Throughout my life post seminary, I have been asked many times what the church actually is… How did it start? Is it here on earth, or in heaven? Why do we need to attend church? And so many other related questions about our responsibilities to the church…
To start with, it’s important to understand that there are many different denominations – some of which have their own unique take on the church that may not necessarily be mainstream or have any historical foundations on which to build their identity.
But most Christians would agree that the church is the creation of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God the Father. He is also the head of the church. In order to have a better understanding of how this came to pass, it is important to go back and look at the Greek – the original language of the New Testament. In fact, originally, there was no word “church.” In the Greek language, there was a word, “Ecclesia” that comes from two Greek words. “Ek” means “out” and the verb “Kaleo” meaning a called people. When you put these two words together, they translate in English as “a called out assembly.”
There were requirements to be an “ecclesia” – it came to signify a group of people called out at a specific time at a specific place for a specific purpose. So if you were asked to join a group with the conditions just mentioned, then you were considered a member of the “Ecclesia.” Frankly, it was rare that the same people should assembly time and time again for the same reason at the same place – but even if they did, the time element would be different. So the term had very specific requirements.
In fact, it had nothing to do with what we would consider “church.” That came later… In the book of Matthew, Jesus quizzes Peter as to who he thinks Jesus is. Peter answers the question and Jesus announces that this information came from God the Father in heaven – not from mankind. As a result of the answer, Peter is told that Jesus will build (future) His church and nothing will overcome it. This connotation of church enters the picture and Jesus, by His proclamation, clearly implies that His church will be different than other “ecclesias” that have existed in the past.
Most Christians would agree that the church that Jesus was referring to actually was born at Pentecost, after the ascension of Jesus back to heaven. Peter gave the first sermon that day which appears in the book of Acts and the Acts 2 church was off and running. In fact, most theologians would agree that Peter was the first Pope and there has never been a Pope Peter II. I don’t think that anyone would ever be brazen enough to adopt a name that would eternally compare him to Peter the Apostle.
A question I often get asked is to explain where the church exists. Although there are varying degrees of agreement on the topic, it is safe to say that churches exist on earth to do the work of God and for its congregants to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Different denominations identify different structures for their hierarchies, but Baptist and Catholic Churches tend to be the endpoints of the continuum.
Catholic doctrine would support the idea that the church is a worldwide group of worshippers who answer eventually to the Pope – the vicar of Christ on earth. In a way, it represents one worldwide church with many branches through the earth. The church is very organized in the way that it operates.
On the other end of the spectrum, Baptist doctrine would support the idea that each local church is autonomous and that the pastor is the “under shepherd” appointed by Jesus to take care of a part of the flock on earth. Each church is independent and has its own church discipline. It is led by deacons and elders who work in concert with the pastor, the leader of the church. Furthermore, Baptistic churches believe that each church is a part of what is referred to as the universal church in heaven.
They believe that the Scripture articulates that eventually every knee will bow and worship God. That means that living believers, deceased believers and yet to be born believers would all worship tougher and that is clearly not possible on earth. So… they look forward to the universal church “in prospect” – meaning that it is forming but not yet fully formed. Presumably, that will take place when the church is raptured into heaven at the end of the third chapter of Revelation and eventually believers will live eternally with God – co-heirs with Christ.
Other denominations do not necessarily believe that the church will exist in heaven and that there is no need for people to leave the earth – they believe the eternal church will meet here on a new earth. So there are differences among legitimate Christian denominations about how and where the eternal church will meet. For the time being, however, most all Christians can agree that the church is on earth and membership in some church is encouraged by God and certainly a place where each of us can share our spiritual gifts for the good of the Kingdom of God.
Our verse for tonight is the verse when Jesus announces his future church. Matthew tells us, in Matthew 16:17-18, “Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
My encouragement this evening is that God wants us to share our gifts with one another in the environment of the church. We each have been endowed with certain spiritual gifts that, in concert with others, helps us to be better ambassadors of God’s Kingdom. My prayer is that we will each continue to study God’s word and understand that being part of a body of believers, a church is high on the list of things that God wants us to experience. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…