What is the difference between the universal church and local church?

Response

To comprehend the distinction between the local church and the universal church, one must grasp a fundamental definition of each. The local church is a congregation of professing believers in Jesus Christ who gather in a specific location regularly. The universal church consists of all believers in Jesus Christ globally. The term “church” is a translation of a Greek word related to gathering together or an “assembly” (1 Thessalonians 2:14;2 Thessalonians 1:1). This word relates to God’s work in saving and sanctifying believers as “called-out ones.” Another Greek word that denotes ownership and literally means “belonging to the Lord” is transliterated as church, but it appears only twice in the New Testament and never directly in reference to the church (1 Corinthians 11:20;Revelation 1:10).

A local church is typically described as a local gathering of all who profess faith and loyalty to Christ. Most frequently, the Greek word ekklesia is used concerning the local assembly (1 Thessalonians 1:1;1 Corinthians 4:17;2 Corinthians 11:8). There is not necessarily only one specific local church in any given area. Larger cities have many local churches.

The universal church refers to the church on a global scale. In this context, the focus is not so much on the assembly itself but on those who make up the church. The church remains the church even when it is not convening an official gathering. Acts 8:3 illustrates that the church remains the church even when its members are at home. In Acts 9:31, the King James Version’s plural term “churches” should be understood as referring to multiple churches.Actually, the singular church is the term used to describe the universal church, encompassing all believers, not just local congregations. At times, the universal church is referred to as the “invisible church” — invisible because it lacks a physical location, GPS coordinates, or a tangible structure, and because only God can discern who is genuinely saved. While the term “invisible” is not explicitly used in Scripture to describe the church, it is undoubtedly intended to be visible, as stated in the Bible verse, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). Additional verses that discuss the universal church include 1 Corinthians 12:28; 15:9; Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18.