It seems to me that Christian local church members have a hard time remembering the distinctions in this arena of discussion...do some even know? How many are not yet "born again", "new creation" (the saved) members of THE CHURCH? And, keep in mind that Jesus is the bridegroom and THE CHURCH is His bride [see DaVinci got it right!]. Will you do all that you are able to do in order that you reflect the love of Jesus and act as salt and light that might draw more into decisions to "join" THE CHURCH? I've listed some comparisons, prompted by a book by H. Wayne House, Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine, Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. This (THE CHURCH) is different from that body of "the chosen of God", The Kingdom of God. Paul spoke often against disunity of the local church (II Corinthians 5:16), the spiritual THE CHURCH not being prone to disunity.
THE
CHURCH...the entire & universal body of those believers
saved (more) by their relationship to Jesus the
Christ...is the mystical Body of Christ of which Jesus is the head (Ephesians
1:22-23), being a "holy temple" for the habitation of God through the
Holy Spirit. It began on the Day of Pentecost with the arrival of the Holy
Spirit, through whom the church would be formed into one body by the baptism
of the Spirit. All other churches are man's best effort to a greater or
lesser degree, and you can find timelines at "tredway"
(from ancient to medieval to reformation and to modern times). With these timelines,
one can easily see that there were many opportunities for various church
histories to bypass the Church at Rome (the Catholic Church), historically. The
seven churches of the book of Revelation were all in modern day Turkey. The
churches Paul speaks of were from west of Turkey (above the north-east corner of
the Mediterranean Sea) all the way westward to Rome, Italy.
| a church (building) | the (a local) church | THE CHURCH (bride of Christ) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Is there physical structure? | yes, a building only | people and a building | no, believers, both alive & deceased |
| 2. Is it influenced by "man"? How about Satan? | yes, both | yes, both | yes to both, people; no to both, souls |
| 3. membership composition, re: salvation? | no members | saved and lost (wheat & tares) | saved only |
| 4. membership duration? | n/a | only the living | both the living and dead in Christ, eternal |
| 5. number of distinct units? | great numbers | great numbers of units & denominations | only a single, universal group |
| 6. has factions, groups, denominations? | n/a | many | only a single, universal group |
| 7. Is it the Body of Christ? | n/a | partly | entirely & is the Bride of Jesus |
| 8. type of government? | n/a | varied | Jesus the only HEAD |
| 9. administers care and fellowship? | n/a | yes, partly | yes, mostly |
| 10. spreads the Gospel? | n/a | yes, should be chief function | is the RESULT of "yes" decisions on hearing the Gospel |
| 11. status of ordinances? | n/a | ministers to members | fulfilled in members |
***Discussion: Christ's Church***
[posted 29 July 1998; last updated 28 May 2006]