Nature and foundations of church

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The church is the people called by God, who are united by their faith in Christ and by their common life in him. Various descriptions and metaphors emphasise the continuity between the people of God in the OT and NT.

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NT images of the church

The body of Christ

Romans 12:4–5 NLT

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

See also Col 1:18; Eph 5:23; Col 2:19; Eph 3:6; 1 Co 12:27; Col 3:15; 1 Co 12:12; Col 1:24

God’s building or temple

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 NLT

Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

See also 1 Co 3:10; 2 Co 6:16; Eph 2:21–22; Heb 3:6; 1 Pe 2:5; Heb 10:21

A plant or vine

John 15:1–8 NLT

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

Jesus Christ’s flock

John 10:14–16 NLT

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

See also Lk 12:32; Ac 20:28–29; 1 Pe 5:2–4; Mt 25:33

The bride of Christ

Revelation 21:2 NLT

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

See also Eph 5:25–27; Re 19:7; Re 22:17; Eph 5:31–32

God’s household or family

Ephesians 2:19 NLT

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.

See also Heb 2:11; 1 Ti 3:15; 1 Pe 4:17; Eph 3:15; Ga 6:10; 1 Pe 2:17; Jn 8:35–36

NT descriptions of the church

Emphasising continuity with the OT church

Abraham’s offspring:

Ro 4:16; Ga 3:7; Ga 3:29

The people of God:

Ro 9:25; 2 Co 6:16; Heb 13:12; 1 Pe 2:9–10

The new Jerusalem:

Ga 4:26; Heb 12:22; Re 3:12; Re 21:2; Re 21:9–10

Ga 6:16 the Israel of God

Emphasising God’s call and authority in the church

Sons of God:

Mt 5:9; Jn 1:12; Ro 8:15–16; 2 Co 6:18; Ga 3:26; Ga 4:5–6; 1 Jn 3:10

The elect:

Mt 24:22; Ro 11:7; 2 Ti 2:10; 1 Pe 1:1

Heirs of God and God’s inheritance:

Ro 8:17; Ga 3:29; Ga 4:7; Tt 3:7; Heb 1:14; Heb 6:17; 1 Pe 1:4

A priesthood:

1 Pe 2:5; 1 Pe 2:9; Re 1:6; Re 5:10; Re 20:6

Descriptions applied to the church by outsiders

Followers of the Way:

Ac 9:2; Ac 19:9; Ac 19:23; Ac 22:4; Ac 24:14

Ac 11:26 Christians; Ac 24:5 “the Nazarene sect” means people belonging to Jesus the “Nazarene” (Mt 2:23)

Descriptions used by Christians

The believers. All these titles are seldom in the singular, emphasising the corporateness of Christian life:

Ac 1:15; Ac 2:44; Ac 5:12; Ga 6:10; 1 Ti 4:12; 1 Pe 2:17

The disciples:

Ac 6:1–2; Ac 9:19; Ac 11:26; Ac 14:22; Ac 20:1

The “saints” is the most frequently used NT term for Christians. It means “set apart for God”, “made holy”:

Ro 1:7; Ro 15:25; 1 Co 6:1; 1 Co 14:33; Eph 1:1; Php 4:21; Col 1:12; Jud 3

Other NT descriptions of the church

1 Ti 3:15 the pillar and foundation of the truth; Heb 12:23 The church of the firstborn. “the firstborn” is plural, referring to Christians as those born again through their union with Christ, who is the firstborn.

The foundation of the church

Jesus Christ as the church’s foundation-stone

1 Corinthians 3:11 NLT

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

See also Ps 118:22; Mt 21:42; Ac 4:11; Eph 2:20; 1 Pe 2:7; Is 28:16; 1 Pe 2:6; Mt 7:24–25

Apostles and prophets as founders of the church

Ephesians 2:19–20 NLT

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.

The church as God’s people

A people chosen by God

1 Peter 2:9 NLT

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

See also 1 Pe 1:2; Eph 1:4; Col 3:12; 2 Th 2:13; Ro 8:33; Jas 2:5; Jn 15:16

A people called by God

Romans 1:6 NLT

And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.

See also 1 Co 1:2; 2 Ti 1:9; 1 Co 1:9; 2 Th 2:14; Ac 2:39; Ga 1:6; Jud 1

A people loved by God

1 Peter 2:10 NLT

“Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”

God’s covenant people

Hebrews 8:8–10 NLT

But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.