Universal or Local?

In the New Testament the word church is used in two different ways. Most frequently the word is used to refer to a local body of believers, a single congregation. However, on occasion the word is used to refer to the entire number of the elect, all those who will be gathered into one under Jesus Christ [Acts 20:28; Hebrews 12:23; Colossians 1:18, 24,25; Ephesians 1:22, 23; Ephesians 2:19-22; Ephesians 5:23-32].

May I also add the view of the Southern Baptist Convention regarding the church. The Baptist Faith and Message adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta, Georgia on June 14, 2000 writes of the Church in Section VI as follows: “The New Testament speaks also of the Church as the Body of Christ which includes all the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.”

 

Yes, the church can be said to be universal and local.

The above verses are good examples of the use of the word in a universal sense, there are also many examples of it being used in reference to a specific local manifestation of the body of Christ.

 

A BIG amen to that Dr. Cassidy!

 

BJH and Brother Cassidy,

Would you agree, however, that all Christians around the world, no matter where they live, are part of the same body of Christ? In that sense, are they not part of the universal Church of Christ?

Joseph Botwinick

 

What scripturally would be the correct word to refer to all Christians in this world as one group?

Some words that come to mind would be: the redeemed or the saved. Yet these are descriptive rather than nominative. If you were to call all the Christians by a single name, what would you call them (of course with a scriptural backing)?

 

The church is both local and universal.

Which local church will Christ present Himself to?

The apostles were given to the "church universal" and not to a specific local body of believers.

Rob

 

I used to be very dogamtic that there only the local church existed in the NT, now I am not as dogamtic about it. I ran into some difficulty with certain passages and it would see that one may imply a "universal" church. I really don't like that term though.

It is evident in the NT that Gods deallings in this dispensation are through the local church. His purposes on this earth will be carried out by local churches. The local church has the primacy in Scrpiture.

 

Any takers on my question posted June 30, 2005 05:06 PM?

 

Ephesians uses the husband/wife or the bride of Christ metaphor to illustrate the collection of true believers we call the universal church.

In other places the metaphor of a body,
(Romans 12:1-5; ("...we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.)
1 Corinthians 10:16-17; (...we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread).

Still other places the universal church called a building.
Ephesians 2:19-22; (...you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit).
(c.f. 1 Peter 2:4-7).

A flock, branches, a priesthood, these are a few metaphors of the aggregate/collection of believers we call the universal church.

Rob

 

I've read some of the antenicean father's writings, and many refer to the "catholic Church" (not "Catholic Church"). They oft used the ADJECTIVE (not proper noun) "catholic" to describe the body of Christ corporate--that is, in reference to all believers everywhere and not just to a specific local church.

This of course is not authoritive in itself, but is worth some consideration.

 

I like "family of God", though it's not the only term, or perhaps even most common.

Ephesians 3:14-16 "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man..."