1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH. The principal Old Testament word for Church is derived from a verb meaning ‘to call’ and the principal New Testament word, from a verb meaning ‘to call out’. Both denote the Church as an assembly called by God.
A. DIFFERENT MEANINGS OF THE WORD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Most generally it denotes a local church, whether assembled for worship or not,
And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things. (Acts 5:11)
and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. (Acts 11:26)
who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; (Romans 16:4)
For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. (1 Corinthians 11:18)
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. (1 Corinthians 16:1)
Sometimes it designates a domestic church, or “the church in the house” of some individual,
also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. … Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother. (Romans 16:5, 23)
The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. (1 Corinthians 16:19)
Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house. (Colossians 4:15)
In its most comprehensive sense it is a description of the whole body of believers, whether in heaven or on earth,
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, (Ephesians 1:22)
so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. … to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:10, 21)
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself [being] the Savior of the body. (Ephesians 5:23)
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. … Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. (Colossians 1:18, 24)
B. THE ESSENCE OF THE CHURCH Roman Catholics and Protestants differ as to the essential nature of the Church. The former finds this in the Church as an external and visible organization, consisting primarily of the priest together with the higher orders of bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and the Pope. Protestants broke with this external conception and seek the essence of the Church in the invisible and spiritual communion of the saints. The Church in its essential nature includes the believers of all ages and no one else. It is the spiritual body of Jesus Christ, in which there is no place for unbelievers.
C. DISTINCTIONS APPLIED TO THE CHURCH. In speaking of the Church in general several distinctions come into consideration.
(1) THE CHURCH MILITANT AND THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT. The Church as she now exists on earth is a militant Church, that is called unto and is actually engaged in a holy war. The Church in heaven on the other hand is the triumphant Church, in which the sword is exchanged for the palm of victory.
(2) THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE CHURCH. This distinction applies to the Church as it exists on earth, which is invisible as far as her spiritual nature is concerned, so that it is impossible to determine precisely who do and who do not belong to her, but becomes visible in the profession and conduct of its members, in the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments, and in her external organization and government.
(3) THE CHURCH AS AN ORGANISM AND AS AN INSTITUTION. This distinction applies only to the visible Church. As an organism it is visible in the communal life of believers and in their opposition to the world, and as an organization, in the offices, the administration of the Word and the Sacraments, and in a certain form of Church government.
D. DEFINITIONS OF THE CHURCH. The invisible Church may be defined as the company of the elect who are called by the Spirit of God, or simply, as the communion of believers. And the visible Church may be defined as the community of those who profess the true faith together with their children. It should be noticed that the membership in both is not altogether alike.
2. THE ATTRIBUTES AND MARKS OF THE CHURCH. There are especially three attributes of the Church, and also three marks or external characteristics.
A. ITS ATTRIBUTES. These are the following three:
(1) ITS UNITY. According to the Roman Catholics this is the unity of an imposing world-wide organization, but according to the Protestants, the unity of the spiritual body of Jesus Christ.
(2) ITS HOLINESS. Roman Catholics find this in the holiness of its dogmas, its moral precepts, its worship, and its discipline; but Protestants locate it in the members of the Church as holy in Christ and as holy in principle, in the possession of the new life, which is destined for perfect holiness.
(3) ITS CATHOLICITY. Rome lays special claim to this, because its Church is scattered over the whole earth and has a greater number of members than all the sects taken together. Protestants claim that the invisible Church is the real catholic Church, because it includes all believers of all ages and all lands.
B. ITS MARKS OR EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. While the attributes belong primarily to the invisible Church, the marks belong to the visible Church, and serve to distinguish the true from the false. These are also three in number:
(1) THE TRUE PREACHING OF THE WORD OF GOD. This is the most important mark of the Church. (1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 9) It does not mean that the preaching must be perfect and absolutely pure, but that it must be true to the fundamentals of the Christian religion, and must have a controlling influence on faith and practice.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3)
Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:9)
(2) THE RIGHT ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS. The sacraments may not be divorced from the Word, as in the Roman Catholic Church, and should be administered by lawful ministers, in accordance with the divine institution, and only to believers and their seed,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (Matthew 28:19)
“He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:23-30)
(3) THE FAITHFUL EXERCISE OF DISCIPLINE. This is necessary for maintaining purity of doctrine and safeguarding the holiness of the sacraments. The Word of God insists on this,
“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)
It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. … But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES. (1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 13)
for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. … But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner. (1 Corinthians 14:33, 40)
‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. … ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:14-15, 20)
TO MEMORIZE:
Passages testifying to:
A. THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH:
“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. (John 10:16)
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:20-21)
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
B. THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH:
and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” (Exodus 19:6)
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Peter 2:9)
C. THE CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH:
‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. (Psalm 2:8)
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; (Revelation 7:9)
D. THE NECESSITY OF ADHERING TO THE TRUTH:
Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13)
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1)
E. THE NECESSITY OF THE RIGHT ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS:
Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” (5) When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 19:4-5)
But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. (29) For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. (30) For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:28-30)
f. THE NECESSITY OF DISCIPLINE:
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)
Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned. (Titus 3:10-11)
For Further Study:
a. Did the Church exist before the day of Pentecost?
“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:17)
“This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and [who was] with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you. (Acts 7:38)
b. Is the word ‘church’ ever used in the singular in the New Testament to denote a group of churches?
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. (Acts 9:31)
c. What causes for discipline were there in the Corinthian church?
It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. … But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES. (1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 13)
But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way [He took] the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come. (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)
But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree in order not to say too much to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it] for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:5-11)
Questions for Review:
1. What is the meaning of the word ‘church’ in Scripture according to its derivation?
2. What different meanings has the word in the New Testament?
3. How do Roman Catholics and Protestants differ as to the essence of the Church?
4. What is the difference between the militant and the triumphant Church?
5. To what Church does the distinction ‘visible and invisible’ apply?
6. In what sense is the Church called invisible?
7. How does the Church as an organism and as an institution differ?
8. How can we define the invisible, and how the visible Church?
9. Which are the attributes of the Church, and how does our conception of them differ from that of the Catholics?
10. Which are the marks of the Church, and what purpose do they serve?
11. Do they belong to the invisible or to the visible Church?
12. How must we conceive of the true preaching of the Word?
13. What belongs to the right administration of the sacraments?
14. Why is discipline necessary?