The Nature of the Church: Perceiving the Church of Christ I. Introduction A. The New Testament demonstrates clearly that the church is important 1. Ephesians 5:25-32 2. Matthew 16:18 B. While the Scriptures are clear on its importance, there is much confusion in the religious world over the nature of the church 1. We see a multitude of denominations in "Christendom" 2. All have different beliefs and many different structures exist 3. Some claim exclusivity, others profess some form of unity despite divergences in practice C. The current religious climate drives many to despair 1. Some do not know if the Church of Christ can be found on the earth at all! 2. People honestly want to know: what is the Church of Christ? How can I be a part of it? D. The only way to truly perceive the Church of Christ is to examine the Scriptures to see its nature 1. Let us spend some time, then, examining the Scriptures and answering some basic questions 2. Perhaps by returning to the fundamentals we can gain more mature insights about the Church of Christ II. The Definition of "Church" A. The word that we define as church is the Greek word ekklesia B. Many speak of ekklesia in terms of its root 1. The word does derive from the Greek preposition ek and the verb kleo, and those two parts together literally mean "the called out ones" 2. Yet when the actual usage of the word is examined, we can see that it is a fallacy to return to the root and try to derive the meaning that slavishly 3. In first century usage, ekklesia meant an "assembly" C. While the English word "church" has taken on a very religious meaning, ekklesia was not so narrowly used 1. Acts 19:39 represents a use of ekklesia to refer to a political assembly-- the common assembly of the city of Ephesus 2. While the word perhaps is not as wide-ranging as the English word "assembly", it was by no means limited to a religious convocation 3. The word ekklesia, then, has no inherent religious meaning or any denotation save that it represents a group of persons who come together D. The ekklesia in the New Testament is never named; it has descriptions, but is never named 1. "churches of Christ": Romans 16:16 2. "church of God": 1 Corinthians 1:2 3. "the Way": Acts 9:2 4. "the sect of the Nazarenes": Acts 24:5 5. "church of the Firstborn": Hebrews 12:23 6. All of these describe the assembly in some way, most of them in terms of God and Christ 7. All that is denoted by these descriptions is that the ekklesia represents a group of persons who are possessed by God E. Descriptions of Christians within the assembly may help define the church 1. "Saints" (1 Corinthians 1:2) is how Paul describes those in Corinth, representing that the people are to be holy people 2. "Brethren" (1 Corinthians 1:10, among many others) is constantly used by Christians to describe one another, emphasizing their common bond as children of the Heavenly Father 3. Yet in all these descriptions we do not see any organization or metastructure stated, implied, or in any way denoted F. The church then, the ekklesia, represents an assembly-- a collective of persons, and the word does not denote any form of organization or hierarchy G. What, then, is the ekklesia of Christ? III. What is the Church of Christ? A. Having seen that the ekklesia represents a collective of people, we must then ask: what is the nature of this collective of people? B. The New Testament refers to the ekklesia as different sets of groups of people C. "Church" as "Church Universal" (Ephesians 5:25-32) 1. One of the main usages of "church" is referring to the universal church 2. The "universal" church represents all those who are saved in Christ Jesus 3. We see no structure or organization of this body, save that Christ is its head: it is simply the collective of all those who are currently in association with God and have salvation D. "Church" as a local congregation-- "Local Church" (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, etc.) 1. The other main use of the term "church" refers to a local church 2. The "local" church is a subset of the "universal" church, representing the assembly of Christians that comes together in a specific geographical area, generally one in a city 3. We do see that Christ is the head of the local churches (cf. Revelation 2-3), and that each local church is overseen and shepherded by qualified elders and served by qualified deacons (cf. Acts 14:23, 1 Timothy 3:1-12, Titus 1:5-7) 4. Yet this level of organization ends at the local level 5. While we do see that brethren have association in some form with other brethren in other nearby local churches (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10)... 6. ...we see no indication whatsoever that any local church exerted authority over other churches in any way, shape, or form 7. The local church in the New Testament, then, was self-governing, or "autonomous," with Christ alone as the true authority E. Church Militant/Church Glorified (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) 1. While not explicitly in the New Testament, it is also good to have a bit of a delineation between the church that consists of those who are alive and those who have passed on 2. The church on earth, those who are living, can be called the "church militant", since its members are presently fighting the fight against sin (cf. Ephesians 6:11-18) 3. Those who have passed on are the "church glorified," those who await the reward F. We can see, then, that "the church" can refer to one of many groups 1. This may lead some to despair of perceiving the Church of Christ 2. Yet the vast majority of the Scriptures can be easily understood-- the context, more often than not, makes it clear which grouping of the church is under discussion 3. On the other hand, it is significant that they all are still called the "church" 4. In the end, all that will exist will be the church universal, for all local churches will be joined together with the Lord, they along with those who are asleep in Christ (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)! G. The Church of Christ, then, can refer to one of many groups, all joined together through Christ H. Now that we have seen what the Church of Christ is, who is in this Church? IV. Who is in the Church of Christ? A. Now that we have seen what the church is according to the New Testament, we must determine who is in the Church of Christ? B. There are many accusations made against us in regards to who is in the "Church of Christ" 1. Many will say that "[we] believe that only people from [our] church are going to Heaven" 2. Such a statement belies two things: a. it demonstrates a very denominational view of churches, not looking toward the New Testament church and how it is constituted b. it also demonstrates the result of misinterpreted oversimplification C. Recognizing that this confusion exists, we must still ask: who, then, is in the Church of Christ? D. In short, those who are in the Church are those who are saved in Christ Jesus E. Who are the saved? 