November 2025
The Doctrine of the Church
INTO THE WORD
Request your free, three-month trial to Tabletalk magazine. You’ll receive the print issue monthly and gain immediate digital access to decades of archives. This trial is risk-free. No credit card required.
Try Tabletalk NowAlready receive Tabletalk magazine every month?
Verify your email address to gain unlimited access.
One of the most important biblical doctrines that we cover in systematic theology is also one of the most neglected in the modern church. We are talking about the doctrine of the church, otherwise known as ecclesiology.
The doctrine of the church is fundamental for a proper understanding of biblical theology and healthy Christian living. The early church father Cyprian of Carthage said, “No one can have God for his Father who does not have the church for his mother,” a statement that John Calvin quoted with approval many centuries later. The church preaches the gospel to us, baptizes us, nurtures us in the faith, and forms us as disciples of Christ. Thus, Westminster Confession of Faith 25.2 is right that outside the visible church, “there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.” Some believers are providentially hindered from joining a local congregation, but they are the exception, not the rule.
Our study of ecclesiology this month will look at the marks and attributes of the church, the structure of the church, the authority of the church, the sacraments, and other topics. May we deeply love the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
These verses parallel the themes of the studies each week. We encourage you to hide them in your heart so that you may not sin against the Lord:
Abiding in the Word
- Ephesians 3:10
- Acts 15:6
- Acts 2:42
- Deuteronomy 10:16
- Colossians 1:13-14