The Nature of the Church

The Nature of the Church

By Kurai Chitima

The church is the vehicle and outcome of God’s work to bring people back to a fruitful love relationship with himself. The church is invincible (Matt. 16:18; Mark 14:58). The word church is used in a variety of ways. Kevin Giles believes that even theologians do not agree as to what constitutes the church (4, 7). What church is viewed to be is of fundamental importance to determining what the church should do. If the church has not been clearly defined it has not been understood and it cannot be correctly expressed.

Francis Watson argues that the word church stems from the Byzantine Greek form kurike, meaning “belonging to the Lord” (65). Its corresponding word in languages such as French are derived from the Greek word ekklesia, which was used by Jesus in Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 18:17. In the Greek culture, ekklesia referred to a convened assembly of people, that is, a gathering of those called out and summoned together by a herald. Not a continuous feature, the convention ceased to exist after the assembly. The view of ekklesia in its strict cultural meaning is however incomplete because it does not bring out other shades of meaning that are in other terms and metaphors used in the Bible in reference to the church.

The New Testament uses ekklesia to denote the church as an ongoing community of people inclusive of both the universal Church (Eph. 1:22; 3:10; 21; I Cor. 10:32; 12:28; Phil. 3:6; Col. 1:18, 58, 24) and the local church in its gathered form and when it is not gathered. Sixty-three out of 109 times, the New Testament ekklesia denotes a group of believers in a particular place or “a local church.” At least twenty-seven times ekklesia denotes the universal Church, which is that body of believers in Jesus Christ, living and dead, from every tribe, language, people, and nation. The ekklesia could also be in the form of a small group that meets in a house (Rom. 16:5; Col. 4:15; 1 Cor. 16:19). The term was also used for a city church (1 Thess. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; Acts 13:1).

The Christian community is a concept that integrates biblical ideas about the church being a body, a people of God, a family, a flock, a bride, the elect, a field, a congregation, a temple, and other concepts such as its universality, and Christians working in the world, (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:9). Giles is a proponent of this view and describes a community as any group of people who hold certain things in common (15). The church is made up of people who are brought together by sharing in the life and ministry of Jesus through belief in him. They owe all to him and will give an account to him. Though they may be in the world, they have been called out by God’s unmerited favor (Eph. 2:9; Deut. 7:6).

The New Testament church, while retaining its purpose and values, adapted its methods and forms to the needs of its environment (1 Cor. 9:19-21). The church is most effective when making use of every available gift and relevant method to accomplish its purpose as led by God’s word and Spirit. The church’s methods ought to be characterized by customization, dynamism, and innovation, not standardization and tradition. The main thing is to let the purpose remain the main thing. Rick Warren argues that, “What is needed today are churches that are driven by purpose instead of by other forces” (80). This view is also supported by Robert Lewis and Rob Wilkins, who advocate for a re-envisioning and empowering of all believers so that they can see themselves as actors and not mere spectators in order to become servants of God in the church and the world among the lost (28-30). Just viewing the church in its gathered form obscures the Christian’s role of worship and work outside the confinement of assembly. This perception is disastrous to the fulfillment of the church’s mission because for the larger part of time the church is scattered.

For a long time, the church has been composed of two categories of people that Paul R. Stevens describes as “those who ‘do’ ministry and those to whom it is ‘done’” (4), referring to clergy being the subject, and lay people the object, of ministry. Ministry was confined to what was done in the church. The Christian’s life away from church activities was not recognized as ministry. Stevens argues for a comprehensive biblical foundation for the Christian’s life in the world as well as the church; a theology for homemakers, nurses and doctors, plumbers, artists, stockbrokers, politicians, and farmers (4). God’s work is not just witnessing, preaching, and pastoring. He notes that the word laos, as used in 1 Peter 2:9 and Exodus 19:6, was generally for the people of God, inclusive of the clergy. The word kleros from which clergy is derived means appointed, commissioned, or endowed ones, and is inclusive of the laity (Col. 1:12; Eph. 1:11; Gal. 3:29) (29-32). The dichotomy between the laity and the clergy has no biblical basis. The call of a follower of Christ is to serve both the faith community as well as the human community.

References:

Extract from Chitima, K. An Investigation of Public Leadership Formation in Select Zimbabwe Churches. UMI Dissertation Publishing(BiblioLabsII), 2011

Giles, Kevin. What on Earth is the Church? A Biblical and Theological Inquiry. London: SPKC, 1995.

Stevens, Paul R. The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999.

Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Church: Growth without Compromising Your Message and Vision. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.

Watson, Francis. Text, Church, and World: Biblical Interpretation in Theological Perspective. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994.