The word "church" refers to a group or assembly of people who come together for a specific purpose. Although the term is only mentioned twice in the Gospels (Matthew 16:18; 18:17), it appears often in the book of Acts, most of Paul's letters, and other New Testament writings, especially in the book of Revelation.
In the Old Testament, one way to describe the people of Israel was by calling them “the congregation.” Some groups who believed they were the true Israel called themselves "the congregation." They believed they were not Israel by birth. This term was used by the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls and by early Christians, and it is what the word “church” originally meant. Christians often referred to themselves as “the church” or “the congregation” (with “of God” being understood without saying it).
The term "church" could mean all believers worldwide or any local group of them. It represented the presence of God’s people in a specific place. That is why the New Testament often uses the singular "church." It does this even when talking about many groups of believers (Acts 9:31; 2 Corinthians 1:1); the term “churches” is rarely found (Acts 15:41; 16:5). Each group or the whole group was the place where God was present (Matthew 16:18; 18:17). The congregation was something God had purchased with the blood of his Son (Acts 20:28).
Different Ways "Church" Is Used in the New Testament
The word "church" in the New Testament also has connections to the Greek world. In Greek, the word translated as "church" meant an assembly, a meeting. It referred to a political gathering or any group coming together. The word is used this way in Acts 19:32, 39, 41.
The Christian use of the word "church" in the New Testament varies widely:
As a Church Meeting: Sometimes, like in the Old Testament, it refers to a church meeting. For example, Paul tells the Christians in Corinth, “When you come together as a church” (1 Corinthians 11:18). This means that Christians are especially seen as God’s people when they gather for worship.
As the Entire Group in One Place: In passages like Matthew 18:17, Acts 5:11, 1 Corinthians 4:17, and Philippians 4:15, “church” refers to the entire group of Christians living in one place. The local nature of a Christian group is often highlighted. For example, in phrases like "the church in Jerusalem" (Acts 8:1), “in Corinth” (1 Corinthians 1:2), and “in Thessalonica” (1 Thessalonians 1:1).
As House Churches: In other texts, small groups of Christians who met in someone’s home are called churches, such as those who met in the house of Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19).
As the Universal Church: Throughout the New Testament, “the church” can also mean the universal church, which includes all believers (Acts 9:31; 1 Corinthians 6:4; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18). Jesus’ first mention of the founding of the Christian movement in Matthew 16:18 uses the term in this larger sense: “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
Paul often refers to the church as “the church of God” (1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32) or “the churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16). This gives a common Greek word a distinct Christian meaning. It sets the Christian assembly apart from other groups, both secular and religious.
The New Testament as a whole makes it clear that the Christian community saw itself as the community of the end times. They believed they were called into existence by God’s final act of revelation and divine presence in Jesus of Nazareth. Paul tells the Christians in Corinth that they are those “on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). This means that God had visited his creation and called out new people from both Judaism and the non-Jewish world. These people were empowered by God’s Spirit to be present in the world, sharing the Good News of God’s radical, unconditional love for his creation (Ephesians 2:11–22).
The Gospels tell us that Jesus chose 12 disciples who became the foundation of this new people. The connection to the 12 tribes of Israel is clear. It shows that the church was seen as both rooted in Judaism and as God's plan to make Israel "a light to the nations" (Isaiah 49:6; Romans 11:1–5). Because of this, Paul can call this new Gentile-Jewish community, this new creation, “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15–16). In this new community, traditional divisions of race, class, and gender were broken down. They had separated and ranked people into inferior and superior groups. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). This one group is called “the body of Christ.”
The Church as the Body of Christ
Paul is the only New Testament writer to call the church Christ's body (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22–23; 4:12; see also 1 Corinthians 10:16–17; 12:12–13). He also describes the church as “the body” of which Christ is the “head” (Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 1:18). The exact origin of this way of speaking about the church is not clear, but two ideas are particularly helpful for understanding Paul’s thinking:
Paul’s Damascus Road Experience: According to the accounts in Acts 9:3–7; 22:6–11; 26:12–18, Jesus identified himself with his persecuted disciples. When Paul persecuted these early Christians, he was actually fighting against Christ himself. Reflecting on this experience may have led Paul to believe that the living Christ was so closely identified with his community that it could be called his “body,” meaning the real, physical expression of his presence.
The Hebrew Concept of Corporate Solidarity: Corporate solidarity is the idea that a group can be represented by one person. Paul was deeply Jewish, and Jewish ideas shaped his thinking (Philippians 3:5). In this context, the individual is seen as closely connected to the nation as a whole. The individual does not truly exist apart from the whole people.
At the same time, the whole people can be represented by one individual. For example, “Israel” is both the name of one person and the name of a whole people. The “servant” in Isaiah 42–53 can be both an individual (Isaiah 42:1–4) and the nation of Israel (Isaiah 49:1–6). This idea of corporate solidarity (or unity) is the background for the close connection Paul makes between "the first Adam" and sinful humanity. It also connects "the last (or second) Adam" (Christ) with renewed humanity (1 Corinthians 15:45–49; see also Romans 5:12–21).
Paul expresses the close relationship between Christ and his church by comparing it to the unity and working together of a physical body (Romans 12:4–8; 1 Corinthians 12:12–27). For Paul, the Lord’s Supper is a specific example of this reality: “The bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10:16b–17). Because of this, Paul argues, every function within the body has its rightful place.
Division within the body (meaning the church) shows that something is not right. Paul’s repeated call for unity within the Christian community is based on this image of the church as “the body of Christ.”