15. Nature, Attributes, Marks, Mission of the Church

Question 1

What are the attributes of the church?

Answer 1

1. holiness (Eph. 1)
2. universality – all who belong to the body of Christ comprise the church (eph. 2)
3. apostolicity in that the core gospel message is a heritage that has been passed on since the time of the apostles (Eph. 3)
4. oneness – one body of Christ (Eph. 4)

Question 2

What are the marks of a true church?

Answer 2

1. right preaching of the Gospel,
2. correct administration of the sacraments,
3. proper exercise of church discipline (Matt 18; 28:19-20; 2 Tim 4:2; 1 Cor. 11)

Question 3

What is the mission of the church?

Answer 3

1. worship and bring glory to God in all that they do (1 Cor. 10:31).
2. building up believers (Eph. 4:13-16);
3. evangelize the lost (Matt. 28:19-20)
4. acts of mercy (Matt. 5:13-16).

Question 4

What is the visible and invisible church?

Answer 4

1. Invisible: universal—all true believers throughout time belong to the body of Christ
2. Visible: local–a manifestation of the universal church in a particular location
3. The local church will be a mixture of regenerate and unregenerate people (Jude 4).

Question 5

What is the nature of the church?

Answer 5

Organically, the church is described as being members of Christ’s body (Rom. 12:5-12; 1 Cor. 12:12-31).