The Church

The church is defined as the community of all believers of all time. Eph. 5:1 “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”. Here the word church refers to all the redeemed both before and after the cross. It is therefore reasonable to state the church is both visible and invisible. The Catholic views itself as the visible church. Protestants define the visible church as the church as Christians see it. It is not the church as the world sees it. The invisible church is the church as God sees it. There are marks of the true church and marks of false churches. The church has specific purposes in the world and worldwide ministries. Gifts of the Spirit are manifest in the church. The story of the influence of Christ’s Church in the world is remarkable. We are truly the “salt of the earth”.