Theology of The Church

The Mission of The Church

The Mission of The Church

The church's primary mission is to preach the Gospel, make disciples who will preach the Gospel, and make more disciples. This is the “great commission.” However, making disciples has an objective: to bring people into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God are used more than one hundred times in the New Testament. The book of Matthew uses the terms “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Kingdom of God” interchangeably. The other three gospels use the term “Kingdom of God” exclusively. The Hebrew word for “heaven” is shamayim, which the Jewish people used as a circumlocution (substitute) for the name of God. So, the Kingdom of Heaven is also a reference to the Kingdom of God—they are the same.

Organization and Leadership of The Church

Organization and Leadership of The Church

There has recently been a resurgence in the study of the early church, comparing it to how the church is structured and organized today. However, early Christians did not have denominations, documented theology, or church buildings. The New Testament would not be entirely written for almost a century or canonized for another four hundred years. During the first three centuries, Christians gathered in homes, and many remained connected with their synagogues and assembled at the Temple in Jerusalem before it was destroyed.

The Body of Christ

The Body of Christ

The church is not an organization, although it requires structure and leadership. The church is a living organism, a living being whose divine life is fueled by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. After the resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of His Heavenly Father. Still, in a real tangible sense, He is continually manifested in the world through His body and, by which He fulfills His early mission. We read, “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen” (Mark 16:19-20).

The Great Assembly

The Great Assembly

The study of the church, including its nature, ordinances, ministries, mission, and governmental structure, is called Ecclesiology. Evolving from the Scottish word kirk, the English word “church” derived from the Greek Kuriakos, meaning “belonging to the Lord.” It is found only twice in the New Testament, an adjective applied to the Lord’s supper and the Lord’s day. The frequent word ekklesia was translated into the English expression “church” that we employ in the New Testament today. Neither Kuriakos nor ekklisa were used to refer to a building or place of gathering until the Greeks, in post-Apostolic times, substituted the term kuriakos, meaning “the Lord’s House,” to designate a church building. In the New Testament, the words used for a religious place of assembly are exclusively temple or synagogue.