What is the difference between the universal and local church?

One thing I feel to be important at the outset; that is, to define the principal term employed in the announcement of our subject. You may suppose that the expression "the church" is so commonly used, and so generally understood, as not to need defining. But the fact is, there is hardly an expression as to the meaning of which people's thoughts are so vague and indefinite. Some apply the term to the building in which professing Christians meet for worship. And even among those too well instructed for this, it is still far from being distinctly understood. It is either applied to any religious association with which men happen by birth, or conversion, or other circumstances, to be connected; or it is understood to mean the aggregate of all such associations, the whole world over; or in a still wider sense, it is considered as including all true believers of all ages, from Abel down to the last person who shall be saved. Now it is well to remember that it is only in the New Testament we find the word; and this of itself might suggest the inquiry, whether that which it denotes be not peculiar to New Testament times. In former ages, as all Christians understand, there were individual believers, such as Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, and all those spoken of in Heb. 11, whether their names be mentioned there, or included among those of whom the apostle says, "The time would fail me to tell of them." Besides this, there was one nation which God had outwardly separated to himself, as his people. The vast majority of that nation were, however, in every period of their history, unconverted. There were individual saints not gathered together in a body; and there was a nation, a body of people in that sense, outwardly owned of God: but the mass of them were never God's people in truth; but stiff-necked and hard-hearted adversaries of God. Now the church of God is God's assembly. The word rendered church is derived from one which means to call out, and is used of any assembly of persons called out from among others for any purpose whatever. But the use of the word in the New Testament is what must determine its meaning there; and there it is applied either to the assembly of all believers from Pentecost to the coming of Christ into the air, to receive his saints to himself in glory — or to the assembly of all believers alive upon the earth at any given time between these two epochs — or to the assembly of all the believers in any given locality; as, for instance, the church at Jerusalem, Antioch, or Ephesus, and even "the church in thy house." There are but two instances in the New Testament in which the word "church" is used in any other sense or application than these. In Acts 7:38, it is applied to the assembly of the Israelites in the wilderness; and in Acts 19:32 and 39, the same word in the original is translated "assembly," not church. But it is the same word; and there it is used of the assembly of Ephesian idolaters and others. With these exceptions, which hardly could be confounded with our present subject, the word church will be found in the New Testament to mean either (1) all believers from Pentecost to the taking up of the saints at the coming of Christ; or (2) all believers at any one time upon earth, during the period between these; or (3) all the believers in any given locality, or assembling as such in any given place. I do not stop here, to prove that such is the use of the word in the New Testament. Many considerations will present themselves in proof of it in the course of our evening's inquiry into Scripture on this subject; and I would entreat you to give to the subject the most diligent examination afterwards, when you have leisure to do so. But it is important, when we speak of the distinct calling and glory of the church, that we should have clearly before our minds who they are that form the church, to which this distinct calling and glory belong. And it is evidently in the widest application of the term, that is, as including all true believers from Pentecost to the taking up of the saints, that we use it in our present inquiry. Both the other uses of it are included within this.

The church of God in a place (say Plumstead) consists of all believers in Plumstead. It is part of the church of God (see question 2). In the old days (New Testament time), this was easy to see because the Christians came together in one place. They were known. No unbelievers dared to join them (Acts 5:13). If they were too numerous to meet in one place they would meet in different houses, but they did so in fellowship with one another. Today, things are more complicated (but God’s principles always apply). Men have formed churches, organisations, sects, etc. by introducing memberships (other than the membership of the body of Christ). So how can you ‘see’ or ‘show’ the church of God in a place today? Only by coming together on the basis of Scripture with all those willing to do so – but always bearing in mind that those who come together may not be the whole church in this place’. The local church (assembly) gives expression to the church (which is universal).

[1] Translator’s note: The original German text quotes verses from the revised “Elberfelder Bibel” published by CSV, Hückeswagen, in 2003. The equivalent in English would be J.N. Darby’s so-called “New Translation” of 1881, which, though accurate in its literal rendering of the Greek text, does not use language current among the readership of the 21st century. Since many readers will be young believers, a version of the Bible in language which for them is more natural has been preferred. The English translation of the book follows the German text as faithfully as possible, diverting from it in a few instances, when comments on Bible texts relating to German vocabulary or usage are not relevant to the English version. [2] The church (or assembly, Greek ‘ekklesia’, the called out one) of God is composed of all believers (sometimes as at one point in time and sometimes seen as including all believers from Pentecost to the rapture). The local church or assembly consists of all believers in a given locality. It is part of the whole church of God (not a ‘different’ church). When we speak about the gatherings or meetings of the local church we use the term ‘local assembly’ or ‘assembly meetings’. [3] There is no article in the Greek text. They were not ‘the’ body of Christ, but they were part of it and bore its character.

