Essential Christianity - the Church

Jesus, God Incarnate, came to earth for several reasons. He came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). He came to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37). And He came to "build My Church" (Matt 16:18). Most people equate "Christianity" with "church". So ... what exactly is it? More importantly, what is essential about it?

The Bible refers to the Church as the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27). It is constructed of people, "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5). Christians comprise the "Temple" of God where an earthly, stone version once existed (1 Cor 3:6). This "Temple", this "Body" is, as a unit, Christ's representative on earth. This Temple breaches time and crosses from present through the past to the beginning of Christianity. It is made up of saints -- those made righteous by Christ -- from all time and for all time. Thus, this Church (with a capital "C") is much bigger than the visible buildings we often equate with the term, "church".

Beyond this, the Church (capital "C") is designed to be comprised of local churches (lowercase "c"), local groups of believers who gather together for the purpose of the building up of the saints to maturity (Eph 4:11-14). We are warned not to forsake that gathering (Heb 10:25). The Church, then, is the Body of Christ, seen and unseen, while the church is the local body of believers who gather to build one another up in the faith and to encourage one another in God's work. (Note, by the way, that Scripture is abundantly clear that while the Church is all saints for all time, the church will be made up of genuine believers and false believers, what Jesus referred to as "tares" (Matt 13:24-30). Expect it.)

The Bible offers a structure for the church. Of course, the starting point is Christ as the head, but beyond that the Bible includes two "offices": Elders and Deacons. (It was, in fact, the reason that Paul sent Titus to Crete (Titus 1:5).) These comprise the local church leadership. Elders (overseers, bishops, shepherds) are to lead the church spiritually, and deacons are called to lead the church structurally. For the qualifications of these two offices, see 1 Tim 3:1-13 and Titus 1:6-9.

The most interesting aspect of the biblical version of "Church" is this "Body" image. Paul likens the Church to the human body in terms of spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:4-27). Each has a function. Not all functions are the same. All functions are necessary. All functions are valuable. No one has no function. The functions are determined by the Holy Spirit (leaving no room for arrogance or apathy).

Connected to this concept of the Body is the concept of the Bride. The Church is referred to as the Bride of Christ. This is not to say that each and every one of us is "married to Christ". It is a reference to Christ's intimacy with the Body, the corporate Church. She is subservient to Him. He loves her. The final union of the Church to Christ is yet to come.

There are lots of details in here. What exactly do the qualifications for elder and deacon mean? Are there female deacons or not? Are the "magical" gifts still in effect or are they past? What exactly should we do when we gather? Lots and lots of questions that are open for discussion. I'm not trying to minimize any of that, nor provide hard positions where there are none taken by the Bible. I'm just offering the essentials. No Body of Christ, no Christianity. No Church, no Christianity. No corporate connection to Christ, no Christianity. The church is one necessary component of Christianity -- our need to be in it, and to be part of it. Whatever else can be decided, this is certain.