What Is The Church?
“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.“ —Colossians 1:18
The quick, short answer to the question “What is the church?” is the church is the body of Christ. But what does that mean? A child might imagine a church building with the head of Jesus instead of steeple. Right away, the answer doesn’t pass my rule for understanding—a concrete application. A good answer is one that a child will have a chance at understanding. The Bible is full of symbolic imagery, making it a bit like poetry—sometimes hard to understand.
As we begin to answer the question, let’s separate the church from the building. I believe we confuse our children when we refer to the building where we gather to worship as the church. I much prefer to call it the church house or the church building. I really like the term church house, because I can ask, “Who lives in a house?” People. A family. The church is about the people. A family of people. A family adopted by the same kingly Father, God. Romans 8:15 tells us “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’“ The church is people adopted by God into the family of God.
What about this business about the church being the body of Christ? A question which prompts another question—what does the body do? The body is all about movement and action. It takes the thoughts of our minds and the character of our being and puts it into action. If it weren’t for my fingers, I would have a hard time typing this article. If it weren’t for your eyes, you would have a hard time reading it. You think of eating, and you eat. You think of going for a walk, and you get up and go for a walk. If the church, a group of people adopted into God’s family, is the body of Christ, it makes sense that we would put the words and thoughts of Christ into action. Jesus said to feed the hungry; we should feed the hungry. Jesus said to love one another; we should love one another. Jesus said to forgive; we should forgive. Jesus said to make disciples; we should make disciples for Christ. I think you get the idea. The church should be the words and character of Jesus put into action.
So, the church is a group of believers (God’s adopted children), who take the words and character of Christ Jesus and put it into action. What a great responsibility. What a noble task.