What Is a Church?

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This is a sermon that attempts to explain the nature of the church from a biblical perspective. The message describes what the church is NOT, and then begins to define what the church is. Various metaphors used in the Bible help define the church and its purpose. This is the first sermon in a short series that will continue to explain what the church is and what it does.

Written Excerpts:

Acts 2:47 (NKJV)  … And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Introduction:

Soon after I came to Wayside over 10 years ago, I preached a short series of messages on the topic of the church. The series attempted to provide the definition, the mission and the destiny of the church as taught in the Bible. Since then there have been other times when I have spoken about various aspects of the church as presented in specific passages of Scripture.

There are a number of people attending our church today who were not attending back in 2009 when I preached the original series, so I felt that God was prompting me to revisit some of that material and present it in a little different manner to remind us what the church of the Lord Jesus Christ really is and what it really does.

So that is my desire for today and for at least next Sunday or two – to review again what the church is and what the church does. (There is no possible way to give an exhaustive description of the church. We will merely “scratch the surface” in our discussion.)

I suppose that any discussion about what the church is, ought to include something about “what the church isn’t!”

I.          The Church is Not…

A. The church is not a denomination/organization.

If you ask some people what a church is, they might respond by saying the name of a denomination or group of churches. I don’t know if I’m right or not, but I assume that most, if not all, of us realize that there was a time when there was only one Christian church.

In the NT, we read about the church in Corinth, or Jerusalem, or Antioch, but we understand that this only identifies the geographic locality and identity, but all the believers in each city were understood to be a part of THE church.

Over time, as people sought ways to become more organized and more efficient, there were more steps taken to build structure into the groups. Even in the book of Acts we see the beginnings of “organization” with the appointment of deacons to care for the daily needs of the congregation. Some amount of organization is implied with the words, “bishop,” “elder,” “ruler,” etc. that we find in the epistles of Paul.

Differences began to develop over how the structure should be formed – mostly membership controlled, or mostly leadership controlled. Differences developed over interpretation of key doctrines and ethical norms. Divisions took place over irreconcilable differences and often, the subject of contention became the criteria for membership in any new denominations that came from the division.

For example, Wesleyan Methodist/Methodist Episcopal Church split in 1843 – slavery. Another example, the current divisions that have taken place in mainline denominations over the issue of gay marriage, gay clergy, the authority of Scripture, etc.

The concept of denomination can give the erroneous viewpoint that those who are in our denomination are true Christians and those outside of it are not. While the creation of denominations has aided the church in some ways, yet no denomination is the church.

B. The church is not a building.

We often use the word “church” in sentences that indicate we are talking about a building.

On Sunday mornings we say we are going to “the church.” If a congregation outgrows its building it is often said, “we need to build a new church.”

The concept of the church = building is fashioned after the OT idea of the Temple being the place where God dwelled. Church = building gives mistaken notion that the place is sacred, and one cannot truly commune with God unless in that place.

The early Christians did not meet in church buildings. Even many places in the world today, Christians do not meet in buildings that are specifically built for worship because openly practicing the Christian faith is illegal.

Some congregations have fallen into the error of putting buildings and facilities ahead of more important priorities like missions and ministries to the needy.

The building is not the church. The building can facilitate the church being the church, but it isn’t the church. 

C. The church is not a ritual ceremony.

Sometimes we use the word “church” in a way that indicates a special kind of program/ritual/meeting. “We didn’t have church today.” One of the things we will be explaining a little later is the fact that churches do conduct meetings, rituals, programs, etc. 

The danger is that we can begin to associate the meetings with church in such a way that we think we are not the church when we are not meeting. Or, we are not being the church when we are not doing the specific things we do when we come together.

D. The church is not a social/civic club (clique).

Sometimes people who claim to be the church and claim to be Christians, have acted as though the church is a social club or civic organization. In some congregations, outsiders are not really welcome, unless the newcomer happens to be a part of the correct social class in the community. If the new family mingles in the correct social circles of the community, then by all means, we’re delighted to include them in our “church.” “The poor and disadvantaged need not apply, because they would give our church a bad image.”

