What is the true meaning behind the word “Church”

by Lisa Kaelber

The True Church

In a statement released from the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI asserted only the Catholic Church has “the fullness of the means of salvation.” The Pope went on to say: “All other religious communities are either not true churches or are defective.” This spiritual elitism is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the head of the church. The Christian church is a group of people who trust by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as their sole means of redemption and salvation, and who gather together on a regular basis to worship Jesus Christ as their Lord.

To determine the validity of the statement from Pope Benedict, the church must be defined from the source that reveals God’s plan for the church: the Bible. The word church in the Bible was translated from the Greek word “ekklesia”, which means a gathering or assembly of people summoned by the crier, the legislative assembly. Crier was originally a political term; however, the translation is appropriate when the crier is Jesus Christ. In 2 Timothy 4:1, Paul begins his letter, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead.” The church is, therefore, a gathering of people called together by Jesus Christ.
The Bible must also be the source to identify the means of salvation. The third chapter of the book of Romans in the Bible says, “Righteousness from God (salvation) comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faithand this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.” The means of salvation is not through a denomination, church membership, nor is it gained through human effort. Salvation is received solely through faith in Jesus Christ.

Why do we have so many different denominations and churches? History reveals that all present day Christian churches can trace their roots back to the Catholic Church. In fact, the word catholic is derived from the Greek word katholikos meaning universal or the universal church. For over a thousand years, there was one church. Then, groups began to have disagreements on theology, doctrines, sacraments, and rituals in the church. While the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ was a constant, how that was lived out caused division. The first such division happened in the year 1054 A.D. forming the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The next split came in 1517, when Martin Luther found what he considered to be inconsistencies in the sacraments of the church and his study of the Bible. This marked the formation of the Protestant church.

In accordance with the Bible, the church must recognize essential doctrines. The first is found in Colossians 2:9 which says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” A Christian church, consequently, must believe that Jesus is both God and Man. Secondly, and as quoted previously, Ephesians 2:8-9 explains salvation as a gift received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 tells us the church must believe Jesus Christ physically died for our sins and literally raised from the dead, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Finally, the Bible says in Isaiah 44:6: “there is only one God, so the church must believe in only one God.”

The statement from Pope Benedict is the same kind of human behavior that has caused the division of the church in the past. The church is defined by God and not by man. Through the Bible, God has defined the church as people who gather together to worship their Lord, Jesus Christ, whom they trust by faith provided for their redemption and salvation through his death and resurrection. Most modern churches today publish a statement of faith explaining what they believe. The test for determining the validity of a Christian church is to compare a church’s statement of faith to the Bible to search for anything contradictory.