The question may be answered by considering the words describing the institution of the church... the words describing Christians... and the illustration found in the Word of God about the church.

 

The New Testament Greek word for the church is "Ecclesia",  meaning "an assembly of called-out ones".

 

1.  Words Describing the Church

          The term is applied to:

               a.  The whole body of Christians in one city (Acts 11:22; 13:1)

               b.  A congregation (1Cor. 14:19, 35; Rom 16:5)

               c.  The whole body of believers on earth (Eph. 5:32)

 

The English word "church" is derived from the Greek "kuriake" meaning "that which belongs to the Lord"
   
The Church, then is a company of people called out from the world, who profess allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

2.  Words Describing Christians

              a.  Brethren - the church is a spiritual brotherhood or fellowship,

              in which ALL divisions that separate mankind have been abolished.

             As the apostle Paul puts it... "There is neither Jew nor Gentile..."  

             The deepest religious isolation is overcome; "there is neither Greek

              nor barbarian..."  The deepest cultural divisions is overcome; "There

              is neither bond nor free..."  The deepest social and economic

             divisions is overcome;  "There is neither male nor female...: the

             deepest of all human divisions is overcome.

 

              b.  Believers - Christians are called "believers" because their

              characteristic doctrine is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

              c.  Saints.  They are called "saints" (literally means consecrated

              or holy ones) because they are separated from the world and

              dedicated to God

 

              d.  The Elect - they are "the chosen" because God has chosen

               them for an important       ministry and a glorious destiny.

              e.  Disciples - means "learners" because they are under spiritual

              training with Christ-inspired instructors.

 

              f.  Christians - for their religion centers around the Person of Christ.

           

              g.  Those of the Way  - In the early days they were often known

              as "those of this way" (Acts 9:2) because they lived according to

              a special way of life.

3.  The Illustrations of the Church in the Word of God

 

              a.  The Body of Christ  - "As my Father hath sent me, even so

              send I you", "He that receiveth you receiveth me".

 

(Illustration)    "I am the vine, ye are the branches", the vine is incomplete without the branches, and the branches are nothing apart from the life which flows from the vine.  If Christ is to be known to the world, it must be through those who bear His name, share His life and bear his fruit. 

 

As Christ was anointed at the Jordan, so the Christ was anointed at Pentecost. Jesus went about preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the broken-hearted, and preaching deliverance to the captives; and the true Church will follow in His footsteps.  "As He is, so are we in this world."
1 John 4:17.

 

The Church is an "Organism" not merely an organization

 

      Organization = is a group of individuals voluntarily associated

       together for a certain purpose.

 

      Organism = is any living thing which develops by inherent life.  Which

      means the sum total of related parts, in which the relationship of each

      part to part involves a relationship to the whole.

 

              b.  The Temple of God  - a place in which God.  He now lives, by

              His Spirit, in the church.  (Eph. 2:21,22; 1Cor. 3:16,17) In this

              spiritual temple Christians, as priests, offer up spiritual sacrifices...

              of prayer, praise and good works.

              c.  The Bride of Christ - this illustration is used to picture the

              union and communion of God and His people.  (2Cor. 11:2;

              Eph. 5:25027; Rev. 19:7;22:17; 21:2)
            

The Purpose of the Church
 
We have made the Church a social gathering, click, pomp an circumstance, religious tradition, a spiritual circus... a money making machine... a multi million dollar business... a place to celebrate ourselves... show off our peacock feathers... a place were men and women are rejected because of their color... race or sin... a place of backbiting... character assassination... personal gain... sin and idolatry...   It has become not much different than the white washed tombs in the days of Jesus.   It has become more about us... then it is of Him... our platform... our agenda... our ministry...  Our property... our money...

 

We have raised a generation of hirelings that don't know what it means to walk in real faith.

 

We have taught people about the organization of the Church... but there is NO living organism in the Church...

 

We are more concerned about our programs then His Purpose

 

 

 

 Mathew 28:18-20    (18)  And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.   (19) Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost:    (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and , lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.  Amen

 

 Mark 16:15-18   (15) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.   (16) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.   (17) And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;   (18) They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
         
 Acts 1:8   (8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 

 1 John 3:8    (8) He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil ... occupy until He come... live by faith... walk in the Spirit... labor in the harvest... it is all summed up in this...

 

     ...the purpose of the Church is the "Great Commission" 

 

 

 

 

The Function of the Church can be seen in the function of the Apostles of the New Testament Church.  The word "missionary" comes from a Latin word meaning the same as the Greek word "apostolos," one sent forth.

 

The Function of an Apostle

 

1. Taking the gospel to unreached areas. Paul said to the Romans, "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation" (Romans 15:20).

