The Church is our Mother: Why our doctrine of the church is limping along

The 3rd century church father and theologian Cyprian once wrote: “You cannot have God as your Father unless you have the church for your Mother.”

Before you question the authority of Cyprian in making this statement, realize that he is simply using Biblical language for the Church. Paul writes to the Church in Galatia: “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” (Gal. 4:26) Similarly, the Book of Revelation frequently uses the language of Jerusalem to speak of the Church, language that Paul uses to refer to our mother: “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” (Rev. 3:12) The language of church as mother might bring some light to the Apostle Paul’s words about the ministry of him and his colleagues in 1 Thessalonians 2:7–8: “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

I will begin with this statement (thesis) then. A Churchless Christianity is an impossibility. My Biblical definitions and arguments below should back this statement up sufficiently.

In response, the modern-day evangelical will turn on the smoke machines, and the above statement will likely be surrounded by hazy smoke and fog of rebuttals. Well, what do you mean by the church? Are you referring to a building? Why can’t I have ‘church’ with a couple friends out in the woods? Billy will read a few verses of Scripture, pray together, sing a few songs and church is over. I’m spiritual but not religious. Do you mean the visible or the invisible church? Do you mean the local church or the universal church?

We should be clear that the church has been clear on various truths about the church all the way from Cyprian too Calvin to the Reformed theologians who followed Calvin. This has been the message of the church throughout the ages as she responds to the Word of God. 1200 years after Cyprian, in the days of the Reformation, John Calvin also used the language of the church as our mother, assuming what Cyprian wrote:

“I will begin with the church, into whose bosom God is pleased to collect his children, not only that by her aid and ministry they may be nourished so long as they are babes and children, but may also be guided by her maternal care until they grow up to manhood and, finally, attain to the perfection of the faith. What God has thus joined, let not man put asunder (Mark 10:9): to those whom he is a Father, the church must also be a mother. This is not merely under the Law, but even now after the advent of Christ; since Paul declares that we are the children of a new, even a heavenly Jerusalem (Gal. 4:26).”

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.1.1

John Calvin continues:

“But as it is now our purpose to discourse of the visible church, let us learn, from her single title of Mother, how useful, no, how necessary the knowledge of her is, since there is no other means of entering into life unless she conceive us in the womb and give us birth, unless she nourish us at her breasts, and, in short, keep us under her charge and government, until divested of mortal flesh, we become like the angels. (Matt 22:30)… Moreover, beyond the pale of the church no forgiveness of sins, no salvation, can be hoped for, as Isaiah and Joel testify (Isa 37:32; Joel 2:32).”

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.1.4

If you read Cyprian and Calvin among the various theologians of the first 1900 years, it is clear then that in the 21st century, our corporate understanding of the church is at best, slowly limping along. Our collective view is definitely not traveling clearly within the boundaries of Scripture.

It is then useful for our intents and purposes here to consider what the Scriptures say about our mother. We should dig deep into the Scriptures to discern who she is and what God’s will is with regards to her authority. It is clear from the Scriptures that the Church is our mother, but what else does it say about the church? After all, if the Bible speaks of her as our ‘mother’, it would be useful for Christians to at least discover who our ‘mother’ is.

What I lay out below is a brief definition and overview of her government, her fellowship, her preaching and her sacraments. Much more could be said from the Scriptures.

What is the Church?

Jesus Himself instituted the Church in Matthew 16:18–19 when He said: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Similarly, Jesus speaks of the church as a visible entity in Matthew 18:17 when describing the process of dealing with sin: “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” The Greek word for “church” is used in Acts 2:47 when Luke puts on the record that many were saved on the day of Pentecost. It is used soon aer in Acts 5:11 when we hear that fear came upon the church. It is used many more times throughout the New Testament, both in the singular and the plural, that is, “the church” and “the churches.” In fact, my Greek lexicon records its use about 193x in the New Testament. If you look back into the Old Testament for types or pictures of the church, you will find it referred to many more times. St. Augustine once stated: “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” To paraphrase Augustine: “The church is in Israel concealed; Israel is in the church revealed.” We should also refer to Israel or Israel/Judah as the Old Testament Church.

So what exactly is the church then? Well, the Greek word “ἐκκλησία” can be translated as “the assembly, the congregation.” It can mean “called out” or “called together.” In the Old Testament, the equivalent word would be “qahal,” which is referred to in I Kings 8:65. It does not refer necessarily to a meeting place, but too a gathering, a group of people who have been called together. In the New Testament the word “ecclesia” most frequently refers to the New Testament Church as a totality (Eph. 3:10) or in a specific location (Col. 4:15), it can also refer to the Old Testament assembly of believers (Acts 7:38), or even a riotous mob (Acts 19:32). But essentially, it refers to a group of believers who love Jesus Christ. Consequently, when you read in Matthew 18:20 about “when two or three gather” in His Name, Jesus is not necessarily referring to the assembly for worship, but to the process of church discipline, which in the New Testament as in the

Old would have to be confirmed by at least two or three witnesses (Deut. 19:15, Matt. 18:16, 2 Cor. 2:21–3:1-2, I Tim. 5:19).

So Matthew 18:20 is not sufficient reason in and of itself to separate from the church as Christ has instituted it in the Scriptures, to have a private or informal gathering.

