The church as the assembly is composed of the saints (1 Cor. 1:2; Heb. 2:12). This means that the church is composed of all those who have believed into Christ and who possess His life. Any person who has not believed into Christ and has not been saved cannot be a component of the church.
In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul says, “To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints.” According to grammar, “to the church of God” is in apposition to “to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints.” This indicates that “to the church of God” equals “to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints.” This strongly indicates that the church is a composition of the saints, and the saints are the constituents of the church. The two should not be considered separate entities. Individually, we are the saints; corporately, we are the church. Thus, the church is not only constituted of God but is also composed of the saints, of those who have been separated, set apart, to God for the fulfillment of His purpose.
Since the church is composed of the saints, the church is of the saints. First Corinthians 14:33 calls the churches “the churches of the saints.” In the New Testament there is only the church of God, the church of Christ, and the church of the saints. There is not a church of the elders or of the apostles in the New Testament. The elders are slaves serving the churches. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:5, “We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.”
To say that the church is the church of the saints means that the saints are the owners, the possessors, of the church. However, neither the apostles nor the elders are owners of the church. The elders are the servants of the saints, the apostles are the slaves of the saints, and the saints are the owners of the church.
The church is of God, because God has purchased it with His own blood. The church is of Christ, because Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for the church and because the church is in Christ. The church is also of the saints, because the saints are the components of the church and the owners of the church. Such a church is altogether an entity separated from the world unto God for the carrying out of His eternal economy. Hence, the church is the assembly, the ekklesia, a congregation called out of the world by God and separated from the world. The church belongs to God, to Christ, and to all the saints. This is the church as the assembly.
Home | First | Prev | Next