As we saw in the previous articles, When the life of Jesus enters into one’s life, he becomes a child of God. A local gathering of such people who have the life of God is the local church.

In other words, if a believer is a body organ which has the life of God, then church is Christ’s body made of all these organs which are controlled by the life of God. The Church is not a building or a denomination. Church is a living body made of living organs. Church is not an organization but a living organism. The church is the body of Christ, of which He is the head, the leader and the controller of each organ of the body.

In a body, even though the function of each organ is different, the common factor which makes all these organs to function is the life in this body. In the same way, the life of Jesus is the common factor which unites each member of the church irrespective of caste, creed and color.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus

Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all and in all.

As per the word of God, there are only three aspects. The organ which is the believer who has the life of Jesus in him, the local church comprising of all such believers and the universal church comprising of such local churches of God. In this, the universal church is invisible because it includes all the children of God who have lived till date and all God’s children who are going to be born.

However, the local church which is the gathering of God’s children is visible. A born again child of God should seek fellowship in a local church which functions as per God’s word because only in an inseparable connection with the Head as a part of the body, can an organ survive and grow.

Ephesians 4:16 “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work”.

However many of the so-called churches seen today are mere human organizations. Many of their members and even the leaders do not have the life of Christ in them and are not God’s children. That is why such organizations even if they call themselves churches, are mere human-made, human-led, human- organizations. And so they do not have the life, qualities and characters of the church which is the living body of Christ. Not only that, they will have all the shortcomings and problems of a human organization.

But often such human organizations are misunderstood as churches which lead to God’s name being blasphemed. Therefore it is extremely important that a born-again child should not associate with such human organizations but be a part of a local church which functions as per God’s word.