David and I had a brief but inspiring exchange on a previous post of mine which I thought I would expand upon a bit more in a post dedicated to the topic. Many of my ideas are derived from Millard J. Erickson’s writings because I think he a very balanced view of the church.
The church is one aspect of Christian doctrine that everyone seems to have an opinion about. This is partly due to the fact that as an institution of society, the church can be studied and observed by the methods of social science. The temptation is to try to define the purpose of the church based upon what can be observed empirically. However, this approach would neglect the ideal of what the church is supposed to be. Therefore, to get an accurate picture of God’s purpose for the church we must go to Scripture.
What is the church?
The church is the chosen people of God; they belong to Him and He belongs to them.
?I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” – 2 Cor. 6:16 (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 1Thess. 1:4)
In the New Testament the word which is used for church is ekklesia which was used in classical Greek to denote the assembly of the citizens of a city. The closest equivalent in the Old Testament is qahal and is not so much a specification of the members of an assembly as a designation of the act of assembling. In the New Testament the word church has two senses. On one hand it denotes all believers in Christ throughout all history (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4; 5:23). The other sense is used more frequently and relates the gathering of believers in one geographical locality (1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1).
In the Old Testament those passages in which Israel is described as God’s people are Exodus 15:13, 16; Numbers 14:8; Deuteronomy 32:9-10; Isaiah 62:4; Jeremiah 12:7-10 and Hosea 1:9-10; 2:23.
“The church is the apple of God’s eye”
The fact that the church is the people of God carries certain implications. God takes pride in them. He provides care and protection to them. They are the “apple of His eye” (Deut. 32:10). The church is sometimes referred to as His bride. It also carries implications for how the church is to relate to God. They are to be His people without reservation and without dividing their loyalty (Matt. 6:24).
What is the purpose of the church?
The church is not only the chosen people of God, it is the Body of Christ. This imagery is used both of the church universal (Eph. 1:22-23) and of individual, localized congregations (1 Cor. 12:27). There are several aspects to the imagery of the church being the body of Christ:
- Christ is the head of the body (Col. 1:18) and Christians are the individual members or parts.
- This body is intrinsically interconnected to one another (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4:11-16; Gal. 6:2).
- The body is characterized by fellowship. This goes beyond simple social interaction, but an intimate understanding of one-another (1 Cor. 12:26). Still, it must be clearly understood that this fellowship takes place between sinful people. It is a group of people who are struggling in fits and starts to do the work of Christ.
- The body is universal. It is for all who come into it regardless of nationality or race (Col. 3:11).
- The body is to be unified (1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 4:4-6). The interesting thing is that today we see that the church is anything but unified. There are countless traditions and denominations; some of which are very similar in teachings yet still remain hostile toward each other.
- As the body of Christ the church is to be an extension of His ministry. Don’t hear me say that the church is a literal incarnation of Christ, I’m referring instead to the Great Commission. The work of Christ is to be done by the church.
Conclusions
- The church is a divine institution.
- The church is a continuation of the work of Christ.
- The church is a fellowship of regenerate believers.
- While the church is a divine institution comprised of imperfect, fallen human beings. Thus, it will not be a perfect institution until the Lord returns.
