Question 66 – What is the church?
In the context of our culture, many people have a very distorted idea of what the church actually is and what its mission is. The word church is often understood today as a place, a building, or an institution, and people frequently associate it with terms like pope, Vatican, indulgences, crusades, inquisition, hypocrisy, accumulation of wealth, restitutions, and so on. In essence, most of the above do not have much to do with true biblical Christianity. The church, in its existence, its various forms, its rises and falls, its successes and defeats, has left many positive and negative marks on people's consciousness. It is beyond my capacity to address everything, so I will limit myself to a simple and easily understandable description of the church as given by God Himself.
The Essence of the Church
The word church is a translation from the Greek ekklesia, which can be translated as "assembly." Assembly in the sense of a community of God's people—those who wish to change their lives, who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have experienced spiritual rebirth. The Bible likens the church, through images such as a human body composed of many parts or even a bride preparing for a wedding with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians (12:4–12), writes the following:
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ."
Here it is said that God gives each of His children a certain gift (manifestation) that they are to use for the common growth (we read clearly here that it is not possible for a Christian to exist alone, holding the mindset of "God yes, church no," as is often promoted today). There are many ways to express these gifts—from the simplest, which we might call "abilities" or "talents," to more visible ones—perhaps gifts of a supernatural nature. The church is likened to a human body with many parts, each part being an integral part of the one body. Paul further elaborates on this image in the same passage:
"For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues." (1 Corinthians 12:14–28)
The church is, in itself, a living organism. Each believer is a vital part of it. Therefore, it is necessary for Christians to operate together and not shy away from mutual contact. God clearly established the principle that can be expressed as "two are better than one." Just as a body cannot function efficiently without, for instance, a hand or an eye, so too can the church not function without individual believers, whom God equips in a particular way for mutually beneficial service. This metaphorical body is invisible. Paul thereby describes the church as a multitude of individual Christians forming one true body of God's church, which remains hidden from clear human understanding.
In other words—all true Christians are members of the single "universal" church—the body of Christ. It is invisible and includes everyone who has accepted the Lord Jesus as their God and Savior. I can be part of it as a European just as much as an Inuit on the other side of the planet, whose local congregation bears a completely different name than mine. Since there are many people and separate groups on our planet, Christians must organize into local communities, which can be specifically termed local churches.
In conclusion, I want to emphasize the fact that formal membership in any local church does not mean that a person is a member of God's church—that is, that they are a born-again Christian who is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the spiritual body of the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, there are many so-called "churches" that God does not recognize due to their unrighteousness or false teachings, and they are not truly Christian.
Summation
The church is a community of born-again Christians sharing a common faith in the living God. Together they worship God, complement each other, help each other, encourage one another, admonish one another, and serve a common divine purpose. Individual believers organize into local churches, which are part of the one universal church.