Definition: the Church Is the Body of Christ
“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23)
“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Cor. 12:27)
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (1 Cor. 6:15)
“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Rom. 12:4-5)
“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church” (Col. 1:24)
“For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones” (Eph. 5:29-30)
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Col. 3:15)
Joining the Body (the Church)
Baptism
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13)
Communion
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1 Cor. 10:16-17)
Christ Is the Savior of the Body (the Church)
“For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5:23)
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John. 15:4)
Christ Brings Those Who Are Being Saved into the Church
“And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Act. 2:47)
The merciful Samaritan of the parable is an image of Christ saving man. He binds up the man’s wounds and brings him to an inn (the Church), to which He entrusts the care of his recovery (salvation):
“Then Jesus answered and said: ‘A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. <...> But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you”’” (Luke. 10:30,33-35)
The Composition of the Church
The Head of the Body Is Christ
“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18)
“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23)
“and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God” (Col. 2:19)
In the Body There Is No Other Head but Christ
The apostles and bishops are equal among themselves. The apostles often argued about which of them was the greatest. Christ told them not to seek power over one another [more]:
“Now there was also a dispute among them [the apostles], as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called “benefactors.” But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves’” (Luke. 22:24-26)
The Members of the Body Are Different
“And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Are all apostles?
Are all prophets?
Are all teachers?
Are all workers of miracles?
Do all have gifts of healings?
Do all speak with tongues?
Do all interpret?”
“For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body” (1 Cor. 12:14-20)
The Unity of the Earthly and Heavenly Church (the One Body of Christ)
The Heavenly and the Earthly Are United in Christ
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, <...> having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ (Greek: ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι — “to bring together under one head”), both which are in heaven and which are on earth” (Eph. 1:3,9-10)
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:14-15)
“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:18-20)
“For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Rom. 14:9)
The Bond and Care of All the Members for One Another
The whole body is bound together by various bonds:
“but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:15-16)
“Let no one cheat you of your reward <…> and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God” (Col. 2:18-19)
All its members know one another and care for one another:
“But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. <…> on these we bestow greater honor; <…> But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another” (1 Cor. 12:18-25)
On Earth the Church Is Militant
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8)
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:11-12)
“For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come” (Heb. 13:14)
In Heaven the Church Is Triumphant
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly (Greek: πανήγυρις — “a festal, triumphant assembly”) and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect” (Heb. 12:22-23)
The Church Is Visible
It cannot be hidden from people
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14)
God arranged the members of the body (the Church) so that there would be no divisions, but that all would care for one another, suffer together and rejoice together:
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. <...> And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’. No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:13-14,21-26)
The whole body is bound together by various bonds:
“but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:15-16)
“Let no one cheat you of your reward <…> and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God” (Col. 2:18-19)
One can turn to the Church for judgment:
“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. <...> And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector” (Matt. 18:15,17)
About the boundaries of the Church: more.
The Church Is Invincible
The Church Will Not Be Overcome
“I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18)
God Always Abides with the Church
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John. 14:16)
“I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matt. 28:20)
The Church Always Glorifies God
“to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:21)
The Truth Will Always Be in the Church
“The Elder, to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever” (2 John. 1:1-2)
The Banner of the Church Is the Cross
In the Old Testament, Israel, on its way to the kingdom promised to it, moved in the shape of a cross: more. Ancient Israel was a prefiguration of the Church of Christ — the new Israel. Thus the cross is the main banner of the Church, a symbol of victory and reconciliation, an altar (that is, a great sacred object): more about the cross.
The use of the sign of the cross by the ancient Christians: https://bibleox.com/ru/ru/w/крестное-знамение
The Day the Church Was Created Is the 50th Day After the Resurrection of Christ
One enters the Church through Baptism (1 Cor. 12:13).
Baptism is performed with water and the Spirit (John. 3:3,5-6).
Baptism with the Holy Spirit is first performed on the 50th day after the resurrection of Christ (Act. 1:1-5,8-9).
