Basic Ecclesiology: Study of the Church of Jesus Christ
1) The church is not a physical building.
2) The church is a people. Church in Greek is, Ecclessia. It means, people that are called out from the general public, that is, ‘Called Out Ones’.
It means an assembly of people called out from the world (darkness).
So, the church is a people called out, separated from the world. 1Pet. 2: 9
3) The church is the body of Christ. Eph. 1: 22, 23.
Christ means the anointed one. The anointing is the Spirit. The church is the body of the anointed one. That is a body of people who have God’s Spirit in them. 1Cor. 12: 27; Eph. 2: 22
The body is not one person but many. So, Christ is not one person but a body of people. 1Cor. 12: 12-14
Jesus is the head of the body (the church). Eph. 5: 23
He is The Christ. But his body, the church, is also called Christ because they have the same anointing (Holy Spirit) with Jesus.
4) The church is not made up of one race. It is a body of the Jews and Gentiles, males and females, free and bond. It a body of Jews and Gentiles. 1Cor. 12: 13
5) To become part of the church one needs to:
a) Hear the gospel. Eph. 1:13 NIV
b) Believe the gospel. Eph. 1:13 NIV
Once a person hears the gospel and believes it:
a) God forgives all his sins immediately. Acts 10: 43
b) God gives him Holy Spirit immediately. Eph. 1: 13; Tit. 3: 5-7
Everyone who receives Holy Spirit which is the anointing is immediately baptized into or engrafted into the body of Christ, which is the church. 1Cor. 12: 12, 13
That is how we become members of the body of Christ, the church.
6) The church has one hope. Eph. 4: 4
The hope of the church is eternal life in God’s kingdom.
Tit. 3: 7. All members of the body of Christ will be resurrected to eternal life in God’s kingdom.
7) The church is called the church of the saints. Saints are holy or sanctified ones. It is a holy nation and holy temple. 1Cor. 1: 2; 14: 33; Eph. 2: 21; 1Pet. 2: 9
8) The church is God’s heritage and possession. They are called peculiar people. 1Pet. 2: 9; 5: 3
9) The church is a royal priesthood. Each member of the body of Christ is a spiritual priest. 1Pet. 2: 9
10) The church has her citizenship in heaven. The names of all church members are written in heaven. Phil. 3: 20, 21; Heb. 12: 23
11) The church is the house (habitation) and household (family) of God. Eph. 2: 19-21; 1Tim. 3: 15
This is the church of God or the Church of Jesus Christ, the Firstborn!, the Pillar and Ground of truth. 1Tim. 2: 15
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