What is a Church?

What the word Church means.

Now the word church means a called out assembly. An assembly cannot be universal. It must assemble. That is why in the Bible you have the Church at Jerusalem, and the Church at Antioch, and so on. A member of the Church at Antioch was not also a member of the Church at Jerusalem.

And an assembly cannot be invisible. That is a contradiction to speak of an invisible body or an unassembled assembly. Body and assembly are tangible words and they demand a physical expression.

In response people will bring up verses like.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

But some will answer see, that is the universal church.

They are making two great errors with that argument.

First when the Bible talks about Christ dieing for the Church it is talking about the Church in an institutional sense.

When Paul wrote that he is conveying the idea of an institutional principle. It is talking about Local Visible Tangible Churches in general in an institutional sense.

For example if I talk about marriage. I can say that marriage is this and marriage is that and marriage is supposed to be structured like so. No one would ever think that I was talking about a universal invisible marriage that everyone who gets married is a part of.

When I got married I became a part of my marriage. I am not a part of anyone else’s marriage and no one else is a part of my marriage. A marriage is only between one man and one woman. I can say the word marriage in a general sense when talking about a principal of marriage and everyone understands what I mean. So why would people think an invisible church is ok when they think that an invisible marriage is crazy talk.

When you were joined to your church, you did not also join Cornerstone Baptist Church. And when someone joins Cornerstone they don’t join your church.

The same principal goes for the institution of education or government. I can talk about the principal of schools. I can talk about grade school, junior high, high school and so on. And everyone knows that I am not talking about an invisible school. To have a high school you have to have a visible tangible physical school.

You cannot change the meaning of a word to fit your beliefs. And the word church means assembly.

Where some people go wrong is in failing to make a distinction between being in Christ and being in the body of Christ.

When you get saved you are in Christ and are now going to heaven. But you are not in the body of Christ until you join a local assembly.

But some will answer is there not something that unites every believer. Is not every believer a part of something.

Yes. As soon as you are saved you are in the family of God. If someone gets saved in a community church then they are my brother in Christ. We are in the same family. But we are not in the same Church.

Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:

You get saved, you believe on Jesus and receive Him and you become a son of God.  You can be saved on a doorstep and never enter a church and you are still saved.  As soon as you get saved you are in the family of God but you have not been added to an assembly (church).

The family of God is what many people mistake for a universal invisible church.

Baptism is not a requirement to enter the family of God but it is a requirement to enter into a local church.

What a universal invisible church cannot do.

Concerning this idea of a universal invisible church lets examine what a universal invisible church can’t do.

It has no address, no place to meet.

It has no body, it has no definable framework

It has no meetings

It has no church discipline

It has no baptism, thus disobeying Christ’s command

It cannot observe the Lord’s Supper, thus disobeying Christ’s command

It has no deacons

It has no pastors

It has no choir

It has no treasurer

It takes no collection

It has no money to send out missionaries

It has no prayer meetings

It has no business meetings

It has no revivals

It cannot ordain pastors

It cannot obey the Great commission

It has no teachers

It has no preaching

I ask you did Christ build such a church? Such a minus church needs no one to build it for there is nothing to build.

There is no such thing as an invisible universal church. So why do people refuse to listen to the plain teaching of the Bible.

Why do people continue to defy reason and still believe in a universal invisible church?

I believe the main reason is that many use the universal invisible church theory as an escape mechanism to get away from laboring for the Lord in their local church with the many problems that are always involved.

It also lets them escape church authority. An invisible church cannot admonish them for living in open sin.

It encourages them to neglect their responsibility to the local church. It is a salve for their conscience.

When did the Church start?

The church is a visible local assembly. Therefore it could not have started before it was assembled.

So when was the church first assembled. Many will say at Pentecost. But the church could not have started at Pentecost.

Lets take a look at Peter preaching at Pentecost.

Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Act 2:37 Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter preached the word of God and told them how to be saved.

Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls.

This is a verse that we all know well. They gladly received his word. So first they got saved. Then they were baptized and then they were added unto them about 3,000 souls.

Now wait a minute. Added to whom.

We know from our earlier studies that one of the things that baptism does is that it adds you to the membership of a local church.

