Page 101 - Bible Doctrine Survey I- Student Textbook

Study Section 14: Doctrine of the Church

14.1 Connect.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you probably are involved in a local Church: a group of
like believers who meet together for encouragement, worship, and instruction. The church
was a mystery to the Old Testament saints. But when Christ came, He established HIS
church, also called His bride, to exist and flourish. And someday in the future, Christ will
bring His bride, the church, to Heaven with Him, and will be united in marriage. We will even
have a feast! What a day that will be! Today, we will see that the Bible established the
Church to serve a particular function.

14.2 Objectives:

1. The student should be able to define what the church is.

2. The student should be able to define the purposes of the church.

3. The student should be able to describe the two ordinances of the church.

4. The student should be able to describe the various organizational structures of various churches.

14.3 The Doctrine of the Church

The church of Christ is identified in two major areas:
1. The universal church is all believers from the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) to the rapture (1
Thessalonians 4:13-18). This is the church referenced by Christ in Matthew 16:18 when he
asked his disciples who they thought that He was in Caesarea Philippi.

Matthew 16: 17-18 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed
to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.18And I tell you that you are Peter (little stone),
and on this rock (large rock – the confession of Peter), I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will
not overcome it.

Something new was being introduced to the disciples. Jesus Christ was going to raise up a “church” or
group of followers to become His body on earth. The Holy Spirit would “baptize” or place people into
the “body of Christ,” which is the universal church (1 Corinthians 12:12-14,27). In Scripture, we saw this
happen on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 11:15-18).

2. A local church. This is a group of believers after Pentecost that would meet
together in one place organized biblically to do God’s will. (Romans 16:1,3-5,14-
16). It is a local body of believers who minister to one another.

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