Church 101

What defines the church? It is a question that has been long discussed for nearly the entire course of its existence. But the answer, though not always clear in implications, is the simplest of Sunday school answers: Jesus.

Jesus established the church as the community of disciples who followed him. The apostles whom he sent elaborated the church's identity in the language of "in him".

Paul refered to the church as the body of Christ, and the temple of God "in him." Peter similarly refered to the community of saints as a building, with Christ as the chief corner stone. John refered to it in terms of communion with the Father and the Son.

According to the book of Acts, the church is demarcated by a profession of faith in Christ as Lord, entailing repentance of sins, and undergoing the waters of baptism.

The Greek word rendered "church" is ecclesia, and means a gathering, congregation or assembly.

As an assembly, the church has some characteristics in Acts that establish a pattern, which is confirmed in the epistles. For example, in Acts 2:42, it is written: "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

The church, we read, is a learning community - devoted to the Scriptures, both in study and in practice. We see in the so-called "great commission" how central teaching was in the life of the church.

In assembling together, the church is a social community, engaged in fellowship - sharing in each other's lives at a profoundly spiritual and practical level. This means, among other things, that they met together regularly. This what constituted them as an ecclesia, and not merely a collection of individual disciples.

They broke bread. This probably refers to the practice of celebrating the Lord's supper together, in the midst of something like a church potluck.

They prayed together. Prayer was a vital part of their study of the Word and their fellowship.

This is what they did when they gathered together.

We also find in Acts that they evangelized. This is something they appear to do individually, or as they 'scatter'.

Where's worship? Of course, worship is all of these things: fellowship, bible study, the Lord's supper, and prayer. All of these are acts of worship. What about singing? This is so central to the weekly gatherings of evangelical churches all over the world. And certainly we read of Paul and Silas singing hymns in a Philippian jail cell. We see Paul instructing the Ephesians and Colossians to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to one another. Singing is an act of worship and devotion in the Scriptures which God's people engage in for encouragement, mutual edification, and instruction. The church is the assembly of worshipers ("true worshipers," John might add), who sing God's praises together.

When did they gather? Sometimes daily, according to the book of Acts. However, it would appear that Sunday, commemorating the day of the Lord's resurrection, took on special significance as a day of gathering in the early church.

The church also engaged in sending missionaries: apostles, preachers and teachers. These they sent to unreached areas, as well as to reached areas for the up-building of other churches.

It engaged in discipline and exhortation, for the sake of the church's integrity - that of both the community and the individual under discipline. The church was accountable to its members, its leadership, to other churches, and ultimately to Jesus Christ himself, who instituted the disciplinary process as basic to discipleship, and gave the church authority to carry it out in his name (Mt.18).

Really, it isn't all that different from what we find happening in countless local churches throughout the world today. Not much has changed in 2,000 years. And, when you look at it, it is really quite simple.