That the Holy Scriptures plainly teach that there is
one, and only one church, cannot be successfully denied. Paul, in Ephesians 4:4 wrote: “There is one body and one
Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling.” In this same
epistle, he wrote: “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be
head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who
fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23). By reading the writings of any standard
church historian, one can follow the fortunes of this one church. Soon after
the close of the first century, the apostasy began, culminating some five
hundred years later in an organization with one man claiming to be the head of
the church. Many centuries later, men arose with the idea of reforming that
apostate organization. These actions resulted in the Reformation Movement. Conceived
and born in this movement was the concept of denominationalism.
In our nation today, there are more than four hundred
denominational organizations or churches. Since the admonition of the inspired
apostle is to “Examine
yourselves as to whether you are in the faith,” it seems
reasonable that each one should, yea must, question himself about the church of
which he is a member. In other words, can I prove by the Scriptures that the church
of which I am a member is that one
body spoken of by Paul? Is the church of which I am a member the one that Jesus
said he would build, and the one he purchased with his blood (cf. Acts 20:28)? Would your preacher be willing to
make the statement: “The church of which I am a member is the one church of the New Testament,
and I can prove it by the Scriptures?” Do you as a member of that church have a
right to ask him that question? If not, why not? The New Testament describes
the church in such a fashion that one can certainly take that body of
Scriptures and identify that one body.
Let’s look at the church of the New Testament. In the
New Testament, the word “church” never refers to any kind of physical building,
but to those who have been called out of sin by their obedience to the Gospel. Thus,
the church consists of the saved (cf. Acts 2:47;
Colossians 1:13-14).
Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew
16:18). Any student of the language recognizes that the “will build” of that
statement is future tense. In Acts 2:47,
according to the King James Version,
we find the saved being added to the church. Some time between Jesus’ statement
and the events of Acts 2, the
church had its beginning. In Mark 9:1,
Jesus told his disciples that the kingdom would come with power in their
lifetime. In Acts 1, he
identified that power as the Holy Spirit coming upon the apostles. This event
occurred on the Day of Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ, as recorded
in the second chapter of Acts. On that day those who obeyed the commands of the
Holy Spirit, as spoken by Peter, were added to the church. Is this the church
of which you are a member? Can you take the Scriptures and prove it? Does God
approve of the way that you use his Word to prove it? In other words, am I
wresting the Scriptures, or am I taking them in their context to prove by them
that the church of which I am a member is that one church?
