ECCLESIOLOGY: A FOCUS ON THE CHURCH (BODY OF CHRIST)

Ecclesiology is the branch of Christian systematic theology that focuses on the Church. Ecclesiology seeks to answer the following questions:

What is the Church?
What are the types or divisions of the Church?
How did the Church originate?
Who are part of the Church?
Who owns the Church?
How does someone become part of the Church?
What are the key persons and functions in the Church?
What is the Great Commission of the Church?
What is the history and destiny of the Church?

The word for "church" in Greek is ekklesia (ἐκκλησία), which means "assembly of called out ones" or "congregation of called out ones;" that is, a congregation of people called out from the world by God to serve Him as His holy people and to fellowship with Him and with one another. A great many people think of a church as a building with a steeple and cross; however, such a building is only a facility that most Christians use for gathering to worship the Lord and to fellowship with one another. Even Paul refers to the church as being in someone's house; he was not referring to a church building, but a body of believers (Romans 16:5). The word "church" occurs a total of 114 times, 77 times in the singular form, and 37 times in the plural form in the Bible. All these verses are found in the New Testament of the Bible. In the New Testament, the word "church" is used mostly for the local church (example: church of Ephesus); but the word "church" is also for the universal church (Hebrews 12:23; Matthew 16:18).

A local church is a specific group of professed believers that regularly assemble at a specific location for the purpose of worship, prayer, fellowship, edification. Local churches are identified by name, by leaders, and by laity. Each local church is organized into church administration (pastors, bishops, overseers, deacons) as well as lay people (the body of common worshipers, as distinguished from the church leaders). There are many large cities that have a hundred or more local churches of different denominations. The universal church includes all true, born again believers in Christ worldwide spanning generationally from the day of Pentecost 33 A.D. to the Rapture.

The Reformers introduced the terminology "visible" and "invisible" Church as a way to distinguish between genuine Christians and nominal Christians. The visible church is comprised of all who profess to be Christian and who gather together for worship and participation of the sacraments: the Lord's Supper and Baptism. The visible church is a mixture of saved and unsaved people, wheat/tares, wolves/sheep, good trees/bad trees, sheep/goats. The invisible church is the body of genuine truly saved believers, all those who are truly regenerate and have trusted, by faith, in the true Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. only a fraction of people among the visible church are actually part of the invisible church. Only God knows exactly for sure who is saved and who is not saved and that is why this distinction is made between the visible church and invisible church. Jesus said "Not every one that saith unto me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH: JESUS CHRIST

The head of the Church is Jesus Christ the Son of God, who has preeminence in all things (Colossians 1:18). Although their are multitudes of bishops, pastors and other leaders in the Church, the official head of the Church is Jesus Christ the Heavenly High Priest (Hebrews 7:20-28). Jesus Christ, as God incarnate, purchased each and every true believer in the Church with His own blood that was shed on the Cross, that they will be God's specially chosen people that are zealous for good works and granted kingship in Heaven alongside their Redeemer (Acts 20:28; Titus 2:13, 14; Revelation 1:5, 6). The Lord Jesus Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:25-27). The Lord Jesus Christ is the One who built the Church, and Christ said that the Gates of Hell will not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18). Furthermore, the Church does not save anyone; instead, Jesus Christ alone is the Savior (John 14:6). Christ saves repentant sinners who believe on Him, and then He adds them to the Church (Acts 4:38, 39, 47), which is simply the collection of people that have been saved by Christ.

NAMES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE CHURCH

The Church is called the Body of Christ because of their being united together corporately as the physical representation of Christ in this world, the organism through which Christ manifests His gospel and His life to the world. As we read 1 Corinthians 12, we see that, just like the physical body of a human being, the Church as the Body of Christ has many parts, with each part having a unique function that helps to sustain and empower the Church body as a whole. Each person in the Body of Christ has specific spiritual gifts and a role to play in the congregation. The Church is also called the Bride of Christ because of the intimate, inseparable relationship that exists between Jesus Christ and the Church. It is analogous to the marriage between an earthly husband and wife in which the two become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31, 32). The prophet Isaiah said that a similar relationship exists between Almighty God and national Israel (Isaiah 54:5). The marriage between Christ and the Church will be completed after the Church is raptured up to Heaven for the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9). The Church is also identified as the temple of God, since the Holy Spirit of God dwells within and among God's people (1 Corinthians 3:16). In addition, the Church is also called the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16), the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), and the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), the elect of God (Romans 8:33), the children of the free woman Jerusalem above (Galatians 4:26, 31), and the great assembly and church of the firstborn (Hebrews 12:23).