 

2. Laying a firm foundation (Christ Himself) for the churches being established. Paul speaks of this important apostolic role: "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise master builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:10,11).

 

3. Training the initial leaders and appointing elders. When Paul and Barnabas made their second visit to Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, they prayed and fasted and ordained elders in each church (acts 14:21-23). Paul likewise instructs Titus to "set in order" the churches in Crete and appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5).

 

4. Dealing with specific problems, false doctrines or sins in the churches that had been established. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians illustrates his use of apostolic authority to speak to a number of problems in the church he had planted at Corinth: disunity, immaturity, pride, immorality, taking other believers to court before secular authorities, questions about celibacy and marriage, disputes about meat sacrificed to idols, wrong handling of the Lord's Supper, misuse of spiritual gifts, confusion about the resurrection, etc.

 

5. Promoting unity in the Body of Christ. The unity principle was applied on many different levels. In Philippi, Paul had to deal with a situation of contention between two ladies in the local assembly, Euodia and Syntyche. In Corinth, there was apparently city wide disunity in the church because of various believers choosing to rally around dynamic leaders such as Paul, Apollos, and Peter. Paul also performed the apostolic role of providing a link of communication and sharing with the universal Body of Christ around the world.

 

6. Demonstrating and imparting the supernatural dimension of the Kingdom of God. Although it is God's intention for all believers to heal the sick, cast out demons and perform miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit, those in apostolic ministry are particularly to bear this credential. Thus it is said that God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. Apostles were often used in a special way to impart the power of God to other believers.

 

In stating these six functions of apostles in the First Century church, it must be realized that each of the apostles in the New Testament was unique as to how he carried out his apostolic role. Peter was particularly gifted in reaching out to the lost. Paul seemed to excel in teaching and in building believers together as a functional expression of the Body of Christ. John's apostleship carried with it a prophetic heart that God's people would continually walk together in righteousness with the Lord and love each other. James, the half-brother of Jesus, also seems to have functioned as an apostle, even though the focus of his ministry was more pastoral and localized in Jerusalem.

 

It is also important to realize that having an apostolic calling did not automatically mean that the apostle had the right to exercise full authority in all places and situations. It was a ministry based upon relationship and not only on calling.

 

Also, it means that the authority of an apostle waned in certain ways once the local church was firmly established and provided with the oversight of local elders. The relationship and the authority still existed when necessary to intervene in problems not being remedied by the local leadership, but it was Paul's perspective that he was like a father whose role of authority diminished once his son or daughter reached adulthood. His heart was not to establish a "chain of command," but rather to see each church established under the headship of Christ.

 

 

Relevant Functions for Today

 

Unreached Areas - Although the gospel has gone out to some degree to every nation of the earth, there are still an estimated 16,000 "people groups" that are geographically or linguistically isolated and have never even heard of Jesus Christ.

 

Foundation Laying - Many churches in America and all over the world have never really been established on a solid biblical foundation. They have been built upon human traditions and human opinions, but not upon Christ Himself and His eternal Word.

 

Training Leaders - Today the apostolic function of training leaders has been largely replaced by seminaries and Bible schools. Appointing the leaders of local churches has been made a matter of congregational voting, selection by a denominational hierarchy, or ambitious aspiring young preachers simply starting their own churches and appointing themselves the pastors. The result has often been that leaders are put in places of responsibility that they are not really called to by God, and are not adequately equipped to fulfill. They may have been good students at the seminary, but are likely to miss the kind of personal training and character development that Timothy received from Paul.

Problem Solving - It is clear that local churches frequently encounter problems that they have difficulty solving without outside assistance. Pastors are often without any personal accountability and often have no one to give them input regarding church problems. Sometimes local leaders have blind spots and cannot even see the shortcomings that exist. There still a need today for men of apostolic authority to pierce through the blindness, ignorance and pride, speaking the Word of God to areas of sin, imbalance, false doctrine, division and other problems.

 

Unity - The disunity of the Body of Christ is still a scandal that robs us of the full blessing of God and undercuts our testimony to the lost. Men of genuine apostolic heart have a burden to see God's people come together as a united family and a united army. They see an overview of the universal church around the world and can sense the heartbeat of what the Lord is speaking. The vision is sorely needed in the church today, and only men of apostolic insight and authority can bring it about in a significant way.

 

Supernatural - We live in a day when God is moving mightily to restore signs and wonders to the church. For too long we have relied upon our intellect, human wisdom, and persuasive words - the very things Paul put no confidence in: "My message and my preaching were not in wise and persuasive words, but with demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power (1 Corinthians 2:4,5).

 

Yes, we need apostles today!