There should be no mistake as to the method by which salvation may be realized. Rather, it is the collective reference to the people of God in the world - people who follow the New Testament teaching regarding the church.įourth, being saved is the way to membership in the Lord’s church (Acts 2:47). “The church of Christ” is not a denominational title that describes a religious institution established by men. 1:2) are scriptural names that describe the church as belonging to Christ and God. Such designations like church of Christ (Rom. Third, only divinely appointed names were worn by the church. The church of Christ would then exist in your hometown, and the New Testament alone would be its guide for work and worship. Rather, you would be following the New Testament pattern, and those who obey the gospel would be a part of the Lord’s church. If there was no congregation of the Lord’s church in your hometown, and you started teaching others about the death of Jesus, the benefits of his redemptive blood, and the requirements of the New Testament to have the forgiveness of sins - you would not be setting up a denomination. Whenever the pure gospel of Christ was taught, just as it was preached for the first time in Jerusalem, the result was simply Christians who belonged to Christ - collectively the church of Christ - when people obeyed the gospel. When the gospel was preached by Paul, and others, throughout the ancient world, different denominations were not set up. The Lord’s church was founded by Christ through the preaching of the apostles in Jerusalem, corresponding to Old Testament prophecy (Is. Religious bodies that have their origin in Rome, Zurich, London, or any other place but Jerusalem, are ones that started in the wrong places. Second, the church that belongs to Christ began on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. He lays down requirements through which we can belong to him. The church belongs to Christ on the basis of these gospel truths. “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Cor. 4:4 1:22-23).Īfter religious division arose within the church at Corinth, Paul asked some probing questions. Christ, the Son of God, is the only one qualified, and he has established his church (cf. No one has the right to start a church as a divinely approved institution (cf. The New Testament teaches us what the church is, and what the church should be today, according to the plan of God.įirst, the church was built and purchased by Christ (Matt. It is necessary, therefore, that we are educated by the New Testament and not by the ideas of men. We recall that the church is described as the eternal purpose of God (Eph. The New Testament is the only place to which we can turn to learn about the church of Christ.