Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Teaching on the Biblical Doctrine of the Church

What is the relationship between the church and the kingdom of God?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the church and the kingdom of God are not identical. He explains: "The church is an expression of the kingdom. It isn't the kingdom. The kingdom of God is a wider and a bigger concept than the church." He clarifies that "in the church, where the church is truly the church, the lordship of Christ is acknowledged and recognized, and he reigns there. So the kingdom is there at that point." However, God's kingdom extends beyond the church since "He rules in places where he's not acknowledged outside the church, even, because all things are in his hand and history is in his hand."

What is the meaning of the term "church" in the New Testament?

The term translated as "church" in the New Testament is "ecclesia," which means "the called out" or "assembly." Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains: "Ecclesia means those who are called out, not of necessity called out of the world, but it means people who are called out of society for some particular function of purpose." He adds that our English word "church" comes from the term related to "belonging to the Lord" (kurios). Thus, "the church rarely consists of those people who belong to the Lord who are gathered together."

How does the New Testament primarily use the term "church"?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that in the New Testament, the term "church" is generally used with a local meaning: "The term that is almost invariably used... in the scripture carry this local meaning." He gives examples such as "the church that meets in their house" (Romans 16), "the Church of God, which is in Corinth," and "the churches of Galatia." He emphasizes that Paul "doesn't write to the Church of Galatia, he writes to the churches of Galatia. Obviously, he wasn't thinking of one unit which was divided into local numbers. He was thinking of the local units."

What is the difference between the visible and invisible church?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains: "Clearly, the church is something spiritual and invisible... But at the same time, the church is also visible and can be seen externally and can be described as existing in Corinth or in Rome or in some other particular place." He offers the analogy of the soul: "You can't see a man's soul, but you know that a man has got a soul, and he expresses and manifests the fact that he's got a soul through his body and through his behavior and his life, the invisible manifesting itself through the visible."

What is the true basis for church unity according to Scripture?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly emphasizes that Scripture teaches that church unity must be both spiritual and doctrinal: "The unity that the scripture is interested in in the church is spiritual unity." He adds, "The basis of unity must be doctrine." Citing Acts 2:42, he notes: "We are told, 'and they all continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine, teaching and fellowship, and breaking of bread and prayer.' Scripture, my friends, is verbally inspired. Words count... You notice that we are not told that they continued steadfastly in the apostles fellowship and doctrine... No, the apostles doctrine and fellowship... In other words, before you can have fellowship, there must be community of doctrine."

What is the proper relationship between church and state?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones rejects both the Roman Catholic view (where the church controls the state) and the Erastian view (where the church is a branch of the state). Instead, he advocates for "this other idea which believes in what can be described as the two estates." He explains: "God has ordained the state... Yes, but there is this other estate, the church. And these two things exist side by side. The one doesn't control the other. They are both separate and they're both under God." He believes this perspective reflects what "you find in the New Testament" where Christians "were independent of governments. They met under the Lordship and in the presence of Christ."