In order to define a NT church, we must first decide on the basis or authority for such an investigation. Some hold to a blend of Scripture plus human reason or experience. Others say the authority for such matters comes from the Scriptures and the church. These ideas are unworkable because we must then decide who shall be the judge of which voice is to prevail in matters of disagreement.
No, the evangelical believer insists that Scripture alone is the authority sufficient for faith and practice. Any theory wherein God starts man out on the right track with the basics (as in the early church) but then expects him to develop his own structure arising from the divine foundation, must be rejected as error for the simple reason that the church is always presented as God’s revelation from its inception to its consummation. Nothing is left to imagination; all is part of the foreknown will and purpose of God.
That this is the correct view is confirmed by the fact that those who hold to other views have indeed built as seemed right to them, and the result is a bewildering maze of denominations, all very different and all claiming to be the true way.
Thus the question becomes: What is the church according to the Bible (New Testament)? The Scriptures present the church from two perspectives; what is seen by God (often called the universal church), and what is seen by a man in a given location (the local church). When we ask: What is the church (or what is the New Testament church), we are referring to the sum total of all blood bought believers of the New Testament age from beginning until the close.
If we ask: What is a New Testament church? we are referring to a local expression of the whole in any one place. But this presents us with a problem. People and countries and cultures and customs being very diverse, the truths of the universal church are represented at the local level in very diverse ways. Although these local representations may be peculiar, most of the time, the differences are inconsequential.
Nevertheless, sometime the differences are significant, and may violate essential truths so that the part ceases to be an accurate picture of the whole. It is easy to understand, then, that down through the present age, a great deal of energy and discussion has gone into the study of exactly what constitutes a local church, i.e., one that perfectly represents the universal church?
Now without question we are talking about an ideal; something as difficult to apprehend as a Christian who does not sin. Not a bad analogy because both are set forth in the Scriptures as something to be earnestly sought; an ideal so real and so important that we must lay down our very lives for both. Thus in one sense it is probably fair to say that there is no truly perfect New Testament local church anywhere on earth.
The very fact that local churches are filled with imperfect people guarantees imperfections. But used in a more general sense, (the ordinary understanding), we can use the expression informally to describe a local church that seeks to pattern itself after the church as described in the New Testament. To put it another way, a church that (except for differences in time and culture), the apostles themselves could visit with approval.
How would we describe such a church in simple terms?
A NT church would be a church in which all was done to “adorn” (as Paul puts it) the foundational principles of the “ekklesia” – the called out company of the elect meeting together as set forth in Scripture. Let me suggest seven foundational principles that are key. A New Testament church will express and never mar the truths of 1) the Headship and centrality of Christ; 2) the unity of all believers; 3) the priesthood of all believers; 4) the family nature of the church; 5) the sanctity of the sexes; 6) the divine order in leadership; 7) the mission known as the Great Commission.
A chart will help compare ways in which these vital truths may be either expressed or suppressed practically.
| Truth | Expressing the Truth | Suppressing the Truth |
| Christ: Head & Center Preeminence Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18 |
Weekly breaking of bread Circle with emblems in the midst |
Earthly head “The Pastor” Earthly headquarters |
| Unity of all believers Nature of the bride of Christ I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:3,4; Jn 17:21-23 |
Use of names that include all believers (saints, believers, Christians, etc.) No denominational names |
Denominational names Local church “membership” lists |
| Priesthood of all Believers Church age: all may draw near Heb. 10:22; Rev. 1:6 |
Spirit led worship and ministry Giftedness of all believers |
Clergy/laity division Ministry by professionals |
| Family nature of the local church Father; little children; brethren Eph. 2:19 “the household of God” |
Family functions of Acts 2:42 Use of letters of introduction Receiving believers into fellowship |
The church a mixed multitude of saved and lost |
| Sanctity of the sexes Order established at creation Gen. 1:27; 2:24 |
Roles within the church (men leading; women supporting) Use of the head covering |
Headship/sonship confused Use of ‘cultural argument’ to reject selected instructions |
| Divine order in leadership Plurality under God Safety in multitude of counselors Tit. 1:5; Acts 14:23 |
Elders: overseers in spiritual things Deacons: administration in temporal things |
One man ministry & rule (perhaps with board of subordinates) Lack of accountability Men of the church largely spectators |
| Mission = Great Commission Love / gospel -> seek the lost Mt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8 |
Witnesses & evangelists equipped within the church and sent out by the church |
Lost expected to “go” to church to find God Verbal witness = “come to meeting” |