What is the Church: The Covenant Community

Pastor Byron Chae

When Jesus declared, “I will build my church” (Matt 16:18), he made clear that the church belongs exclusively to him. The pronoun my reveals Christ’s authority, ownership, and covenant claim over his people. The church is not ultimately the possession of leaders, institutions, or denominations. She belongs to Christ alone. He is the one who gathers her, forms her, rules her, and preserves her.

In the Old Testament, God called Israel “my people,” identifying them as the covenant community he had redeemed for himself. In the same way, when Christ says, “my church,” he shows that the church is the fulfillment of God’s covenant purpose. She is the people of God gathered under the lordship of Christ and bound to him by grace.

The word church (ecclesia) also carries this covenant background. It reflects the Old Testament idea of the qāhāl, the assembly of God’s people gathered before him to hear his Word and live under his rule. Jesus is not introducing a completely new concept, but bringing God’s redemptive design to fulfillment through his saving work. Yet this new covenant community is no longer defined by ethnicity, geography, or national identity. It is formed by faith in Jesus Christ. Those who belong to the church are those who publicly confess their sin and profess their faith in Christ. This covenant identity is then visibly expressed through church membership, which belongs to those who have made such a public confession and have been baptized as believers. As members of this covenant community, they also have the privilege of partaking in the Lord’s Supper (communion).

The local church, therefore, is not merely a Sunday gathering or a social club organized around cultural preservation, but the visible covenant community of God’s redeemed people, belonging to Christ and displaying his glory.