What is the church?

The word church simply means an assembly or group of people.  Today many refer to the church as the buildings in which Christians meet to worship God.  But the Bible has an entirely different definition and reference.  The Bible states that those who are saved are the church (Compare Acts 8:1-3, 9:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 15:9).  Another reference shows that the church is a completely different group of people on the earth today (1 Corinthians 10:32).  While the Bible does mention local churches numerous times, the overall idea of the church is everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.