The Church is a vital part of the New Testament. After all, Jesus himself gave the Church its mission (Matthew 28:16–20), Acts contains a plethora of references to the Church, and Paul wrote most of his letters to churches throughout the known world. Even the final book of the New Testament, Revelation, begins with Christ’s messages to seven churches. It seems, then that understanding the Church is essential to understanding the New Testament and the believer’s role in what we rightly call the “Church Age.” What is the Church?
The English word Church is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia (ἐκκλησία). This word means assembly and denotes a gathering of people united for a purpose. To understand what the Church is, we must look at the passages that use ekklesia. Jesus uses ekklesia to give us a glimpse into the Church, Acts uses ekklesia to show us the example of the Church, and the Epistles use ekklesia to present the principles of the Church. By looking at these three categories of uses of ekklesia, we will be able to build a definition of the Church.
Christ’s Use of Ekklesia
Jesus uses ekklesia twice during his earthly ministry, and both of these passages detail important aspects of the Church. Matthew 16 identifies who the Church will be, and Matthew 18 details the method by which the Church will determine who is in the Church. In a third passage, Matthew 28, Jesus does not use ekklesia but presents the mission of the Church. In all three of these passages, the Church has not yet been formed—that will happen at Pentecost in Acts—but Jesus gives his disciples a glimpse of what the Church will become when he is no longer with them. What is the Church according to Jesus?
Matthew 16
Early in his ministry, the people began to speculate who this “Jesus of Nazareth” was. In Matthew 16 we see who Jesus truly was and what the Father was revealing to the disciples. Right after rebuking the Pharisees, Jesus asks the disciples an essential question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt 16:15). The disciples have just answered that others think that Jesus is John the Baptist or another of the Old Testament prophets, but none have surmised the truth (Matt 16:14). Peter speaks up in response to Jesus’ question: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16). This was astounding! Jesus tells Peter that this was not a conclusion that Peter could have reached on his own–the Father has revealed it to him (Matt 16:17)!
Then, Jesus draws back the curtain and gives the disciples a glimpse of the Father’s plan (Matt 16:18–19). He tells the disciples that he will build his Church and that hell itself will not overcome it! Over the years, theologians have debated what Jesus means by saying “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” While some argue that the rock is Peter, others counter that the rock is Peter’s confession (Got Questions). Even if the rock is Peter, the Catholic Church’s claim that this statement is the basis for Peter becoming the first Pope and giving him absolute power to decree the truth is baseless. The rest of the passage shows that the scope of this statement is much bigger than one man. Christ is here declaring that he will build for himself a body of those who are disciples, confessing the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God—God himself!
Although the disciples do not yet see it, Jesus’ response to Peter’s confession lays the foundation of the doctrine of the Church. Here we learn three important certainties about the Church—that Christ is its founder and builder, that it will not be stopped by the evil forces of this world, and that this Church will be made up of those who confess Christ. These foundational aspects of the Church set the stage for what Christ was about to teach the Church.
Matthew 18
Looking back on Christ’s ministry, there are many things that we would have expected him to reveal to the disciples about the Church. After all, they were the ones who would participate in the birth of the Church at Pentecost and shepherd the new believers when the Great Shepherd was no longer on the earth. One of those expected topics is not church discipline.
In Matthew 18, Jesus details a process for reconciliation in the Church. Although we usually label this process Church Discipline, discipline is only the last step of the process. Jesus tells his disciples that the end goal is reconciliation (Matt 18:15c). If someone sees that a brother or sister is in sin, he must confront that brother (Matt 18:15). If, after confrontation, that brother does not repent, then two or three should confront him (Matt 18:16). Only after not listening to multiple attempts at private correction should those in habitual, unrepentant sin be brought before the church. If he fails to listen even to the church, he should be treated as a non-believer (Matt 18:17).
