The church exists for nothing else
but to draw men into Christ.
C.S. Lewis
In the last chapter, we considered the importance of Christians belonging to biblical community—a group of other believers with whom they may do life together. According to Scripture, this gathering is an expression of the church. But, belonging to community is not the same thing as belonging to a local church, the “family of believers” (Galatians 6:10). In this chapter, we will consider the importance of taking this step on the spiritual pathway.
Before we explore how to BELONG to church, we must lay a theological foundation of the church. Though we speak of “going to church,” Christ’s church isn’t a building or a location per se. The word for church in the New Testament, ekklesia, means “those called” or “an assembly.” In chapter 1, we identified the initial call to faith. The church is the corporate assembly of all those who have been “called to belong to Jesus” (Romans 1:6).
In light of this, the church is universal and local. That is, the church of Jesus is the unity of believers all over the world at one time manifesting itself in many local expressions. The church is also visible and invisible. In other words, we can see the church each week as Christians gather together in worship and learning. But, what we can see with our eyes isn’t the totality of the church. The Lord knows who are His (2 Timothy 2:19) and there may be some unseen Christians, perhaps not connected to a local church, who are still part of Christ’s church.
People BELONG to the church at conversion. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” All Christians were immersed (baptized) by the Spirit into the spiritual Body of Christ. The residence of the Holy Spirit in each believer unites them with all other believers throughout time. The Spirit is our common bond.
Before moving on, it is helpful to summarize these important distinctives and give an example of each:
Local Church—Churches meeting at a particular address in a location are referred to as local churches. Larger cities may have dozens of local churches represented by a variety of denominations. In the illustration below, the region has four local churches.
Visible Church—This is the church as we see it. It’s the physical location and all the people who gather there at any time. The visible, local church is made of all kinds of people—mature Christians, new Christians, unbelievers, seekers, doubters, etc. Though “the Lord knows who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19), it is impossible for us to know the spiritual condition of any person in the visible church at any time.
Universal Church—This group is comprised of all Christians in all places, no matter what church they attend. In some rare instances, Christians don’t attend a local church. Still, they are regarded as a part of the universal Body of Christ. Just as a physical family is united by “blood ties,” so the family of God, no matter where each person lives, is united by the “blood tie” of Jesus Christ.
In Christ, we all form one body (Romans 12:5) in which “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
The relationship between the local church and the universal church may be represented by the illustration below:
Some people, represented by people in area A, are non-Christians outside the universal church and do not attend any local church. This is the harvest field each church is called to cultivate.
Other people, represented by people in area B, attend a local, visible church but are not part of the universal church. That is, they are unbelievers who attend church because of tradition, invitation or a misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christ-follower. Author A.W. Tozer comments, “One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a [sports] team. The first requirement is life, always.”
Some people, represented by people in area D, are part of the universal church but don’t attend any local church. This means there are Christians who have not yet connected in a church where they live. Perhaps they are new to the area. Or, they may have stopped going to church because of conflict or disappointment with leadership. In ministry circles, we sometimes refer to these people, not as un-churched, but as de-churched people. They have disconnected from God’s people, but this doesn’t mean they have disconnected from God.
Still other people, represented by the people in area C, are genuine Christians who are part of the true, universal church and regularly attend a local church. These believers are those who BELONG to Christ and BELONG to a church at some level. This is our goal for all people. We want to help people take this step along the spiritual pathway.
A few examples will help us understand the distinctions between the visible church, the local church and the universal church. Marcos lives in a small town in Texas. His family attends one of three local churches in his town. Marcos has attended with his family since he was a child. However, Marcos has never personally put his faith in Jesus Christ. Marcos is not a Christian. We would say that Marcos is a part of the local, visible church, but he is not in the universal church of Jesus Christ.
Sara was listening to a radio program where an evangelist clearly explained the reality of sin and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As the preacher prayed, Sara also prayed and received Jesus into her life. Unsure of what steps to take, Sara did not immediately begin attending a church in her city. So, we would say that Sara is not part of the local, visible church but she is a member of the universal church because of her faith in Jesus.
When Kevin moved to Atlanta for business, he met Joseph, another Christian. Both men attended different churches on the weekend. Kevin chose to attend a church with a few of his business but learned, in time, that neither of his partners were Christians, though they attended church regularly. In this example, we would say that Kevin and Joseph attend two different local churches. The visible church Kevin attends includes him and his business colleagues even though not all of them are Christian. Only Kevin and Joseph (not the business partners) are members of the universal church—a unity transcending all tribal, ethnic, cultural and denominational distinctions because it is rooted in Jesus Christ.
Margaret was arrested for narcotics possession and was sent to jail for 5 years. While there, a prison chaplain visited her, gave Margaret a Bible and introduced her to Jesus. After her conversion, Margaret begin attending a prison Bible study, but was unable to attend any local church. So, we would say that Margaret isn’t in the local church, but is a member of the universal church.
The reason for these distinctions is not to create unfair judgments about people. Rather, they help Christians understand the nature of “the church.” We should never assume that everyone in our church is at the same place in their spiritual journey. Your church is filled with Christians and non-Christians. As well, knowing that Christians fill many different types of churches and some may not even yet be attending a church, protects us from assumptions about others and cultivates a spirit of charity among people who might practice their faith differently than we do.