Marks of a Church

Throughout church history theologians and clergy have sought to clarify what constitutes a church. Traditionally the First Council of Constantinople in 381 was viewed as laying out four marks for the church when they said, “We believe in one, holy, catholic (simply means universal), and apostolic church.” Both Martin Luther and John Calvin believed there were two marks of the church: the right preaching of the gospel and administering the sacraments. The conversation is still going strong today with many mapping out the essentials for the local church. One of the most notable advocates being Mark Dever who lays out 9 Marks of a Healthy Church.

Acts 29 submitted 8 Marks of a Church and I believe it is the clearest and most accurate list to date. Here are the marks with my short summary/defense of each.

1) Regenerated Church Membership – All local churches are an expression of the universal church, which consists of people regenerated and identified with Jesus Christ.

2) Qualified Leadership – When the apostles, most notably Paul, established churches they appointed elders to oversee and lead the congregation. Thankfully, in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 Paul gave us a list of essentials for someone to be in such a position. Leaders of a church must be affirmed by other church leaders and must fit the qualifications spelled out in Scripture.

3) Right Preaching of the Word – This advocates two important elements. First, a local church must have a correct perspective on the essentials of the faith. Most notably, they must affirm the deity of Jesus, Holy Trinity, human depravity, and salvation through faith. Second, they gather for the preaching and teaching of Scripture.

4) Administer the Sacraments of Baptism and Communion – In the earliest Christian churches people were identified with the church when they were baptized and were then allowed to continue in fellowship through taking communion. These ordinances should be held in high regard and practiced regularly.

5) Unified by the Spirit – Because a church is made up of believers indwelt by the Spirit the local church must be marked by the Spirit’s presence which is evidenced in unity, the using of spiritual gifts, generosity, and service.

6) Church Discipline – Jesus and the apostles encourage us to pursue holiness and to encourage others to do the same in their spiritual journey. Transformational community happens when people encourage one another to grow in Christ-likeness.

7) Obey the Great Commandment – Jesus declared that the greatest commandments were to love God and love others. A local church must embody this love.

8 ) Obey the Great Commission – Jesus commissioned his disciples to make disciples. A local church that is not making disciples is not a healthy expression of the church Jesus established. If you gather for great music, preaching, sacraments, and under qualified leadership but lives are not being transformed there is a problem.

“The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to scripture, they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism & communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, scattered to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.” – Vintage Church

Praise God for allowing us to be part of His redemptive story via the local church. I welcome all respectful feedback.