So, why would Jesus need to teach the disciples about Church Discipline? The Church has not even been formed yet, much less have a structure by which it could discipline its members. If we view this passage as simply a method for discipline, Jesus’ timing for this teaching seems out of place. However, this passage is about more than just church discipline–it is about church membership. Christ has already taught his disciples that those who are in the Church will be believers, and this passage is the method by which believers will determine who are true believers. If a brother goes so far as to reject the explicit correction of the assembly because he is in habitual, unrepentant sin, he is not really a brother (Matt 18:18). This passage describes the method by which the Church can tell who is “in” and who is “out.”
In the rest of the paragraph, Jesus declares the Church’s authority (Matt 18:18-20). Christ has given the Church authority to determine who will be part of the assembly and who is not. This is a tremendous responsibility! Note the resemblance between this passage and Matthew 16:19-20. In both of these passages, Christ tells the Church that they have tremendous power–one man does not have this power, the assembly does!
Matthew 28
The Great Commission is probably the most famous passage used in sermons about supporting missions and soul-winning efforts, but Jesus’ charge to his disciples is so much more. The Great Commission is the mission of the Church given by Christ himself. What did Christ command his followers to do, and how do we know that he was giving this charge to the Church?
Although the Great Commission is one comprehensive command, it can be divided into two sections. In the first section, Christ commands his disciples to make other disciples (Matt 28:18-19). Christ commanded that, as they went throughout the world, his disciples were to grow the number of believers through conversion. This is, as we see from how this command was carried out in the book of Acts, the Church! As a visible sign of this conversion, these new disciples were baptized in the name of not only the Father and the Son but also the Holy Spirit. The disciples were to preach the gospel through the power that Christ Himself gave the disciples, just as the Father had empowered the Son. No corner of the earth was to be left untouched by the message of the Gospel that, though man is dead in sin, the Only Holy God sent his Son Jesus into the world to pay the penalty for that sin by his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave! Hallelujah!
In the second section, Christ explains how new believers should be discipled (Matt 28:20). Jesus continues that, after the disciples baptized new converts, the disciples were to “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:20). It is through the teaching of sound doctrine that these new believers are to grow! Far too many times, the Church has neglected new converts after conversion. What more is there to do after we have helped these lost souls punch their ticket for heaven? Discipleship! Christ did not simply call on his disciples to convert unbelievers–he called them to replicate themselves. Without a commitment to helping new believers grow in a proper understanding of God and his works, we are missing the point of the Great Commission!
It is clear that Christ charged the apostles to make disciples, but how do we know that this is the mission of the Church? First, this message necessitates replication. Christ also told his disciples that they were to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The eleven could not carry out this mission on their own. We as the Modern-day Church are still taking the Gospel to places where Christ has not yet been proclaimed. Carrying out this mission by necessity involves the disciples passing on this mission to other disciples. It involves a group of believers who engage in discipleship coming together for the sake of the Gospel. That is the Church! Second, we see that the early Church viewed this commandment as their commission. We read in the book of Acts, sometimes called “The Acts of the Apostles,” that the Church endured great persecution and scattered throughout the known world. Wherever they went, they proclaimed the Good News and gathered with those whom Christ had saved.
So what is the Church According to Jesus? Jesus teaches that the Church constitutes those who boldly confess the Truth of who Christ is (Matt 16). Christ himself will build this unstoppable Church to bring glory to his name. Jesus also teaches that he has given the Church the power to determine who is a member and who is not (Matt 18). The Church, when it ex-communes someone following the guidelines of Scripture, stands on its God-given authority. Finally, Jesus teaches that the Church will go throughout the world, making disciples in every nation (Matthew 28). The Church will follow its Great Commission to spread the glory of Christ’s absolute authority by preaching the Gospel and discipling new believers. Through his teachings, Jesus gives his disciples a glimpse into the future, showing how the Church will carry on the mission of the Kingdom after Christ is no longer on the earth and until he returns. May God give us the strength to be a Church according to Jesus.
