The Mystery and Purpose of the Church

From Genesis to Revelation, the unfolding drama of redemption reveals a hidden

mystery now revealed through Jesus Christ — the Church. The apostle Paul calls 

it a “mystery hidden for ages” (mystērion apokekrummenon apo tōn aiōnōn —

μυστήριον ἀποκεκρυμμένον ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων; Colossians 1:26) — a divine reality

unknown to the prophets in full but now made manifest through the apostles and

prophets by the Holy Spirit. 

The Church is not a building, denomination, or religious organization. In biblical

terms, it is a living organism, a body, a temple, and a bride — composed of those

redeemed by the blood of Christ and indwelt by the Spirit of God. 

The Hebrew Scriptures often use the word qāhāl (ל ה ק), meaning “assembly” or

“gathering,” to describe the people of Israel. However, in the New Testament, the

Greek word ekklēsia (ἐκκλησία) emerges, derived from ek (out of) and kaleō (to

call). Thus, the Church is “the called-out ones” — those summoned from the world

into covenant fellowship with God