It is important to understand the word church.
Generally, when we talk about a church, we are referring to a building or a denomination of some kind. But what does God call Church? According
to God there are four types of churches: The Man Church, the Local Church, the Universal Church and the Church Jesus Christ.
- The church man is the one who gave his life to the Lord Jesus and who seeks to please Him by walking according to the word of God. It thus becomes a temple of God ( 1 Corinthians 3: 16)
- The local church is all the Christians who gather to pray. It can be composed of two, three, four members or even a country (Roman 16:5, Revelations 1:20).
- As for the Universal Church, it is made up of all the men and women who give their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, whether in past, present or future centuries.
- All this can be summed up in one Church that is Jesus Christ, for He is the foundation on which all three other churches rest. The Church is in reality the spiritual home of God, the spiritual temple where God resides fully, Jesus Christ. It cannot be corrupted or withered because Christ is sinless (Ephesians 5:27). Without Jesus Christ in human life, we cannot speak of conversion, much less a local or universal church. Indeed, Jesus Christ is the fundamental Church. It is the foundation (beginning) ( 1Corinthians 3:11) and the coronation of it (Revelation 1:8). Jesus is the only temple that contains God truly and entirely (Colossians 2:9). What no creature can be ( 2 Chronicles 6:18). It is perfection, the temple of God, the city of refuge, the healing of nations. It is the only place of worship. Indeed, Christ is god’s indicated place to pray and be fulfilled. It is the first Church, the place of gathering that God approves. (John 2: 19, John 2:21, acts 4:12, Deuteronomy 12: 11-14, Matthew 3:16-17).
