The word “church” only appears in the New Testament and is used to describe the New Testament assembled believers and is also used to describe the believers everywhere who make up His body, the Church. When reading the Scripture, it is important to keep these two distinctions in mind.
- The Church is not an extension or a spiritual continuation of the nation of Israel. It is a NEW thing that could not come into existence until after the Lord Jesus died and rose from the dead for sinners.
- The New Testament Church is a new purpose on the part of God and is composed of both Jew and Gentile believers. 1Corinthians 10:32, “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.“
- The New Testament Church is:
a. A local assembly of born-again people, united together by common belief and consent for the purpose of worship, teaching the Word, winning souls and outreach missions. Acts 2:40 – 42: 46, “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received His word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, and did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” Acts 11:26 “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
b. The Body of Christ Ephesians 1:23; 2:19 – 22, “Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; In whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord; In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” In this “Body” are all the redeemed from the time of Pentecost (Acts 2) to the moment of Rapture. At that moment, the Holy Spirit will deliver the Church to Christ, who in turn will “present it to Himself a glorious church” (Ephesians 5:27). Therefore, this “body” is still in the process of being built and will continue to grow unto completion at the “Day of Christ”.
Because a person has a membership in a local church, it is not to be presumed that he is in the “Church which is His body”. The reason for this is clear, because many people are listed as church members of a local church and have even been baptized but have never experienced the redeeming grace of God.
- These two ministries are distinct and serve two functions:
a. The local church in any given area is to display the power of the Gospel to change lives of sinners into believers and who follow the Lord Jesus Christ and to witness to the lost that Jesus died to save sinners.
b. The Church “Which is His body” is Christ’s “inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians l:18b, “what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” and by these church saints, God will magnify and “show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:7 Since this is to be in the “ages to come“, it can be clearly seen there is no local church in this view. It is His Body that is presented as the church. Not one of His redeemed will be missing when the Lord brings this age to a close and we are all caught up in rapture.
As you study more about the church in your Bible, be careful to discern whether it is the local church or His body, the writer is presenting. It’s a great study and we trust that the professing believer is a member of a local Bible believing church and without doubt is a member of Christ’s body.