Introduction
Ecclesiology is the theological study of the church's identity. The word derives from the Greek ekklēsia (G1577, "called out"), which better translates as "assembly" or "congregation." Over time, as Christianity evolved into a world religion, theologians linked the notion of the church to a hierarchy of bishops, priests, and deacons with the people as its subjects. Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 35–107) opined, "Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church" (Smyrnaeans 8). Simply put, individuals are only part of the church if they subject themselves to a bishop when worshiping God. Ignatius also implied that Christ remains with the bishop, and the people must approach him via this intercessor. However, Luke of Antioch used the word "church" to describe the people of the early Jesus movement when he wrote the Acts of the Apostles. For example, his narrative about the Council of Jerusalem details how Paul of Tarsus and Barnabas happened upon the church when they met elders and other apostles (see Acts 15:3-5). In this case, the entire congregation with laity and leadership comprised the church.
Old Testament Church
For us to identify the church, we must research its origins. Because the writers of the Septuagint (the Old Testament in ancient Greek) employed the word ekklēsia about Israel, the church predates the incarnation of Jesus. The traditional seventy (Latin: septuaginta) Jewish translators believed ekklēsia was the most accurate rendering of qahal (H6950, H6951). Why does this matter? Because the qahal was the holiest gathering of Israelites rather than a local synagogue. The church began with the exodus of the Israelites from their Egyptian taskmasters. The narrative purpose of the Hebrew scriptures was to establish Israel as the nation that would restore God's created order. From the time Abraham left Ur for Canaan, God set aside his descendants from Sarah according to his sovereign will. Later, Abraham's grandson Jacob successfully grappled with God and received a new name: Israel (H3478)—one who wrestles with God. Thus, the entire nation derived from the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became Israel. Implied in this label is the overall failure of humankind to seek God, a problem of which both King David and Paul lamented: "As it is written, 'There is no one righteous, not even one'" (Rom. 3:10; cf. Ps. 14:3; 53:3).
Israel was supposed to be different—a group of human beings after God's heart. The arrival of Jesus as God incarnated in the world expanded Israel from a nation limited to Judea to one available for everyone. Just as the original Israelites fled the exploitative rule of an Egyptian pharaoh, the church runs from the bondage of sin. The church's origin lies in the exodus, from which it departs from the world toward a heavenly province flowing with milk and honey. Most importantly, the great qahal of Israel gathered at Mount Horeb after God told Moses: "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children" (Deut. 4:10). It was at Horeb where God revealed the Ten Commandments (v. 13). So, the Hebrew word qahal only referred to the great congregation of national Israel whenever it gathered to worship or hear from God.
New Testament Church
Before his arrest, Jesus promised his disciples that he would send another Advocate (Greek: Paraklētos; G3875) to them (see John 14:16). Implied in this vow is Jesus' claim of being an advocate for the church to God the Father and the ability to dispatch the Spirit. However, the Son does not send the Holy Spirit according to his designs but from the Father (see John 14:26; 15:26). Jesus cannot send the Spirit by himself because doing so would result in two different wills. Instead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God in the Trinity of persons; the first is the source of purpose for the other two (see "Trinity: Jewish & Gentile Views"). Therefore, the Son sends out (Greek: ekporeuomai; G1607) the Spirit from the Father, not himself (see "Definition of Chalcedon"). The church receives counsel and advocacy from the Son and the Holy Spirit according to the Father's will, which they never violate. In his second epistle, Simon Peter wrote how the church participates in the divine nature by communing with God (see 2 Pet. 1:4). The church is only one with God because of the Son, who guides it by sending the Spirit from the Father in his stead. It can never be one with the divine nature in composition, only by reciprocating faith, hope, and steadfast love (see 1 Cor. 13:13). The Holy Spirit tells the church exactly how to walk by faith and not by sight, how to persist in hope against all odds, and how to love completely. He also advocates for the church when we fail to do these things.
Although God made us in his image, we are still inferior and subordinate to him. In this case, "image" is synonymous with "copy" or "shadow." Humankind is not divine in and of itself but requires a hybrid intercessor such as Jesus to intercede for it. God created it to be inferior to his substance, which is not a result of the fall or original sin. Human beings, like all creatures, were once "good" by nature (see Gen. 1:31). The image of God was not lost after Adam and Eve disobeyed, but now finds its perfection in Jesus. Therefore, the matter is not evil in a Platonic sense. The very incarnation of God, the Son in human flesh, implies that human nature is "good." If the doctrine of original sin were true, Jesus would not have entered human flesh and into an evil nature by default. We sin because we abuse the free will that God gave us (see Rom. 1:30; cf. "God's Will & Our Free Choices").
On the other hand, the church represents humanity restored. Whereas most people decide to sin against God, the church is a community that seeks his guidance continuously. It forgoes free will to honor the purpose of God, a goal realized by the intercession of Jesus and the comfort of the Spirit. When Paul lamented how no human being seeks God (see Rom. 3:11), he spoke about sinners outside the church. He also understood how free will enables individuals to join the church and to seek God's counsel by faith, not just to disobey him.
Jesus & the Church
Understanding the correct identity of Jesus concerning the church is essential. Whereas the church is a product of the material world, Jesus is eternal. As God incarnate, he bridged the spiritual essence of God with the material creation of which humankind is part. Even if human beings did not fall into evil, God the Father still would have sent his only-begotten Son, Jesus, into the world to intercede on its behalf. The intercessory role of God the Son is not a response to sin but one that allows humankind to commune with the divine essence without being intrinsically part of it. Instead, God made human beings in his image (Latin: imago Dei); that is, a copy of his substance (see "Humankind & Ancestral Sin"). Jesus is God's essence and the material vessel that typifies it. His purpose is to intercede on behalf of the church, the people God trusts to accomplish his goals and to communicate with him. Any christology that relegates Jesus to a mere creature lower than a timeless expression of God also concludes that the church is a pointless endeavor. Without the divine Logos (G3056)—Jesus as our intercessor—the church would be nothing more than a group promoting their standards of truth and righteousness. The church is holy because God sets it apart, not because we Christians attain holiness on our own merits.
Conclusion
The church is simply the people of God to a world that has abandoned him. Jesus is its high priest; it does not require any other priest. The author of the letter to the Hebrews carefully delineated who Jesus is and is not—Jesus is not an angel (see Heb. 2:5-9) or a priest who makes temporal sacrifices to cover human wrongdoing. Instead, Jesus is God incarnate, who sacrificed himself once as the only high priest capable of doing so (see Heb. 4:14). He taught the church not to call anyone rabbi, instructor, or father because the Lord is the only one who instructs and fathers it correctly and honestly (see Matt. 23:9). Paul called the church the "body of Christ" because it accomplishes his purpose in the world (see 1 Cor. 12:27). However, the church needs Christ to intercede between humankind and God, so it is not one with him in any mystical sense. The church partakes of the divine nature by grace through faith, never by its works (see Eph. 2:8-9). Likewise, no ecclesiastical hierarchy represents the church to God or God for the church. They relate through Jesus alone.
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the universe; we pray for your holy Christian church. Fill it with all truth, in all reality, with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is correct, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is in discord, reunite it; where it is in decline, renew it; for the sake of Jesus the Messiah, your Son our Savior. Amen.
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