For believers, the Church throughout history has been the driving force in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ himself said before his death and resurrection that “upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:16-18). Many predictions are made in the Old Testament regarding the church or Kingdom that would come in the New Testament. Pentecost marked the beginning of the church set forth in the New Testament. The Church today is present in more than 200 countries and has over 2.18 billion Christians of all ages worldwide, representing nearly a third of the 2010 estimated global population of 6.9 billion (Pew Research Centers). This growth of the church of Christ did not occur without Christ fulfilling His purpose through the church over the last 2,000 years. Throughout the New Testament one can see that the purpose of the local church is to be the outward and visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Unfortunately the New Testament scriptures do not provide an exact definition of a local church, but they do describe the normal characteristics of a functioning local assembly. It is from these regular characteristics of the local assembly that we can formulate at least a descriptive definition of the local church. While there is no single verse that defines the purpose of the church, there are scriptures such as Acts 2:42 that give a general synopsis of what the church should consist of. We can see this very fact when Luke writes: “they were assiduous in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion, in the breaking of bread and in prayer”. We see in Acts that this church must be concerned with teaching the word of God, communion and prayer. There are many other scripture passages besides Acts 2:4:42 in the New Testament that add to what Luke writes and also shed light on other important aspects and values ​​of the church. These additional characteristics seen in the Scriptures are characteristics such as worshiping God, studying the Word, praying, loving one another, helping one another, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and spreading the Gospel. These characteristics of the New Testament church played an important role in the local church becoming the external and visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ to the world. Each of these characteristics brings glory to God and also helps enrich the church. Charles Ryrie sums up these characteristics of the church well when he describes what the church is when he writes, "we see that the local church is an assembly of professing believers in Christ who have been baptized and who are organized to do the will of God" (Ryrie 49). Ryrie shows us that the church is made up of those who believe in God, are baptized, and pursue God and His will set forth in the Scriptures. Furthermore, it is also important to understand that the local church in the New Testament has always been a body of believers and not a building (Ephesians 1:22; 3:10; 5:23; Col. 1:1). This is important to understanding the purpose and meaning of why individual believers are vital to the growth of the church and the mission the church has. The apostle Paul saw the church as the foundation for the unity of the body of Christ. It says, “no man can lay any other foundation of the church than that which is laid, even Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). Paul speaks of “fellowship” in 1 Corinthians 10:16 as sharing the blood and body of Jesus, that is, his death. This sharing establishes the communion of the church: “for there is one bread, the many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread (1 Corinthians 10:17).Through this unification of the body of Christ believers are able to participate in the will of the Lord through the local and global church through the unification of the body of Christ (Vischer 68). This unification of the body helps the church live out its mission of reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The New Testament church can be seen to arise only as a result of the gospel. The gospel helps give direction, meaning, and purpose to the local church. We can observe from the Gospel of Christ that the fundamental purpose of the Church is best expressed in the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20 demonstrates that the purpose of the church is to make disciples. “Making disciples” involves winning people to faith in Christ and helping them become mature, reproductive believers. Everything the Church does should contribute to this end. This form of evangelism involves sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ with those who have not yet received Him through faith. This understanding of the church's mission to reach those who do not know Christ and to develop and train believers to become disciples helps us understand that the church is not just about the body but also about those who are not yet separated from the body. Authors such as John Stott describe the church as: “The church is the new community of God. For its purpose, conceived in an eternity past, operating in history and perfected in an eternity future, is not merely to save isolated individuals and thus perpetuate our solitude, but rather to build his church, that is, to call a people out of the world for his glory. Christ died for us not only "to redeem us from all wickedness" but also "to purify for himself a people belonging to him, eager to do good" (Stott 19)Stott emphasizes that the church is God's plan of redemption for man and it is something that God already knew before the beginning of time. God works through the church to reach others and challenge them to discover God's Word and will for their lives. Challenging believers to reject their sinful lives to live a life worthy of God and free from wickedness. Give your life to God in worship. As stated previously, worship has great value in the local church and desires to fulfill its purpose of being the visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ. The purpose of worship has two important purposes. The first purpose is for God to be glorified by the performance of the faithful believer who worships and praises Him. The other purpose of worship is to benefit the believer so that he may be enriched by the Spirit of God. Both of these purposes are mentioned in the New Testament instructions when Paul writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom. , teaching and exhorting one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16). Paul sees the significance of Baptism as allowing new believers to publicly declare their new life in Christ and become part of the community. This allows believers to identify with Christ in his death and resurrection to such an extent that it can also be described as our own death and resurrection. Both worship and baptism help build the body of Christ and be the visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay All in all, we see that Scripture teaches us that the purpose of the Church is to be the visible manifestation of the universal body of Christ to the whole world. Throughout the New Testament we see churches embracing this calling in many forms..