Dever - The church: the Gospel made visible

"Mark Dever has rendered an invaluable service to the Body of Christ in this book. Its biblical grounding is sure, and its theological insights are spot on! Few address the issues of ecclesiology better than this pastor/theologian. This work will help us better understand what the church is and what the church does when it is faithful to Scripture."

Daniel L. Akin

President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

"Mark Dever has taught me more about the church than any other living human being. He's a keen observer and insightful practitioner. In The Church: The Gospel Made Visible , Dever helps us to see how the good news goes cinematic in the nitty-gritty lives of local congregations. What joy comes from recognizing the embodiment of the gospel in our very ordinary congregations!"

Thabiti Anyabwile

Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman Islands

"The church today desperately needs to think more deeply about the church. That's why I'm incredibly thankful for Mark Dever. No one writes as passionately, as winsomely, as biblically, or as practically about the church. This book is a wonderful example of all those traits. Even though my theology is different on a few important points like baptism and congregationalism, I always learn from Mark when he talks ecclesiology. If you love the church, you'll love this book. And if the doctrine of the church sounds terribly unimportant, then you need to read this book even more."

Kevin DeYoung

Senior pastor, University Reformed Church, East Lansing, Michigan

"I'm not sure that I know anyone who has read more on ecclesiology, from the whole breadth of the Christian tradition, than Mark Dever. So, his exegesis is not done in isolation but in conversation with twenty centuries of Christian thinking. As a Presbyterian, I would encourage non-Baptists and non-congregationalists to read and engage with Mark's work, not only because it is so well done, biblical, and helpful, but also because of a huge evangelical blind spot the book addresses. Ecclesiology is indisputably one of evangelicalism's great weaknesses, in part because of subjectivism, individualism, and pragmatism. Mark offers a robust corrective to this, and even where you may disagree you will find yourself edified and instructed. Mark approaches this subject not simply as a skilled historical theologian and systematician, but also as a local church pastor who has fostered a vital and healthy embrace of biblical polity in his own congregation, with happy results. He is no "dry-land sailor" or impractical theoretician but a faithful shepherd. The growth and life and fruitfulness of his flock testify to this."

Ligon Duncan

Senior minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi

"Trust me, if you talk with my friend Mark Dever for more than five minutes, the local church will come up in the conversationnot only because it is the focus of his impressive academic work, but because the church is to him as it was to Charles Spurgeon, 'the dearest place on earth.' Over many discussions Mark has taught me much about the church, and even in areas where we disagree, I've been affected by his passion for the church. This book allows you to have a similar conversation with Mark, and I have no doubt that your heart will be stirred with love for the church universal and for your local church in particular."

C. J. Mahaney

President, Sovereign Grace Ministries

"For far too long, the church has suffered for its lack of attention to ecclesiology. Thankfully, that neglect has given way to a new age of rediscovery, and Mark Dever has been a key catalyst for the recovery of biblical ecclesiology. In this book, you will find a faithful, truthful, thrilling understanding of the church. But be warned: Once you read this book, you will never be satisfied until you are a part of a church that is growing into this kind of faithfulness and life."

R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Since becoming a pastor, no one that I know has had a greater influence on my understanding of the church than Mark Dever. The church I pastor and countless other churches, literally around the world, have reaped the benefits of God's grace in Mark and Capitol Hill Baptist Church. For this reason, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to pastors, church leaders, and church members who long to see the gospel and glory of God on display in the body of Christ."

David Platt

Pastor, The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, Alabama

The Church, Digital Edition, v.1

Based on Print Edition

The Church: The Gospel Made Visible

Copyright 2012 by Mark Dever

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4336-7776-2

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 262.7

Subject Heading: CHURCH GOVERNMENT AND POLITY \ CHURCH \ CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

Scripture citations marked NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION(R). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All Rights Reserved.

Dedication

To Mike McKinley,

Greg Gilbert,

Michael Lawrence,

Aaron Menikoff,

Andy Davis,

David Platt,

Matt Chandler,

J. D. Greear,

and the rising generation of pastors called to shepherd "the flock of God" (1 Pet 5:2).

Contents

Preface: The Need for Studying the Doctrine of the Church

F or too many Christians today, the doctrine of the church is like a decoration on the front of a building. Maybe it's pretty, maybe it's not, but finally it's unimportant because it bears no weight.

Yet nothing could be further from the truth. The doctrine of the church is of the utmost importance. It is the most visible part of Christian theology, and it is vitally connected with every other part.

The church arises only from the gospel. And a distorted church usually coincides with a distorted gospel. Whether it leads to such distortions or results from them, serious departures from the Bible's teaching about the church normally signify other, more central misunderstandings about the Christian faith.

This is not to say that all differences in ecclesiology are tantamount to differences over the gospel itself. Honest Christians have long differed over a number of important issues in the church. But just because a matter is not essential for salvation does not mean that it's not important, or that it's not necessary for obedience. The color of church signs is not essential for Christian salvation, nor is believer's baptism. But everyone would agree that these two matters vary greatly in importance.

Perhaps the popular disinterest in ecclesiology results from the understanding that the church itself is not necessary for salvation. Cyprian of Carthage may well have said, "No one can have God for his father, who has not the church for his mother," but few would agree with this sentiment today. And evangelical Protestants, who stress salvation by faith alone, seem to have even less use for the church, much less for studying the doctrine of the church.

It should not be this way. As John Stott said, "The church lies at the very center of the eternal purpose of God. It is not a divine afterthought. It is not an accident of history." The church should be regarded as important to Christians because of its importance to Christ. Christ founded the church (Matt 16:18), purchased it with his blood (Acts 20:28), and intimately identifies himself with it (Acts 9:4). The church is the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12,27; Eph 1:2223; 4:12; 5:2030; Col 1:18,24; 3:15), the dwelling place of his Spirit (1 Cor 3:1617; Eph 2:18,22; 4:4), and the chief instrument for glorifying God in the world (Ezek 36:2238; Eph 3:10). Finally, the church is God's instrument for bringing both the gospel to the nations and a great host of redeemed humanity to himself (Luke 24:4648; Rev 5:9).