Understanding the Church of Jesus Christ:
Part 1 – Defining the Church

By William R. Cunningham

Acknowledgements

I would like to say a few things before we get started.  I was late one evening watching a movie and working on a website (I own an Internet technology business).  I began to be compelled to start working on my sermon; now consider that this was about 12:30 – 1:00 in the morning.  So I did and eventually came upon a website that contained an outline for a study of “The Church Jesus Built” (Go to http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/cjb.htm for the full outline).  Mark Copeland has provided this type of outline for many years.  I remember using his outlines back in the 90’s.  It was a pleasant surprise to come across his outlines again after doing a Google search.

The underlying outline foundation for this study is taken from Mark Copeland’s outlines.  I have also taken material from my own studies as I have studied church and church history for many years, which is why I was so impressed with Mark’s outlines on this topic.  He made it very plain in concise language the difference between the church that Jesus Built and the church man builds today.

INTRODUCTION

What church do you belong to?  The answer to this question would be varied depending on whom you ask.  However, our perception of this question and consequently church will show that the concept of church has been altered over the history of Christianity.  If you were to ask a first century Christian this question then you would perhaps get a strange look and an answer something like, “What do you mean what church? I follow Jesus.” or something to that nature.  Our concept of church has shifted from the spiritual to the material.  We typically think of a local church building or organization when we think of church.  From this misconception grow other misconceptions as to the Kingdom of God and the true nature of the Christian faith.  For example, the mainstream church scene preaches more materialism (prosperity, blessing measured by the car you drive or the house you have, etc.) than those things pertaining to the true nature of the Christian faith such as Jesus Christ crucified.

The misconception of the church of Christ in many cases clouds the eyes of people from seeing true Christianity and coming to know Jesus Christ.  Sometimes church folks and denominational nonsense gets in the way of someone seeing the truth about Christianity.  People become hurt by church and they perceive that it was Christianity that hurt them and they proceed to try another religion.  Some people hurt by church will come to the belief that they can be a Christian without going to church.  People can come to think that they can have Jesus without church, but the problem is that they don’t really know what church is.

What is Church?

Matthew 16:16-18 (NKJV) -- {16} Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” {17} Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. {18} And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Note that Jesus said that he will build the church and it is built on the foundation that Jesus is the Christ (not on Peter as some so vehemently hold).  There is really only one church and that is the body of Christ.  However, when we speak of church today we typically are referring to a local congregation or an organization.  So up front I need you to understand that the true church is the universal church of Jesus Christ and that church is composed of all believers. 

The word church comes from the Greek word “ekklesia” and it means an assembly or gathering.   Ekkelsia in the New Testament is used in the following senses.

1. An assembly in the ordinary classical sense (See Acts 19:32, 39, 41).
2. Denotes the whole body of Christ (the redeemed), the invisible catholic (universal) church.  See Ephesians 5:23, 25, 27, 29; Hebrews 12:23.
3. A few Christians associated together in observing the ordinances of the gospel are an ecclesia (Romans 16:5; Colossians 4:15).
4. All of the Christians in a particular city (Acts 13:1, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Acts 8:1, Revelation 2:1)
5. The whole body of professing Christians throughout the world (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; Matthew 16:18).

Introduction to Universal and Local Church

There are two ways that we may view the church from the definitions provided above.

1. Universal Church
2. Local Church

The universal church is the entire body of Christ for all time (both living and dead).  It is the collection of all Christians for all times.  It is not bounded by a building or location, but is instead held together by the Holy Spirit.

The local church on the other hand is a particular congregation of believers at a particular location.  From a biblical standpoint the local church merely denotes a particular gathering of Christians at a particular location.  They are still collectively part of the Body of Christ, but may be known as the Church of Ephesus or the church in someone’s home for example. 

Most people are familiar with the local church and not aware of the true meaning of the universal church or the true church of Jesus Christ.  Most people are involved with church, but not truly involved with the work of the Church of Jesus Christ.  We go to church on Sundays, attend meetings, seminars, conferences, and we do our part in the organization.  However, throughout it all we neglect to do what the church was called to do, which is to make disciples of all nations.

The challenge that many have is to understand the distinction between the local church and the universal church.  We will discuss the distinction between the universal and local church later in this study.

