Nature of theTrue Church

What is the nature of the true Church?

Recently, Joseph Ratzinger, whose Pontifical name is Pope Benedict XVI, reiterated that the Roman Catholic church was the true church, the only one that Jesus Christ came to establish on earth. And that, while the Greek Orthodox was the closest to being a real church, the protestant churches are not true churches as they do not have apostolic succession. But exactly what is the true Church that Jesus came to establish?


Before this can be answered, we must first say what the true Church is not:


1. The Church is not a human institution;


2. The Church is not a centralized organization;


3. The Church is neither Catholic, nor Protestant while including both Catholics, and Protestants;


4. The Church is neither headed by one man, nor by a group of men though containing leaders and leadership;


5. The Church cannot be licensed to be such, nor does She receive the "right" to be such by human government;


6. The Church cannot be overcome, divided, nor polluted by sin though including those who are saved out of a world of sin, and are being sanctified at varying degrees of maturity and purity.




Jesus Christ said, ...upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it- Mt 16.18b. This is true, not because the Church is built upon apostolic succession, even if we talk about Peter (whose name in Greek is Petros- a stone), but because it is built upon this rock which in Greek is the word Petra-a massive rock or stone, a cliff or ledge. But this rock of which Jesus spoke is the very revelation that, thou art the Christ the Son of the living God.-v.16b. Thus this Rock upon which the church is built is Jesus Christ Himself.
This brings us to the heart of the issue: What is the nature of the true Church?

Jesus said, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.-Mt 18.20.
And of Jesus it is written, and gave him to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all- Eph 1.22b-23. And of the Church it is written, Now are ye the body of Christ and members in particular- 1Cor 12.27; and again, so also is Christ-v.12b, which text thus calls the Church. The apostle Paul also spoke of the relation of Christ and His Church in reference to the creation of Eve from Adam's side, and how that Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh-Gen2.23a (cp.Eph5.30-32), and to say, He that loveth his wife loveth himself-v28b.




This is a holy mystery. Let us approach this with fear, and reverence. To touch the Church is to touch Christ. This is why when Paul who was Saul persecuted Her, Christ appeared to him, and said, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?-Acts 9.4b. The Church is not an organisation, but an organism: a body whose Head is Christ. Is Scripture simply speaking in metaphores? No. This is spiritual reality. And a believer's degree of realisation of this determines his spiritual maturity and rank before God.




The Church is repeatedly identified with Christ. And so the true nature of the Church is Christ.