This may not be what was in mind please inform ?!- Mark Lewis.
This page should hold information about the church in the sense of the world population of Christians. Some discussion and a set of links that give a broad view of what it is to be part of the Christian community.
"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Bible:Mathew28:18-20.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Bible:Acts1:8
These two Bible verses sum up the beginnings of Jesus Christ’s Church to which we belong. Jesus disciples and the first Jewish and Gentile converts preached the gospel and set up churches much the same as we do today. The beginnings of the primitive church can be read about in the book of Acts and in the Epistles in the Bible. Further church history can be found on web sites such as Christian History Institute. Most history books probably give a fair account of the main developments of the Christian church but christians may want to read further and study for example some of the writtings of the church fathers.
The theological scholar and mature Christian will differentiate between the "visible" Church and the "invisible" Church.
Indeed the "visible" Church is what we see around us: Churches that preach the gospel of Christ, that are of all kinds of different backgrounds and denominations and filled with all sorts of people with various Christian beliefs and upbringings. Indeed the Lord Jesus Christ will sort through all of these to claim those who are his own. "When the Son of Man comes in glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Bible:Mathew25:31-32. True Christians should not fear this “sorting out” as Bible:Romans8:38-39 reassures us "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord."
The invisible Church is made up of all those saved, from the creation of the earth. Hence "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." Bible:Exodus19:5-6 and "But you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." Bible:1Peter2:9-10. All praise to God for making us part of his holy nation.
Jesus Christ’s Church has never stopped growing and developing since its beginnings. Christians have been through times of persecution, division, heresy, plenitude and blessing and will continue to do so. We are even warned that as we approach the end times we should expect things to get worse for Christ’s Church. (Bible:John15:20 and Bible:Mathew24:7-13)
However Jesus Christ has always taken care of His Church and continues to do so today and will do tomorrow. Praise be to our God almighty.
The bible tells us of the church’s glorious future. "Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." Bible:Ephesians5:25-27. "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." Bible:Revelation7:6-8.
As Christians and members of St Marc’s church then, we are then also members of the larger Christian family. We are, along with all believers in Jesus Christ, members of his body, the Church.
Please find below some usefull links to various Christian websites. The Intercontinental Church Society (ICS) is St Marc’s reason for being. ICS is a Church of England (Anglican) mission:
