What is the definition of the church?
Although
"church" has come to mean a building or organization, the original
Greek word “ekklesia” meant "a
gathering, assembly" and is the basis for our word
"congregation."
And that is what
God designed the church to be—a group of people.
The definition of
a "church" as a separate building specifically for worship would have
been foreign to the early believers, as they met in homes.
When a building
was mentioned in the New Testament, it was always in relation to the church that
met there (Romans 16:5; 1
Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2).
The church was the people, not the building.
With the legitimization and affluence of Christianity in later years,
the "church" came to mean the building where people met.
Now, it often is
used to mean a particular denomination. But the truest meaning of the word
"church" is the group of believers.
Christ is the head of the church, and the church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23).
The members of the
body are all Christians. "For just as
the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though
many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized
into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one
Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many" (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
The universal
church is defined as all who have received the Holy Spirit, no matter their
location, denomination, or era. To ensure order and to provide fellowship, the
universal church is also divided into local churches.
The universal
church is the body of Christ, composed
It is comprised of
every believer from every country and every time from Pentecost (Acts 2) until
Christ's return.
Although a specific
denomination may teach a more accurate view of God and His Word than another,
the universal church recognizes no denominations, just individual believers
joined together in one body.
No matter the
denomination or the size of a local church, the purpose is to do corporately
what all who name the name of Jesus are to do individually—glorify God in
worship, obey and honor Him in all we do, and encourage one another to do the
same.
The church is not a building - it is a group of people.
It is not a denomination - it is everyone who has received the Holy
Spirit.
And it does not
grant salvation - it is people, loving and glorifying God and teaching others
about a saving knowledge of Christ.
As believers, we
are joined with all Christians from Peter to the smallest child in the body of
Christ.
The local church
is where the members of the universal church can apply 1
Corinthians 12: “encouraging, teaching, and
building one another up in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life
by receiving His Son,
Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following prayer:
“Father God, I confess I
am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn
away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and
help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son,
Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and
hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become
the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank
You that according to your Word, I am now born again.
Please send Your Holy
Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I
promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Please use me for Your
glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
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