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The New Testament church is a body of believers that has been called out from the world by God to live as his people under the authority of Jesus Christ: God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
Church, in Christian doctrine, the Christian religious community as a whole, or a body or organization of Christian believers. After the Crucifixion, early Christians established their own communities of believers, modeled on the Jewish synagogue.
“Church” is the translation of the Greek term ekklesia, and is used in the New Testament to identify the community of believers in Jesus Christ. It literally means “assembly,” “congregation,” or “meeting.”
The church is the body of Christ, of which He is the head. Ephesians 1:22–23 says, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
At its core, the church is the global community of Christ followers who believe in the divinity and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are commissioned to proclaim the good news of His salvation to the world. The church transcends age, gender, race, geography, and socioeconomic lines.
The church is a new temple built in Christ, by Christ, and for Christ. Obviously, Paul isn’t saying the church is a building made out of mortar and brick, but that we are the stones, the living stones, as 1 Peter 2:5 tells us. Each believer is part of this church just as each stone is part of a building.
What is the church? The English word “church” comes from the Greek word “ekklesia,” which means “a gathering” or “an assembly” or literally “called-out-ones.” It was a word used of any gathering or congregation—not only a religious one.