The 3 Ways the Bible Describes the Church and What That Means for You

We Need Each Other Although culture increasingly values independence and self-sufficiency, Christians are taught throughout the pages of Scripture that dependence on God and his church is a good and right thing. Paul teaches us in Galatians that we “fulfill the law of Christ” when we “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2). Paul also calls the church to “love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10). It is evident that we desperately need one another. In order to understand how we practically fulfill our calling as the church, it is important to first have a biblical understanding of what the church is. Scripture uses three analogies to describe the church: the family of God, the body of Christ, and the bride of Christ. The Church as the Family of God When we are justified, we are also adopted by God (Rom. 8:14–15). We are instantly made children of God and therefore coheirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). This is an eternal identity that unites the church—we will always be brothers and sisters. We share a heavenly Father, a sacrificial and perfect older brother, the Spirit of adoption, and an eternal inheritance. The church is bound up togeth...