What is the church? Many modern Christians feel conflicted about the role of the church in their lives. Some see it as a hospital for the broken, while others view it primarily as a place of community. When the church fails to live up to either expectation, disappointment follows.
The Church Is the Body
We must be careful not to judge the church by standards it was never meant to fulfill. The church is not a social club or therapy group; it has a specific purpose ordained by God. According to Scripture, the church is nothing less than the body of Christ on earth. As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 12, Christians are united by the Holy Spirit into one body, with Christ Himself as the Head. This beautiful image conveys the intimacy and inseparability of our relationship to the church. We are appendages of a living body, receiving direction and nourishment from our Head.
Just as a finger cannot survive apart from the hand, a Christian depends entirely on the body for growth and vitality. Yes, this mutual interdependence can be frustrating when other parts of the body don't seem to be fulfilling their role. But the solution is not isolation. An amputated finger doesn't magically gain independence—it dies. So too, if we sever ties with other Christians, we cut ourselves off from the bounty of grace that is only found in the body of believers.
Unity within the body is non-negotiable because Christ and the church are inextricably linked. Paul goes so far as to call the church the "fullness" of Christ, who fills His body the way a soul fills a body (Eph 1:22-23). Amazingly, God has chosen to continue his presence on earth through us, his hands and feet. We the church are now Christ's representatives, called to model Him through our love for each other and the world.
This high calling inevitably involves growing pains and mistakes. After all, the body of Christ is made up of flawed human vessels like you and me. We shouldn't be shocked when people in the church hurt us or things don't work perfectly. We're all broken sinners in need of grace.
God knew what He was doing when He established the church through the ministry of imperfect people. He wants us to learn patience, forgiveness, and humility. He wants us to reflect his persevering love. The church is God's proving ground of character development, the place where we learn what it means to be the body of Christ.
The Church Is the Bride
As the bride of Christ, the church is portrayed as the chosen spouse of Jesus, bound together in a covenant of love. Like a groom pursuing his beloved, Jesus sacrificed Himself to redeem His church from sin and bring her into union with Himself. He proved His devotion by paying the ultimate bride price on the cross. Now cleansed by His blood, we await the coming marriage feast when Christ returns to consummate his relationship with the church in eternal unity (Rev. 19:7-9).
This marriage metaphor implies our steadfast love and fidelity to the rest of the church family. If Jesus is the divine Bridegroom, then all believers are part of his cherished bride. We are collectively bound to Him as one counterpart, just as husband and wife become one flesh in marriage. This special oneness demands we extend the same grace and commitment to fellow members of the bride that Christ demonstrated to us. When we harbor bitterness against other Christians, we betray the loyalty we owe our shared Groom.
Imagine a bride bad-mouthing fellow members of the wedding party or trying to distance herself from the rest of the bride’s family. This would show gross ingratitude toward the groom who lovingly chose to join himself to the entire family. In the same way, when Christians ostracize one another, we dishonor our Bridegroom Jesus. He sacrificed everything out of love for His church family; how can we do anything less? The shadow of the cross leaves no room for grudges and divisions in the bride He died for.
The Church Is the Child
Scripture also depicts the church as the child of God. All believers have been adopted into His family and can call Him “Abba, Father” through the Spirit (Rom. 8:15). This means we are now cherished children of the Creator of the universe. While this is an amazing privilege, it also requires humility, deference, and love toward our spiritual siblings.
A human father would be deeply grieved by constant bickering and competition among his children. How much more our perfect heavenly Father! God designed the church to function as a unified family under His loving parental care. He cannot tolerate discord and strife in His household; it dishonors His name and the sacrificial love of His Son. That’s why Jesus constantly emphasized reconciliation and forgiveness among His followers—the unity of God’s children displays His glory to the world (John 17:20-23).
When certain fellow believers rub us the wrong way, we must remember our shared status as the children of God. There is no basis for rivalry or judgment within the family. We are called to honor one another as equals because we share the same Father and inheritance in Christ (Rom. 15:7). The ground is level at the foot of the cross; we must humbly take the lowest place as servants rather than competing for status as Jesus’ disciples originally did (Luke 9:46-48).
The family metaphor also reminds us that, like children, we are all still works in progress. Sanctification is a slow, lifelong process. Other believers will inevitably annoy us because no Christian reaches full maturity in this life. But we are called to show the same patient forbearance that God demonstrates toward us (Eph. 4:2). We must speak the truth in love and leave ultimate judgment to our Father.
Just as parents rebuke their children out of deep affection, God disciplines us to nurture holiness and unity (Heb. 12:5-11). His longing is to present the church to himself as a radiant bride, unstained by petty grievances and divisions (Eph. 5:25-27). This should be our longing as well.
As members of Christ’s body, bride, and child, we cannot turn our backs on the church when it disappoints us. Doing so would betray the work of Jesus on the cross to purchase and purify these sacred bonds. When we feel disenchanted with church, we must remember whose we are—we belong to the Head, Husband, and Father. Our loyalty and submission to their body, bride, and child is non-negotiable. With the Spirit's help, we must forgive, serve, and love one another as befits our privileged place in God's forever family.