1. First we must say that we are not the judges-- God is the Judge (James 4:12), and all will stand or fall to our Master (Romans 14:12) 2. Nevertheless, we can see in the New Testament that God makes clear that it is those who are obedient who will be saved (Matthew 10:22, Romans 1:5, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) 3. We also can read that the church is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15) 4. From Colossians 1:18 we read that Christ's body is the church, and in Ephesians 4:4 we read that there is but "one body" 5. We can see from all of these Scriptures, then, that those who are in the Church are those who are obedient to Christ Jesus, and they are the ones who will be saved on that day F. What, then, of the local congregations of churches of Christ? 1. While what we have said above-- the Church as the collective of the saved-- is true of the universal church, what of the local church? 2. While what is true of the universal Church of Christ ought to be true of the local church of Christ, it is not necessarily so! 3. 1 Corinthians 1:2, Revelation 2-3: we hear of churches who have some in their midst who, at the time of the authorship of these letters, are in sin! 4. We can also read many passages establishing that those who are in Christ can sin so as to lose their salvation (1 Corinthians 5, Hebrews 10:26-31) 5. Since this is the case, it is entirely possible and sadly plausible that there will be some assembling with churches of Christ who are not in the Church of Christ, and without repentance will not make it to Heaven G. In the end, those who are in the Church of Christ are known only to God-- we can only do the best we can to associate with those who, for all we can know, are also striving to walk in the light (1 John 1-2) H. Let us make it clear: do not have the idea that simply because you assemble with a church of Christ and that they teach the truth that such and such alone will give you a pass into Heaven: be not deceived! I. Just because you assemble with a church of Christ does not mean that you are a part of the Church of Christ! 1. We have seen that the universal church as described in the New Testament is the collective of the saved-- not an organization that has salvation in it 2. Furthermore, we have seen that there are some who are condemned and chastised in the New Testament who were associating with a local church 3. Therefore, it is not enough to just associate with a church of Christ-- you must be obedient, and thus be a part of the Church of Christ! J. We have seen, then, who is in the Church of Christ-- those who are having association with God, and the New Testament makes it clear that we must be obedient to maintain that association K. Now that we have examined the what and who of the church, we must ask: Why the church? V. Why the Church? A. The question is now begged: why the church? B. In terms of the church universal, the question is rather irrelevant, since the universal church simply represents the collective of the saved C. It is good to ask, however, why those who are members of the church universal are to associate in a local congregation 1. God could have just as easily established only a church universal, and individual Christians would be on their own 2. Why, then, the church? D. The New Testament answers this question in Hebrews 10:24-25 and 1 Corinthians 14:26 1. The church is there for encouragement-- building up 2. This ought to demonstrate the necessity of assembling-- after all, what assembly is there that does not assemble? 3. The church cannot be a source of encouragement for you if you do not assemble with the church! 4. The church cannot be as much of a source of encouragement to you as it could be if you are not assembling with the church at every opportunity! 5. Yes, there is more to encouragement within the local church than just the regular assemblies of the saints (cf. 1 Peter 4:9, etc.)... 6. ...but the New Testament purpose of the local church should cause us all to reflect on how we are currently perceiving the Church of Christ E. Is the Church a Source of Encouragement? 1. Are we encouraged by the church? 2. Since each individual Christian is a part of the church, and without individuals there is no church, since the church is simply a collective of persons, how much effort have you put into being one who encourages in the assembly? 3. Let us all strive to make the church a source of encouragement for everyone involved! VI. Conclusion A. We have spent some time striving to perceive the Church of Christ B. We have seen that the Church of Christ is the collective of all who are saved, the "Church Universal" C. We have seen that God has charged members of this church to be a part of local congregations of God's people, and should strive to be with those who are also striving to be walking in the light to encourage one another D. The church is, from the Greek, the assembly, and the word does not have any inherent denotation of any religious organization 1. It is simply people-- the universal group of people who are saved in Christ, and various subgroups of that group 2. The New Testament does not betray any indication of large, organized, denominations, as we see today 3. The New Testament does indicate the existence of local congregations wherein brethren have association with other brethren of local congregations, and all of them are independent E. Let us recognize that no one will be saved only by virtue of assembling with a church of Christ-- each of us must have our own faith, strive to be obedient to God, encouraging one another, if we prove to be a part of the Church of Christ F. Let us seek to clearly perceive the Church of Christ and be a part of it! G. Invitation/songbook H. We have seen from the New Testament that there is only one body, and one faith! I. The Bible has specific commands that are to be fulfilled to be a part of that faith 1. Believe, confess, repent, be baptized, and be obedient 2. We encourage you to obey Christ today! J. Perhaps you were once a part of the Church, but have not been as faithful as you should 1. We can help pray with you to help you make your life right with God 2. Or perhaps you simply require encouragement to keep the faith K. However we can help you, please let us do so; please come to the front as we stand and sing