Confirming Faith Week Six: The Church

This week we are looking at what is meant by “church”. Jannice will be leading the discussion and so the questions may not relate directly to this article, which provides some background information for reference.

The word “church” in English (similar to Scottish Kirk or German kirche) comes from the Greek kuriakos meaning belonging to the Lord (kyrios). The church, therefore, consists of those who belong to the Lord. French and Spanish words for church come from the Greek ekklesia meaning an assembly (ek=out and kaleo meaning called). Ekklesia was used for any assembly, not only Christian ones. It is similar to the word synagogue which is used to describe a Jewish gathering for worship and teaching.
In the New Testament, “church” never means a building, the clergy, or a denomination, but rather, it referred to the people of God (a) meeting in someone’s house, (b) in a city or region, or (c) all Christians throughout the world. It was also sometime used for a secular gathering or for God’s people Israel.
In the first chapters of Acts we read about Christ’s followers meeting in homes and also in the Jerusalem temple court. The earliest Christians were nearly all Jewish and therefore attended worship in the temple and the synagogue as well as breaking bread (celebrating communion) in each other’s homes. Around 70 AD Messianic Jews were finally evicted from the synagogues and the tragic break with Judaism occurred. Christians continued to meet in homes until the fourth century when purpose-built church buildings patterned on the Roman basilicas first began to be used.
Additional terms used for the church in the Bible:
· body of Christ: we are all different parts of the one body (1Cor 12) with Christ as the head (Eph 5:23).
· bride of Christ. Marriage as a picture of Christ and his church. (Ephesians 5)
· family or household of God. (Eph 2:19) He is our father; we are joint-heirs with Christ. (Eph 3:6)
· people of God (Heb 4:9)
· temple of the living God (2 Cor 6:16), a building made of living stones (1 Peter 2:5), with Christ as the cornerstone(Eph 2:20).
· pillar and ground of truth. (1 Tim 3:15)
It is God who adds to his church (Acts 2:47) and Jesus who will build it (Matt 16:18). The gates of Hell will not prevail against it.
The Kingdom of God (everywhere His rule is exercised) and the church are not the same thing but both have Christ as their centre. Christ is King. The church is the assembly of those who have accepted the good news of the Kingdom and are its ambassadors. Christians have dual-citizenship: in their country and in Christ’s Kingdom. Their first allegiance is to Christ.
Jesus said that wherever two or three are gathered in his name he is there with them. Wherever his disciples gather there is the church.
The Kingdom of God.
The Church
Christ
The Nicene Creed refers to the Church as
· One: meaning that all who belong to Christ belong to the church. Separate denominations are not what Christ intended.
· Holy: meaning set-apart for God.
· Catholic: a botanical term meaning “to be in accord with the whole”. It was used, for example, to describe a true oak tree as opposed to one which looked like an oak tree but was another species.
· Apostolic: meaning continuing to believe and practice what the apostles taught.
We become part of the church through faith in Christ and being baptised. The word laos (from which we get the word “laity”) refers to all Christians: the whole people of God. All Christians are given spiritual gifts to serve the whole church. Some Christians are called to serve as deacons; some deacons become presbyters (pastors) and some presbyters give oversight to others as bishops (shepherds). Different denominations use different terms for their leaders.
The early church recognized the functions of (a) apostles (pioneering church-planters) who traveled around starting new churches and giving oversight to multiple local churches, (b) prophets, who had an authoritative role in proclaiming God’s message, (c) evangelists, who were effective in leading others to Christ, (d) pastor-teachers, who looked after and taught the local congregations. There were also deacons who looked after the poor and widows or visited the sick. Elders (presbyters/bishops) could have any of these functions but chiefly the role of pastor-teacher. By the time the last of the original Apostles died, the term “bishop” came to mean the senior pastor who oversaw other pastors and served as a point of unity between different local congregations.
Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox each claim to be the one true church (they cannot both be right!). Some sects or cults make similar claims about themselves. Protestants tend to distinguish between the “invisible “church, which is all Christians everywhere and the “visible” church (the denomination or congregational organization ) recognizing that the visible church will always have belonging to it some people who are not true believers. Anglicans make no claim to be the one true church, but rather, to be only a part of the one church and are thus committed to ecumenical co-operation.
Hands: service in the world
Feet: shod with the gospel: evangelism
Feet: shod with the gospel: evangelism
Hands: service in the world.
Christ is the head . His disciples form the body..
Fellowship in the church, with Worship as the heart of the Church
(The picture model would not post on this blog) Above is a model of the local church as a body with limbs reaching out into the community.
The five purposes of the local church are: worship, fellowship, service, evangelism, and discipleship. These are summed up in a different order in COOL’s Mission Statement:

To serve the people of the Comox Valley, introducing them to Jesus Christ, welcoming them into His family, equipping them to follow Christ's example, and loving Him with all that we are.