembly]..." (Barth, 1958:136). According to a modern view, one speaks of church when people of similar beliefs meet for worship and instruction. However, this is not strictly a biblical perspective.

Christ said that he would build his church and that the gates of hell would not overpower it6,16-18). It is not the church of men, but it is the church of Christ, "the church of the living God" (1. Timothy 3,15) and local churches are “churches of Christ” (Romans 1 Cor6,16).

Therefore, the church fulfills a divine purpose. It is God's will that we "should not forsake our assemblies, as some are wont to do" (Hebrews 10,25). The church is not optional, as some might think; it is God's desire that Christians gather together.

The Greek term for church, which also corresponds to the Hebrew names for assembly, is ekklesia, and refers to a group of people called out for a purpose. God has always been involved in creating communities of believers. It is God who gathers people in the church.

In the New Testament, the words church or churches are used to refer to house churches as we would call them today6,5; 1. Corinthians 16,19; Philippians 2), urban churches (Romans 16,23; 2. Corinthians 1,1; 2. Thessalonians 1,1), Churches that span an entire area (Acts of the Apostles 9,31; 1. Corinthians 16,19; Galatians 1,2), and also to describe the entire fellowship of believers in the known world. Fellowship and togetherness

Church means participation in the fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Christians are to the fellowship of his son (1. Corinthians 1,9), of the Holy Spirit (Philippians 2,1) with the father (1. John 1,3) called that, as we walk in the light of Christ, we may “felt fellowship with one another” (1. John 1,7). 

Those who accept Christ are concerned to “keep the unity of spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4,3). Although there is diversity among believers, their unity is stronger than any differences. This message is emphasized by one of the most important metaphors used for the church: that the church is the "body of Christ" (Romans 1 Cor2,5; 1. Corinthians 10,16; 12,17; Ephesians 3,6; 5,30; Colossians 1,18).

The original disciples came from different backgrounds and probably did not feel naturally attracted to fellowship with each other. God calls believers from all walks of life to spiritual togetherness.

Believers are "members of one another" (1. Corinthians 12,27; Romans 12,5), and this individuality need not threaten our unity, for "by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1. Corinthians 12,13).

However, obedient believers do not cause division by bickering and stubbornly standing their ground; rather, they give honor to each member, that "there be no division in the body," but that the "members may care for one another in like manner" (1. Corinthians 12,25).

“The church is…an organism that shares the same life—the life of Christ—(Jinkins 2001:219).
Paul also likens the church to "a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." He says believers are "knit together" in a structure that "grows into a holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2,19-22). He refers in 1. Corinthians 3,16 and 2. Corinthians 6,16 also to the idea that the church is the temple of God. Similarly, Peter compares the church to a "spiritual house" in which believers form a "royal priesthood, a holy people" (1. Petrus 2,5.9) The family as a metaphor for the Church

From the beginning, the Church has often been referred to as, and functioned as, a kind of spiritual family. Believers are referred to as "brothers" and "sisters" (Romans 1 Cor6,1; 1. Corinthians 7,15; 1. Timothy 5,1-2; James 2,15).

Sin separates us from God's purpose for us, and each of us becomes spiritually lonely and fatherless. God's desire is "to bring home the lonely" (Psalm 68,7) to bring those who are spiritually alienated into the fellowship of the church, which is the “household of God” (Ephesians 2,19).
In this “household [family] of faith (Galatians 6,10), believers can be nourished in a safe environment and transformed into the image of Christ, because the church, which is also with Jerusalem (city of peace), is above (see also Revelation 21,10) is compared, “is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4,26).

The bride of Christ

A beautiful biblical picture speaks of the Church as the bride of Christ. This is alluded to through symbolism in various scriptures, including the Song of Songs. A key point is the Song of Songs 2,10-16, where the bride's lover says that her wintertime is over and now the time for singing and joy has come (see also Hebrews 2,12), and also where the bride says: “My friend is mine and I am his” (St. 2,16). The Church belongs to Christ, both individually and collectively, and He belongs to the Church.

