The Church

I (Pastor J. Sommer) have often received questions about what I believe about the church. The short answer is that I believe nothing different about the church than that of my Baptist forerunners, like Charles Spurgeon, John Gill, Benjamin Keach, and others. There is nothing new in my thought about the doctrine of the church—even considered in terms of a Particular Baptist understanding. I want to take this text as an opportunity to present a brief doctrine of the church according to my understanding. Our text tells us that we, “[have come] to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven (Heb. 12:22-24).” The term church comes from the German word kirche, which is a translation of either of the Greek words kuriakon or doma (translated, house). It is this term which is usually put in the place of the Greek term for assembly (ekklesia) in our English translations. The term ekklesia, by itself, can be applied to any assembly. An assembly of Congress is an ekklesia. An assembly of Greek thinkers in the Areopagus is an ekklesia. An assembly of the Roman Republic senate is an ekklesia.

However, Jesus tells us that He came to build His own ekklesia. He says to Peter, concerning his apostolic confession, “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).” What church was Jesus talking about? Was He talking about the church at Jerusalem? No. That church no longer exists. It would have been scattered to the winds upon the siege of Rome beginning 66 A.D. A Roman emperor scattered the church of Jerusalem. But Jesus tells us something like this will never happen to His church. The powers of hell will not prevail against it. What about the church at Corinth? That church no longer exists either. Maybe He was talking about the Galatian church. No, because that church doesn’t exist anymore either. My point here is that Jesus, in this text, could not be referring to the local assembly. Otherwise, this promise has been compromised a thousand times over. Local churches close their doors every day.

The church Jesus is talking about is a church that begins but never ends. There are all sorts of local churches which begin and end. Was Jesus talking about local churches here? Hopefully not. We all know stories about local churches which began aright, but had to eventually shut their doors because of sin, schism, or death. If Jesus was talking about any one local church here, this promise would mean very little. No, the church Jesus speaks of here is the unfailing, mother Jerusalem, general assembly, church of the firstborn, body and bride of Christ mentioned here in Hebrews 12. John Gill, commenting on the phrase “church of the firstborn” in our text says—

By the “church,” is not meant any particular, or congregational church, nor any national one; but the church catholic, or universal, which consists only of God’s elect, and of all of them, in all times and places; and reaches even to the saints in heaven: this church is invisible at present, and will never fail; of which Christ is the head, and for which he has given himself…

Charles Spurgeon writes on the matter—

And it is so in the Church of God–all Christians constitute the Church. Any company of Christian men gathered together in holy bonds of communion for the purpose of receiving God’s ordinances and preaching what they regard to be God’s Truths, is a Church. And the whole of these Churches gathered into one, in fact all the true Believers in Christ scattered throughout the world, constitute the One true Universal Apostolic Church, built upon a Rock, against which the gates of Hell shall not prevail.

Notice the interplay in Spurgeon’s words between what he calls the “One true Universal Apostolic Church,” and “Christian men gathered together in… a church.” This is the same distinction we see made in Scripture time and time again. The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) puts it this way—

The catholic or universal church, which (with respect to the internal work of the Spirit and truth of grace) may be called invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ, the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all (26.1).

But in the next article we read:

All persons throughout the world, professing the faith of the gospel, and obedience unto God by Christ according unto it, not destroying their own profession by any errors everting the foundation, or unholiness of conversation, are and may be called visible saints; and of such ought all particular congregations to be constituted (26.2).

In Ephesians 5:25-27, we read—

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

This is the same church mentioned in our text, the Jerusalem above, the company of the whole elect, incorruptible and unassailable. It cannot simply be a reference to the local church at Ephesus because this is the church that will be presented to Christ at long last without spot or wrinkle. This is the whole company of saints—what Spurgeon called “the One true Universal Apostolic Church,” and what Gill labels the “church catholic.” It is what our author calls the “general assembly and church of the firstborn.”

Yet, as Spurgeon notes, there is also the local church. And I would contend that the local church is the only way this one Apostolic Church appears in this life. Paul mentions several individual churches in Judea, “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 2:14).” And in Revelation 1-3, there are the seven churches to which the apostle John writes. And it is within the context of the local church and the local church alone that God’s people live out new covenant life in this world. As Baptists, we believe every local church is endowed with everything it needs to be a church. There need be no presbytery, synod, or institutionalized catholic church in this world. And superficial ecumenism must be avoided in order to preserve the integrity of our doctrine and practice.

For Baptists like Spurgeon, Gill, and the framers of the Second London Confession, there is the whole company of the elect which is the bride and body of Christ. The one Church, heavenly Jerusalem, the general assembly and church of the firstborn, consists of the sheep everywhere and at all times over which Christ is the only Pastor. The benediction at the end of Hebrews will say “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant… (Heb. 13:20).” The very reason pastors in this life are called “under-shepherds” of local congregations is because there is a chief Shepherd of the whole church, and that is Christ and Christ alone.

So, to summarize what I believe about the church: There is one church or bride of Christ. That one church as one church is invisible, because it consists of saints in heaven, and saints on earth we will never meet until glory. For this reason, it will only become visible in its entirety in glory. But at present, the only way the bride of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem and church of the firstborn, becomes visible is in the local church. It is not visible in the sense of hierarchical institutions over and above the local church. Baptists believe the local church is the only way in which the bride of Christ becomes visible in this world. To say it another way, the local church is the means by which we come to Mt. Zion and everything atop Mt. Zion in this life, that is, as we worship by faith within the context of the local church. But there is a day when everything mentioned in our text from the angels to Christ Himself will be visible to us as we stand in glory, perfected forever, worshiping our great God and Savior with what the eschatological church catholic.