Message: “The Christ Community, Part 1: The Church of Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:13-20)” from Tim Valentino

What on earth is the church, and why are we here? All authoritative answers to these questions must begin with Jesus, who said, “I will build my church” (Matt 16:18). Since the church is his church, and he is building it, there’s no better place to begin our inquiry than Christ himself. Therefore, in part 1 of this series, we focus on Jesus’ two uses of the word “church” in the Gospel of Matthew, along with its Old Testament background. His first reference speaks of “the Church Universal,” and his second reference speaks of “the Church Local.” What do these expressions mean, and how do they relate? Quite significantly, the Hebrew word qahal denotes an assembly of Israelites, especially when gathered before the Lord as a “saved” or “rescued” covenant people. When the Greek Old Testament (called the Septuagint) translates qahal, it uses the word ekklesia, which means “group,” “assembly,” “community,” or “congregation.” In secular usage, it meant the gathering of people at a town hall meeting. In sacred usage, it meant the gathering of believers for worship, prayer, and mission. In our day, the word ekklesia comes into English as “church,” which always refers in Scripture to a “saved” or “rescued” covenant people, never to a building. Let that sink in for a moment. The church of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament, is a people, not a building. It is people that Christ is building. As suggested by Jesus’ two uses of the word ekklesia, “the Church Universal” refers to the community of all true believers in every age and in every place. By contrast, “the Church Local” is a community of professing believers at a certain time and in a certain place. The rest of the New Testament bears out this important distinction. At its most basic level, then, the church of Jesus Christ is a community of believers rescued from sin and released for service. It’s God’s new society. And it’s still very much alive around the world today. No, it’s not yet perfect, but it is perfectible, and it will be perfect when Christ has finished his building.

Scripture References: Matthew 16:13-20

Related Topics: Church, Ecclesiology, Faith, Jesus Christ, Peter, Salvation, The Church Local, The Church Universal | More Messages from Tim Valentino | Download Audio

From Series: "The Christ Community"

The church’s approval rating these days is slightly above that of the U.S. Congress—not exactly encouraging news for the faithful. In some ways, the church’s low approval rating is well deserved. Our historical record has stains on it. Moreover, believers today can blow it with the best of them. Still, the church marches onward. Rumors of her death have been greatly exaggerated. But, what is the church? If three professing Christians meet in the produce section of their local grocery store, and they talk for ten minutes about what God is doing in their lives, did they just have “church”? In other words, is the word “church” simply plural for Christian? Does that idea square with what Jesus taught about the church? Does it align with what the apostles taught? Our goal in this series is to answer the question, “What on earth is the church, and why are we here?” Another goal is to train ourselves to see the church as Christ sees it—as uniquely precious, supremely valuable, and infinitely glorious—despite its many flaws. We do so by looking at some of the major images of the church in the New Testament.