One of the church’s greatest challenges came soon after its acceptance as the official religion of the Roman Empire. The church grew prosperous—and eventually was corrupted. It seemed spiritually dead in the Dark Ages. But the Lord always preserved a core of courageous and faithful believers who, in the most bleak and difficult times, shined bright as stars on a moonless night. The word church literally means “the called-out ones.” God creates His special people from those He has summoned out of the world.

Paul compares Christ’s relationship to His church to a husband’s tender, protective relationship to His wife:

“For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.”
—Ephesians 5:23.

The church is a family with each member establishing relationships to the other members of the family and contributing to their well-being.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with GOD’S PEOPLE and MEMBERS OF GOD’S HOUSEHOLD.”
—Ephesians 2:19.