From A Body of Divinity by John Gill, pp. 854-859.  All Scriptures in the New King James Version.

I. Essentially considered, as to its matter and form of which it consists:

1. As regenerate persons - Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, of the grace of the Spirit of God, he cannot enter, and if known, ought not to be allowed to enter, into the kingdom of God, into a gospel-church-state; none but such who are begotten again to a lively hope of the heavenly inheritance, and who, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word and ordinances, that they may grow thereby, having tasted that the Lord is gracious; or, in other words of whom it is meet to think, and, in a judgment of charity and discretion, to hope and conclude that God hath begun a good work in them such were the members of the church at Philippi.

Philippians 1:6-7 - "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace."

2. As called ones - A church is a congregation of such who are called out from among others, by the grace of God; both the Hebrew and Greek words (for church) … signify an assembly of persons who are called and convened together; so the members of the church at Rome are styled, the called of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:6). Such who are called out of the world, and from fellowship with the men of it, into the fellowship of Jesus Christ; such who are proper materials of a gospel-church, are such who are called out of a state of bondage to sin, satan, and the law, into the liberty of the gospel; and out of darkness into marvelous light; and are called with an holy calling, and called to be saints, not merely by the external ministry of the word, to outward holiness of life and conversation, who are never effectually called by the grace of God, nor have any appearance of it, and so unfit to be members of churches; for,

3. Such are not only called to be saints, but in and by effectual vocation become really saints - at least are judged to be so, by a charitable discretion of them; so the members of the churches at Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colosse, are described as saints, and sanctified persons, and as holy temples, built for habitations of an holy God; hence they are called churches of the saints, because they consist of such; and Christ, who is king and head of the church is called King of saints.

1 Corinthians 14:33 - "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints."

Revelation 15:3-4 - "They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: 'Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.'

4. They are described as the faithful in Christ Jesus - or believers in Him: so in the article of the church of England, a church is defined, "A congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly administered." For only faithful men, or believers in Christ, can have fellowship with the saints in a church-state; and none but such can have communion with Christ; for He dwells in the hearts of men by faith, and they live by faith upon Him; and only such have a right to the ordinances of Christ, and can receive benefit by them; unless they believe with all the heart, they have no right to baptism; and unless they have faith in Christ, they cannot discern the Lord’s body in the supper; nor is the gospel preached of any profit to them, not being mixed with faith; so that they are on all accounts unfit for church-membership; and hence we read, that those who were joined to the first church at Jerusalem, were believers.

Acts 5:14 - "And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,"

5. Those that were added to the church at Jerusalem, are said to be such as should be saved - as all those who believe and are baptized shall be saved; according to Mark 16:16. And besides, these were added by the Lord Himself, as well as to Him, an therefore should be saved by Him with an everlasting salvation: and such who are admitted to church-fellowship, should be such, who, in a judgement of charity or in charitable discretion, may be hoped, that they are the chosen of God, the redeemed of Christ, are called, sanctified, and justified, and so shall everlastingly be saved.

6. They should be person of some competent knowledge of divine and spiritual things, and of judging them; - who have not only knowledge of themselves, and of their lost estate by nature, and of the way of salvation by Christ; but who have some degree of knowledge of God, in His nature, perfections, and works; and of Christ, in His Person, as the Son of God; of His proper Deity; of His incarnation; of His offices, as Prophet, Priest, and King; of justification by His righteousness; pardon by His blood, satisfaction by His sacrifice; and of His prevalent intercession: and also of the Spirit of God: His person, offices, and operations; and of the important truths of the gospel, and doctrines of grace; or how otherwise should the church be the pillar and ground of truth?

7. The materials of a gospel-church should be men of holy lives and conversation - holiness both of heart and life becomes the house of God, and those who are of it; none should have a place in it but such.

Psalm 15:1-2 - "LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;"

Psalm 24:3-4 - "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully."

8. Such who are admitted into fellowship with a particular church of Christ, should be truly baptized - that is by immersion, upon a profession of their faith; so the three thousand penitents, after they had gladly received the Word, were baptized; and then, and not before, were added to the church; so the first church at Samaria consisted of men and women baptized by Philip, they believing what he said concerning the Kingdom of God; and Lydia, and her household, and the jailer and his, being baptized upon their faith, laid the foundations of the church at Philippi; and the church at Corinth was begun with person who, hearing the Word, believed, and were baptized; and the church at Ephesus was first formed by some disciples baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus … so the members of the churches at Rome, Galatia, and Colosse, were baptized persons.

Acts 2:41 - "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them."

Acts 8:12 - "But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized."

Acts 16:15 - "And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us.'"

Acts 18:8 - "Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized."

