The Church is of God and shall endure for time and eternity. The Church is not a human institution, but a divine organism which is essential to God's plan of redemption for humanity. Jesus says: "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

The Church refers to a visible group of people that can be located and observed, as in Acts 13:1; Romans 16:5; and Ephesians 1:1. The Church consists of all people throughout the world who have accepted Christ as their redeemer, even though some of them may not yet belong to a visible structure called the church. God knows those who are His children (II Timothy 2:19). This group is defined in the Scriptures as the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (I Timothy 3:15). All truth that was revealed to the holy patriarchs, apostles, prophets, fathers, and teachers of the ages past is deposited within the Church.

The Family In Heaven and Earth

The definition that St. Paul gives of the church in its entirety is: "The whole family in heaven and earth" (Ephesians 3:14, 15). The Church is a society founded upon natural affinity–a family. This family is not just a combination, but a community. The family of God, "the whole family," is not composed of those who call each other "brother" or "sister. They are brothers and sisters because they have the same Father and mother. All who are born from above of water and Spirit are members of the Church, which is the family of God (St. John 3:5; Ephesians 1:5). They are brothers and sisters in Christ. And, they do not have to be identical twins to be brothers and sisters!

The Church is not composed of an elite group that selects its associates from a certain social class or ethnic group. The Church is always inclusive of race, sex, class, ethnicity, and cultural pluralism. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, but we are all members of the one universal family of God (Galatians 3:27, 28). The truth is that God is no respecter of persons. Every nation that fears Him and receives God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ is accepted by God. The artificial wall of separation has been broken down between Jews and Gentiles, and we are reconciled to God in one family (Acts 10:34, 35; Ephesians 2:15, 16).

A Common Father

The Church has a common father, Yahweh. He is not partial to just one of His children, loving only one, the eldest son, the Jew. He also loves the younger son, the Gentile, the outcast prodigal who wasted his living with the harlots and sinners (Luke 15:11-32). The revelation of the church among the Gentiles is a deep mystery of God’s love.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Our Father," not "My Father," the Father of me and my faction, my Judaism, my Protestantism, my Pentecostalism. God is the Father of the "whole family"–Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Mary, Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, John, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley, Mother Teresa, and John Paul XXIII–all who claim the Father’s love. God is calling His "whole family" to love Him and to love and accept our brothers and sisters who are different from us, as He has accepted us all in Christ.

A Common Heritage

Just like the family, so the Church is composed of many different members who have a common heritage as children of the Heavenly Father. We are told that the "whole family" is composed of all the saints of all ages, now in glory (the Church triumphant) and now upon the earth (the Church militant).

There are two opposite yet complementary sexes, male and female, with masculine and feminine traits which contain within them the completeness of humanity. These together–not separately–comprise the entire or "whole family." Each family member is different: some of the children will have the mature wisdom and stern integrity of the father; others will have the exuberant tenderness of the mother. Some are brave and enthusiastic; others are thoughtful and tender. Some are somber, and others, joyful. The children are a healthy and balanced blend of both parents. The children are individuals with distinct personalities, temperaments, and dispositions. So the Church is a healthy and balanced blend of different gifts, graces, beauties, and harmonies found in every age of history.

A Common Understanding

The healthy family focuses on its agreements and works together for the good of the "whole family," not each individual doing his/her own separate thing. What threatens the unity of the family is strife, discord, and division. Dialogue is important and necessary in order to maintain family unity. As members of the family share their different perspectives, viewpoints, and insights, they grow together in a common understanding.

The healthy family works toward eliminating disagreements which threaten its unity. Different perspectives are part of the "whole" and should be respected and honored. Honesty and integrity are always necessary components to successful conversation. In dialogue we identify factors that have created and preserved unity. We name and explain points of tension that threaten unity.

We never get family life perfect! The dynamics within families are always evolving, changing, and moving. There is no perfect family–but there is a perfect Christ. The Church has a common life in Him. St. Paul says that the "whole family" is named after Him. This statement is of the Jewish mode of thinking and expression in which a name implies character. When Jacob desired to know the nature or character of Yahweh, he said, "Tell me now your name" (Genesis 32:29). When St. Paul says, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named," it is a way of saying that it is He on whom the Church depends, who has given it substantive existence, and without whom it could not be at all.

The Church is named after Christ. He is the center of all excellence–a righteousness which is entire and perfect. In Him is the true harmony with proportions of all virtues united. In Him is found tenderness toward sinners with no sympathy for sin, a humanity dignified and united with self-respect, a simplicity complemented by true majesty.