What is the Church?

The Church

What is the church?

This is the question that we are pondering this morning. If you were to ask someone on the street this question what do you think that the response may be? Often times they would point to a building that they pass where they would see the words church written upon the sign. They may even begin to talk about some abuse accusation that they read about in the newspaper. The could refer to the place that they visit when easter and Christmas come upon them. Think about it, If I asked you to provide for me a definition of the church, how would you respond. Would only New Holland be in this definition or would you encompass the whole of Christendom?

A quick google search pulled up these definitions of the church.

Focus on the family says that the church involves edifying believers, but also, nurturing, building up or helping believers to mature in Christ.

Britannica- the Christian religious community as a whole, or a body or organization of Christian believers.

Godquestions.org says the church consists of everyone, everywhere, who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Christianity explored says that the church is simply another word for Christians

The United Methodist church says that the church is the body of Christ, an extension of Chris’s life and ministry in the world today.

Aiden defines the church as where you go and worship with the body and learn about Jesus.

A true definition of the church, if we were going to make it a one sentence definition, would maybe be difficult for us to determine based upon the definitions above. Our own statement of faith, BFM2000 defines the church to be this: A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.

My desire is that by the time we are done with this sermon series, we as a congregation would be able to define what the church is, who is apart of the church, what is the future of the church and what does the church do.

Romans 1:6–7 ESV

including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:”

“The Church comes into being, not by human initiative, but in response to a divine call.” (Baptist Foundations, Hammett, 27)

What is the Nature of the church?

What is the Essence of the church?