Romans 6:3-4 - "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

Galatians 3:27 - "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

Colossians 2:12 - "buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

9. Not their infants with them - who were neither baptized nor admitted to membership in churches; no one instance of either can be produced in Scripture: for that which is born of flesh is flesh, carnal and corrupt, and unfit for church fellowship: nor do they become such by the faith of their parents; for even their faith does not make them themselves church-members, without a profession of it, and giving up themselves to a church, and received by it into it; men must be believers before they become members; an they cannot be members till they make application to a church, and are admitted into it. Infants, as they are born, are not meet for membership, being unregenerate, unholy, and impure by their first birth, and must be born again ere they are fit for the kingdom of God, or a gospel-church-state; their federal holiness, talked of, is a mere chimera, and is unsupported by 1 Corinthians 7:14. They are not capable of understanding and of answering questions put unto them; nor of giving up themselves to a church; nor of consent and agreement to walk with it, the nature of which they are unacquainted with, and of what belongs to a member of it, either as to duty or privilege; not are they capable of answering the ends of church communion, the mutual edification of members and the glory of God: and such who plead for their membership, make a poor business of it; not treating them as members, neither by admitting them to the ordinance of the supper, nor by watching over them, reproving, admonishing, and laying them under censures, when grown up, and require them, were they members.

II. A Particular Church May Be Considered As to the Form of It:

1. There must be a union, a coalition of a certain number of members - to form a church-state, one cannot make a church; and there must be a united, as the similes of the tabernacle, temple, house, body, and a flock of sheep, to which a church is sometimes compared, shew; the tabernacle was made with ten curtains, typical of the church of God; but one curtain did not make a tabernacle, nor all ten singly and separately taken; but there were certain loops and teaches, and which when they were coupled together; and being thus joined, they composed the tabernacle. So the temple of Solomon, which was another type of the gospel-church; and which was made of great and costly stones; these stones, not as in the quarry, nor even when hewed and squared, lying singly by themselves, made the temple, until they were put and cemented together; and the headstone brought in and laid on; thus truly gracious souls, though they are by grace separated from the common quarry of mankind, and are hewn by the Spirit of God, and by the ministry of the word, and are fit materials for the church of God, yet do not constitute one, until fitly framed together, and so grow unto an holy temple of the Lord. A church is called the house of God, a spiritual house, built up of lively stones, living saints; but these be they ever so lively and living, they do not form a church, unless they are builded together, for and habitation of God. A church of Christ, is often compared to an human body; which is not one member, but many; and these not as separate, but members one of another; who are fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth; and sometimes it is called a flock, the flock of God; and though a little flock, yet one sheep does not make a flock, not two or three straggling ones; but a number of them collected together, feeding in one pasture, under the care of a shepherd.

2. This union of saints in a church-state is signified by their being joined - and as it were glued together; see Acts 5:13 and 9:26. It is an union of spirits as close, as if they were but one spirit; so the members of the first Christian church were of one heart and soul, being knit together in love; and it becomes members to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,

Acts 5:13 - "Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly."

Acts 9:26 - "And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple."

Acts 4:32 - "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common."

Colossians 2:2 - "that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,"

Ephesians 4:3 - "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

3. This union between them is made by voluntary consent and agreement - a Christian society, or a church of Christ, is like all civil societies, founded on agreement and by consent; thus it is with societies from highest to the lowest; kingdoms and states were originally formed on this plan; in which they are privileges to be enjoyed, and duties to be performed; and no man has a right to the one, without consenting to the other; and in lower societies, no man can be admitted into them, nor receive any benefit from them, unless he assents to the rules and articles on which the society is founded. All civil relations, except the natural relation of parents and children, which arises from the law of nature, are by consent and covenant; as that of magistrates and subjects, and of masters and servants, and of husband and wife; which latter, as it is by compact and agreement, may serve to illustrate the relation between a church and its members added to it, and the manner in which they be, by consent;

Isaiah 62:5 -" For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you."

4. As the original constitution of church is by consent and confederation, so the admission of new members to them, is upon the same footing - the primitive churches in the times of the apostles, first gave themselves to the Lord, as a body, agreeing and promising to walk in all His commandments and ordinances, and be obedient to His laws, as King of saints; and to us, the apostles, pastors, guides, and governors, to be taught, fed, guided, and directed by them, according to the word of God’ engaging to do whatever in them lay, to promote each other’s edification and the glory of God: and so all such were added to them, it was done by mutual consent, as it always should be; as no man is to be forced into a church, or by any compulsory methods brought into it; so neither can he force himself into one; he has no right to come into a church, and depart from it when he pleases; both the one and the other, his coming into it and departure from it, must be with consent; a man may purpose himself to be a member of a church, but it is at the option of the church whether they will receive him; so Saul assayed to join himself to the disciples, that is, he proposed to be a member of them, but they at first refused him, fearing he was not a true disciple, because of his former conduct; but when they had a testimony of him from Barnabas, and perceived that he was a partaker of the grace of God, and was sound in the faith of Christ, they admitted him, and he was with them, going out and coming in: and it is but reasonable a church should be satisfied in these points, as to the persons received into their communion, not only be testimony of their becoming lives, but by giving an account of what God has done for their souls, and a reason for the hope that is in them; as well as by expressing their agreement with them in their articles of faith.

