What the Bible Says about Church or The Invisible Church and the Visible Church

"What the Bible Says about Church: or "The Invisible Church and the Visible Church"

 There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about the the term "church" or "the church" really means or refers to.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive look at the topic of the Christian Church (much smarter people have written much larger works ) but rather a bit of an overview for the curious or confused  or maybe even ( and hopefully) a refreshing look for the embittered veteran.

As is often helpful in defining something, let’s talk about what it is NOT.

The Church is not a building. It is not a steeple and stained glass. It is not bricks and mortar or wood or crystal.

The Church, as the Bible lays it out, is in fact – people.  Human beings.  And to be more specific , human beings who have met Jesus Christ in a very personal way. Who, through reason and experience,  have put their faith in Him, and Him alone, for the redemption of their souls ( this obviously implies that they have first also come to acknowledge their need for redemption).

It has been rightly said that the Church is not an organization, it is an organism. 

 In other words, it is made up of people in community and fellowship centered on the Person of Jesus Christ. And, like spokes in a wheel, the closer these people get to Christ, the closer they get to each other.

The Greek word used in the Bible for church is “ekklesia”  which literally means “called out ones”.

Strong’s Greek Dictionary:

1)      a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly

d) in a Christian sense

1) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting

4) the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth

5) the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

Notice the first two Christian definitions – one is a singular gathering at a specific location which we shall refer to as the “local church”.

The other is all Christians ( i.e. true believer’s in Jesus Christ) throughout the world. We refer to this as the “Universal Church” and this term often includes the third group -  those already in Heaven – amongst its number.

Vine’s Expository Greek Dictionary expands on the concept of a “Local” and a “Universal” Church:

(a) (Universal) to the whole company of the redeemed throughout the present era, the company of which Christ said, "I will build My Church," Mat 16:18, and which is further described as "the Church which is His Body," Eph 1:22; 5:23,

(b) (Local) in the singular number (e.g., Mat 18:17, RV marg., "congregation"), to a company consisting of professed believers, e.g., Act 20:28; 1Cr 1:2; Gal 1:13; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1; 1Ti 3:5, and in the plural, with reference to churches in a district.

An interesting thing to note is that the word “catholic” simply means “universal” and so the early church was simply called the Catholic Church.

However, throughout history and especially during the time of the reformation ( in the 15^th century) , there were those who believed that the “catholic” (more specifically the Roman Catholic)  church had strayed from Biblical teaching, imposed its own rules and at times became corrupt. 

When we think of the terms “The Church” or the “Roman Catholic Church” as portrayed throughout history and even in today’s view – we must realize that this is not necessarily a true or accurate representation of “the Ekklesia” . 

One way theologians make this distinction about the Church is that of the “visible Church” and the “invisible Church”.

As we have established above, the church is made up of all true believing humans. Though we can see the outward lifestyles and confessions of people, we cannot see their inward heart and therefore cannot know in an absolute way who is and is not part of this Biblical, “ invisible Church”.

The visible Church, on the other hand,  would be the official organization, the building etc… but just because it is concrete in nature, or official with the government, does not mean it is real in spirit. 

The “visible Church” is often what we hear of in the history books and the media but it is not necessarily reflective of Jesus’ teachings.

There are no doubt many true believers in the visible church but there are also false Christians – fakers, phonies, posers. 

Ghandi noted this when He said “ “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

If you are a Christian, let this not be said of you  - we should all strive to be LIKE Christ.

Thankfully the Bible assures us that

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

and this is the sum of the Invisible Church

This is not to say we cannot objectively judge a person’s lifestyle and the sincerity of their faith – but our measurements are inevitably finite.

Today we are aware of the distinctions between the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church ( much of Greece)  the mainline Protestant churches ( i.e. Anglican, United, …) and the Evangelicals you hear so much about in the States but who have really existed for many years in many forms and in many countries ( Baptist, Pentecostal, Mennonite Brethren, Alliance etc….)

(By the way for full disclosure, I would fall under the “Evangelical” category. For more on this term see :   )

You may be surprised to learn that of all the ceremonies, customs  and traditions that can be found in churches , the only two that Jesus  instituted  absolutely were baptism and communion ( also known as “The Lord’s Supper” or the “Eucharist” )

(*Note – Most Protestant and Evangelical churches believe that the bread and wine ( or grape juice) of communion are symbolic of Jesus’ broken body and shed blood while the Roman Catholic Church and some others believe it literally becomes Jesus’ flesh and blood … as I said, I heartily take the Evangelical view as I believe it to be the Biblical one.)

One thing they all agree on is The Trinity – in other words, a Triune God  - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

Dr. Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology gives a point form definition of this incredibly important but sometimes hard to be understood doctrine.

1)      God is the Persons

2)      Each Person is fully and equally God

3)      There is one God

That is a very brief summary of what a systematic and contextual look at Scripture clearly teaches.

And as this doctrine implies, the Son – Who is Jesus Christ – is fully and equally God.

Referred to as the “Deity” of Jesus, this teaching is at the heart and foundation of Christianity . 

In true Christianity , Jesus Christ is no less than the Almighty Creator God.

This is indeed the dividing line between what is “Christian” and what is not.

Speaking of Jesus Christ and the Church, Paul writes:

Eph 2:17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near
Eph 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Eph 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
Eph 2:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
Eph 2:22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Another 2 defining marks of a true Christian church is that it believes and teaches the Bible as the sole and infallible Word of God and that it is attempting to function as a church by having communion and baptizing believers ( the latter would be the difference between an independent Bible study and a church in progress).

This would be true of both the local independent church around the corner or a large international organization claiming to be Christian.

Mat 16:15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Mat 16:16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Mat 16:17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed [this] to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Eph 1:22 And He (God the Father)  put all things under His (Jesus’ )feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

It’s important to note that it was Jesus , Himself , who founded the Church  and Who is it’s Head. and bid us partake in this particular form of community.  So to say we love Jesus and then refuse to go to any type of Biblical Christ-honouring church is really just hypocritical.

Many say that their church is “the outdoors” or “nature”.  To be sure, taking in Creation can indeed be a worshipful experience – incredibly so actually. I can attest to that personally.

 However, that alone is not enough. It is not community and it is not what Jesus’ meant when he founded the church.  

Act 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Act 2:43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
Act 2:44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
Act 2:45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
Act 2:46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
Act 2:47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church   daily those who were being saved.

You can see that in the first verse we see 4 hallmarks of the church – “they continued steadfastly in”:

1)      The apostles' doctrine (i.e. The teaching and explaining and life application of the Bible)

2)       and fellowship (community, meeting together, being accountable to one another and loving each other)

3)       in the breaking of bread (communion)

4)      and in prayers (praying together as a group for each other and all those in the world etc…)

Well, much more could be said but for the sake of simplicity and readability I think I will leave things there. Please feel free to comment if you see anything that doesn’t fit Biblically or is missing .