New Perception of Church

As time progressed after Pentecost the church began to be identified and known as an organization instead of a living body (organism) that is organized. A new perception of church evolved to the point that we now perceive church as a structured organization as I said.  You may have heard it said many times that a church should be run like a business.  However, such is contrary to the way that the church should be run.   Consider the following scripture.

Matthew 20:25 through Matthew 20:28 (NKJV) 25But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Here Jesus makes a distinction between the organization system of the world and of the church.  The church is based on a system of servitude not authority.  Jesus Christ has sole authority over the church—all of the people.  The charismatic component of the church consisted of pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists, and apostles (see 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 and Ephesians 4:11‑12).  The administrative component consisted of elders, later bishops, and deacons.  Over the centuries the administrative component has become the defining agent of a church.  The pastor, which is a gift from God to the body of Christ, has become a title of an office in the church organization and associated with one with authority.  That however was not the purpose of the gift of pastor.  Men and women, in their quest for power, have succumbed to the temptation of power and prestige and have organized edifices and great institutions in the name of Christianity when all along they have only built a religious worldly organization.  The terrible thing about this is that we have fallen for it like sheep going to slaughter.

The spiritual church is practically absent from the minds of the people, even those within the church.  The charismatic is no longer the defining component of the church.  Our definition of church has shifted from the living organism to the organization that we pledge allegiance to every Sunday or whenever it summons us.  There is therefore a separation in the church.  The spirit of the church is a separate entity to the church organization whereas they should be joined to produce an effective church during any time.

Denominationalism

Denominationalism is the division of a religion into separate religious denominations. The term is particularly used in reference to the various Protestant schools of thought. Some such denominations are; The Anglicans, The Baptists, The Lutherans, The Methodists, The Presbyterians, and The Congregationalists.

See the Wilkipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denominationalism) for the full article on denominationalism.

The problem with denominationalism is that it separates whereas the true church of Jesus Christ is a union.  All Christians collectively form the congregation of the church even though we have local churches and local church organizations where we meet for worship, prayer, and edification.  To call oneself a Baptist is to add to the true nature of the church and that addition in itself separates one from the true nature of the church.  Jesus didn’t build Baptists, Presbyterians, etc.  He built the church and denominationalism is one mechanism, in my opinion, that Satan has corrupted the true church of Jesus Christ.

Non-denominationalism

I want to mention the concept of non-denominationalism.  Non-denominationalism is in my opinion is in many cases merely another denomination.  Consider the definition of denominationalism from the Wilkipedia online encyclopedia.

In Christianity, the term non-denominational refers to those churches which have not formally aligned themselves with an established denomination. Non-denominational churches establish their own internal means and methods of policy and worship without interference from the policies and worship practices of regional, national, or multinational organizations. Members of non-denominational churches often consider themselves simply "Christians", and many feel at home when visiting any number of other denominational churches with compatible beliefs.

On the other hand, some non-denominational churches consciously reject the idea of a denominational structure as a matter of doctrine, insisting that each congregation must be autonomous, sometimes pointing out that in early Christianity, there were no denominations. In support of this stance, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 is often cited. It reads:

Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Peter," and "I of Christ." Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Non-denominationalism could represent an idea in regards to church structure and its organization or it could be just another way of saying that “we have another type of structure unlike everyone else.”  So a non-denominational congregation is not necessarily one that adheres to the biblical ideal of church.

Biblical Description of the Church

The Bible provides the following additional description of the Church.

1. The Church is “The Body of Christ” (See Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:12; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Colossians 1:24, 2:19)
2. The Family of God
1. John 1:12; Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 4:6
3. The Bride of Christ
1. 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:6-8

There is one thing that you must be certain of and that is that the church is associated directly to Christ.  The Church is something that we do in the name of Jesus.  The church belongs to Jesus.  The church is likened to the body of Christ where Jesus himself is the head.

The Universal Church

We said earlier that there are two ways of viewing the church, namely the universal and local church.  Let’s briefly discuss the universal church in this section.

In early Christian creeds you will see the phrase, “Catholic Church.”  We will probably think of the Roman Catholic Church if we were to read early church writings, but that phrase is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church especially since the early creeds predates the Catholic Church as we know it today.

The universal church refers to the body of Christ and is the collection of all believers in all times.  Let’s view some aspects of the universal church (what I also call the true church).

