Chapter 9 | To Whom Do We Belong? Ecclesiology: The Doctrine of the Church

Key Verse: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister. 1 John 4:21

Let us grow in every way into Him who is the head–Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part. Ephesians 4:15-16

For Further Study:*

Books:

Rediscover Church, by Collin Hansen, Jonathan Leeman
Love Your Church, by Tony Merida
Welcome: Loving Your Church by Making Room for Everyone, by Jen Oshman
The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in our Post-Christian World, by Rosaria Butterfield

Videos:
“How the Bible’s Story Changes Everything About Your Story,” Nancy Guthrie, The Gospel Coalition

Podcast:
“What is the Church? Jen Wilkin, J.T. English, and Kyle Worley, Training the Church

Teen Content:

This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms The Teen Years, by Jaquelle Crowe

Kids’ Content:

“What is the Church?” The New City Catechism, The Gospel Coalition

Seeds Kids Worship playlist

Tiny Theologians Podcast, Training the Church

Summary:

Brief Definition: The church is the family of God that is created by the Father through the Word, led by the Son, and filled with the Spirit. It is universal, local, and celebratory.

The universal church is made up of all believers, of all times and all locations. The universal church stretches outward to every nation, tribe, and tongue, backward through time to all previous generations of believers, and forward to all future generations of believers.

The local church is the embodied gathering of Christians in a particular time and place, centered around the proclamation of the Word and celebration of ordinances.

New Testament metaphors that teach us about the nature and function of the church include a family, a temple, a priesthood, a stranger, a body and a bride. These metaphors have application for both the universal church and the local church.

In the midst of a cultural ache and personal pain around loneliness, alienation, and isolation, the church is meant to be a redemptive remedy. In the church we are meant to experience a sacred siblinghood and shared sense of mission that all of us long for.

The New Testament teaches us that we all belong to one another, as one body, but we each have individual functions.

We submit ourselves to the head, that is Christ, and by this we understand that we are not in charge. The desires of the individual bow to the desires of the whole. The desires of the whole align with the desires of the head.

The members of the church are to gather together for worship of God and celebration of the gospel. The Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation but weekly in the context of the local church.

Gathering together is how we reap the mutual encouragement we need to continue in love and good works. The more time we can give to local church participation, the more its formative effects will shape us. The less we give, the more the world around us will dictate the shape and health of our spiritual lives.

The church gathers around the Word because it is the Word of life. Much like the disciples in John 6 when others are abandoning Jesus, we must recognize we have nowhere else to go but to the Word of life. Every local church should organize itself around the proclamation of Scripture. God’s Word is the very lifeblood of the church and the means by which the Spirit builds, edifies, strengthens and sanctifies the church. The church is a Word-centered community.

The Word, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper are meant to be intrinsic to the life of the local church, practiced as shared expressions of our faith.

Christ has secured for us a family and a home. We belong to one another and to God. We belong with one another and with God. We await a coming King and kingdom, eyes fixed on the horizon, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand.

Discussion/Reflection Questions:

1.Of the six metaphors offered for the church (family, temple, priesthood, stranger, body, bride), which one is easiest for you to relate to? Which one challenges your understanding of the church the most?

2.How has our culture of individualism impacted your own views of what it means to be a leader or a member in the local church?

3.What feels risky to you about a collective practice of our faith? What feels safe about it? What does being part of something bigger than yourself ask of you and offer to you?

4.What places of belonging are you drawn to that are not the church? Is it wrong to be drawn to belong elsewhere? Why or why not?

*Disclaimer: Our ultimate authority and resource will always be the Bible, and any other resource should be used as a supplement. While we believe the authors represented here have done excellent work to provide insight and clarity in these topics, we may not endorse every statement or position they hold (past, present, future).