What is the church? Men may be confused about what the church is, but the New Testament is clear about it. It is not a physical building, nor is it a group of churches. The church is composed of people. The question is what people? The Bible gives us the answer. The church is made up of those who have obeyed the gospel.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (ESV)
13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These saints were sanctified by the Spirit when they responded to the gospel call and were saved. At that time they were added to the church (Acts 2:47), which is the way everyone in the church got there. Now, there are four things stated by Paul in verse 18 that point to His preeminence.
First, Jesus is the head of the body. The body is the church (ver. 18). Christ being the head of the church points to His supreme authority over it. The religious world would not be in such a mess if everyone who claimed to believe this about Christ acted like it. Since Christ is the head of the church, everything the church does must be done by His authority (Colossians 3:17). That is accomplished when the church only does what the Bible teaches. The Lord’s church does the work that Christ, through His apostles, authorized, and worships the way Christ demands. Churches that do whatever they feel like doing show that their claim that Jesus is head is only lip service, something Jesus condemned when He said, “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:7-8).
Second, Jesus is the beginning. The Greek word here is archē and has several meanings. It can mean first in time or rank, or it can mean first in the sense of being the source from which something came. It is in this latter sense that Paul uses the word here. We have already seen that Jesus is the source of the physical creation, but here Paul is talking about God’s spiritual creation, the church. The church is the moral creation of Christ.
Third, Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. That simply refers to Jesus being the first one to be raised from the dead, never to die again. Listen to His own words:
Revelation 1:17-18 (ESV)
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Fourth, in all things Jesus has the preeminence. This is the result of the first three things mentioned by Paul. In connection with the church, Christ is the living Lord, being the head over all things. He is our source and origin, meaning we owe our very existence as Christians to Him and His redeeming power. But, Jesus dying on the cross was not enough for the church to be established. Jesus had to prevail against the gate of Hades (Matthew 16:16), and, by the power of God, He did. In all of this, we see He is preeminent in all things.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.