The Church has been described as a "Spiritual Mother," "Heavenly Mother" or "Mother Church" by some denominations among Christendom, and by some pseudo-Christian cults. They often based such an idea on an unbiblical, eisegetical interpretation of Proverbs 6:20 and Galatians 4:26. The Bible does not teach the existence of a "Spiritual Mother," "Heavenly Mother" or "Mother Church." This idea originated from the ancient pagans who worshiped fertility goddesses and mother goddesses, such as Ashtoreth the Queen of Heaven (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:19) and Diana or Artemis of the Ephesians (Acts 19:34). According to the Bible, God is the “Heavenly Father” (Matthew 6:9) but there is no spiritual mother. The Church is pictured as a bride, loved by Christ (Ephesians 5:25-33).

TYPES OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT

There are three types of church government that exists among the world's churches. The first is Congregational church government, which is a very popular form of church government because it is democratic and allows the congregation to elect its own leaders. This type of church government is utilized by the autonomous local churches of the Baptist denomination. The second type is Episcopalian church government, as utilized by Methodists, Anglicans, Episcopals and Catholics. It is characterized by a centralized authority with a single powerful leader, such as the Archbishop of the Anglican Church, or the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Denominatons with institutionalized churches have the Episcopalian church government. The Episcopalian type is the largest and most prevalent form of church government in today's churches. A third type of church government is the presbyterian form of leadership, which has been common in Presbyterian and Reformed churches and is commonly described as elder-rule. A plurality of elders are elected by the congregation. These elected elders also serve as leaders in the regional body of churches. The Presbyterian form of church government was the type that was most common in the churches during the 1st Century when the New Testament was written, but it briefly disappeared and then was reinstated during the Reformation.

CHURCH OFFICES AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS

The functioning of the Church and the conduct of its members should be based on Sola Scriptura (scripture alone), not on Sola Ecclesia (church alone). The Church should not dictate what scripture ought to say; instead, scripture dictates how the Church should function. The Church and its members are commanded by God to operate strictly within biblical parameters, otherwise the entire church congregation becomes corrupt. Most of the Bible's instructions for church administration are contained in the epistles of Paul, especially in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

There are three major governmental offices held among the leaders of most local churches. Bishops (Greek ἐπίσκοπος = episkopos = overseer), elders (Greek πρεσβύτερος = presbuteros = elder) and deacons (Greek διάκονος = diakonos = jr elder, apprentice, or servant). Bishops and elders often serve as pastors of any particular church, while some elders and bishops preside over multiple churches within a geographic district or territory. Tasks performed by bishops and elders will vary from one denomination to the next. Bishops and elders usually comprise a high ranking group of church officials known as the clergy or clergymen. Bishops and elders are responsible for delivering sermons to the lay people, organizing church affairs, and enforcing church discipline within the congregation. Deacons are the highest ranking servants in the church congregation, positioned just a little above the laity. Deacons are given specific assignments by elders. Deacons are responsible for cleaning the area around the church facility, running errands for the local church, managing the monetary donations given to the local church, and organizing Sunday School, choir rehearsal and other church activities.

In 1 Timothy 3:2-7, the apostle Paul outline the following qualifications for bishops:

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the Devil." --- 1 Timothy 3:2-7

In 1 Timothy 3:8-13, the apostle Paul outline the following qualifications for deacons:

"Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." --- 1 Timothy 3:8-13

In Titus 1:5, 6, the apostle Paul outline the following qualifications for elders, but the same qualifications for bishops can also apply to elders:

"For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination." --- Titus 1:5, 6

The apostle Paul advised against being so hasty to appoint inexperienced congregation members as leaders when he said "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily..." (1 Timothy 5:22). The church leaders should grant leadership positions only to congregation members having good morals, a full understanding of sound doctrine, and a sufficient amount of experience with responsibilities. The church leaders must thoroughly observe all potential candidates for any leadership positions to make sure they meet all the qualifications outlined in scripture.

THE PURPOSES FOR THE CHURCH

The five purposes for the church include corporate worship, corporate prayer, fellowship between believers, edification between believers, and evangelism to the world of unbelievers. Corporate worship involves all persons in the congregation giving praise and worship to Almighty God and Jesus Christ through singing praises, the raising of hands, and acknowledging God in all His greatness and majesty (Psalm 134:2; Ephesians 5:19). Corporate prayer is when the congregation collectively prays to God the Father in Jesus' name to express adoration of God in all His greatness, confess any corporate sins committed by the local church, to give thanks to God for His salvation, loving care and other blessings, and to make supplication for church members and the church as a whole. Believers are free to fellowship with one another in love during the church services or between church services as a way of strengthening the love bonds between Christians in the congregation. Believers share in the love of God, the grace the the Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit as they fellowship in the Church (2 Corinthians 13:14). Edification in the church occurs whenever the clergy give sermons to the congregation, but edification also occurs whenever fellow church members provide wise biblical counsel to each other during the many types of social gatherings in the Church. Christians are commanded to avoid forsaking church gatherings, but to gather together for the purpose of exhorting one another and inciting one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24, 25). Another purpose for the Church is evangelism. Jesus commanded His disciples to evangelize the Gospel of salvation to unbelievers in the world. Christians are to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). People will not be saved unless they hear the Word of God through the preaching of the Gospel (Romans 10:17). Jesus prophesied that the Gospel will be preached all over the world as a witness to all nations before the end of the world arrives (Matthew 24:14). Christians hasten the second coming of Christ as they spread the Gospel more earnestly and thoroughly (2 Peter 3:11, 12).

