What the Bible says about Church, Names of
(From Forerunner Commentary)
The Bible names the body of believers "the church of God" in twelve specific passages, yet literally tens of thousands of religions today claim to be connected with the true God but have names bearing little similarity to what God names His church in the Bible. Because "church of God" is generic, the Bible adds "at Ephesus," "at Corinth," or at other locations to define which part of the church is meant in a specific context. Paul adds "living" in I Timothy 3:15, showing that God allows some leeway in expressing the church's name, utilizing more of God's specific names and attributes as part of the identification.