5. Something of this kind may be observed in all religious societies - from the beginning, that they were by agreement and confederation; so the first religious societies in families, and under the patriarchal dispensation, it was by the agreement of families, and the common consent of them, that they met and joined together for public worship, to call on the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26), so the Jewish church, though national in some sense, yet was constituted by confederation; God prescribed to them laws in the wilderness, and they covenanted and consented to obey them.

Exodus 24:7 - "Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, 'All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.'"

He avouched them to His people, and they avouched Him to be their God; and then, and not before, were they called a church.

Acts 7:38 - "This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,"

And so the gospel church was spoken of in prophecy, as what should be constituted and increased by agreement and covenant.

Isaiah 44:5 - "One will say, 'I am the Lord's'; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, 'The Lord's,' And name himself by the name of Israel."

Isaiah 56:6-7 - "Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants; Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant; Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."

Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

All which agree with New Testament language; for whence it appears to be a fact, that it was by consent and agreement that the first churches were formed, as before observed, and not otherwise; and nothing else but mutual consent, can make a man a church-member: not faith in the heart, for that cannot be known unto a man declares and professes it; nor a bare profession of faith, which, though necessary to membership, does not declare a man a member of one church more than another; unless he gives himself up to a church, and professes his desire to walk with it in a subjection of the gospel of Christ: nor baptism, though a pre-requisite to church church-fellowship, does not make a man a member of a church, as it did not the eunuch: nor hearing the word; for men ignorant and unbelievers, may come into an assembly and hear the word (1 Corinthians 14:24), yea, persons may hear the word aright, have faith, and profess it, an be baptized, and yet not be church members; it is only mutual consent that makes them such: persons must purpose themselves to walk in it, in an observance of the ordinances of Christ, and duties of religion; and the church must voluntarily receive them in the Lord.

6. Such a mutual agreement is but reasonable - for how should two walk together except they by agreed? (Amos 3:3) and unless persons voluntarily give up themselves to a church and its pastor, they can exercise no power over them, in a church-way; they have nothing to do with them that are without, they have no concern with the watch and care of them; nor are they entitled thereunto, unless they submit themselves to one another in the fear of God; they have no power to reprove, admonish, and censure them in a church-way; nor can the pastor exercise any pastoral authority over them, except by agreement they consent to yield to it; nor can they except he should watch over their souls as he that must give an account, having no charge of them by any act of theirs.

7. It is this confederacy, consent, and agreement, that is the formal cause of a church - it is this which not only distinguishes a church from the world , and from all professors that walk at large, the one being within and the other without, but from all other particular churches; so the church at Cenchrea was not the same to the church at Corinth; but though at a little distance from it, because it consisted of persons who have given themselves to it, and not to the church at Corinth; and so were members of the one and not of the other; one of you, as Onesimus and Epaphras were of the church at Colosee, and not of another.

Colossians 4:9 & 12 - "with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here. Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God."

8. That a church of Christ is not parochial - or men do not become church members by habitation in a parish; for Turks and Jews may dwell in the same parish: nor is it diocesan; for we never read of more churches under one bishop or pastor, through there may have been, where churches were large, more bishops or pastors in one church …

Philippians 1:1 - "Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:"

Nor provincial for we read of churches in one province; as of the churches of Judea, and of Galatia, and of Macedonia: nor national; nay, so far from it, that we not only read of more churches in a nation, but even of churches in houses,

Romans 16:5 -"Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ."

Colossians 4:15 - "Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house."

Phileomon 1:2 - "to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:"

Nor Presbyterian, for we never read of presbyters or elders, though of elders ordained in churches; by which it appears there were churches before there were any presbyters or elders in them. Acts 14:23 - So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

But a particular visible gospel-church is congregational; and even the church of England, which is national itself, defines as "visible church to be a congregation of faithful men:" and, indeed, the national church of the Jews was in a sense congregational; it is sometimes called the congregation (Leviticus 4:12-15). They were a people separated from other nations, and peculiarly holy to the Lord; they met in one place, called, the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered their sacrifices at one altar (Leviticus 1:3-4; 17:4-5). And three times in the year all their males appeared together at Jerusalem; and besides, as Lightfoot observes, there were stationary men at Jerusalem, who were representatives of the whole congregation, and were at the sacrifices for them: the synagogues also, though not of divine institution, were countenanced by the Lord, and bore a great resemblance to congregational societies; and is the word which answers to congregation, in the Septuagint version, and is used for a Christian assembly in the New Testament.

James 2:2 - "For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,"

To which may be added, that such congregations and assemblies as gospel-churches be, are prophesied of as what should be in gospel-times.

Isaiah 4:5 - "then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering."

A church of saints thus essentially constituted, as to matter and form, have a power in this state to admit and reject members, as all societies have; and also to choose their own officers; which, when done, they become a complete organized church, as to order and power; of which more hereafter.

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