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Terms Used To Designate The Church And Its Members
The New Testament employs a number of terms to designate the church. These terms do not refer to different institutions, but all are used to express the relationship of Christ to his church, or kingdom. In most instances it is simply called "the church," with no qualification whatsoever. Since Christ built but one church, and since modern denominations did not exist in New Testament times, the term "church" was then adequate. It was used to designate the body of saved individuals which Christ called out of the world by his gospel and of which he is head. However, there are a number of terms used to designate the one body, all of which enable us to gain a clearer understanding of the greatness of the church and of Christ's relationship to it. Let us note some of the terms used.
I. It is the church of Christ. Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church." (Matt. 16:18). The apostle Paul, speaking for the different congregations in Achaia wrote, "The churches of Christ salute you" (Rom. 16:16). These expressions denote Ownership. Thus, when we speak of the church of Christ, we do not have in mind some human organization, but that spiritual body of which Christ is the founder and owner. Paul refers to the church as the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23-32). For the bride to wear any name other than that of the bridegroom is humiliating and dishonorable. It is therefore not only fitting, but essential that we refer to Christ's bride as his church and not that of some man or some man- made system.
II. It is called the church of the Lord. To the elders of the church at Ephesus, Paul said, "Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28). By the "Lord," Paul of course means Christ. Whether we speak of it as the church of Christ, or church of the Lord, the meaning is the same. Paul further explains it is "the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood." Thus, the New Testament church belongs to Christ, not only because he built it, but also because he bought it with his blood.
III. It is also called the church of the firstborn. This expression is found in Heb. 12:23. The apostle Paul explains who is meant by the firstborn. In Rom. 8:29 he says, "For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." In Col. 1:18 he states that Christ is "the firstborn from the dead." The church of the firstborn, then, is the same as the church of Christ, or the church of the Lord.
IV. Again, the church is called the church of God. Paul addressed the Corinthian epistles "to the church of God which is at Corinth" (I Cor. 1:2; II Cor. 1:1). In giving the qualifications of the elders of the church, Paul said, "If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" (I Tim. 3:5). This is not a contradiction of Paul's previous statement where he refers to the church as the church of Christ. In speaking of his relationship to the Heavenly Father, Jesus said, "All things that are mine are thine, and all thine are mine" (John 17:10). "Whether we say the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Christ, the church of God or the church of Christ, we have in mind the same Divine Institution. We possibly speak of it as the church of Christ more often than we do the church of God in order to distinguish it from anything that had its origin in the Old Testament. The Israelites who wandered in the wilderness in the time of Moses were once referred to as 'the church'. But they did not constitute the church of Christ. Christ's church had its beginning on the first Pentecost after his resurrection from the dead. It is distinctly a New Testament institution. The New Testament church differs from the Old Testament church as the spiritual differs from the material. Furthermore, Paul said it was the will of the Father that 'in all things he might have the pre-eminence. Hence, when we speak of the church of Christ we thus give him the honor and pre-eminence the Father willed that he should have. This does not lessen the honor and pre-eminence which belong to God, because all things are of him. Whatever may be said of the Son, or whatever honors may be attributed to the Son, belong equally to the Father" ("The New Testament Church," by L. R. Wilson).
In summary, the New Testament church is called the church of Christ, the church of the Lord, the church of the firstborn and the church of God. These are not four different names used to denote four different institutions, but are terms used to designate the same group of people the followers of Christ.
Let us now consider the terms used to designate the members of the New Testament Church.
I. If we think of the church as a family, with God as our Father, then we are children. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Our Father who art in heaven" (Matt. 6:9). The apostle Paul said, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For ye receive not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him" (Rom. 8:14-17).
Jesus speaks of the change which takes place when we enter into this close relationship with God as a 'new birth' (John 3:3, 5). Paul sometimes speaks of it as an 'adoption' (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5). These expressions suggest the transition which takes place when we enter the church, or 'family of God. Such terms are never used to suggest the transition which takes place when we enter the institutions of men" (Ibid).
II. If we have in mind our relationship to each other in the family of God, we are brethren. Throughout the New Testament the apostles use the term brethren in reference to fellow members of the church. In the opening statement of the Galatian letter we have this salutation, "Paul, an apostle. . . And all the brethren that are with me, unto the churches of Galatia." The Ephesian letter closes with these words: "Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." These and numerous other passages show the close relationship which exists between the followers of Christ. Indeed, the love that binds Christian brethren together is the strongest tie in all the world.
III. If we think of ourselves as students or followers of Christ, then we are his disciples. Jesus said, "If ye a-bide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples" (John 8:31). Again, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another" (John 13:35). And again he said, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples" (John 15:8). When Jesus gave the great commission he said, "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations" (Matt. 28:19). Thus, when one hears the gospel of Christ, believes it, and obeys it, he becomes the follower, or disciple of Christ.
IV. If we have in mind our relationship to Christ, we are "Christians." In New Testament times when sinners were converted, they did not become any one of a number of different sectarian adherents. They were called simply Christians, which signifies they belong to Christ, who is the founder, head and owner of the church. The term "Christian" is found three times in the New Testament. In Acts 11:26 we read, "And the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." King Agrippa said to Paul, as the latter stood before him in trial, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28). The apostle Peter said, "If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name" (I Pet. 1:16).
Please note that this name was not given to the disciples until after the Gentiles had been brought into the kingdom of God. More than seven hundred years before the establishment of the church and the conversion of the Gentiles, Isaiah spoke of this new name, saying, "And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name" (Isaiah 62:2). The church in Antioch was the first congregation to be composed of both Jews and Gentiles. Hence, it is fitting that the new name should be first applied to the disciples at Antioch. Furthermore, the name Christian is the only one given to the people of God after the Gentiles were included. It is evident then that the name Christian is the new name given by the Lord to his people.
Let us observe further the importance of wearing the name of Christ. When Jesus gave the great commission to his disciples, he said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19). He stated further that "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name along all nations" (Luke 24:47). On the day the church was established Peter told inquiring sinners to "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). Again he said, "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you" (John 16:23). Thus, we are baptized in the name of Christ, we have salvation in his name, and we pray in his name. The apostle Paul said, "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17). As Christians, everything we do in our worship and service to God must be done in and through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, one who wears any other name fails to give him the glory that is rightfully his. Since there is salvation in no other name, and since every act of Christian worship and service is to be done in his name, it is foolish for us to wear any other name religiously, whether it be the name of some man, some city, some method of doing things, or some system of organization.
V. If we have in mind the purity of God's people, then we are saints. In his first epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul addressed them as "the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints" (I Cor. 1:2). He opened his second letter to them in a similar manner, calling them "saints." The same is true of his epistle to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. There is no scriptural basis for applying the term "saint" just to a certain few who have been dead for centuries. In apostolic times all Christians were called saints. The term signifies purity, but not perfection. Thus, despite our imperfections, every Christian is a saint.
The followers of Christ are thus called children, brethren, disciples, Christians, and saints. Please note, however, that these terms are used only in reference to the individual Christians and never in reference to the church. To call the New Testament church after those who compose it gives pre-eminence to the members rather than to Christ, which is contrary to the will of God. Paul declares, "He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence" (Col. 1:18). We should. be careful to observe the New Testament manner of designating the church lest we rob Christ of the honor which belongs to him.
The apostle Peter said, "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God" (I Peter 4:11). We do not speak as the oracles of God when we use terms to designate the church which God has not authorized. Why should we want to wear any other name when we have the privilege of wearing the name o~f Christ, the greatest name of all? Thus, as a body we are the church of Christ; as individuals we are Christians; nothing more, and nothing less.