Continuing in our series on the fundamentals of the faith, we’re going to talk about the church.

The Church (also known as the Bride and Body of Christ) consists of all true believers who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. While local congregations may vary in size, makeup, and style, the worldwide church is one in spirit and is to strive for unity in the truth of the Gospel. The mission of the church was clearly defined by Jesus: to spread the Gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).

Many people today often think of the church in terms of two things: buildings and denominations (the latter is much more the case for a group that thinks they are the only “true” church). The Bible, however, paints a much different picture of the church, one that we would do well to reexamine in the 21st century.

First, we must say without hesitation that the church is people. Specifically, the church consists of all who have trusted Christ for salvation. In the book of Acts, references to the church were always in the context of people (there were no church ‘buildings’ back then, and often the believers might meet outside for worship, prayer and teaching). In saying that, though, we must be quick to add that the church is always thought of in corporate terms–a group of people, not single individuals. You individually are part of the church if you are saved, but the church is made up of groups of the redeemed (hence why Jesus said wherever two or three are gathered He is with them, see Matthew 18:15-20). We in the west have often turned faith into a highly private affair with our democratic ideals, but that is not the picture we see of the church in Scripture.

Second, those groups of people are bound together in Christ to form the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16). That means the church is to be the visible symbol of Christ’s work here on earth. It also means that the Body has many parts, just as a human body does. Not all have the same gifts or callings. But each part does have a purpose and gifts to equip him or her for that purpose.

Third, since the church is made up of redeemed people who still battle the flesh, the apostles were wise to appoint “elders” or “overseers” (plural) for each church. A church led by a single individual is a dangerous thing. The role of the elders is to oversee the church completely, and in the words of Paul, to care for the flock. He warned the Ephesian elders that even among them some would stray and seek to draw men to themselves instead of Christ (Acts 20:17-35).

Fourth, the church was given one and only one specific mission–to make disciples of all nations (that is, spread the Gospel). The role of the church leadership, then, is to help train the believers to do just that. While God may and does call individuals into the realms of politics, business, and/or social activism, that call is always to be interpreted in the context of the Gospel. Neither Jesus nor Paul, for example, engaged directly in any of those things (even though both spoke to kings and governors). To entangle itself in affairs of this world risks weakening the mission and bringing the world into the church (2 Timothy 2:4).

Finally, though the Body of Christ is made up of many different cultures, races, and backgrounds, the Body is still one Body. Christ prayed that the disciples would be “one” (John 17:20-21). Paul echoed those words, saying that the offices of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers were given to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). We are called to be one in Christ. Therefore, let us strive to attain unity in Him, setting aside nonessential differences, willing to engage with other parts of the Body, and so fulfill Christ’s prayer.