What is the Church?
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35
How can we begin to more fully comprehend precisely what the church is? The Bible speaks of her in metaphors that are at once sobering, noble, awe-inspiring, and holy. Never in the Bible is the church associated with a building. She is comprised of the people who have been given a measure of faith in Jesus great enough to bring them to humble and genuine repentance before the living God. Born of the Holy Spirit, they are not only like Jesus, but they are also a part of him – His body – his hands and feet on the earth. Their love for one another, surpassing all human barriers, bears witness to the dramatic and lifechanging work of Jesus in them.
Subject to Jesus, like a wife to a husband, she is called to be one with him.[i] As she functions as a body, in unity and harmony, the will of God is accomplished on earth as it was in Jesus. As she keeps herself pure and holy, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she prepares for the great marriage feast of the lamb – as the pure bride of Christ. As she prays for and ministers to a broken and corrupted world, she fills the role of a royal priesthood, ordained to praise God and to intercede for many. And, as she is built up of “living stones” into the temple or dwelling place of God on earth, she becomes the house of prayer for all nations.
The church is a fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ committed to gathering regularly under recognized spiritual leadership for purposes of fulfilling God’s will. The church is the ecclesia – a word meaning, “the gathering.” Not merely a gathering of people brought together in a social club or for self-governance but a gathering of people who are all bought with the blood of Jesus and transformed by his spirit. A gathering of people that overcomes all barriers of nationality, social status, gender, and culture by genuine and heartfelt love. This love moves the church to live in a way starkly different than the society in which she finds herself – a way of deep love, purehearted peace, and holiness.
In his first letter to the churches, the Apostle Peter quotes the Old Testament commandment to, “Be ye holy as I am holy.” This holiness is impossible to attain by human effort, but it is possible to attain through faith and the Holy Spirit’s power. In his second letter he teaches how to add virtue to faith, knowledge to virtue, self-control to knowledge, patience to self-control, godliness (holiness) to patience, brotherly kindness to holiness, and above all charity – the self-sacrificing love that binds the church together. The church is called to value all these characteristics above success on this earth. Unsurprisingly, the lust for earthly success wars against our eternal soul.
The Lord does not intend for us to follow him in isolation, depending only on oneself. Not only do we need the Holy Spirit, but we also need each other. The twelve disciples needed each other. The early church needed Mary, and the wife of Cleophas, and the daughters of Philip. Perhaps even Jesus needed the twelve disciples and others to sustain and encourage him! Since the very beginning, the gathering of God’s people has been recipient of the blessings of fellowship, servanthood, and the graces of God manifested through his people. We are called to serve him in unity of spirit, building one another up in the bond of love. We are insufficient by ourselves.
Love is demonstrated in three primary ways.
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Love sees the needs of others and does what she can to meet those needs. Love obeys God’s commands because God is love – and therefore, his ways are love. And love sacrifices one’s own needs and preferences for the good of others. Such a mindset of service and sacrifice forges a bond of unity that can and will withstand all the assaults of the devil.[ii] Make no mistake, the devil will try to break this deep fellowship that comes through Jesus. He will try to sow lies about fellow believers. He will try to lead us into selfish living. He will try to prove that God’s power is not sufficient to enable people to follow God’s commands.
Take some time to think of other ways in which Christian love expressed in an overcoming church community bears witness to the goodness of God and the mercy of Jesus.
Although it is the pinnacle of our calling, if such love were only toward one’s fellow believers, it would be inadequate. Jesus noted that even sinners love those that love them. The church, this gathering of born-again followers of Jesus, who love each other deeply, is commanded to love those who hate us. We are to minister to – or serve – those who are actively working to hurt us. We are to pray for our enemies and gently lift them up before a merciful God, if perhaps he will grant them faith unto repentance. All believers are ordained to serve as a royal priesthood, to demonstrate the goodness of God to all people.
Although we carry this treasure in earthen vessels and find it challenging to live up to these standards of holiness, the church is far more than a gathering of imperfect people merely hoping to be like Jesus. She is the “pillar and ground of the truth,” the living expression of his righteous words and purposes in all ages, through which Jesus upholds and proclaims his redemptive purposes. The Church is not a political kingdom seeking earthly power or authority, but a separated holy people humbly working under the authority of Christ in the world. The devil tempted Jesus with earthly power, offering all the kingdoms of the world if only Jesus would worship Satan. The Lord knew that worship was reserved for the living God and none other. And he knew that all power would become his, through faithfulness to the father; not by collaborating with Satan. We must refuse the devil’s seduction, as Jesus did.
Jesus made it clear that he would establish his church, his body, and it would accomplish his will. He also asked if he would find faith when he returned. “Let us therefore hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”[iii] There is nothing more important in this life than to follow Jesus out of a pure heart fervently. His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting and reaches even to us. If we be the church that Jesus desires us to be, many will see, and hear, and desire this gift of life and love without price.
