What is the church?

What is the church?  At its most basic and elementary understanding, the church can be defined as a gathering of members.  This definition comes from the New Testament Greek term ekklesia, which was a term reserved for a gathering of full citizens in a polis (Erickson 1041).  The problem with this definition is that this would sound more like a secret club or fraternal organization than what Christians have come to accept what a church is.  There is another word that is used in the New Testament that really grabs at the heart of what the church is, and that is kuriakos which means “belonging to the Lord” (1041).  Since both words are used for the church, a synthetic definition would have to be a gathering of full citizens who belong to the Lord.

When did the church begin?  This can be a tricky question because in Ephesians chapter 1, it is stated that the elect was chosen before the creation of the world.  In Genesis chapter 3, God promises a redeemer.  Throughout the Pentateuch, there are laws and ceremonies that can be seen as precursors to modern day services.  Even in the gospels, there is an even more clear foundation.  Christ sets up the foundation of the church by choosing his disciples that would continue to build on the foundation (Ryrie 464).  “…He taught the disciples about matters that would become effective when the church began to function” (464).  When Jesus died and resurrected, He became the Cornerstone (465).  He also sent the Holy Spirit.  It is through the Holy Spirit that the church became a functioning unit (465).  When Acts chapter 2 is read, it has to be understood that is when the church started because that is when the Great Commission came into action.

The church is both local and universal.  Here lies an apparent paradox in describing the church.  The universal quality is pretty simple; it is the body of Christ both here on Earth and in Heaven (457).  But the local definition gets a little trickier.  It can mean one specific church, or it can mean several churches in a local area.  So, in a modern sense, the universal quality of the church refers to all Christians, and the local quality refers to a smaller more exact group of Christians.

The church is both visible and invisible.  The visible church is what is seen here on Earth.  This is what believers and non-believers see, warts and all.  The invisible church is what is laid out in Scripture.  This is the way church ought to be.  The problem is that the invisible church is impossible to attain in this life because of our corrupt and fallen nature despite the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The only way to see the invisible church is in Heaven, where there is no sin.  Until then, the visible church is all that is available to us.

What distinguishes the church from the rest?  For a church to distinguish itself from the rest, it must perform four basic functions; evangelism, edification, worship, and social concern.  False churches do not perform these functions because they rely on a false gospel that does not require that they do these tasks.  There are also Christian, or para-church, organizations that perform some of these tasks.  They usually focus on one or two of these functions but not all of them.  It is because of this reason that the para-church is not the church, even though it is comprised of people in the church.

The church is both an organism and an organization.  It is an organism because the Apostle Paul gives an image of the church as a physical body in 1 Corinthians 12.  There are images of different parts of the body referring to different kinds of people.  Just like in the human body, if one part ceases to function, the entire body does not function properly.  It is an organization because of leadership.  For the church to function properly there must be exercise of authority, assignment of responsibility, and orderly function.  There is also headship in the church.  Jesus Christ is the head of the church.  He communicates to both leaders and members of the church, so there is no actual inequality between the two despite deference. 

Why the importance of church to the Christian?  The question can be answered in the organic argument.  A Christian must see himself as a part of the body.  If the Christian is not involved with the church, the church ceases to function properly.  Although the invisible church is not attainable even if the Christian is involved, the individual may think that lack on involvement does not affect them on an individual basis.  The individual, and more apparent selfish, motivation would be for encouragement from other believers (Heb. 10:25).

To answer why the church exists can be answered by one simple statement, to fulfill the Great Commission.  “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matt 28:18-20 ESV).  As the bride of Christ (Rev. 21:1-2), to better understand why the church exists can be seen in its functions.  According to Millard J. Erickson’s Christian Theology, the church has four basic functions; evangelize, edification, worship, and social concern.  The church is to evangelize, that means that the people of the church are to go out into the world and share the Gospel.  They are supposed to tell others what Jesus has done for them.  The church is to edify believers.  “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph 4:11-14 ESV).  Christians are supposed to build each other up by teaching, praying, accountability, and fellowship.  The church is to worship God.  Christians are to worship through the way they live their lives, but in a more formal setting worship is usually displayed through prayer, songs, thanksgiving, and offering.  The last major function of the church is social concern, which is simply showing love to both Christians and non-Christians.

I love you all,

Justin

Sources:
Erickson, Millard J. "The Church." Christian Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.

Print.

Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. "I Will Build My Church." Basic Theology: a Popular Systemic Guide

to Understanding Biblical Truth. Chicago, IL: Moody, 1999. Print.