Throughout this book, the English words assembly and Church are both used to translate the Greek word ecclesia (called-out ones). When the first letter of the word is capitalized, it refers to the entire Church or Assembly of Christ, the body and Bride of Christ. When not capitalized, the local church or assembly, the local representation of the whole Church, is in view.

Il faut comprendre que le corps de Christ a un aspect universel (Eph.1, 23) et un aspect local (voir 1 Cor. 12, 27) – qui nous occupe ici. L’assemblée locale est l’expression locale de l’Eglise (ou: Assemblée) universelle.

It is true that the Church of God is not only designated as the body of Christ in Scripture, but also as the House of God — the place of His abode. But here, again, it is the Church at large that is so. There are not bodies of Christ, but "one body." Just so there are not houses of God, but "the house." In each place, the local assembly represents the Church at large, as being indeed the local Church, — what of the Church at large is in that place. And this may vary, from time to time, in numbers, spirituality, and many other ways: and thus there will be peculiar local responsibilities, differences, and privileges, as is recognized in the chapters before us; but the standing in each the same.

Each local Church or assembly of believers is but a part of the whole Body of Christ and is to be an exact representation of the greater Church. It should express the Church as a whole, even as a tiny dewdrop reflects, in miniature, the same sky as does the mighty ocean. The characteristics of the whole Church are to be seen in each local part. There must be nothing in the local Assembly inconsistent with the truths we have previously been considering as true of the whole Church. Each Assembly is a part of the Assembly at large and represents and acts for it in each local place. Therefore, the only basic platform upon which believers can ever Scripturally gather together anywhere is as members of the Body of Christ and as a local representation of the whole Church.

To put the position more plainly, seeing that the body of Christ is one, and all the saints are members one of another (Rom. 12:5), it would undeniably be the will of the Lord that all should meet together if it were possible. The world would then see the body of Christ indeed, and would realise how distinct it is from the whole evil order of things around. But seeing that God's saints are numerous and the earth is large, one gathering is impossible, and local assemblies therefore became necessary. But they should be viewed as geographical conveniences, and not as independent entities. Each local company represents one great whole. Membership is of the body of Christ, not of a local assembly. To speak of a local assembly as "a body of Christ" and as "a house of God" is absurd. Has Christ really thousands of bodies, and has God thousands of houses? To state the position is to refute it. Yet all that is true of the whole is true of even its smallest part, but the apostle's avoidance of the definite article in this connection should be noted. Thus he does not say in 1 Corinthians 12:27, "Ye are the body of Christ," but "ye are body of Christ," i.e. Christ's body representatively in that city. Also, in 1 Corinthians 3:16, he does not say, "Ye are the temple of God," but "temple of God," i.e. God's temple. The smallest number of saints in any place form a miniature of the whole.

A local meetings (or assembly, church) is part of the whole church of God (1.Cor. 1:2). Local meetings therefore act in harmony with one another (as members of the human body work with one another, not against one another). When a local assembly takes a decision (say, in discipline or in receiving a believer into fellowship) then this is binding for all other assembly: ‘what you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven’ (Mt.18:18). Paul’s repeats that his instructions to the Corinthians were also binding in all other places (1.Cor.1:2; 4:17; 7:17; 11:16).

There is, then, another and large sense of "the church," in which unity is predicated of all the members of Christ existing at one time in the world, whatever might be the distance separating their bodies; and that in virtue of one Spirit baptising them into one body. The body of Christ, like the natural one, is susceptible of increase, as scripture plainly indicates. But as in the natural body the identity subsists when the old particles have given place to new, so the body of Christ is the body still, whatever the changes in the members particularly. He Who by His presence imparted unity at its beginning, conserves unity by His own faithful presence. He was given to abide with the disciples for ever.