One Enters the Church Through Baptism
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13)
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27)
Baptism Is Birth of Water and the Spirit
“Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’” (John. 3:5)
Christ Will Baptize with the Holy Spirit
“John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” (Luke. 3:16; Matt. 3:11; Mark. 1:8)
Until Christ Goes Away, the Holy Spirit Will Not Come
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John. 16:7; John. 14:16; John. 14:26)
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John. 15:26)
“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke. 24:49)
After the Resurrection Christ Had Not Yet Ascended to the Father
“Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God”’” (John. 20:17)
What Christ Promised Will Be Fulfilled on the 50th Day After the Resurrection
The promised baptism with the Holy Spirit was first accomplished 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ:
“…of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” <...> But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Act. 1:1-5,8-9)
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. <...> Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Act. 2:1,3-4)
However, the Sending of the Holy Spirit Is Spoken of on the Very Day of Christ’s Resurrection, but Baptism Is Not Mentioned
Here the apostles are given the authority of the Church, and the priestly hierarchy is created:
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, <...> Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ <...> And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”’” (John. 20:1,19,22-23)
Criticism
“The Historical Church Has Fallen”
The founders of societies separate from the Church base the model of their movements’ existence on the claim that the historical Church of Christ departed from God and fell, and that this is why their separate society was needed. If one does not prove that the Church has fallen, then their separate society is not needed either, and what is needed is to enter the historical Church of Christ.
To support the idea of the fall of the Church, verses like these about wolves are often cited:
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Act. 20:29-30)
However, it must be admitted that these verses are only a prophecy about the appearance of false teachers who wish to lead people away from the Church after themselves, and not a prophecy about the fall of the Church.
A line above, the apostle called on the presbyters to watch carefully over themselves and the flock:
“he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church <...> Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (Greek: ἐπισκόπους — “bishops”), to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Act. 20:17,28)
Why does the apostle call for care of the flock? He immediately gives the answer: because false teachers will appear and, like wolves, they will want to plunder the Church’s flock (Act. 20:29-30). But the presbyters appointed by the Holy Spirit must not allow this.
Will the presbyters succeed in protecting the Church’s flock? Yes, they will. Because there are no prophecies about the fall of the Church, but there are prophecies about its invincibility:
“I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18)
“to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:21)
“I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matt. 28:20)
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John. 14:16)
“The Church Is Two or Three Gathered for Prayer”
After Christ had once created His Church, the later founders of Christian communities first of all face the need to explain to people the appearance of their new society, separate from the Church of Christ. Having arisen recently on the initiative of an ordinary person, such a society has no direct historical connection with the ancient Christians, and therefore is always forced to prove that it is somehow part of the Church of Christ created 2000 years ago. For this, a Bible verse about the importance of common prayer is often used. It is proposed to consider that since Christ is in the midst of two or three who pray, any such people praying are supposedly already a church unto themselves:
“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:19-20)
However, these verses literally speak only of the power of common prayer, not of the Church. There are no words about the Church here. But a few lines above there are words about the Church:
“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector” (Matt. 18:15-17)
Here the people who have met are:
me;
the brother who sinned;
one or two more witnesses.
In all that makes 1+1+2=4. Or at least 3.
These three people gathered together are still not the Church, as can be seen, because all of them must turn for judgment not to themselves, but to the Church. Thus the Church is not two or three gathered for prayer, but something permanently and visibly existing, to which one can turn for judgment, whose answer one can hear and either obey or not obey. And whoever does not listen to this answer of the Church becomes for the members of the Church “like a heathen and a tax collector”.
And who can judge? The apostles and their successors, the bishops (Matt. 18:18). For example, Bishop Timothy:
“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear” (1 Tim. 5:19-20)
Thus the interpretation about two or three praying people, who have no right to judge others, does not refer to the Church. And the founder of a society separate from the Church, by not listening to the Church, himself becomes to it “like a heathen and a tax collector” (Matt. 18:17). Whom will he judge in his society? How can he give authority to judge, if he himself never had it? The answer is obvious.