Claim. The purpose of a church is not to perpetuate itself but to find and establish God’s nation; the church is a transitional vehicle whose era will pass once that purpose is achieved.
Elaboration. SMM defines the church instrumentally: “The purpose of a church is to find and establish God’s nation; it is not to find and establish a church. God’s original ideal for creation was to establish one world centered on a nation” (1.1. Church integrates human character and the Word, 149-48, 1986.11.2). The church is provisional: “In the future, the time of the church will pass… The church is needed during the process of restoration in the realm of the Fall, but once a new era arrives, the era of the church will pass away” (ibid, 28-222, 1970.1.11). Within this provisional phase, the church functions as “a holy place that connects heaven and earth… a spiritual pillar for the well-being of the nation” (ibid, Way of the Spiritual Leader 238) and as the place where “the Word, nobility of character, and quality of heart can unite” (ibid). SMM warns that easy forgiveness without indemnity defangs the church: God did not forgive Satan’s single sin, so a church that treats forgiveness as cheap betrays the providential function it was created to serve (ibid, 19-161, 1968.1.1).
See also. ecclesiology