This blog is a continuation of the previous blogs on the doctrine of the church.
The church consists of believers in Jesus Christ. It does not consist of mere churchgoers or religious types. One does not belong to the church by being a good neighbor or by giving money to a noble cause or by being born into a Christian family. One does not belong to the church by taking communion, reading the Bible, or praying regularly. To be certain, genuine believers will desire such practices, but external practices alone do not make one a believer any more than going swimming makes one a fish. The church does not consist of all those who look Christian. She consists of all those whose hearts have been transformed by the power of the gospel. In a sense, this makes her an invisible, global organization, but she always has a visible, local contact point.
If the worldwide body of Christ is to do any good, it must eventually touch people in a specific time and place. The local church gives to the body that time and place. It takes the power from the generating plant and carries it to 1264 E. Oak St. The local church is the neighborhood representative of Jesus Christ. It is the spiritual clinic around the corner that dispenses the power to change hearts and souls forever. It is the training ground for Christians. I do not mean that the church is the building where the gospel is proclaimed. Rather it is the men and women who proclaim it, just as the army is not the barracks but the soldiers who train in them. The church is people. It is always people, but it is not any people. It is a specific people who have given themselves to a specific purpose.
The church is a treasure. She is the beloved of Christ, His one and only. The Scriptures adjure us to love all men and treat everyone with kindness, mercy and grace, but there is a sense in which the Scriptures adjure us to do this all the more for the church. The church is special, not on her own account but on account of the One to whom she belongs. Those in the church are our brothers and sisters. They are family. Indeed, they are closer than family, for the bond of Christ is thicker than blood. If you think this to be favoritism, I would say that if it is, it is the sort of favoritism a boy might have toward his older brother. But Christians are not any family; they are members of a special family. The family name is greater than Rockefeller or Vanderbilt, Gates or Kennedy. Those families have paltry fortunes compared to ours. They have no real influence, no status, no position, no lasting accomplishments. But the church is the radiant bride of royalty. She belongs to the One who shall rule all nations, and He is jealous toward His bride. Do not treat her improperly, for she is God’s special treasure.
Thus, the church is a special people whose hearts have been cleansed and transformed by Jesus Christ. They belong to Him and are committed to following His lead. They are related not by blood or race or language or culture but by the Spirit. They are all part of one great body whose function is to love, serve and worship its Lord. They have been given a mission to make disciples of all the world. Wherever they go, they take the person and message of Jesus Christ. To the unbeliever they call for repentance and faith. To the believer they call for obedience, commitment, maturity and ministry. They live as ordinary people in the midst of society, but they live as extraordinary people called apart from society. They stand for something higher than this world and, as such, are persecuted as misfits and sometimes miscreants. They live to bring that other world to bear here because they know that, in the end, this world will be swallowed up by that one. They are a bride, a temple, an army, a lighthouse, a family, a body. They are the church, and one day, under Jesus Christ, they will rule the world.
