God’s people are to reflect Jesus’s heart of compassion for a needy world. There are many churches with impeccable statements of faith, sound doctrine, and biblical preaching. Many also excel in food and fellowship and programs for their youth and other members of their congregation. But while edifying believers is a vital part of our charge, do we ourselves, and do we encourage people in our congregations to, reflect Jesus’s heart of compassion for the needy?

Why the Doctrine of the Church Matters

I grew up in a land with beautiful houses of worship (or at least they once had been before they devolved into tourist attractions). When I was converted to Christ, it was hard to rid myself of the notion that the church isn’t a building but a community of believers. In this article, I’ll set forth seven truths about the church that are biblically sound yet often misunderstood or neglected. It is my firm conviction that firm adherence to these seven truths, and the actual practice of each of these, would considerably strengthen the local congregations of which we are a part, and the universal church as well. How does the doctrine of the church affect a pastor’s ministry?

7 Truths to Teach about the Church

It is a curious fact—but a fact nonetheless—that the term “church” is found only twice in the Gospels (both in Matthew), and there in a non-technical sense. It is only after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that the church originated as a community of believers in Jesus the Messiah made up of believing Jews and non-Jews. While Jesus primarily spoke of the kingdom of God, especially in form of parables, highlighting various dimensions of the universal and eternal reign of God, Jesus, in the present, appointed the church as an outpost of the kingdom. What are some of the major truths about the church that we will do well not to neglect in our preaching and teaching?

1. The church is not a building but a community of believers.

In the early stages of the Christian movement, people gathered in homes as committed Christ followers who “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). When, in his letter to the Romans, Paul sends greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, he refers to “the church that meets at their house” (Rom. 16:5). Philemon and Apphia, likewise, had a church that met at their home (Phlm. 2). Only later did churches acquire real estate and erect sanctuaries, culminating in the Middle Ages, which saw the building of magnificent cathedrals. Thus, biblically speaking, the church is a community of believers regularly gathered for teaching, fellowship, prayer, and the ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and baptism.

2. We are members of both a local and the universal church.

I have met some ardent church members who loved their own church but cared little for the church down the road. In fact, however, we are members both of a local and the universal church. As pastors, we need to balance our desire to instill commitment to our church with the humble recognition that God’s work is not limited to our walls.

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