The symbol for the early church in the early history of Christianity was the "boat." The church was understood as an"ark of salvation"

carrying believers safely over the flood that destroys life.

The earliest name of the Christian Church was "The Way." According to Owen C. Thomas in his book, entitle Introduction to Theology, the description of the church as the body of Christ appears only in Paul's letters, and it is his only image of the church, except of the olive tree in Romans 11.

Bultmann said that the church exists only in the event of preaching, hearing, and obedience to the kerygma...