The All Sufficiency of the Church

When we speak of the church being “all sufficient,” what do we mean? The claim that the church is all sufficient means that the church is fully capable of doing all the work God gave it to do. It does not need the aid of institutions to carry out this work. Christians do not need to look to other institutions or organizations to do the work that can be done through the church.

The Bible speaks of the church in two different ways — the universal church and the local church. Which way are we using the term “church” when we say the church is all sufficient? Is the universal church all sufficient? Of course. The universal church is composed of all the believers who have been baptized into the body of Christ (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). But what about the local church? To say the church is all sufficient universally, but not locally, could lead one to accept the “sponsoring church arrangement.” But the New Testament teaches that the local church is all sufficient, fully capable of doing the work God gave for it to do.

How do we know that it is the local church that is all sufficient? Words like “church” and “body” can be used to refer to either the universal or local church. The proper interpretation must be determined by the context. Ephesians 4:11-16 is a passage that speaks of the all sufficiency of the church. Discussed in this passage is the structure of the church – “apostles… prophets… evangelists… pastors and teachers” (v. 11). The reason they were set in the church was to equip the saints, build up the body (v. 12), and bring about maturity (v. 13-14). The end result would be “the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (v. 16). So what is the body here? Is it the local church, or the universal church? Notice in verse 11 that one class of people that were set in this body were the pastors, or elders. Do elders oversee the universal church? No. They oversee the flock among them (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). The body that Ephesians 4:11-16 says is all sufficient is the local church.

What Makes the Church All Sufficient?

The church is of divine origin. It was built by Christ (Mt. 16:18), not by any man. The church was part of God’s eternal plan (Eph. 3:10-11). From the beginning, God had planned for the church to make known His wisdom. The establishment of the church was not an afterthought or a backup plan. Some believe Jesus came to establish an earthly kingdom when He first came but failed because the people rejected Him. So He set up the church until the time when He could come again and establish the kingdom. Jesus was not a failure. He fulfilled what He came to do. One of those things was establishing the church. This was part of God’s eternal plan.

Not only was the church built by Christ, but it also has Him as its head (Eph. 1:22-23). The church is not ruled by a man or group of men. It is ruled by Christ. He “purchased” the church “with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). Therefore, it is not our church. It is His church.

This study is addressing the all sufficiency of the local church. Yet the above passages that describe what makes the church all sufficient refer to the universal church. But the application extends to the local church. The local church is made up of individuals. The universal church is also made up of individuals. The local church was designed by, is ruled by, and belongs to Christ. Since He is perfect, His design and arrangement of the local church must also be perfect.

What Is the Church All Sufficient To Do?

The fact that the church is all sufficient means that it is capable of doing the work God gave for it to do. What is this work? What works have been given by God to the church?

Evangelism — The church is “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). As such, it is to be engaged in the preaching of the gospel. In the work of evangelism, different methods may be used. When the Lord gave the command: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mk. 16:15), the message is specified — the gospel. That is what we must preach. But the method we use to spread the gospel is left to our own judgment, provided our judgment does not violate another command or directive of Scripture. A thing must first be lawful before it can be claimed to be an expedient, or helpful (1 Cor. 10:23). In carrying out its mission to evangelize, a church may pay a located preacher, support preachers in other places, hold a gospel meeting, print and send out a bulletin, publish tracts, host a radio or television program, and so on. All of these are lawful expedients to carry out the work of evangelism. The church is fully capable of doing this work.

Edification — After listing different offices in the church (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers), Paul says they were in place “for the equipping of the saints” and “to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12). This is what edification is – equipping and building up the saints. Edification takes place as a result of the word of God being examined and taught (Acts 20:32). All the offices Paul listed in Ephesians 4:11 deal with the revelation (apostles and prophets) and proclamation (evangelists, pastors, teachers) of the word. Because of this, they were able to help equip and build up the saints. Churches need to be doing the work of edification. This work has been given them by God. The church as God designed it is fully capable of doing this work.