Christ is the Bridegroom, who "loved the church, and gave himself up for her" that "it might be a glorious church, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing" (Ephesians 5,27). This relationship, Paul says, "is a great mystery, but I apply it to Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5,32).

John takes up this theme in the book of Revelation. The triumphant Christ, the Lamb of God, marries the Bride, the Church (Revelation 19,6-twenty; 91,9-10), and together they proclaim the words of life (Revelation 2 Cor1,17).

There are additional metaphors and images that are used to describe the church. The Church is the flock in need of caring Shepherds who model their care after Christ's example (1. Petrus 5,1-4); it is a field where workers are needed to plant and water (1. Corinthians 3,6-9); the church and its members are like branches on a vine (John 15,5); the church is like an olive tree (Romans 11,17-24).

As a reflection of the present and future kingdoms of God, the church is like a mustard seed growing into a tree in which the birds of the sky find refuge3,18-19); and like leaven making its way through the dough of the world (Luke 13,21), etc. The Church as a Mission

From the beginning, God called certain people to do His work on earth. He sent Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. He sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Then he sent Christ himself for our salvation. He also sent his Holy Spirit to establish his church as a tool for the gospel. The church is also sent out into the world. This gospel work is fundamental and fulfills the words of Christ with which he sent his followers into the world to continue the work he began (John 1 Cor7,18-21). This is the meaning of "mission": to be sent out by God to accomplish His purpose.

A church is not an end and should not exist just for itself. This can be seen in the New Testament, in the Acts of the Apostles. Throughout this book, spreading the gospel through preaching and building churches has been a major activity (Acts 6,7; 9,31; 14,21; 18,1-11; 1. Corinthians 3,6 etc.).

Paul refers to churches and specific Christians who participate in "gospel fellowship" (Philippians 1,5). You fight with him for the gospel (Ephesians 4,3).
It was the church in Antioch that sent Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journeys (Acts 13,1-3).

The church in Thessalonica "became a model for all believers in Macedonia and Achaia." From them "the word of the Lord rang out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in all other places." Her faith in God went beyond her own limitations (2. Thessalonians 1,7-8).

The activities of the church

Paul writes that Timothy should know how to conduct himself "in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and a foundation of the truth" (1. Timothy 3,15).
At times people can feel that their understanding of the truth is more valid than the Church's understanding of it from God. Is this likely when we remember that the Church is the "Foundation of Truth"? Church is where truth is established by the teaching of the Word (John 17,17).

Reflecting the "fullness" of Jesus Christ, her living Head, "filling all things in all things" (Ephesians 1,22-23), the New Testament Church participates in works of service (Acts 6,1-6; James 1,17 etc.), to fellowship (Acts of the Apostles 2,44-45; Jude 12 etc.), in the execution of ecclesiastical orders (Acts of the Apostles 2,41; 18,8; 22,16; 1. Corinthians 10,16-17; 11,26) and in worship (Acts of the Apostles 2,46-47; Colossians 4,16 etc.).

Churches were involved in helping one another, illustrated by the help given to the congregation in Jerusalem during a time of food shortage (1. Corinthians 16,1-3). On closer inspection of the letters of the Apostle Paul it becomes clear that the churches communicated and were connected with one another. No church existed in isolation.

A study of church life in the New Testament reveals a pattern of church accountability to church authority. Each individual parish was accountable to the authority of the church outside of its immediate pastoral or administrative structure. It can be observed that the Church in the New Testament was a community of local communities held together by collective accountability to the tradition of faith in Christ as taught by the apostles (2. Thessalonians 3,6; 2. Corinthians 4,13).

Conclusion

The church is the body of Christ and consists of all those recognized by God as members of the "congregations of saints" (1. Corinthians 14,33). This is important to the believer because participation in the church is the means by which the Father keeps us and sustains us until the return of Jesus Christ.

by James Henderson