• The universal church is composed of all Christians.
• Hebrews 12:22-24 (NKJV) -- {22} But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, {23} to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, {24} to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel
• This is important to remember else we place our allegiance to an organization created by men instead of to the will of God for the church and for our individual lives.
  
• There is only one church
• Ephesians 4:4 (NKJV) -- {4} There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
  
• You will notice many churches even in a single neighborhood in a big city.  You will notice many denominations and doctrines coming from the plethora of churches.  However, there is only one true church and the important thing is to be a member of that church much more than ensuring that we are a member of a particular local church (though I’m not an advocate of local church membership).

The Church began at Pentecost

• See Acts 2:1-47, 11:15.
• Again a local church may have anniversaries commemorating a particular start date, which is usually determined by incorporation status, 501 (c) (3), or the first meeting of the particular congregation.  Remember that the church truly began at Pentecost almost 2000 years ago.
  

Become members by being added by Christ

• We become a part of the family of God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and being born again.  Basically we enter the church by being saved and we know that salvation only comes through faith in Jesus Christ.  See Acts 2:41,47.

Membership is tracked in heaven not on earth

• This is very important because there are always those people that will tell you that this person is going to hell and that person is going to heaven.  There is no document here on earth that tracks those who are part of the church of Jesus Christ.  That information if you will is in heaven.  See Hebrews 12:23 and 2 Timothy 2:19.

Has no earthly organization

• Though there is organization in the universal church (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5), this organization is spiritual in nature and does not pertain to any man-made or earthly system.  There is no earthly headquarters for the universal church.

The Local Church

The local church is in many ways just a subset of the universal church, though the term is used in other ways.  Let’s review the biblical description of the local church.

The local church is composed of Christians in one location or geographical area

• Example: 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1 for the Church at Corinth and Thessalonica respectively
• We may identify a local church by a particular congregation such as “The First Baptist Church of Pennsylvania.”

There are many local churches

• In contrast there is only one universal church
• See Romans 16:15 and Galatians 1:2.
  

The local church begins when people join themselves together

• When people decide to come together and work together as a group then that is the beginning of a local church.
• This is separate from governmental approved institutions such as non-profit status or 501 (c) (3) status.
• The beginning of this church is humanly induced and is only really a local church when members of the universal church create it.
  

Is entered by joining

• We become members of the local church when we join it (Ex: See Acts 9:26-28).
• Here you decide to join with a particular congregation to work with them to accomplish their goals.

Consists of both saved and unsaved people

• Membership in a local church is granted by whatever means that has been adopted by that particular local church.
• Those who are unsaved can be accepted into the membership because no one can truly say who is saved or not
• Those who are unsaved can be accepted into the membership due to other factors such as financial potential, leadership abilities, community recognition, etc.
• See Revelation 3:1-4

Membership is not required for salvation

• One can be saved without being member of the local church just as one can be a member of the local church and not be saved.
• Membership to a local church is not a pre-requisite to salvation
• See Acts 8:39; 9:26.

Has earthly organization

• The local church has a plethora of organizational structures, which are man-made
• Biblically this consisted of elders and deacons.
• What we call pastors, evangelists, teachers, apostles, and prophets were considered by Paul to be gifts of the spirit and not organizational entities.  We for example consider a pastor to be the head of the local church, when in fact that is not how the Bible depicts a pastor.  The organizational entities in the biblical church were Elders (including bishops) and deacons.

The local church is now perceived much differently then the Bible reveals it.  People tend to be more concerned about local church membership than they are of being part of the body of Christ.  There is also the issue of authority in the local church.  People tend to hold that the pastor (ore equivalent) is the head of the local church and therefore the congregation in that church whereas in the universal church Jesus Christ is the head and has all authority (See Matthew 28:18).

Part 2 of this series will deal with the topic of authority in the church both local and universal.

Summary

The word church means an assembly or gathering.  The word church refers to the collection of all believers of all times and the congregation of believers in a geographical location.  This denotes the universal and local church respectively.  We listed several attributes of both types of churches in hopes that you would understand the difference between the local church and the universal church.

At this point I think it is important to realize that there is a difference between the local church and the universal church.  The universal church is fully established and maintained by the Lord Jesus Christ.  The local church is established and maintained by humans.  This means that an experience that you might have had in a local church does not necessarily reflect the position or way of Christianity.