When Jesus spoke about the Church, he referred to something which was to be visibly administered on earth (Matthew 16:18; 18:15-18). In Revelation 2 and 3, the glorified Lord addresses his words to particular congregations of his people. The New Testament vision of a glorious Church, reflecting the glory of the Lord Jesus, is held before us as the goal of every local congregation of Christ's people.

Theologians sometimes speak of the 'invisible' Church, meaning God's elect ones, and no doubt this is a useful and biblical concept. However, in the Bible, the Church is never described as invisible! After all, an invisible Church might be all right for invisible Christians, but it is not much good for those who want to work together in being salt and light in a dark and rotting world. The visibility of the visible Church is stressed by the Apostle Paul when he asks, 'Do you not know that your BODIES are members of Christ?' (1 Corinthians 6:15) Yes, not just your (invisible) souls, but your bodies. Your eyes, arms, legs, brains and so on, are members of Christ's body, the (visible) Church!

Now this is very practical: when a person becomes a Christian, he is united with Jesus Christ. He becomes a member of the body of Christ. And the body of Christ is the Church of Christ as a whole, and in its every local expression. The call to be Christ's is a call also to beeome united with his (visible) Church.

THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH

We cannot go into this important subject in depth now, but the New Testament makes it crystal clear that Jesus Christ appoints men to act as his 'undershepherds' in the Church. They are to lead, guide, admonish, teach, protect and discipline the flock of God. And they are directly responsible to the Lord himself for how they discharge their duty. (See Acts 20:13-35; 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, Hebrews 12:17, 1 Peter 5.)

These men (and God says that women may not exercise this office - 1 Timothy 2:12) are responsible for caring for the particular flock of God under their care. The elders of Ephesus were not responsible for the flock in Jerusalem or Rome; they were responsible for the folk in Ephesus.

Now if elders are responsible for particular groups of God's people - particular local churches - then obvious]y it is necessary for both them and the people to know just who actually makes up the local church! A 'line' must be drawn to decide who is within the local church and who is outside (1 Corinthians 5:12), and as the spiritual leaders, it is the elders' job to draw that line. And to draw it just where the Lord Jesus would draw it: no tighter and no looser!

In our way of doing church government, this 'line' is drawn by what we call the 'membership roll': the list of those who belong to this local congregation. They are the ones whom the elders acknowledge belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who with understanding profess faith in Christ are permitted to join in expressing their oneness with him and each other in the Lord's Supper. (This is why the list is sometimes also called the communicants' roll', though we must remember that the young children of professing believers are also members of God's covenant people even though they do not yet participate in the Lord's Supper.)

It is simply not good enough for someone to come along and say, 'I'm a Christian, and you must accept me, and admit me to all the privileges of your church on my say-so.' If the elders were to go along with this, how quickly would the purity of the church be lost! It would soon fill up with people who weren't really believers - and sadly, this is exactly what has happened in some churches today.

So, in conclusion, these major factors point to the same conclusion: every Christian should belong to some local assembly of Christians, under the shepherdly care of men whom Jesus has chosen by equipping them with gifts of eldership. The Church is VISIBLE, and therefore you must be visibly identified with her; Jesus has appointed elders to oversee the local assemblies of his people, and therefore you should be received by, and under the care of, such men.

God does not want his children to be spiritual vagrants, wandering from this conference to that para-church group to the other house-church. He wants them to be living stones within the visible Church which Jesus is building. Are you a Christian? If so, it is time for you to obey Jesus by identifying with a local congregation of his people where his Word is faithfully taught, and the elders lovingly care for the flock.