Fundamentally, God intends the local church to be a corporate display of his glory and wisdom, both to unbelievers and to unseen spiritual powers (John 13:34–35; Eph. 3:10–11). More specifically, we are a corporate dwelling place for God’s Spirit (Eph. 2:19–22; 1 Cor. 3:16–17), the organic body of Christ in which he magnifies his glory (Acts 9:4; 1 Cor. 12). The Greek word for church is ekklēsia, a gathering or congregating of people. The church is God’s vehicle for displaying his glory to his creation.