The Universal Church

 

Basic Christian Doctrines 42

 

1.   The Church is God's Special People.

All people belong to God because He is their Creator. But in a more important sense, there is a select group that is God's special people. They are called the Church. The word Church is ECCLESIA. It means gathering, assembly, congregation, group. It consists of those who have been "called out". We were initially called out by election, then in our conversion. Called out and called into Christ. It is called the Church of God (Acts 20:28). Christ called it "My Church" (Matt.16:18).

 

2.   The Universal Church Includes All True Believers.

 

All believers and only believers are in this Church. We call it the Universal Church, not because it includes all men everywhere, but because it includes believers from every tribe, nation, and language (Rev. 5:9). It includes men and women, young and old, rich and poor, slave and free, intellectuals and uneducated. We also refer to it as the Invisible Church, because it is not limited to any one place. The theory of Landmarkism says there is only the local visible Church, not a universal invisible Church. But the NT speaks of this Church in the collective singular (as in Matt. 16:18) as well as in the individual plural (Churches of Ephesus, Colossae, etc). Unbelievers may belong to the local church, but are not part of the true Universal Church.

 

3.   The Church is Not Any One Denomination.

The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the only true Church. Many cults make the same claim. The fact is that those groups are not part of the true Church at all because they teach essential heresy. Nor is the true Church limited to any denomination that is true in doctrine. Some Landmark Baptists think that theirs is the only true Church because it is in the chain-link going back to John the Baptist and Christ. This is the same error of "apostolic succession" of  Catholicism, viz, that the true Church is one denomination and must be in an organized union going back to the NT. But the true Church is a spiritual organism, not a Man-made organization. The Universal Church has members in a variety of denominations, and no one group is the one and only Church.

 

4.   True Church Unity is in Christ.

Christ prayed for His Church to be one (John 17). But how is this accomplished? Not through one denomination, nor through the ecumenical movement, which throws out the Gospel and brings in heresy. Rather, true unity is by Christ Himself. It is brought about by the Holy Spirit, fostered by love and protected by peaceful relations between Christians. This is one of the main themes of Ephesians. This unity is not to be seen in the thing called "Christendom", which includes all churches and people who give the broadest and vaguest professions of being Christian. By far most of them are not part of the true Church at all, for they are not united to Christ in a spiritual way.

 

5.   The Church is Not a Cult.

 

Ecumenism is too inclusive - it includes far too many people in the Church. The cults are too exclusive - they exclude too many. Actually, neither are part of the true Church. Cults are united, not by Christ or the Spirit or the truth, but by a charismatic leader, anti-social tendencies among their members, weird practices or heresies, and other unbiblical things. The true Church is related to Christ and is not cultic.

 

6.   The Church is the House of God.

 

God uses a variety of metaphors to describe the Church. One is that the Church is a house. Ephesians describes it like this: Christ is the chief cornerstone, the apostles and prophets are the foundation, believers are individual bricks which are connected to each other by the Spirit and love. We are to edify (build up) each other, and thereby build up the Church. A local Church may meet in a building, but the Church consists of people, not wood or metal or bricks. We are the House of God. 

7.   The Church is the Family of God.

 

God also likens His people to a family. God is the Father, Christ is our older brother, we are brothers and sisters of each other. There are no cousins or grandchildren in this family. One enters this family by the new birth, not physical birth. One does not enter it because his physical parents are in it. One day, the entire family will be together in Heaven. This special family is more important than our physical families, for natural relations are for this life only. It is the blood of Christ, not parental or racial blood, that runs through this Family.

 

8.   The Church is the Body of Christ.

Another popular way to describe the Church is to liken it to a human body. This is discussed in Ephesians, Colossians, I Cor. 12-14, Rom.12, and elsewhere. Christ is the head of the body. Note two things. First, Christ is the only head. The Pope claims to be the head, but that would make the Church a monster with two heads. Nor is any king the head. In some countries (e.g., England), the reigning monarch claims to be the head of the Church. No one but Christ is the head of the universal or even the local Church. Second, Christ has only one body. He is not the head of false bodies like Islam or Buddhism. Each Christian is a member of this Body and needs all other members and should minister to others.

 

9.   The Church is the Bride of Christ.

 

A very dear metaphor for the Church is the figure of it being the very Bride of Jesus Christ. Christ never married any one woman (let alone many, as taught by Mormonism!). Rather, He is married to each and every true believer. Romanism teaches that nuns are special brides of Christ, but that too is wrong. Each of us are brides, and especially all of us together. The order is this: we were betrothed to Christ in eternity, engaged to Him in conversion, and will be finally united to Him in the consummation of heavenly marriage after the Second Coming. In the OT, Israel was meant to be the bride of God, but proved to be adulterous. The true remnant of Israel was part of the bride of Christ, for this bride is a spiritual and not a national or physical bride. God has one bride, not two. Therefore, true Israel and the Church form the one bride.

 

10. The Church is the Temple of God.

There are many other wonderful metaphors for this great people of God called the Church, but none is so wonderful as that of it being the Temple of God. In one sense, the entire universe is a temple of God's glory. In another sense, Israel was meant to be it. Then there was the Tabernacle and then the Temple. These were all preparatory to Christ, who Himself is the final Temple. We are united to Christ and thereby become part of this Temple. A Temple is where God shows His special glory and presence. God is everywhere, but especially in and among His people who are united to Christ. Each of us is a Temple of the Spirit, and together form this great Temple. Our main purpose is to be the place where God shows His glory and where we reflect it back to Him in worship. This is true in each locality and perfectly one day in Heaven.