In 2018, after moving to Paris, I was invited by some brothers to a church gathering at someone’s home. For the first time, I encountered a so-called Pentecostal-style meeting. During the pastor’s sermon, he made a bold statement: “The Old Testament is full of laws and history relating only to the Jews, but the New Testament is full of grace and is for the Church.” He went on to say that the Church is exclusively a New Testament concept, tied to Christians and absent in the Old Testament. This teaching was entirely new to me and raised significant questions.
Seeking clarity, I asked him, “If the Church did not exist (in concept) in the Old Testament, how do you reconcile God’s repeated references to Israel as His “called-out assembly” (“qahal’’ in Hebrew), His “holy nation, Kingdom of priest or congregation” (Exodus 19:6), and His promise to Abraham that “all nations will be blessed through him” (Genesis 12:3)? Isn’t the Church simply the fulfillment of this calling, where Jews and Gentiles are united as one body in Christ (Ephesians 2:11-16)?
The pastor attempted to answer but struggled to provide a clear explanation. Frustrated, he suggested that I lacked faith because I do not have the Holy Spirit as I sought logical reasoning instead of simply accepting his teaching by faith. He advised me to go home, lock myself in prayer, and not open the door until God gave me the Holy Spirit and revealed to me that the Church is solely a New Testament concept.
This encounter left me both unsettled and more determined to understand what Scripture truly teaches about the Church’s continuity from the Old to the New Testament.
I hold what might be considered a minority position on this issue. Some believe that Adam’s sin disrupted God’s “Plan A,” forcing Him to resort to a “Plan B.” I find this view unbiblical. There is no Plan B or C in God’s eternal purposes—His Plan A always prevails.
The concept of the Church finds its roots as early as the Garden of Eden. When God created Adam and Eve, He blessed them and gave them the command to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). This was more than a directive for procreation; it was a call to establish His kingdom on earth—a society living as His people, reflecting His justice, holiness, and glory. However, Adam and Eve, influenced by Satan, failed to fulfill this divine mandate.
Even in man’s unfaithfulness, God remains faithful to His Promise and plan (2 Timothy 2:13). He did not abandon His original purpose but set it into motion through redemption. The Church, as the people of God, is central to this plan. Where the first Adam failed to build God’s kingdom, the “Last Adam,” Jesus Christ, fulfilled it perfectly.
Christ Himself declared, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Unlike the first Adam, who succumbed to Satan’s influence, the Last Adam triumphed over Satan, sin, and death. Through His death and resurrection, Christ established the Church on the solid foundation of His work, ensuring its victory and eternal purpose in God’s plan.
So the concept of the Church spans both the Old and New Testaments, deeply rooted in God’s redemptive plan for His people. In the Old Testament, though not explicitly named, the Church is foreshadowed in Israel as God’s “called-out assembly, Kingdom of priest, Holy nation or Congregation” (Exodus 19:6). Through the promise to Abraham (“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” – Genesis 12:3) and prophetic visions like Isaiah 56:6-7, God revealed His intention to create a people from all nations for His glory.
In the New Testament, the Church is unveiled as the body of Christ, where Jews and Gentiles are united through faith (Ephesians 2:11-16).The Greek word “ekklesia”, meaning “called-out ones or congregation,” emphasizes the Church as a community of believers, both universal and local (Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 1:2).
Saint Augustine contributed to the understanding of the Church by teaching that the Church on earth consists of all those who are professing their faith in Christ and their children. This mixed nature of the Church reflects the parable of the wheat and tares, where both grow together until the time of harvest (Matthew 13:24-30). While the visible Church includes all who identify as Christian, the invisible Church is composed of God’s elect only—those genuinely redeemed by Christ.
The Church fulfills God’s covenant promises, embodying His mission to glorify His name, proclaim the Gospel, and disciple all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). From Israel’s assembly to the global body of Christ, the Church remains central to God’s plan, uniting true and professing believers under Christ and empowering them by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:28).
Therefore, the Church is not a New Testament concept as a “Plan B” in God’s purpose. It has always been part of His “Plan A,” existing throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Its invisible beginning can be traced back to the first Adam in the Garden of Eden, where God’s purpose for a holy community was first revealed. This purpose unfolds progressively through Scripture and is brought to visible fulfillment through the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, in the New Testament. The Church, therefore, is central to God’s eternal plan, uniting His people as His bride across the time for His glory.
