Today we find ourselves in evangelical communities, conferences and discussions that talk a lot about the church but rarely define what they mean by church. When Word Made Flesh (WMF) started out, we too were thinking more about a theology of mission (missiology) than about a theology of church (ecclesiology). At an international evangelical forum a few years ago, a doctor of missiology praised me for recognizing our lack of an articulated ecclesiology. Not knowing whether I was being ridiculed or commended, I grew a bit embarrassed. But I was encouraged when I later learned that the church fathers had never developed an ecclesiology. It wasn’t until after Constantine that the church began to articulate its theology of church, which wasn’t fully worked out until the Reformation. Unfortunately, evangelical Christians have not taken up the charge to develop a fresh ecclesiology in light of historical changes and new contexts.

Because WMF interacts with many church denominations, churches in different cultures and various understandings and perceptions of church, it is important for us to know what we mean by church. Specifically, we need to outline what the direction and constitution of a church is, how the church engages in mission, how Christians from different churches relate to one another and how the church relates to the poor.

The Church in the Image of the Trinity

One cannot define “church” by looking at what the church is but must rather look at what the church is called to be. In the Bible we discover that the vision and hope of the church is in the kingdom of God. The church is not equated with the kingdom of God, nor is the church the custodian or possessor of the kingdom. Rather, the kingdom of God is the orientation, goal and life of the church. The kingdom of God is not contained by the church but presses it beyond its frontiers. The reign of God is the raison d’être of the church. “The meaning of the church does not reside in what it is but in what it is moving towards. It is the reign of God which the church hopes for, bears witness to and proclaims.”

Synonymous with the “kingdom of God” in Scripture is the “New Creation.” God says, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). The renewal of all things is the fulfillment of the kingdom of God, when the Triune God comes and indwells His people and His people indwell their God (Revelation 21:22). The mutual indwelling of the Trinity and his people in the New Creation fulfills Jesus’ High Priestly prayer, “That they all may be one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me” (John 17:21). The consummation of life in God brings full salvation, justice and restoration. We will eat of the tree of life eternally, sin and death will be defeated, and all tears will be wiped away. All things will be made new! This eschatological hope of the people of God is the ultimate reference point of the church.

While the New Creation is the reference point for the church, “two or three gathered in Jesus’ name” is its starting point. The Triune God who indwells His people says that “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am present” (Mt. 18:20). Through Jesus’ promise, the gathering is a sacrament of Jesus’ presence. The gathering in the name of Jesus represents not only a visible, concrete and local church, but also an icon of the Trinity.

The church is constituted by the Son through the Holy Spirit. Under the headship of Jesus and indwelt with the Holy Spirit, the church is a sacrament of the Triune God. St. Irenaeus said, “The Son and the Holy Spirit constitute the two hands through which the Father touches us, embraces us, and always forms us after His image and likeness.” The Son assumes humanity, bringing God to humankind and humankind to God. The Holy Spirit conforms Christians to Christ and pours Himself out upon the church (Romans 8:29, Acts 2:4). The Spirit baptizes each believer, showering every one with spiritual gifts. In mutual service each member employs their gift for the edification of the whole. As we follow His way, we participate in the life, death and resurrection of Christ: a Eucharist celebration.

The Church in Mission

Just as the church’s being reflects the being of the Trinity, the church’s action reflects the action of the Trinity. Because God is a missionary God, His people are a missionary people. We do not affirm, in the first place, the church’s mission but God’s mission. “It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son the Spirit through the Father that includes the church.’ As the Father sends the Son, so the Son sends His people into mission (John 20:17-23). As the Father pours out His Spirit, so the Spirit empowers us for mission (Acts 2). To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love toward people, since God is a fountain of sending love.

“The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.” One cannot speak about the church and mission but only about the church in mission. There is a church because there is mission, not vice versa. A church is born through mission and lives by mission.

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