The Church

The Church

God's new covenant people is the church. The term "church" can refer to both living and deceased Christians, as well as particular local congregations of believers. The church has its origins in Old Testament promises to God's people, specifically that God will bless the world via Abraham's descendants. While there are parallels between the people of God in the Old Testament and the church, the church is the new community of Jesus at Pentecost. As a result, the church fulfills God's promise to the prophets that he would establish a different and improved covenant with his people and write his law on their heart and soul. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20) is the church's mission: to go forth into the world with the authority of the risen Christ and make disciples, baptizing and instructing them to follow Jesus until he comes, all to God's glory.

God's everlasting plans are the foundation of the church. It's Jesus' new covenant community, founded in Israel, built by Jesus, and blessed by the Holy Spirit. The church is God's chosen people, brought into a loving relationship with the triune God and one another by the Father. The church is the redeemed communion of saints, global and invisible, encompassing all believers throughout history those on earth and those in heaven. The church is God's adopted family, previously slaves to sin but now in a loving relationship with God as Father and one another as families in Christ. The church is Christ's body, with him as its head, depending on him, given by the Holy Spirit, fashioned as a unity in variety, and dependent on one another, serving as Christ's instruments in the world. The church is Christ's wife, dearly loved by him, rescued by his sacrificial act on the cross, entirely committed to him, and becoming increasingly beautiful for him, the Bridegroom. The church is the temple of the Spirit, a place where God's presence may be felt. The church is the new humanity, made up of Jewish and Gentile Christians who are unified in Christ and displaying how life should have always been.

The church is made up of branches that are united to and dependent on the actual vine, which is Christ. The church is a covenant community that gathers on a regular basis for worship, communion, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and mission. The church is the kingdom community, existing in both the present and the future, and fulfilling out God's everlasting plan of cosmic oneness, all for the glory of God.