What the Bible Says About the Church
What does the Bible have to say about the church, that is, the community of faithful believers, of whom Jesus Christ is the head? According to the Scriptures, the church is a living organism with a specific purpose and structure.
The Church as the Body of Christ
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. For just as in one body we have many members, but all the members do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Therefore, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
The Temple of the Living God
Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. In whom the whole building, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built up together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Community, Fellowship, and Encouragement
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. The early believers worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. Each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Key Biblical Principles of the Church
| Concept | Scriptural Reference |
|---|---|
| Unity in Diversity | Romans 12:4-5 |
| The Holy Temple | 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 |
| Foundation and Cornerstone | Ephesians 2:19-22 |
| Fellowship and Presence | Matthew 18:20 |
| Royal Priesthood | 1 Peter 2:9-10 |
The Strength and Growth of the Believers
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. Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Theological Perspectives on the Church
Christ’s Steadfast Love for the Church
“Before the first star was kindled, before the first living creature began to sing the praise of its Creator, he loved his Church with an everlasting love.” — Charles Spurgeon. He spied her in the glass of predestination, pictured her by his divine foreknowledge, and loved her with all his heart; and it was for this cause that he left his Father, and became one with her, that he might redeem her.
Historical Reality of the Church
“Christianity is a ‘historical religion,’ and a ‘Christianity’ wholly unrelated to historical occurrences is just no Christianity at all.” — B. B. Warfield. For the obvious effect of the detachment of Christianity from all historical fact is to dismiss Christianity out of the realm of fact.
Unity through the Spirit
“We all, receiving one and the same Spirit, I mean the Holy Spirit, are in some sort blended together with one another and with God.” For the Spirit is one and indivisible, binding together the dissevered spirits of the individualities of one and all of us into unity.