Benevolence — Along with edification, benevolence is also mentioned in Ephesians 4:12 as a work of the church — “the work of service.” Benevolence has to do with helping those who are in need. This may be done to aid those who are among the congregation (Acts 4:34-35) and those who are in other locations (Acts 11:29-30). Every time we read of the church in the New Testament doing the work of benevolence, the beneficiaries were Christians (Acts 4:34; 11:29; Rom. 15:26; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8:4). Nowhere do we read of the church providing aid to those who were non-Christians. [In a sense, you could almost say that providing benevolence, even within the Scriptural limitations, is more of an incidental than an established work. Benevolence is not a perpetual work for the church. It is only to be done when there is a need. There is always a need for the works of evangelism and edification.]

How Is the Church All Sufficient?

The church has been designed by God to carry out its works. God is perfect. The church was designed to be capable of doing the works He gave it to do. Therefore, the church is the perfect organization to perform these works.

The church has the perfect plan or pattern given to it by God. The church followed the “apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). The apostles did not make up their own doctrine or teach the things that they thought best. They taught the things revealed to them by the Holy Spirit that had been handed down from Christ Himself (Jn. 16:13). They did not enact their own laws for the church, but taught the things which had been bound and loosed in heaven (Mt. 16:19). We are not to follow the creeds of men. We have the perfect law for the church — the New Testament. This is one reason the church is all sufficient for carrying out its divinely assigned works.

The church also has the perfect organization. Philippians 1:1 provides a picture of how a local church is to be organized — overseers, deacons, saints. This organizational form is seen throughout the New Testament as God’s design for the local church. Specific qualifications for the offices of overseers (elders, bishops, pastors) and deacons have been given (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Tit. 1:5-9). We know that local congregations are to be autonomous because the elders are limited in their oversight to the church that is amongthem (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). The fact that God directed that local churches be autonomous also demonstrates that the local church is fully capable of carrying out its work without having to work with other churches. God has provided the perfect structure for the church. This organization makes it possible to fulfill all the work God has given it.

Can individual Christians do the works we discussed? Yes. Individuals can preach the gospel (Acts 8:4), edify others (Heb. 3:13), and provide benevolence (Gal. 6:10). But the local church is the only organization we read about in Scripture for them to use to do these works collectively.

Denying the All Sufficiency of the Church

Most will affirm that they believe in the all sufficiency of the church. Yet some by their actions deny this. Actions speak louder than words. This is the essence of what Jesus said in Luke 6:46 — “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” By their words, the ones Jesus spoke of were claiming a belief in Him. But by their actions they were denying Him. Some claim they believe in the all sufficiency of the church but deny such by their actions.

If the church is not all sufficient, then it is incapable of doing what God intended by following His way. Therefore, they have to think of a better way. Not that it’s really better. God’s way is best. But their way is better in their own minds. They have to find a better plan, a better pattern, a better organization. How do some deny the all sufficiency of the church? Some use gimmicks (fun & games) to reach the lost. This is a better plan for evangelism. Others offer special programs (“ministries”), activities (sports, camps), social gatherings (fellowship halls, meals) for their members. This is a better plan for edification.

Some delegate oversight of these works to another church or institution. The “sponsoring church arrangement” has several churches sending money to another church for that church to turn around and do the works of the church. This is a better plan for the church to do its work. Historically, institutionalism has to do with churches sending money to human institutions to do the works of the church. This is a better organization for the church to use to do its work. Some Christians wish to establish organizations separate from the local church through which to collectively work. They already have the local church to work through. But this is a better organization.

Conclusion

The local church is capable of accomplishing what God intends. The church does not need to implement man’s ideas in place of, or in addition to God’s. The church does not need the aid of human institutions or sponsoring churches. Christians do not need to form a human organization to engage in spiritual works through. They have the church to work through. This is God’s design. We don’t need to try and improve it.

Yet some will say, “Look at the good we can do,” by engaging in some unauthorized practice. But we need to remember that that which is good has been defined by God. The word of God is able to make us “adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If we cannot find authority for something in the word of God, we cannot classify it as a good work. If something is a good work, it has already been authorized by God in His word.

Others might say, “We can do more this way.” Such a statement indicts God as providing something that is inferior to the inventions of man. Is God’s design inadequate? “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” (Job 40:2) Who are we to say that we have come up with something superior to what God has come up with?

We do not need to rely on our own wisdom (Pr. 14:12). We simply need to trust in God that His way is best (Pr. 3:5). Let us have enough faith and trust in God that we will not look for a better way. Instead, let us simply do things in the way in which He has directed, through the organization which He has established.

Andy Sochor