As you dig deeper into the Old and New Testaments, you will find that there is also a government that is connected with the church (I Tim. 3, Titus 1-2, I Peter 5, Heb. 13:18). Her ministry is identified (marked out) by preaching (I Cor. 2, II Tim. 4:1-5, I Peter 1:22-25), the celebration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (I Cor. 1, 11), and Christian fellowship of which spiritual church discipline is an crucial part (Matt. 18, I Cor. 5, I Cor. 16:21).

In fact, much of the New Testament is instruction to the church on how to be a church, how to live together as a church. It is full of theological and practical instructions for how to think about her covenantal bond to the groom, Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:25-33). Most of the letters are addressed to a church or to a group of churches. Only a couple are addressed to a Christian to Christian leaders. It is likely that Paul’s letter to Corinth was one of the first books of the New Testament, in chronological order of writing. You should regard Paul’s first letter to the Church in Corinth as a sort of initial church order or church constitution to instruct the church in regards to her duties with regards to the preaching (I Cor. 1-4), to the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (I Cor. 1, 11), and spiritual church discipline (I Cor. 5). This is in light of the desire of Christ that His Church act in a unified (I Cor. 1:10) and peaceable (I Cor. 14:33) and orderly (I Cor. 14:40) manner. The early church was also to have a moral code in relation to adultery and idolatry (I Cor. 5-11) as well as other matters of the Old Testament Law. But she was also to have a clear understanding of the authority of officers or office-bearers in the church as we see throughout Paul’s instruction to Timothy and Titus, wise men, full of the Holy Spirit, who are able to properly handle the Word of truth and instruct the assembly (II Tim. 2:15).

All theology, the writings of Scripture is tied into our understanding of what the church is, what her function is in this world, her worship, her preaching, her sacraments, her discipline, her fellowship, her government. We should not talk about the doctrine of salvation in total isolation from the doctrine of the church. This is neither done in

Scripture or in church history. It is clear then that a close study of Scripture should help the believer discern between a faithful church and an unfaithful church, a true church and a church that is either corrupt or apostate. But the believer is driven to love the church and to serve her and seek her upbuilding nonetheless, even if it is a basket-case church like in Corinth (I Cor. 14:12). For this, reason it is the duty of leaders in our current ecclesiastical confusion to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:12). We must not just be taught to love one another, but how to love one another.

How God describes the Church:

It is impossible to understand the church as a heavenly institution apart from God’s sovereign designation of the church as the object of our love in this world. Above all, we should see the beauty of the church by faith even when it is “with schisms rent asunder, by heresies oppressed.” We find a command in Psalm 48:12-14: “Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” We read in Psalm 87:1–3: “On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah”

In the Scriptures, the Church is described as God’s temple (I Cor. 3:16-17, I Peter 2:5), as God’s field, God’s building (I Cor. 3:9), as the Body of Christ (I Cor. 12:27, Eph. 4:12), the Bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7-8, 21:9, II Cor. 11:12, Eph. 5:31-32), The family of God (II Cor. 6:18, Eph. 2:19, Gal. 6:10, I Tim. 5:1), the household of God (I Pet. 4:17). We should see the church from the eyes of God, the eyes of faith, and not through the lens of this world. The Church is folly to the world. But to those who are being saved, we see it from the perspective of Christ who is reigning in the heavenly places. We should see the church through new eyes, with all its warts and flaws, as a Church that Christ loves and is purifying through water and the Word.

If we despise what Christ loves, separate from it and especially persecute it, then He will break out against us in His hot anger and holy indignation (I Cor. 3:16-17, Revelation). He did not come primarily to save an individual. He came to save a church (Eph. 5:31-32). It is of this church that I as a saved individual am a member. The Church is the primary object of Christ’s redemption. I get to join in on that grand project of

restoring sinful humanity to a new community in His cross and resurrection. He saves dead men. But unto what? He calls out. But He also calls together. If you love Christ, it is impossible to not love His Church, wherever He has called it together, and is moving with His Spirit within it. If you love Christ, it is impossible to not hate heresy, error, schism, and sin. It is impossible not to have mercy on those who doubt and to save others by snatching them out of the fire (Jude 22-23). Together, we are the church militant. We express that militance primarily when we gather together to worship Christ. As He heads down the warpath, Christ stops for a moment and looks back at His Church following in their orderly ranks and says with Solomon in Song of Solomon 6:10 “Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?” We look forward to the day when we will be the church at rest.

Conclusion:

Cyprian and Calvin argued in this way, because Christians must be taught to love what God loves. Why would you not love what God loves? We must be taught to avoid and flee from the desires of our sinful hearts. This includes the desire to escape the oversight of the church. I also hope that you see why I would describe the modern day church as “limping along.” I also hope that some of the theology that I lay out in here drives you to find a godly Christian Church that is repenting of its sins daily and growing in holiness, that is seeking to preach the pure gospel from the entirety of God’s Word, that is seeking to maintain the sacrament of baptism and the Lord’s Supper in holiness, and seeking the salvation of sinners and the purity of the church and beauty of godly Christian fellowship through the holy practice of spiritual discipline. All the extra programs of modern day evangelicalism, should disappear until we can do these things well. In fact, as Christians we should simply focus on worship, fellowship and service to one another and ultimately to Christ. Let’s get to work. Let’s worship Christ who bought us with His blood. Let’s be the Church.

Photo by Liv Bruce on Unsplash

This post was initially posted here on Rev. Nathan Zekveld’s Substack account.

Church, Theology