I wanted to start off this post sharing the definition of ‘The Church’ in original Greek. The word for church in original Greek is Ekklesia. The definition of Ekklesia in a Christian sense is:
– An assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting;
a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake;
– Those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body;
– The whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth;
– The assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven.
In 1 Corinthians 12:13 (AMP) we read, “For by one [Holy] Spirit we were all baptized into one body, [spiritually transformed—united together] whether Jews or Greeks (Gentiles), slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one [Holy] Spirit [since the same Holy Spirit fills each life].”
Paul is building an illustration for the church, all the Christians on earth, from the idea of a human body. Every human body is one thing, one person, made up of lots of different parts (“members”) with a wide variety of functions, sizes, and visibility.
Likewise, the church, known as the body of Christ, is one thing with lots of parts. How is this possible? Paul uses the concept of baptism here to imply a union, or a joining-together for a common faith and purpose. Paul may have literal water baptism in mind here. This is something the early church practiced almost immediately after someone converted to Christianity. It’s also possible that water baptism is being used as a picture of what happens when someone comes to Christ and receives God’s Spirit for the first time. They are said to be baptized into the Spirit, immersed in God’s protective, empowering Spirit. In addition, Paul describes every believer in Jesus as drinking of one Spirit. This pictures the Spirit’s coming into Christians and occupying them. Every Christian has the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9).
Because every Christian is immersed in and filled up with God’s Spirit (the same Spirit for all believers) we are also connected to each other. This allows the church to become one body made up of diverse parts. These differences include nationality and race, gender, physical and intellectual ability, as well as social status. The church in Corinth was especially diverse in these differences.
We can see in Ephesians 1:22–23 it says, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
‘Him’ in this verse is Jesus. At the will of God the Father, Jesus rules over everything. Both the Father and the Son reign together over all created things, according to Paul’s words in this verse. This includes the church, the bride of Christ, a theme Paul will develop in detail in chapter 5. Paul elsewhere called the church “the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The church belongs to Jesus. The church serves as the foundation of God’s truth to the world.
Many Christians believe they can grow spiritually apart from the church. This passage and others speak against this idea. Interaction with the church—the human, living group of fellow believers—is essential to a believer’s spiritual health. Though imperfect, it is the family of believers working together who serve as God’s bride in this world. This requires cooperation and unity. The church is intended to seek God’s goals for our lives both collectively and individually. Those who seek to grow spiritually without church involvement miss out on an important aspect of faith. Being part of a church is part of God’s design, and is foundational to spiritual maturity. We see the church definition used as originally stated in this post is any group of people gathered for the purpose of following Christ together.
Unfortunately, many leaders and churches use this context to say a church is specifically four walls to gather in. Hebrew as well as Greek had definitions depending on the context and the context is clear to cover all aspects of Christians gathering.
Church is founded by the collection of people who have faith in Christ Jesus as the Savior to mankind. This can be misconstrued by religious leaders that claim Peter is the foundation to the Christiaan church. Usually they reference the verse in Matthew 16:18 that says, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
This verse is often misunderstood because it is often misused. As with other verses, this is partly due to translation. The words written in Greek show a relationship not so obvious in English. Here, Jesus is responding to Peter’s declaration that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He declared Peter blessed for understanding this and insisted this understanding was given to Peter by God the Father (Matthew 16:13–17).
Roman Catholics point to what Jesus says here as evidence that Jesus established Peter as the first holder of a special office in the church on earth. They believe Peter to have been the first Pope, that Jesus gave him a spiritual authority over the other disciples and all believers in this moment. According to that claim, the “rock” Jesus will build on is Peter, himself.
However, there is an element of wordplay involved here. As written in Greek, Peter’s name is Petros, meaning “a rock” or “a stone,” and the word Jesus uses for the foundation is petra, which means “rock” in the sense of a substance or material. Jesus does not say “you are Petros, and on this Petros I will build…” nor does He say, “you are petra, and on this petra I will build.” Rather, He says “you are Petros [a stone], and on this petra [rock] I will build my church.” The rock on which God will establish His church is in the confession Peter has just made: that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
Peter certainly becomes the leader of the disciples and first spokesman for Christ in the earliest days of the church. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter preaches the initial sermon as the church is born and 3,000 people come to faith in Christ in a single day (Acts 2). Peter, though, is far from infallible and his faith falters on several occasions, both before Christ’s death and resurrection (Matthew 16:23) and during the time of the apostles (Galatians 2:11–14).
However, the church (the collection of all people who come to faith in Christ as Savior) exists only because of the central truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. That is the power that keeps the gates of hell from overcoming those who are in Christ, His people, the church. Peter plays a vital role for a time, but eventually disappears even from the story of the church’s beginnings after Acts 16. Just as was promised, the foundation of God’s new covenant is not centered around any fallible person or place, but in the hearts and minds of each individual person (Hebrews 8:6–13).
A good reference to our place in Christ and how we are to function as a church is in 1 Peter 2:5-6. For context 1 Peter 2:1–12 describes the spiritual house God is building. Jesus is the perfect foundation stone God has chosen for the house. Those who trust in Him are also living stones used to build the house. In addition, we individually serve as both the priests and the spiritual sacrifices, our lives offered to the builder. Thus we must live good lives, as strangers in the world preparing to go home to be with our Father, engaged in battle against our desire to sin.
In verses 5-6 it says, “You [believers], like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen stone, a precious (honored) Cornerstone, And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will never be disappointed [in his expectations].”
In the previous verse, Peter identified Jesus, the Lord, as the living stone. He is living because He was dead and now is alive. We will see in the next few verses that He is called the stone because He is the cornerstone of the house of God. Now Peter includes believers in the metaphor. Like Jesus, Christians are living. We once were dead spiritually, but have been made alive by God’s grace through our faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:5). We may die physically, but our resurrection is already secured by God’s promise (1 Peter 1:3–5).
Christians are stones, as well, set aside for a specific project. God is currently building us into a spiritual house, a dwelling place for Himself. In this new temple (made out of the people of God) each of us also serve as priests.
Under the Old Testament Law, of course, the people would come to the temple where the priests would represent them to God. Now, Peter writes, God’s people in Christ are the temple. We are also the priests. All of the barriers between God and us have been removed. We come to our loving Father boldly, needing no other mediator but Jesus Himself (Hebrews 4:16).
Also under the Law, the people would have brought sacrifices to the temple where the priests would have killed the animals and offered them to God on behalf of the people. Now, in Christ, the people are the temple; we are the priests; and we are also the sacrifices offered to God.
However, as Paul writes in Romans 12:1, we are living sacrifices. With our sin already forgiven through Jesus’ death, no more death or blood is required. Instead, we offer our living bodies (every part of ourselves) as acceptable spiritual sacrifices to be used by God for His purposes.
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