Both qahal
(OT) and ekklesis (NT) define church as "the gathering of
God's people." By definition, we learn two things: First, the church
is an organism, not organization. Second, the church consists of
all those who are truly saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This
complete gathering of God's people is what we call "the invisible church."
For it consists of every believer from every age and every land. This "invisible
church" is, however, manifested visibly through a gathering of a local
church. For this reason, a local church is both confessional and connectional:
"One body and one Spirit...one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one
God." (Eph 4:4-6). Thus, this is our confession and our faith in Jesus
Christ.