If the church did not already exist, then who did they get added to?

Don’t try to make it complicated. I like simple reasoning based on the word of God.

The words added unto them requires a them to add to.

So who was the them?

Act 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James [the son] of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas [the brother] of James.

Act 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Act 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

Act 1:16 Men [and] brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

Here we have before Pentecost 120 disciples assembled together. And notice what they are doing.

They are praying. Sounds like a church meeting.

Then Peter stands up and starting in verse 16 he gives a sermon. Sounds like a church meeting.

Then they have some business to conduct. Judus betrayed the Lord and killed himself. Now they have to ordain a replacement.

First they state the requirements for an apostle.

Act 1:21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

Act 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

To be a candidate as an apostle you had to be a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. That does away with all of these churches that claim to have apostlistic succession. To be an apostle you had to be a personal witness of the resurrection. After all the first apostles died there would never again be anyone who could meet the requirement.

So here we have an assembled group of believers who have standards for leadership. Sounds like a church.

Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

They chose two candidates. Sounds kind of like voting. They are having a business meeting here. But they keep God in their business.

Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all [men], shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Act 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Matthias was then chosen to be the replacement apostle.

They were already an assembled body of believers. This group of 120 believers before Pentecost was the first church that Jesus started.

But many will say. The church has to be empowered by the Holy Ghost. They will argue that they did not receive the Holy Ghost until Pentecost.

That is not true. When they say that they are just showing that they do not study their Bibles.

After Jesus rose from the dead he spent 40 days on the earth. John chapter 20:19 is during this time.

Joh 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first [day] of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you.

The first day of the week is Sunday. And they are assembled together, and Jesus comes and meets with them. Sound familiar?

Joh 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them [his] hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Jesus gives them a commission, and then He gives them the Holy Ghost.

Joh 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Jesus breathed on them and they received the Holy Ghost.

This group had already received the Holy Ghost.

If they were not already a church, then there would have been no reason to give them the Holy Ghost before Pentecost.

Now remember what Jesus said way back in

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Now when he said that He was not talking about building His church sometime way out there in the future.

The statement I will build my church is in the present tense.

For example I can say I will build my kitchen. And I do not mean someday. In fact I am in the middle of it right now.

When Christ said I will build my church, He was already doing it. They were standing right there with Him.

And He said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. His church would always exist. He said Satan will not destroy it.

Now you need to understand two very important things about that statement.

Satan does hate the church and he does try to destroy it, as we will see as we progress thru this study.

And second we do not have the power to stand up against that attack in our own power.

So the only way for the church to survive is if it is empowered by God.   While Jesus was on the earth He empowered the church.

Now Jesus is getting ready to leave and ascend back to heaven. If the church is left without power, Satan will wipe it out. He cannot leave His church without be empowered so before He leaves Jesus breaths on them the Holy Ghost.

Jesus started His church before Pentecost. Exactly when can be argued. It had to be before he said in the present tense I will build my church in Matt 16:18.

1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

It says that the first thing God set in the church was the apostles. When did He do that?

Luk 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Luk 6:13 And when it was day, he called [unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Luke Chapter six is when Jesus who is God manifested in the flesh, set the apostles in the church.

I believe that this is when Jesus started His church.

1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,

Because of this, the church during the dates 0-100 A.D. is referred to as The Apostolic Church.

What Jesus' assembly had while He was in His public ministry.

It was founded by Jesus Christ with His apostles while Jesus was in his public ministry.

1. They had the gospel.

2. Jesus who was their Pastor sent them out two by two to do soul winning.

3. They were a group of baptized believers.

4. They baptized people.

5. They had a Pastor

6. They had preaching and teaching

7. They observed the Lord’s Supper. They were observing both ordinances

8. They did missionary work.

9. They sang Hymns

10. And for empowerment they had God the Son.

So what was Pentecost about then? Pentecost was when the church was empowered to carry out the great commission.

And that is what you see happen at Pentecost. Peter preached the gospel to men of many different nations and languages. And many people got saved and then baptized.

A church is a visible local assembly of believers and Jesus started His Church when he was in His public ministry.