What Is the Church?
Matthew 16:13-19
Few words in religious language are used as often, or misunderstood as widely, as the word “church.” This misunderstanding has fostered confusion, division, and doctrinal error in the religious world. If one aims to serve God in truth, an accurate grasp of what the church is, as revealed in scripture, becomes essential.
The Church: Meaning and Origin
The word translated “church” in English Bibles comes from the Greek word “ekklesia.” This word is a combination of two Greek terms meaning “out of” and “to call.” The result is a term denoting a called-out assembly or group. The King James Version renders ekklesia as “church” in one hundred twelve passages and “assembly” three times, including three references in Acts chapter nineteen. The first occurrence of “church” in the New Testament appears in Matthew chapter sixteen, where Jesus declares, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The last mention comes in Revelation chapter twenty-two, where the Lord states, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches” (Revelation 22:16). From the establishment of the church to the end of inspired revelation, the term holds the same core meaning: an assembly of those who have been called out.
The Calling Power of the Church
If the church is an assembly of those called out, the next logical question is: Who calls, and by what authority? Jesus Christ is the calling power. In Matthew chapter sixteen, verse eighteen, He proclaims that He will build His church, indicating ownership and authority. In Matthew chapter twenty-eight, verses eighteen through twenty, Jesus speaks with all authority in heaven and on earth, charging His apostles to make disciples of all nations. He says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” No one else possesses the authority to establish the called-out body or define its purpose.
How does Jesus call people today? The calling is accomplished through the gospel. Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17). Salvation is accessible to those who respond to the gospel call. Paul states again in Second Thessalonians chapter two, verses thirteen and fourteen, “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When three thousand souls were baptized in Acts chapter two, scripture records, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). The message of the cross remains the means by which men and women are called out of the world into the church.
Called Out: From What?
Understanding the church as the called-out assembly compels another question: From what are people called? Scripture provides a clear answer. People are called out of sin. Jesus Himself said, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). Every accountable soul stands in need of this calling, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Paul instructs Timothy about the danger of remaining in the devil’s grasp, writing, “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (Second Timothy 2:26). Sin ensnares, alienates, and destroys, yet the call of Christ offers release.
Paul describes those outside of Christ as “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Yet, he assures the saints, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephesians 2:5). This calling is a movement from spiritual death to spiritual life.
Paul states plainly, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (Second Corinthians 5:17). Without Christ, one remains “without God in the world,” “alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 2:12, Ephesians 4:18).
Finally, the church consists of those who have been delivered “from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). Those in the church have responded to the gospel and left behind the darkness of ignorance, sin, and alienation.
Called Into: To What?
To be called out implies being called into something new. According to the New Testament, those who respond to the gospel are called into salvation. “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). Paul affirms, “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Second Thessalonians 2:13-14).
Those who obey the gospel are called into Christ. Paul tells Timothy, “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (Second Timothy 2:10). Paul writes to the Ephesians, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body” (Ephesians 5:23). He further explains in Galatians chapter three, verse twenty-seven, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” The church is the body of Christ, composed of all who have been baptized into Him.
Paul describes the saints as those “that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2). The calling out from the world results in sanctification: being set apart for God’s purpose.
Those who have been called are also brought into fellowship. John writes, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The early church “continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). Fellowship in the church involves relationship with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit, and with all other saints.
Those who answer the call of the gospel are called into life. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
Those in the church possess “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). The calling out brings one into spiritual light and blessing, as Paul affirms, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). The blessings of the church are spiritual and eternal, not temporal or carnal.
What the Church Is Not
The church is often misunderstood as something it is not. The church is not a denomination. Christ built only one church, not a collection of competing or conflicting bodies. The New Testament knows nothing of denominationalism, creeds, or sectarian divisions.
The church is not a physical building. Paul addresses this point clearly in Acts chapter seventeen, verse twenty-four: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” Christians are “as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). He adds, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Paul describes the church as “the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The identity of the church is spiritual, not architectural.
Conclusion
The New Testament church is the assembly of the called out. The church consists of the saved, those who have been sanctified and reconciled to God through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. One enters the church by answering the call of Christ through the gospel, leaving behind sin, darkness, and alienation, and receiving forgiveness, sanctification, and fellowship with God and His people.
Have you obeyed the gospel of Christ? If you have, are you living as one who has been called out, walking in faithfulness, and enjoying the blessings found only in Christ and in His church?