For believers, the Church, throughout history, has been the driving force in the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ himself said before his death and resurrection that “upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:16-18). In the Old Testament, many predictions are made regarding the Church or Kingdom that was to come in the New Testament. Pentecost marked the beginning of the Church presented in the New Testament. The Church is now present in more than 200 countries and has more than 2.18 billion Christians of all ages worldwide, representing nearly a third of the world's population estimated at 6.9 billion in 2010. (Pew Research Centers). This growth of Christ's Church has not occurred without Christ fulfilling His purpose through the Church over the past 2,000 years. It can be seen throughout the New Testament that the purpose of the local Church is to be the outward and visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayUnfortunately, the New Testament scriptures do not provide an exact definition of a local church, but they do describe the normal characteristics of a functioning local assembly. It is from these regular characteristics of the local assembly that we can formulate at least a descriptive definition of the local Church. Although there is no single verse that defines the purpose of the Church, there are scriptures such as Acts 2:42 that give a general summary of what the Church should consist of. We can see this very fact when Luke writes, “they devoted themselves continually to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” We see that this church in Acts must have the mission of teaching the word, fellowship, and prayer of God. There are many other biblical passages besides Acts 2:4:42 in the New Testament that complement what Luke writes and also highlight other important aspects and values ​​of the Church. These additional characteristics seen in the Scriptures are such characteristics as worshiping God, studying the Word, prayer, loving one another, helping one another, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and spreading the word. Gospel. These characteristics of the New Testament Church played an important role in the local Church becoming the outward and visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ to the world. Each of these characteristics brings glory to God and also helps to enrich the Church. Charles Ryrie summarizes these characteristics of the Church well when he describes what the Church is when he writes: "We see that the local Church is an assembly of professing believers in Christ who have been baptized and who are organized to do the will of God” (Ryrie 49). Ryrie shows us that the Church is made up of those who believe in God, are baptized, and seek God and His will set forth in Scripture. Additionally, it is also important to understand that the local church in the New Testament was always a body of believers and not a building (Eph. 1:22; 3:10; 5:23; Col. 1:1). . This is important for understanding the purpose and significance of why individual believers are essential to the growth of the Church and the mission of the Church. The apostle Paul saw the Church as the foundation of the unity of the body of Christ. He says, “No one can lay any other foundation of the church than that which is laid, even Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). Paul speaks of “fellowship” in 1 Corinthians 10:16 asparticipation in the blood and body of Jesus, that is to say in his death. This sharing establishes the fraternal communion of the Church: “because there is one bread, let all form one body, for we all participate in one bread (1 Corinthians 10:17). Through this unification of the body of Christ, believers are able to participate in the Will of the Lord through the local and global church through the unification of the body of Christ (Vischer 68). This unification of the body helps the Church live out its mission of reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It can be seen that the New Testament Church only came into existence as a result of the Gospel. The gospel helps provide direction, meaning and purpose for the local church. We can observe in the Gospel of Christ that the fundamental purpose of the Church is best expressed in the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20 demonstrates that the purpose of the Church is to make disciples. “Making disciples” involves winning people to faith in Christ and helping them become mature, reproductive believers. Everything the Church does should contribute to this end. This form of evangelism involves sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ with those who have not yet received it by faith. This understanding of the Church's mission to reach those who do not know Christ, and to develop and disciple believers, helps us understand that the Church is not just about the body but also those who are not yet separated from the body. Authors such as John Stott describe the Church as follows: “The Church is the new community of God. For his design, conceived in a past eternity, developed in history and perfected in a future eternity, is not only to save isolated individuals and thus to perpetuate our solitude, but rather to build his Church, it is- that is, to call out of the world a people for his glory. Christ died for us not only “to redeem us from all wickedness” but also “to purify a people of his own, willing to do good” (Stott 19). Stott emphasizes that the Church is God's redemptive plan. for man and this is something that God already knew before the beginning of time. God works through the Church to reach others and inspire them to discover God's Word and will for their lives. Challenging believers to reject their sinful lives to live a life worthy of God and free from wickedness. Give their lives to God by worshiping him. As stated previously, worship has great value in the local church and it desires to fulfill its purpose of being the visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ. The purpose of worship has two important purposes. The first objective being that God may be glorified by the demonstration of the faithful believer worshiping and praising Him. The other purpose of worship is for the benefit of the believer so that he may be enriched by the Spirit of God. Both purposes are mentioned in the New Testament instructions when Paul writes: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratitude in your hearts. farewell. (Colossians 3:16). Paul sees the importance of baptism since it allows new believers to publicly declare their new life in Christ and become an integral part of the community. This allows believers to identify with Christ in His death and resurrection to such an extent that it can also be described as our own death and resurrection. Both worship and baptism help build up the body of Christ and be the visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now..