Who is the Church?
The church is composed of those “who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:2). They are “God’s people” (1 Pet. 2:10). The Bible calls them “saints” (Phil. 5), “believers” (1 Cor. 14:22), and “Christians” (Acts 11:26). It describes them as “saved” (Eph. 2:8), “ransomed” (1 Pet. 1:18), “forgiven” (1 Jn. 2:12), at “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1), and “holy and blameless before Him” (Eph. 1:4).
Does God Have a Specific Design for the Church?
In the New Testament we find an inspired record of the Holy Spirit’s revelation of the church. There He shows us the church in operation, particularly in the book of Acts. He also tells us in the New Testament of its foundational principles. These are recorded primarily in the epistles.
This is similar to the way God revealed the order of Israel’s worship. First God showed Moses in a vision the tabernacle that he was to build, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain” (Heb. 8:5). Then God told Moses how to build it, describing the tabernacle in every detail (Ex. 25-40).
The model which God shows us for the church in the New Testament is marked by simplicity. The disciples preached the gospel. Some believed and were baptized (Acts 2:41). The apostles gathered these new believers into groups—assemblies of God’s people. These early Christians devoted themselves to the study of the apostles’ teaching, sharing their lives with one another, remembering the Lord with bread and wine, and praying (Acts 2:42).
Scripture refers to each group of Christians by the city or town in which it was located: “the church in Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1), “the church at Antioch” (Acts 13:1), “the church of God which is at Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2). We sometimes call these local churches to distinguish them from the church as a whole, the universal church. Scripture refers to them collectively as “the churches of Christ” (Rom. 16:16).
The epistles tell us that the universal church is one: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:4-5). Paul writes: “We, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom. 12:5). This means that regardless of a person’s church affiliation, all born again believers having been baptized by the Holy Spirit, and are one in Christ.
Who is in charge of the Church?
Ruling the worldwide church is Christ Himself. “He is the head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18), the “chief Shepherd” (1 Pet. 5:4), and “high priest” (Heb. 8:1). In all things, therefore, He is to be “pre-eminent” (Col. 1:18).
Christ has ordained elders, also known as bishops, to serve under Him over each local church (Acts 14:23). The Greek word translated “elders” is presbuteroi. It means older men, indicating the spiritual maturity required for the position. The qualifications for the position are found in Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7. “Bishops” is the translation of episkopoi, literally meaning overseers. This word has their function in view. They supervise the people and ministries of the church. We can see the nature of their calling in Paul’s exhortation to the elders of the church of Ephesus: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which He obtained with the blood of His own Son” (Acts 20:28). Note that it is the Holy Spirit who makes an overseer, not the apostles or the church.
Scripture instructs Christians to follow the leadership of the elders of the church. “Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17).
Assisting the elders are deacons. They are servants of the church, not a subordinate tier of leaders. Paul lists the qualification of a deacon in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Deacons serve in various ministries, such as distributing food to the needy (Acts 6:1-6).
In the New Testament, there is no further governmental structure to the local or universal church. We might picture the structure of Christ’s design for the worldwide church as follows:
Serving Christ, together with the elders and deacons, are the other members of the church. The Holy Spirit, Scripture tells us, has given each Christian a spiritual gift for the common good (1 Cor. 12:1-7). This is a supernatural ability for service. It involves ministries such as teaching, shepherding, evangelizing, exhorting, giving, leading, helping, and showing mercy (Rom. 12:4-8; Eph. 4:11). As each person does his or her part, they build up one another in the faith. The church matures and becomes more like Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).
How important is the Church?
The importance of the church can be seen in Paul’s description of his ministry for the Lord. He writes: “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things” (Eph. 3:8-9).
Here we see that Paul had a two-fold calling. First, he was “to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.” This is the proclamation of the gospel—Christ crucified, buried, raised, and glorified. In the book of Acts we read of how Paul tirelessly spread the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the Mediterranean region.
Paul continues in his letter to the Ephesians to describe the second half of his ministry: “…and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God.” This refers to the church. Wherever people responded to the preaching of the gospel, Paul gathered them together, exhorted them to care for one another, appointed elders to watch over them, and commended them to the keeping of the Holy Spirit.
Even as with the great apostle, this should be the focus of our ministry for the Lord. We should give our lives to the spread of the gospel and the building up of the church. One is a message to be proclaimed; the other is an organism to be brought into being. In this way God will be glorified and others will come to know Him, mature in Christ, and enjoy eternity with Him in heaven forever.
Written by Jim McCarthy