All these descriptions I have just provided are examples of what the church is not. They are misconceptions that many people have acquired regarding the church, but they are woefully inadequate for describing or defining what the real church is all about.

II.        The Church Is…

Having spent some time trying to spell out what the church is not, I want to take the next segment of time to define what the church is by referring to terms and descriptions that we find in the Bible.

A. The church is a gathering/congregating/assembly.

There are several references in the NT where the English word “church” appears, and it usually translates the Greek word, “εκκλησια.” This is the word that our English words “ecclesiastical” and “ecclesiology” are based upon.

(The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) … ekklēsia …has its own pre-Christian history; and to those …who first heard it applied to the Christian society it would come with suggestions of familiar things. Throughout the Greek world …, ekklēsia was the designation of the regular assembly of the whole body of citizens in a free city-state, "called out" (Greek ek, "out," and kaleín, "to call") by the herald for the discussion and decision of public business. The [LXX – Greek translation of the OT] used the word to render the Hebrew ḳāhāl, which in the Old Testament denotes the "congregation" or community of Israel, especially in its religious aspect as the people of God…. 

See: 

Acts 19:39 ^(NKJV) But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. 
Here the word "assembly" is the same word usually translated "church," but the context tells us that this civic leader is not referring to the church but rather a legal assembly.

Acts 7:38 ^(NKJV) This is he [i.e. Moses] who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,

1 Chronicles 28:8 ^(NKJV) Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever. 
The Greek translation of this Old Testament passage would have used the word "church" to identify "the assembly of the Lord."

So, the very use of the word “church” (ekklesia), portrays the truth that the true church of Jesus is a called-out assembly or congregation. The word has both literal significance and spiritual significance. 

Spiritually, we are the church because we have been called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light; called out of sin into holiness; called out of allegiance to self (Satan) to allegiance to Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

All of these terms used by Peter were common terms used for the people of Israel or a portion of Israel (priesthood). 

Literally, we are the church because we congregate. We assemble. We practice gathering just like the Jews of the OT and like the Christian believers of the NT.

There are people who claim to be Christian, and therefore, make a claim to be a part of the church of Jesus, but they rarely gather, assemble, or congregate. They never act as though they are a part of the people who have been “summoned” by the Lord to come together as a body.

Hebrews 10:25 “Forsake not the assembling [same word as synagogue] of yourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.”

B. The church is a fellowship/community/common body.

Acts 2:42-47 ^(NKJV) And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. ⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Not only is the church a congregation/assembly, but it is a community that is bound together in mutual love and care for each other. The early believers saw to it that the basic needs of fellow believers were being provided.

Lest there be those who think they have fulfilled their duty by showing up to a church worship service, but do not care for their brothers and sisters through the rest of the week, that kind of participation (or lack of it) is not what the Bible describes as the church.

Early last year I preached a couple of sermons regarding the “body life” of the church in which we looked at a number of Scriptures that use the phrase “one another.” They were verses that emphasized our responsibility to care for one another in the church in a number of different ways.

For example: love one another; live in peace with one another; edify one another; exhort/encourage one another, admonish and teach one another, and bear one another's burdens…

You can’t “one-another” one another if you rarely gather with one another!

Being a Christian / being a part of the church of Jesus is not a “Lone Ranger” way of life.

Conclusion:

There are a number of other ways to describe what the church is, which we do not have the time to cover today, so the Lord willing, we will continue the same theme next week. I hope that this review has helped us overcome some of the secular and worldly perceptions about the church that many good people have acquired. 

Our closing song is a reminder that the Word of God was incarnated into flesh by the birth of Jesus Christ. But that same Word has been revealed in written form through the prophets and apostles who wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The song goes on to emphasize the fact that this revealed, written word of God has been entrusted to the church to shine the light of truth in the dark world around us.

O Word of God Incarnate