What is "the Church"?

'The Church'...such a common expression.  In our society this little phrase has many meanings. Sometimes we mean "the building where Christians meet"; usually this is a particular architecture at a given address.  Sometimes we mean "the organization of Christian groups of people"; usually the name of a denomination is attached.  Sometimes we mean the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox systems.  Sometimes we mean a particular meeting time, usually on Sunday morning and usually with prescribed activities.

But how does the Bible define "the Church"?  It means none of these things. 

Simply put, the Church (according to the Bible) means those people who belong to Jesus.  It is people who are unique in that they have accepted the salvation offered by Jesus, and they are trying to live in obedience to His commands.  (You can't have one without the other.)

In the old days they called these people "disciples" or "followers" of Jesus.  You see, the Kingdom of God is built upon the person of Jesus.  The Lord Jesus is everything....Creator, Saviour, Sustainer, Completer, Hope.  The church according to the Bible is not defined by organization, or budget, or building, or bylaws, or meeting times.  It's defined by people....people who embrace Jesus' salvation and way of life.

Sometimes we at Bethel Hill Baptist say "we're going to church" or "church will start at 10:00" or "a Baptist church".  But this is just ordinary talk from our culture.  It is not biblical talk.

When we talk like the Bible talks, we say "the church is going grocery shopping today", or "the church will be cutting firewood for the widow up the street", or "the church is praying together tonight"....and we really mean "the people of Jesus are going grocery shopping today", or "the people who belong to Jesus will be cutting firewood", or "those who know Jesus will be praying together tonight".  The only qualification that we have for "church" is that they are people who know Jesus' salvation and life.  Even baptism, offerings, 'church' attendance or membership, dress or heritage/bloodline don't identify us as "the church".  The only thing that identifies us as a church is that we all have the same salvation (the death & resurrection of Jesus), and we all have the same manual for living (the teachings of Jesus thru the Scriptures).  Since this is the only identification given by the Bible for "the church", we have no language, cultural, geographical or political barriers dividing us.  Around the globe, spanning all generations & cultures, through all languages, the unity of "the Church" is clearly biblical; nothing divides us if we embrace the salvation and teachings of the Saviour.

So, what is "the Church"?  According to the Bible, it is people who follow Jesus with their whole lives.  Sometimes those people get together, but they don't "have church".  Sometimes they gather at a particular location in a particular building, but they don't gather at "the church".  Sometimes they discuss business/logistic issues, but it's not "church business".

"The church" is a dynamic, inter-relational group of people.  They love each other.  They serve each other.  They help each other.  They work together to be the hands & feet of Jesus.  They communicate with each other and share burdens.  They rejoice together, and sometimes weep together.  In all these things, it is the Lord Jesus who is building these relationships and directing their affairs.  He is doing this in a living way, through the Bible and through the Holy Spirit.  (It is the Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus, which shows His people what the Bible means and which empowers His people to obey the Bible).  Because this is the work of the Lord Jesus, the biblical church does not have top-down, authoritarian leadership; instead, the church (group of Jesus-followers) is led thru men who are servant-like in their leadership.  Each person in "the Church" joins the church the moment he embraces Jesus' plan of salvation, and each person is guided by the Holy Spirit in his relationship with other believers in "the Church".  As such, the Spirit has complete freedom to accomplish His purposes through a group of believers ("the Church") and fulfill the teachings of the Lord Jesus in the lives of those believers.

If you have questions about how the Bible defines "the church", please talk with Jason Evans (336-504-0789/cell;evans@esinc.net), Joel Bradsher (919-323-9452/cell; joelbradsher@gmail.com) or Chris Jacobs (336-598-5504; cross@esinc.net ).

Recommended Readings: I Peter 2, Philippians 2, Ephesians 1-2