The Importance of the Church

Why is the church worthy of our study? When the apostle Paul was preparing to go to Jerusalem, fully aware that he might die there, he stopped on the way and “called the elders of the church” at Ephesus to come and meet with him (Acts 20:17). After the elders arrived, Paul spoke to them with such earnestness that tears flowed from their eyes (v. 37). At the heart of what he said was this exhortation: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (v. 28). Surely these elders returned to Ephesus with a fresh appreciation that the church is owned by God the Father, bought with the blood of God the Son, and personally superintended by God the Holy Spirit. Nothing on earth can compare to the church. Let us consider a few reasons why.

God’s People Whom He Loves

Paul addresses the Christians in Rome as those “beloved of God, called to be saints” (Rom. 1:7). He reminds the believers in Colossae that they are “the elect of God, holy and beloved” (Col. 3:12). Elsewhere he teaches that a husband should have a unique love for his wife because “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). God expresses his love for his people by saying that they are the apple of his eye—the most tender part of the body, which we naturally protect. If we love God, then we will love what he loves. Therefore, we must love the church. To claim to know God while we are unconcerned about our brothers and sisters in Christ is hypocrisy (1 John 4:7–8). Those who despise the church are those most unlike God, who sacrificed his Son for it. On the other hand, those who love God’s people with a Christlike love prove that they are true disciples of Christ (John 13:34–35). When we love one another in Christ, God himself dwells in us, and his love reaches its perfect goal in our lives (1 John 4:12).

God’s Plan for Spiritual Growth

Another reason why the church is important is that God has chosen to make its ministry his ordinary means of causing people to receive and grow in Christ. Paul says that the Lord Jesus gave the ministers of the Word, beginning with the apostles and continuing today with “pastors and teachers,” for the purpose of “the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–12). However, the “edifying” or building up of Christ’s church is not solely the work of those who preach and teach God’s Word; it is the responsibility of “every part” of the body (every member of the church) to love the others so that the whole church grows spiritually (v. 16). Bavinck said that “all the rich benefits which Christ gives to His believers on earth” are granted “only in the fellowship which binds all the believers together.” He added, “This fellowship is a powerful support to every particular believer.”

The Holy Scriptures speak of the church as “the mother of us all” (Gal. 4:26) and portray the ministry of the Word as a motherly labor of birth and nurture (v. 19; cf. 1 Thess. 2:7–8). John Calvin (1509–1564) said,

We need outward helps to beget and increase faith within us. . . . In order that the preaching of the gospel might flourish, he [God] deposited this treasure in the church . . . into whose bosom God is pleased to gather his sons, not only that they may be nourished by her help and ministry as long as they are infants and children but also that they may be guided by her motherly care until they mature and at last reach the goal of faith . . . so that, for those whom he is Father the church may also be Mother.

Therefore, we cannot neglect the church without neglecting our spiritual life. People who refuse to attend church are like foolish children who refuse to come to the table where their mother has set out a good meal to feed them. Furthermore, we shirk our duty if we do not participate in the life of the church, for every Christian has the responsibility to use his gifts to help others. Robert Culver (1916–2015) said that the church is “the vehicle of evangelism, nurture and instruction.”

God’s Place Where He Is Present

Although the church is not a building, when the people of God gather, their meeting is sacred, for God is among them. Christ promises, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). He also promises that as the church makes disciples of all nations, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (28:20). The gathered church is God’s house, where he manifests his special presence on earth.18 Calvin said, “God himself appears in our midst,” and “his voice” is heard in the preaching of the Word.

The church is like a portal between heaven and earth, a Beth-el, or “house of God,” because it is joined by faith to Christ (Gen. 28:10–19; John 1:51). When we draw near to God in the church’s worship while exercising faith in Christ, we enter the holy places (Heb. 10:19–22). John MacArthur notes that in the offering of worship, the exaltation of Christ, the pursuit of holiness, and the fellowship of saints, “the church is an earthly expression of heaven.” What an immense privilege it is to approach heaven while on earth! We should treasure every opportunity to participate in the church’s worship services and prayer meetings.

God’s Purpose for All Things

God created all things for the sake of his Son (Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). He sent the Lord Jesus to redeem his people (Gal. 1:4–5; Titus 2:14). He exalted Christ to the highest place and “gave him to be the head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22). Therefore, the church stands at the center of God’s purpose for the universe. God’s mysterious plan, “which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ,” is to make known “by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (3:9–11). Culver said, “The preeminence of the church in God’s scheme of things could hardly be stated more vigorously.” It is God’s intent to display his “glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages” (v. 21). Therefore, God’s purpose for creating the world can be summarized as follows: to display his glory in Christ through the church.

This thought should fill our minds with wonder: the purpose of the Creator in making all the universe revolves around the church of Jesus Christ. Since God is sovereign, all things are working together to make Christ the preeminent Son among many redeemed brothers and sisters who bear his image in God’s family (Rom. 8:28–29). If you desire to have a part in God’s great purpose for the universe, be part of his church.

This article is an excerpt from Dr. Joel Beeke and Dr. Paul Smalley’s “Reformed Systematic Theology", Volume 4: Church and Last Things.”