Bob DeWaay: The Doctrine of the Church

In keeping with the pattern established over the last six years (excepting 2012), we return to the Essentials of the Christian Faith for the January episode of Echo Zoe Radio. This time around, Bob DeWaay returns to talk about the Doctrine of the Church. We discuss the visible church, the invisible church, the church militant, church universal, and the church triumphant. To the extent we can, we also offer advice to those seeking a local church to be a part of.

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An Outline of the Discussion

• The genitive is ambiguous, “The Doctrine of the Church” could mean the doctrine that the Church holds to, or the doctrine about the church. This discussion is about the latter.
• The first mention in the New Testament of the Church is in Matthew 16:18, which says: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock[a] I will build my church, and the gates of hell[b] shall not prevail against it.

  Christ is the head and the cornerstone. The gates of Hades is another way of describing death. Death shall not overcome the head of the Church, nor shall it overcome the Church itself or its members.

• The church is often divided into two categories: the visible church and the invisible church. The visible church is made up of people who profess Christ and at least appear to be Christian. The invisible church is made up of those who are actually regenerate and saved by Christ.
• A contemporary trend is to maximize the visible church using sociological means. It draws people in by meeting their perceived felt needs. This does little to further the cause of the invisible church, and gives people a false assurance. Bob compares this to Charlemagne, who converted pagans to Christianity at the end of a sword. They may have professed Christ to spare their lives, but most were not brought into the invisible Christ.
• The Church is also categorized as the Church militant, the Church Universal, and the Church Triumphant.
  • The Church militant is made of of those believers who are alive on the Earth, waging the battle for souls by spreading the Gospel to the unbelieving world.
  • The Church universal is made up of all believers from all places and all times going back to the beginning of time.
  • The Church triumphant is made up of those believers who have passed from this world, it is those believers that are no longer among the Church militant.
• A good local church is defined by the church leadership. 1 Timothy 3, & Titus 1 describe the roles and qualifications of elders (church leaders).
• The Reformers said “Where the Word of God is purely taught, and the sacraments (ordinances) are practiced according to the Lord's command, it is not to be doubted that there a church exists.”
• In looking for a local church to attend, we would first look to that church's leadership. If they have women on the elder board or as pastors, or they ordain open homosexuals, we would avoid that church.
• Next we would look to the pattern of the preaching. If the sermons are consistently from the scriptures, and done verse-by-verse through large sections or entire books (ass opposed to picking a verse-of-the-week), it is a good sign that they are at least trying to preach the Word faithfully.
• The church is never understood in the Scripture as a building.
• The most important thing a pastor can do is to preach Christ.

Scriptures Referrenced

• Matthew 16:18
• Acts 8
• Acts 2:40
• 1 Corinthians 1:16-24
• John 10:9
• Acts 20:28
• 1 Timothy 3:15
• Hebrews 12:23
• Ephesians 5:27
• Philippians 1:27
• 1 Corinthians 11
• Romans 14

Additional Resources

• Patrick Szalapski: The Essentials of the Christian Faith – Episode 9, January 2009
• Redefining the Church: The Church Growth Movement's Unbiblical Definition of the Church – Bob DeWaay, Critical Issues Commentary
• Bob's teachings on the Means of Grace at Gospel of Grace Fellowship (mentioned during the conversation)
• The Visible Vs. The Invisible Church – Brian Schwertley
• The Doctrine of The Church (MP3) – Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones (via Monergism)
• The Essentials of the Christian Faith – Patrick Szalapski