The Church - Defined

 "So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." - Romans 12:5

 

All who claim the name of Christ and who gather regularly for worship and participation in the sacraments. The actual members of the church (universal) are those who have trusted, by faith, in the true Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

"The true Christian is indwelt by the Lord Jesus (John 14:23) through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Christian church is figuratively said to be the body of Christ." - Matt Slick

 

The word that we use, church, comes from the Greek word "ekklesia" which means "gathering" or "assembly."  So then, the church is the gathering of the believers who come together to participate in fellowship with one another while worshipping God. 

The Christian church was founded by Jesus and He is its Head and Savior (Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:23). Being in the church, the Christian is subject to the Lordship of Jesus (Eph. 5:24) through the administration of the Word of God. Ephesians 4:12 states that the church "job" is, "For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ."

The Bible does not provide a detailed method of Church government. But, it does state that elders should be appointed to govern and take leadership in the church. These elders are appointed by the laying on of hands as is taught in the book of I Timothy. Elders should be able to teach sound doctrine and refute error, as found in Titus 1:9.

The purpose of the church is to both glorify God and to inform the world about the work of Christ as Redeemer.