by Garrett Glende

This week marks the beginning of a new section of our trek through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, namely the doctrine of the church. The next ten articles will deal with various issues related to the church, its nature, function, power, and giftedness. I’m particularly excited to begin this chunk of the book due to our current circumstances at Lighthouse (both San Diego and San Jose), as the church faces many new and challenging roads ahead. I believe that now, as much as ever, is the perfect time to dive into some important aspects of ecclesiology so that the local body might be strengthened and encouraged to support and invest in God’s kingdom. One note that is necessary to add here at the beginning: some of the content in this section of Grudem’s theology is contrary to what Lighthouse affirms as being true of Christ’s church. For this reason, I will let you all read those portions for yourselves and make informed decisions. As for me, I’ll be following Grudem’s structure, but I will present a view that lines up closer to that of Lighthouse Bible Church.

The first chapter in this section deals with the nature and purposes of the church. We can say first that the nature of the church is that it is made up of all true believers in Christ. Since its inauguration in Acts chapter 2, every single person who has repented of their sins and trusted in Christ for salvation is considered part of the church, at least on a universal level. Grudem speaks of the church both invisible and visible. It is invisible in that only God can see who is truly a part of the body. As mere humans, we are unable to accurately assess the spiritual condition of all those who profess to believe, thus what we see is called the visible church. So when we walk into church on Sundays, what we see there would constitute as part of the visible church. There is also a difference in the use of the word church in the New Testament with regards to its scope. There are times when it is implied to mean all the believers in the world and there are times when only a local gathering of believers is addressed. These have been known as the universal church and the local church.

Grudem discusses the marks of a church, those things which he calls the “distinguishing characteristics” so that we might not confuse the claims of many groups to be a true church. The first main issue that he brings up is the presence of true gospel preaching and the ministry of the Word of God. Any group that does not adhere to and proclaim the gospel as the Bible teaches it would not classify as a genuine church. Moreover, its ministry must include the preaching of God’s Word. Now, there are many places that teach the Bible, but it must be taught in such a way that is faithful to the way that God has intended. This is not to say that the preacher must never make a mistake in teaching, but the essential elements of orthodox Christianity must be present. The only other mark of the church that Grudem points out is the proper administration of the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper). These are both ordinances that have been committed to the church by Christ so that it might be set apart from the world. It is through baptism where an individual makes a public declaration of his or her own personal relationship with Christ, signaling a dying to the world and a new life in Christ as part of His body, the church. Communion is the remembrance and proclamation of Christ’s death on our behalf (1 Corinthians 11:26) and is a continuing sign of membership in the church. For more on what constitutes a healthy church, see Mark Dever’s book, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.

Finally, Grudem explores what he sees as the three purposes of the church: worship, nurture, and evangelism.

1. The fundamental responsibility of the church is to worship God. This is what He has created us to do (Eph. 1:12), and this is what we will be doing for all of eternity (Rev. 5:11-14). Our worship is not something that is just done on Sundays, but it is a lifelong pursuit of God’s glory in our lives.
2. Secondly, the church is to build up the body into maturity. This happens as each member comes along side another and encourages them to love Christ and grow in the knowledge of Him. Paul writes that his purpose in preaching was so he “may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28). The purpose of the church is not merely to grow in numbers and structure, but rather that each individual member would experience gospel centered growth. This should challenge our thinking as we look at our priorities in church. Are they centered around practicality and ministry form? Or is our main goal to see people grow spiritually?
3. Lastly, it is the purpose of the church to preach the gospel to the lost and to demonstrate God’s mercy to the world. God has commissioned his church to make disciples of all nations, necessitating that churches be planted across the globe and the gospel be shared with unbelievers. Although this is the thrust of the church’s ministry toward the world, it must still extend grace and mercy to the lost in practical ways. In this way, we reflect the grace of God which we have received to a lost and dying world.

This article serves as an introduction to much of the foundational concepts that will be tackled in the coming weeks. In order to truly understand the more secondary issues, we must first grasp the core truths of the Bible’s teaching on the church. If you are planning on following along with us, I highly recommend picking up trustworthy resources to aid in your study. If you don’t know what’s trustworthy or not just ask me (or preferably a pastor)!