The Universal Church

THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
There are five major and foundational truths set forth in the Scriptures concerning the universal church that play a vital part in our understanding of how the church functions and operates.

1. There is only One Church: There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling (Ephesians 4:4).
The fact that there is one church is to be the basis of unity among believers. This becomes immediately obvious if we examine the context of Ephesians 4:4. This unity is so strong that it is to break past any prejudices between Jew or Gentiles, male or female, slave or free. This means there is not to be one church for Jews and another for Gentiles. There is not to be one church for slaves and another for free men. We are all one in Christ. This principle has some implications with regard to Dispensationalism—the view that God has two separate and distinct assemblies of people in Israel and the church. By contrast, Paul says that there is only one assembly of God's people. There is only one church. It had an Old Testament manifestation, but it is one church.

2. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church: For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body (Ephesians 5:23); He is also head of the body, the church... (Colossians 1:18).
The head is the most important part of any body. It is indispensable. Even the heart can be transplanted and replaced, but a body without its head is unthinkable. Just as a human body is controlled and directed by its head, so also the church is to be controlled and directed by its Head, Jesus Christ. He is the leader of the church, its Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4), and its High Priest (Hebrews 9:11).

3. The Church is Holy: Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Notice that Paul does not say merely that the church will someday become holy. It is holy right now. This quality of holiness indicates that which is set apart from the world and set apart from the sinfulness and impurity of the world and set apart for a special purpose. Though the church is still in the world, it is no longer of the world.

4. Every Believer is a Priest of God.
In the Old Testament economy, God set apart a group of men who were designated as priests. They were the sons of Aaron from the tribe of Levi. They wore special robes and were given the responsibility of ministering in the temple. They were the only ones who could enter into the temple. They were the only ones authorized to administer the sacrifices. In this way, they served as mediators between God and men.

Jesus Christ did away with this system by becoming our perfect High Priest, offering up Himself as the perfect sacrifice. He also brought about an assembly in which every member is a priest.

...you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

Every member of the body of Christ has been set apart and consecrated as a priest of God. This is a special priesthood. It is called a “royal priesthood.” The priesthood in the Old Testament economy was never known by this title. This priesthood is unique in that it does not come down through Aaron, but through the King of kings, Jesus Christ.

5. The Mandate of the church is to Make Disciples.
This mandate was given in the last words of Jesus to His disciples before he departed to heaven. It was a command to make disciples of all men.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20). The main verb of this passage and therefore the primary command is to “make disciples.” The other verbs are all given in the Greek text as participles and thus describe the steps that are to be used in making disciples.

Going. The church is to be mission-minded. It is not to have a fortress mentality in which it isolates itself from the world. Instead, it is to be invading the world, going out to accomplish its work of making disciples.

Baptizing. The reference to baptism is a summarization of the evangelistic and conversion ministry of the church. Baptism is the outward sign of such inner conversion.

Teaching. It is not enough to make converts. The business of the church is to take those converts and to train them so that they will become disciple makers.