Ecclesiology - The Doctrine of the Church

The Church—both universal and local—is a company of believers formed from Jews and Gentiles who have been united with Christ by means of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-28).  A person becomes a member of the body of Christ—the church—when he believes in Christ for salvation (Gal. 3:26-28; Eph. 1:22-23).  The church was not known in the OT, but was revealed to the apostles in the New Testament (Eph. 3:1-12; 5:32; Col. 1:25-27).