Christians often understand the vital need for connection with other Christians in order to thrive spiritually. However, we can often miss the fact that God wants us to have more than just Christian friends and mentors. He wants us to be connected to the church in all of its fullness. Don’t miss out on the church’s fullness!
Let’s look at the church in all of its fullness so that you can enjoy all that God has for you.
What is the Church?
The church is “God’s people.” From the first book of the Bible (Genesis) to the last book (Revelation), God is claiming a people for himself by forming covenants. Covenants are formal relationships. Today, the church is in the “new covenant” with God.
Though there is one church, we see it in many shapes and forms in the scriptures. We can also view the one church from many angles. Let’s look at a few.
The Church is Global
We can sometimes believe that our own particular denomination or tradition is the only legitimate form of Christianity. However, the church is anybody, anywhere who has professed Jesus as their Lord and committed their lives to obeying him. The children of these people are a part of the church as well, which is why they are addressed in Bible books (Eph 6:1). All these people are called “the Church” when considered collectively.
Luke refers to the global church when he says, “The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers” (Acts 9:31 NLT-SE, emphasis added).
The Global Church Exists As Local Churches
We can sometimes believe that we do not need to participate in a local church because we are a part of the global church. However, this is mistaken because it assumes that participation in the global church and local church can be two different things. In fact, the Christian participates in the global church through participating in the local church. Like a fraternity or sorority, you participate in the global organization through the university’s chapter. The global church presents itself locally. This is why we can say that there is, simultaneously, one global church and many local churches. It is legitimate to speak of both “the Church” and “a church.”
Luke acknowledges this when he says, “Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust,” (Acts 14:23 NLT-SE, emphasis added). There is one global church, but there are many local churches.
These Local Churches Are Institutions
We can sometimes believe the church is merely a collection of Christian individuals. On the contrary, God commands his people to be both a collection of individuals and an organization/institution. This may seem unspiritual for some, but any community must have some type of formality, structures, leadership, regular meetings together, etc. in order to actually be a community.
Paul makes a distinction between the church as a collection of Christian individuals and an organization in this passage: “If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone” (1 Tim 5:16 NLT-SE).
Widows often had material needs. Paul told individual Christians to care for their widowed relatives so that the church as an organization wouldn’t be drained of its funds needlessly. Paul assumes a distinction between the church as a group of individuals and the church as an organization/institution.
Local Churches Have Official Leaders
Some folks want to be a part of the church without the church’s leadership in their lives. However, authority is a good thing, and God appoints authorities to promote human flourishing. Good leadership is key to the wholeness of any organization.
It is God’s will that churches have formally appointed leadership. As an organization, the church must have order and official leaders. Paul tells Titus to bring order and leadership to the church in Crete: “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (Titus 1:5 ESV, emphasis added). Elders are the primary leaders of local churches, and the churches in each town are to have them.
God’s people are also required to submit to these leaders: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb 13:17 ESV). God has appointed official leaders over the church to care for you! Submitting to good leadership is good for you.
It is not enough to watch a church service on YouTube, and it is not enough to just go to church. You must be a formally connected participant in the life of the church, and you must submit your life to the church’s leadership. This is the primary way that Jesus will grow you into maturity.
Christians “Go to Church”
The church gathers. At the most basic level, the Greek word used for church means “an assembly” or “a gathering.” For example, Luke uses the same Greek word for “church” (ἐκκλησία) when referring to an anti-Christian riot gathered in a theater: “Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together” (Acts 19:32 ESV).
The Greek word for church (ἐκκλησία) is translated as “assembly” in the aforementioned passage because the assembly isn’t a Christian assembly. However, it is translated as “church” when it refers to a Christian assembly. “Going to church” means we are “going to the assembly of Christians.”
This is why it is appropriate to say, “I am going to church,” or, “I’m in church.” Paul acknowledges this when he speaks about being in church: “Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Cor 14:19 ESV).
Given such, Christians are expected to gather regularly “. . . not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb 10:25 ESV, emphasis added). In fact, they often met much more regularly than once a week (Acts 2:46).
Though Christians met very often, the scriptures note several times that the first day of the week in particular was a time of worship for the first century Christians: “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7 ESV, emphasis added). This is partly why Christians gather for worship on Sundays, which is what we call the first day of the week in the Gregorian calendar.
The Church Through Your Eyes and God’s Eyes
We can sometimes have a one dimensional view of the church. On the one hand, we can narrowly view the church as “the true Christians who really are Christians,” which can lead to unnecessary speculation about our fellow Christians’ lifestyle and eternal status. People start to look for the “church within the church,” and this can lead to a judgmental posture towards others.
On the other hand, we can view the church as “anyone who calls themselves a Christian,” which can lead us to miss the fact that there are true and false Christians. If anyone who calls themselves a “Christian” is a Christian, then the name of Christ is cheapened. Also, the church loses some of its purity.
How can we prevent judgmentalism but also prevent compromise in the church? We must realize that the one church is seen from two different sets of eyes.
We can view the church from human eyes. This is what we call the visible church. When we look at the church, we can only see people’s outward commitment to Jesus. Only God sees the heart. We see this commitment when people profess Jesus, get baptized, and do good works. Though the church accepts these folks as Christians, not everyone who joins the church is actually a Christian. Jesus teaches us this in his parable about the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30. In a field, both weeds and wheat can grow. In the same way, there are both true Christians and superficial Christians in the church. The superficial Christians will eventually reveal themselves by their lifestyle.
The church can also be viewed from God’s eyes. This is what we call the invisible church. Only God knows truly knows who is a genuine Christians and who is not because only he sees the heart. This is invisible to us. The invisible church is anyone — past, present, or future — who has been saved by God. The Bible calls these people “the elect” (Rom 11:7).
Christians are called to embrace humility with other Christians, knowing that only God sees the heart. Correspondingly, Christians are called to embrace wisdom in how they protect the honor of Christ’s name; not everyone who calls themselves a Christian ought to be received as Christians in the church.
What To Do?
Christian, fully engage the church! Formally connect with a local church; meet regularly with other Christians; submit to healthy church leadership; and maintain a gracious unity with Christians everywhere.