SACRAMENTS FOR THE CHURCH

There are two sacramental ordinances for the Church: baptism and the Lord's Supper. There are different types of baptism identified in scripture. One is water baptism, another is baptism with fire, another is baptism with the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for water baptism refers to immersion in water, but some Christian denominations baptize through the sprinkling of water. Water baptism is merely a symbol or outward ritual that illustrates a repentant sinner's dying to sin and being born again in Christ (Romans 6:3, 4) through the washing away of sins (Acts 22:16); it is also a ritualistic expression of dedication and commitment to the Lord as one's Master and Savior, answer of a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:21). The Lord's Supper was first instituted by Jesus the night before His crucifixion, as He broke bread and poured the cup of the vine, then He commanded His disciples to pass the bread and the cup around to eat and drink. Jesus commanded His disciples to do the ritual in remembrance of Him and His atonement for their sins (Matthew 26-30; Luke 22:17-20). Paul elaborated on the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, where he also advised believers to examine themselves to make sure of their salvation before deciding to partake of the Lord's Supper.

THE VALUE OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE

Unlike in years past, church discipline is not practiced in the churches as much as it once was. In 2 Thessalonians 3:14, Paul instructs the Thessalonian Church to discipline one of their church members. What does church discipline involve? When should it be employed? What does the Bible say about it? Church discipline is the denying on privileges and fellowship to a church member who is involved in sinful practices. Church discipline involves disciplining church members who are practicing sin, including sins like sexual immorality, the spreading of false doctrine, creating division within the church, and acting in blatant defiance of God's appointed leadership in the Church. A local church must exercise church discipline because the congregation must remain pure of falsehood and hypocrisy (1 Corinthians 5:8). The goal of church discipline is to motivate the erring church member to repent of their sin (James 5:19, 20), to "gain back" or restore an erring brother or sister, and to make the erring church member feel ashamed enough to change (2 Thessalonians 3:14). There are several distinct steps to church discipline. First, meet one-on-one with the person in hopes of correcting them. Second, if there is no repentance, then meet with the person and another church member in hopes of encouraging repentance. Third, if there is still no change in behavior, report the matter to the elders of the church so that the elders can counsel the person to repentance. If all else fails, then the elders of the church are obligated to either reprove the church member by the revoking of privileges, or excommunicate the person from the church membership (Matthew 18:15-17). The tone of church discipline should be firm gentleness (Galatians 6:1). The elders that are most responsible for church discipline should put away any spite, hatred, or malice so that they can facilitate true restoration. The sinner should still be admonished as a brother even while excommunicated (2 Thessalonians 3:15). Other scriptures dealing with church discipline include Romans 16:17, 18; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 7; Titus 3:10, 11; Hebrews 13:17

ISSUES FACING THE MODERN CHURCH

Modern churches of all denominations are becoming increasingly more liberal as the years pass by. An increasing percentage of the modern churches are beginning to favor the Ecumenical Movement, the Purpose Driven Movement, the Word of Faith Movement and the New Age Movement. Doctrine is becoming less important in churches nowadays, and many of them no longer hold strictly to historic church creeds or doctrinal statements. The biblical standards of church discipline for sinful conduct are no longer applied in many churches today. Openly professing homosexuals now have more privileges in the churches, and there is still debate as to exactly what leadership roles women should have in the churches. The New Testament church model was based on small to medium sized congregations run by a group of elders, and those congregations strictly adhered to sound biblical doctrine. However, an increasing percentage of today's churches are adopting the megachurch model with 10,000 or more members, and such megachurches place more emphasis on marketing the church, providing a mixture of secular and religious entertainment, and delivering motivational speeches based on psychology and socioeconomics (not sound biblical doctrine). The interior of some modern churches has been remodeled to bear less resemblance to the traditional church. For example, crosses, Bibles and hymn books have been removed, plus doctrines emphasizing Christ's ransom sacrifice, sin, Hell, holiness and repentance have also been removed. Seven reasons why a correct and biblical ecclesiology is essential for the modern church pertain directly to the church's leadership, the church's membership, the church's structure, the culture of the church, the character of the church, mission of the church, and the church's obligation to do all things for the glory of God.