THE CHURCH THAT CHRIST BUILT
Although the word “Church” was already in used before the Lord Jesus Christ used it, but we must understand this word as used by the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles, or as used in the New Testament..IT IS A biblical fact that the Lord Jesus Christ established a Church. No one denies this truth because it is explicitly written in the Bible. In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus Christ said:“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18 NKJV, emphasis mine)Etymologically speaking, the word “church” is the English translation of the Greek word “ekklesia” which literally means an “assembly.” However, although this word was already in used before the Lord Jesus Christ used it, but we must understand this word as used by the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles, or as used in the New Testament.Thus we must understand the word “Church” through what the Bible teaches about it. What is the “Church” built by Christ according to the Bible?ONE “FLOCK”, ONE “GROUP”
AND “ONE BODY”The Lord Jesus Christ called His Church as “flock” to which the Father gave His kingdom:“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32 NKJV)Even Apostle Paul explicitly called the Church of Christ as the “flock” the Lord Jesus Christ purchased with His blood:“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28 Lamsa)The word “flock” means “a group” (Encarta Dictionary, Microsoft 2004-2009). It is the “body” where those called belong:“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15 NKJV)Thus, when the Lord Jesus Christ established His Church, He established a “flock”, a group of people, the body where those called belong. This refutes the belief that the Church which Christ built is “a conglomeration of believers in Christ from different religious groups.” The Bible said, “you were called in one body.”THE ONE BODY OF CHRISTApostle Paul explicitly said that the one body of Christ where those called belong is the Church:“For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” (Ephesians 5:23 NIV)As the body of Christ, the Church is composed of many members:“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5 NIV)Thus, the belief that the Church the Lord Jesus Christ built is “a conglomeration of churches” contradicts the teachings of the Bible. The Bible explicitly teaches that the Church is composed of “many members” and not “many churches.” The Bible said, “just as each of us has one body with many members...so in Christ we who are many FORM ONE BODY, and EACH MEMBER BELONGS TO ALL THE OTHERS.”Members of the Church that Christ built are “all joined to each other as different parts of one body.” Today’s English Version rendered Romans 12:4-5 as follows:“We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.” (Romans 12:4-5 TEV)Thus, the Church established by Christ is not a “conglomeration of churches,” and not a “conglomeration of believers belonging to different religious groups.” The Church that Christ built is “one body” and He Himself is the head, and the Church is composed of many members but all joined together to each other as different parts of the one body.ONE ORGANIZED CHURCHThe Lord Jesus Christ called His Church as “flock.” The word “flock” means “a group.” And one of the definitions of the word “organization” the dictionaries gave is “a group of people identified with shared interest or purpose” (Encarta Dictionary, Microsoft 2004-2009). Thus, when the Lord Jesus Christ established a Church, He established an organization.The Church that Christ built is an organization with many members, and theLord Jesus is the head of this organization and has authority over the Church:“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body. And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.” (Ephesians 5:23-25 TEV)The Church established by Christ has many members, and members have different functions. The Lord God arranged (organized) the parts in the body:“But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” (I Corinthians 12:18 NIV)The Lord God had set “government” inside the Church. Thus, He appointed different Church officials like apostles, prophets and teachers:“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” (I Corinthians 12:27-28 KJV)The Lord God also appointed evangelists and pastors:“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:11-12 NKJV)Thus, the Church that Christ built is ONE ORGANIZED CHURCH.WITH ONE SPIRIT, ONE HOPE, ONE FAITH
AND ONE BAPTISMThe Church that Christ built also has one spirit, one hope, one faith and one baptism:“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (Ephesians 4:4-5 NKJV)Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ established ONLY ONE organized Church with one spirit, one hope, one faith and one baptism.A RELIGIONWhen the Lord Jesus Christ built the Church, He also established a religion because the Church He established is a religion, the religion where the apostles and true Christians belong:“But if I delay, this letter will let you know how we should conduct ourselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. 16No one can deny how great is the secret of our religion...” (I Timothy 3:15-16 TEV)Those who say that “the Church is not a religion” do not understand the true meaning of the word “religion.” Etymologically, the word “religion” came probably from the Latin “religio” or the French “religare.” Thus, the Webster’s Dictionary gave us this meaning of the word “religion”:“Religion — prob. Fr. religare, to tie back, the personal commitment to and serving of God or a god with worshipful devotion, conduct in accord with divine commands especially as found in accepted sacred writings or declared by authoritative teachers, a way of life recognized as incumbent on true believers, and typically the relating of oneself to an organized body of believers.” (Webster’s Third International Dictionary, page 1918)According to the Dictionary, religion means: serving of God, conduct in accord with divine commands especially as found in accepted sacred writings. Thus, in saying that “the Church is not a religion” is like saying that the Church is not about serving God. Actually, according to the Bible, one of the main purposes of the Church is to prepare God’s people to serve:“Their purpose is to prepare God's people, to serve, and to build up the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12 God’s Word)Another meaning of the word “religion” is based on the French word “religare” meaning “binding back” or “to tie back.” Thus, religion also means “to bring back to God.” Now, if a person will say that “the Church is not a religion” and the word “religion” means “to bring back to God,” hence, it is like saying that the Church is “not about bringing people back to God.” However, the Bible clearly states that true Christians are “brought back to God in one body”:“He also brought them back to God in one body by his cross, on which he killed the hostility.” (Ephesians 2:16-17 God’s Word)Because “religion” is about serving God and how people will be brought back to God, thus, TRUE RELIGION is serving the true God and the true worship and service of God, and how men will truly be brought back to God.Thus, when the Lord Jesus Christ established His Church, He established the true Christian religion, where we can serve the true God with true worship of Him.THE CHURCH THAT CHRIST BUILTThe true Church that Christ built is the one which Christ gave His life for it:“Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.” (Ephesians 5:25 TEV)The Church which Christ gave His life for it is the Church of Christ:“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28 Lamsa)The true Church that Chirist built is the one which the Lord Jesus Christ will save come Judgment Day because Christ Himself is the Savior of the Church, His body:“For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.” (Ephesians 5:23 TEV)The “one body of Christ” the Bible referred to is the “Church of Christ”:“For just as the human body is one and yet has many parts, and all its parts, many as they are, constitute but one body, so it is with the Church of Christ.” (I Corinthian 12:12 Weymouth)It is very clear that the Church that Christ buit is called in His name, “Church of Christ”. No one claim that they are the true Church Church that Christ built and will be saved if they are not called “Church of Christ” becaue:“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV)CONCLUSIONThus, the Church that the Lord Jesus Christ built is an organization, a religion, one organized Church, the true Christian religion. And the Bible explicutly tell us that the Church that Christ built is the Church of Christ.