Category: Doctrine of the Church

Ecclesiology is the study of the doctrine of the Church. The word “church” is used in a variety of ways and can therefore be confusing if people are thinking of it in a different sense. The invisible Church refers to true believers whereas the visible church refers to people claiming to be Christians but may or may not Read more

The most common NT word that is translated into church is ekklēsia (ἐκκλησίᾳ), which literally means a calling out or an assembly of people. It is variously used in the NT to mean the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth, a local assembly, and the entire network of local assemblies. But the English word Read more

The objective role of the Church from a Roman Catholic perspective is to preside over the Kingdom of God on earth, to properly administer the sacraments, to properly interpret Scripture, and to properly interpret the revelatory content of Church tradition. The objective role of the Church from a Protestant perspective is simply to properly teach the Read more

The word sacrament does not appear in the Bible. Rather, the Bible uses the Greek word mustérion (μυστήριον) which means a mystery or a secret doctrine. Jerome translated this into the Latin word sacramentum for the Vulgate, which literally means an oath. The English use of sacrament is derived from the Latin rather than the original Greek. Nevertheless, the Read more

Baptism is translated from the Greek word baptizō (βαπτίζω), which most often means to immerse or submerge, but can also mean to cleanse. The formal act of baptism does not occur in the OT, but there are many instances of water being associated with purification. Baptism is first seen in the Bible with John the Baptist. “John the Read more

The Lord’s Supper has been universally practiced by all Christians for all time. This involves the communal eating of bread and drinking of wine (or grape juice) to, at a bare minimum, remember the death of Christ with the breaking of the bread symbolizing the breaking of Christ’s body and the wine symbolizing His blood. Unlike Read more

This post is provided primarily for reference. It first discusses church governance as described in the NT, and then gives a short summary of the major church governance practices that exist today. Church Governance in the NT. The Churches in the NT all seem to have had a governing group of individuals most commonly called elders. Read more

Corporate prayer (also called prayers of the people[i]) is a core function of the church. Therefore, prayer as it relates to the doctrine of the church is now discussed. But the topic of prayer includes more than just corporate prayer. Therefore, this section will address prayer in general, including corporate prayer, even though some of Read more