What is a Church?

What comes to your mind when you think of a church? Pointed arches, large windows, elaborate paintings? Or maybe you picture a dark room with flashing lights. But the church is not a structure; it is not a building, or a place. The church is made up of people.

Church is people

The word used in the New Testament for a church is ekklesia. A simple translation of the word is “a gathering” or “an assembly.” But the word also tells us who are the people that gather. The word ekklesia is a compound word made up of two words: ek and kaleo (ka-lay-o). Ek means “out;” it is a common prefix as in external, exclude, and so on. And kaleo means “call.” So, the literal translation of the word ekklesia is “a calling out.”

Therefore, a church is made up of people who are called out – they are called out of their deadness in sin (Eph 2:4) and they are called out of this world (Gal 1:4). It is the people of God who have been saved by grace through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The church is the body of Christ and consequently, those who are united to Christ through faith are part of it.

We see this from the beginning of Acts where those who were being saved were added to the church (Acts 2:47). And in Acts 20:28, the church of God is identified by those who were purchased by the blood of Jesus.

Universal Church vs. Local Church

The Church can be understood in two specific categories: the Universal Church and the Local Church. The Universal church is all the believers from Pentecost till the second coming of Jesus. Local churches consist of believers in a specific location and at a particular time in history. However, in all situations, the church is always constituted by those who have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It is true that many, having made the profession, have turned away and forsaken the faith. In these situations, they were never really united to Christ (1 John 2:19); they themselves were deceived and they deceived others also. In this sense, it is not a mere profession of faith that unites a person to Christ but the possession of faith.

Note: Non-Christians do attend and are encouraged to attend church gatherings. But they are not part of the church. It is similar to inviting a friend to your family’s dinner. While the friend is welcome to the family dinner, he/she is not part of the family. Just like a family, a church needs to be identified by its members (Church Membership will be discussed in the future).

A local church should not be viewed as a fraction of the universal church. Rather, every local church is a representation of the universal church on earth. As Jesus is the Head of the universal church, He is also the Head of the local church through His Word. And He has appointed under-shepherds (elders) to lead the local church (1 Pet 5:1-4). Therefore, those who profess to be part of the universal church should identify that by being part of a local church and by submitting to the elders (1 Pet 5:5).

Indicators of a Church

While the church is the people of God, not every gathering can be called a church gathering. A gathering of Christians to watch a movie is not a church gathering. There need to be specific indicators that define a church gathering. This question came to the forefront in the Reformation period after people disassociated themselves from the traditional Roman Catholic church.

When asked how a poor confused person can tell where Christian people can be found in the world, Martin Luther answered by listing seven marks of a true church. These can be summarized as :

preaching of the Word,
proper administration of baptism,
proper administration of the Lord’s supper,
proper church discipline,
proper church leadership,
proper worship, and
sanctification through suffering.

Other Reformers and Confessions emphasized the preaching of the gospel and the proper administration of sacraments/ordinances (baptism & communion) as the markers of a true church; many also included proper church discipline.

These are not mere preferences but have biblical warrant. In Acts 2:42, we see that the believers were devoting themselves to the Apostles teaching, to breaking of bread, and to prayer. In the same way, our church gatherings should also be marked with the preaching of the Word (Apostolic teaching), sacraments/ordinances (breaking of bread) and to prayer and worship. Moreover, in Matt 18:18, we see Jesus giving the church the authority to bind and loose which relates to adding new members and carrying out church discipline including removal of members.

Therefore, the church is not just characterized by who it contains but also by what it does.

Examples of what is not a church

Having seen what a church is and what it does, we should now be able to identify what is not a church.

An evangelistic meeting is not a church gathering. It is not exclusively a gathering of the people of God but it is more geared towards non-believers. It is not a place to carry out church discipline and most often, it is not the right occasion for the sacraments/ ordinances. Unfortunately, many churches today model their gatherings after an evangelistic meeting and this has caused many to question the nature of a church.
A gathering where the word of God is not preached is not a church gathering either. People can assemble and socialize in various other settings. But the purpose of a church gathering is to primarily hear His word preached through His ministers whom He has gifted to the church (Eph 4:11-12).
Likewise, a place where a false gospel is preached is not a church gathering also. Jesus warned us about many false teachers (Matt 7:15) and we should be watchful in our gatherings to not entertain false teachings (2 John 7,10).
A Small Group gathering is not a church gathering since it does not have proper leadership and seldom is biblical church discipline practiced in a small group. Consequently, the ordinances (baptism & communion) should not be administered in a small group gathering. If a small group does include biblical leadership (elders), then it becomes an individual local church.

Can you think of other examples?

Conclusion

There are many misconceptions of a church in our current day. It is important for us to have a biblical understanding of what a church is and what a church gathering is. We cannot come up with our own ideas and concepts and label them a church or a church gathering. We need to be conscious that we are assembling as the body of Christ and not as a mere group of people. The preaching of the Word has to be the main aspect when we gather (2 Tim 4:2) and we must carry out the responsibilities that Christ gave His church.

Further Reading