The Bible employs many different models that try to explain the concept of ‘Church’. Firstly a word of warning: Jesus did not directly create the Church. Rather, he came to usher in the Kingdom. His concept is very simple: if God is King — a sort of divine ruler — then we live under him and must obey his rule and obey only him. When all humanity does obey God as King, life on earth will be transformed, leading to an earthly paradise. He called it ‘The Kingdom’.
Today, the Church is one of the principal vehicles that God uses to create the Kingdom.
St Peter describes the Church as an Ark. This metaphor derives from the story of Noah’s Ark in Genesis 6–9: only those on board the Ark were saved; and all others were drowned. The model is implied by several biblical authors and is most clearly described in 1 Peter 3:20.
The idea behind St Peter’s imagery is obvious: only those within the Church will be saved. This view is biblical, but was first stated explicitly in this way by St Cyprian in about 250 AD: ‘there is no salvation outside the Church.’ On the face of it, Cyprian’s statement sounds restrictive — judgemental even. It’s actually a circular argument: if the Church comprises all those who have given their lives to Jesus, then only those in the Church can be saved.’ So the ark model of the church illustrates the importance of being a believing, Spirit-filled member of a Church.
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