When a Christian considers the term church today it is natural to think of a host of ideas, ranging from the building they go to worship at on Sunday to the people they know that worship there, to a multi-site brand. These seemingly instinctual ways of thinking about the church (as either a building or a brand name) represent modern ways of conceptualizing the church. So what is the church? How should Christians think about it? There are three helpful markers for thinking of the church: the Universal Church, the True Church, and the Healthy Church.
Universal Church
The Universal Church might be best understood as the Westminster divines have said, “The catholic or Universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof.”1 While the term church can be used in modern discussion to reference a building, brand, group, or denomination, the Church is none of these things at her core.
When speaking of the church in Corinth, Paul affirms that whatever else one considers the church to be, at her core, she is made of those who are called to be saints and is found in every place (1 Cor. 1:2). This does not of course imply that all who are visibly gathered in church buildings are automatically saved. John warns that some will leave because they are not truly blood-bought Christians (1 John 2:19). We cannot exhaustively see all the faithful, nor can we know perfectly all who are elect, but the Universal Church is the people of God as Christ sees them. It is composed of those he redeemed (John 10:11).
The term universal helps us understand how the people of God are present even in times of heavy persecution. This doctrine about the nature of the Church was pivotal during the time of the Reformation as the protestants were seeking to articulate their legitimacy as a true church. They were challenging the visible church’s official doctrines, while at the same time insisting that God’s people were truly present even in the visible church as a faithful remnant. Calvin says that we should not be surprised that God has preserved his people despite so many Romish errors, “[God] learned to protect [them] amid the turmoil of Babylon and in the flame of the fiery furnace.”2
The True Church
Since the Universal Church is the Church as God sees it, it might be natural to then ask how one can know visibly where the people of God are. The visible Church is found in local expressions. When a Christian gathers with others in worship of their God, there is the church. But we can get a bit more precise. There is a difference between a true local church and a false local church. These differences would constitute the marks of the true church.
Some have said that only prayer is needed to see a true church, “Where a people prays, there is the church.”3 Yet this definition is wholly insufficient. We must channel our heritage, “[Christ’s true church] is discerned in these days by the word of God truly preached, the sacraments purely ministered, and some [church] discipline.”4 Not all theological beliefs must be held in common, and a person can be a true believer even in a false church, but the false church is an unhealthy and dying church.
True churches preach the gospel message. Paul instructs Timothy in the organization of, “the household of God”(1 Tim. 3:15). So there is some basic design to the church. Timothy is told in no uncertain terms, “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13). This expresses the first mark of a true church mentioned above, faithful doctrinal instruction. Most importantly, instruction that is purely communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the Apostles were sent into the world to preach this Gospel, so too ministers today are commissioned to be heralds of that same message. Sam Chan points out that, “Luther and Calvin also identified ‘the word of God preached’ as one of the marks of the true Christian church… Thus, they founded their church upon the apostolic [preaching] rather than apostolic succession.”5
True churches administer the sacraments correctly. There is more than just teaching involved in the worship gathering of the church. Paul instructs the observance of the Lord’s Supper, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”(1 Cor. 11:26). And the Apostles are directly instructed by Christ, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them” (Mat. 28:18).
True churches guard the sacraments. One might think of church discipline as subsumed within the administration of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Paul teaches that the right administration of the Lord’s Table involves a discernment among who is and is not walking in obedience to God (1 Cor. 11:27–29). Similarly, Jesus gives the Apostles the power of the keys (Mat. 16:19). Which is what the church exercises when it bars entry to the table or refuses to baptize those who are not proper recipients of baptism. It is important to see the logic behind this. God’s Gospel is proclaimed through the preaching of the minister, his Gospel is visualized in the sacraments, and his Gospel is guarded in the exercise of church discipline.
One could go on and explain with greater specificity each of these marks. For instance, membership could be added as a mark of the true church, for it elaborates on baptism. Similarly, discipleship and evangelism could be added, for these further clarify the mission of the true church as given by our Lord. Yet, it is still right to say that true preaching, true observance of the sacraments, and discipline are sufficient proofs of the presence of a true church.
The Healthy Church
There are many different ways of understanding a healthy church and what it ought to look like. A healthy church must be a true church, but it is more than that. Paul says the church is the household of God (1 Tim. 3:15) which brings in strong familial connotations. These familial connotations are seen in the surrounding context as well, with 1 Timothy 3 being about Elders managing their own household so that they could be trusted to manage God’s household. This presumes an intimate setting for church life.
The idea of the family also has precedent in the words of Jesus who says to his followers, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life” (Luke 18:29–30). It is natural to see the church as being the “many times more” that some will receive in this age.
So a healthy church is like a well-functioning family. If a true church is already proclaiming God’s word and rightly administering the sacraments, then what makes that church healthy is the dynamic of the family. A healthy church is going to grow, just as families do. Also, a healthy church will train the young members into maturity, and the mature members will help in this effort. Just as parents instruct their children, older Christians will take on some responsibility for discipleship as their maturity allows. Lastly, a healthy church will be connected. There will be extended families and interconnectedness that will happen over the generations. This is akin to how healthy churches see themselves as interconnected with other churches as they are co-laborers in the gospel ministry together. While the picture of family can be obscured in our own day with so many broken families, the healthy family is a good picture of a healthy church.
Discussion Questions
What comes to your mind when you think of the church? How does that impact how you view your own local congregation?
Have you connected yourself to a local church body?
If you were to add anything to the concept of a healthy church, what comes to mind?
Why is church discipline a mark of the true church? What would be distorted if discipline is not practiced?
The Westminster Assembly, “The Westminster Confession of Faith,” Ligonier Ministries, n.d., 25.1, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/westminster-confession-faith.
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion: 1541 Edition, trans. Robert White (Banner of Truth, 2020), xxxi; He says earlier, “Undoubtedly the church of Christ was alive and will continue to live as long as Christ reigns at his Father’s right hand.” Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, xxix.
Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile Vs. The Third Reich (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010), 69.
John Bradford, J.I. Packer, ed., The Reformation of the Church (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2021), 5.
Sam Chan, Preaching as the Word of God: Answering an Old Question With Speech-Act Theory (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2016), 11.
