What is the Church? BCC002

Introduction

Today, we are going to look at what the Church is before we come to Church Membership of a local Baptist Church. Last time we looked at water baptism and its necessity as an obedient first step in our walk with God. Closely aligned to that is membership, but membership of what? A club? A society? A charity? It is none of these things. But first we need to answer a basic question that gets a lot of people confused:

What is Church?

The Greek word for church is ecclesia which is made up two words which means “to call out” and we understand this to mean an assembly of people.

A Survey of Bible Doctrine What Is Included in the Concept of the Church?

Most frequently the word indicates a local group of Christians living in a certain place (1 Co 1:2; 1 Th 1:1; Rev 1:11 and many more). (4) The New Testament gives to this word a technical meaning when it refers to the church universal to which all believers and only believers belong; this is the same as the body of Christ

Key Verses

Matthew 16:18 NKJV

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Ephesians 1:22–23 NKJV

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Jesus is the Founder and Head of the Church. It exists for His glory and purposes. Pentecost marks the beginning of the church as a functioning body by the outpouring of the Spirit on that day

Ephesians 3:10 NKJV

to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 3:21 NKJV

to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 5:23 NKJV

For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

Ephesians 5:25 NKJV

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

Ephesians 5:27 NKJV

that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:29 NKJV

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

Ephesians 5:32 NKJV

This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Colossians 1:18 NKJV

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Hebrews 12:23 NKJV

to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

We are starting to get a fuller picture of what the Church is about.

What is a local Church?

A Survey of Bible Doctrine What Is a Local Church?

: A local church is an assembly of professing believers in Christ who have been baptized and who are organized to do God’s will. Notice: (1) There must be a profession of faith—not just anyone can belong to a local church. (2) The New Testament knows nothing of unbaptized church members. (3) Churches were always organized as soon as possible (Ac 14:23)—an informal, unorganized fellowship of believers does not constitute a church. (4) There is purpose—doing God’s will which is expressed in many ways (like observing the ordinances, being open and available for ministry to all

A Survey of Bible Doctrine What Is a Local Church?

this definition does allow for some flexibility. It does not require that a local church meet in a building specially set aside for such a purpose. It does not indicate what kind of or how many meetings are required to constitute a church.

Ryrie’s Basic Theology Chapter 71: Principles and/or Pattern?

The New Testament teaches the principle of believers gathering together. But in New Testament times they gathered in homes. Are we today allowed the flexibility of building church buildings, or should we follow the pattern of meeting in homes?

What is the Purpose of the Church?

A Survey of Bible Doctrine The Purpose of the Church

What does Christ expect of the church? While there may be many ways such a question could be answered, here are a few suggestions:

1. The local church should always show its love for the Lord (Rev 2:4).

2. The church should minister to its own members so that they incite one another to love and good works (Heb 10:24).

3. The church is the agency for carrying out the Great Commission. While witnessing and teaching obviously can and should be done by individuals, these are also functions of the local church. The gospel should be preached in the services of the church so that when unbelievers come in they can hear it (1 Co 14:24), and all the epistles bear testimony to the teaching ministry of the local congregation.

4. The church is to care for its own who are in need, such as widows and orphans and the poor (Ja 1:27; 1 Ti 5:1–16; 2 Co 8–9).

5. The church is to do good in this world (Gal 6:10).

6. But basically the purpose of the church is to produce mature, stable, holy Christians. Doing this will sometimes involve discipline in the realm of morals (1 Co 5) and maintenance of purity in doctrine (2 Ti 2:16–18).

This is in line with our Mission Statement.

Pictures of the Church

A Survey of Bible Doctrine Some Illustrations of the Universal Church

The relationships between Christ and His church are illustrated in a number of intriguing figures in the New Testament. Each one is worthy of detailed study, though we can only mention them here.

1. Christ is the Shepherd and we are His sheep (Jn 10). His care for us and our security in Him are the salient features of this illustration.

2. Christ is the vine and we are the branches (Jn 15). Fruitfulness comes only as we draw strength from the vine.

3. Christ is the cornerstone and we are the stones in the building (Eph 2:19–21). A cornerstone gives direction to the entire building and is, of course, laid only once.

4. Christ is the High Priest and we are a kingdom of priests (1 Pe 2). As priests we can offer ourselves, our substance, and our service (Ro 12:1; Heb 13:15–16).

5. Christ is the Head and we are the members of His body (1 Co 12). As Head He directs; as members we serve each other through the exercise of the spiritual gifts which He as risen Head gives.

6. Christ is the last Adam and we are the new creation (1 Co 15:45). By faith we are placed in Christ, the last Adam, to partake of His resurrection life and power (Ro 5:19).

7. Christ is the Bridegroom and we are His bride (Eph 5:25–33; Rev 19:7–8). Everlasting love and the intimacy of the relationship of bridegroom and bride are the obvious points of this illustration.

8. Christ is the Heir and we are joint-heirs (Heb 1:2; Ro 8:17). This assures us of sharing in all the glories which shall be His when the world acknowledges Him.

9. Christ is the firstfruits and we are the harvest (1 Co 15:23). His resurrection guarantees ours.

10. He is the Master and we are His servants (Col 4:1; 1 Co 7:22). The servant does the will of his master, and in turn the master binds himself to take care of the servant.

Next time and following we will look at Church government - how the Church is run by looking at Church leadership and by extension we will look at Communion and Membership along with worship and various other related topics.