CHURCH The Bible Teaches That … 1. THE CHURCH IS A NEW TESTAMENT ORGANIZATION. The word "church" is not found in the Old Testament. It is definitely a New Testament word and a New Testament organization. Mention is made of the church in the wilderness but not in the use of the term in the New Testament.
The church of Christ was established on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ which record is given in Acts chapter 2. Matters pertaining to the church are central thoughts of the New Testament.
The Bible Teaches That … 2. THE CHURCH BELONGS TO CHRIST. Matthew 16:18, Jesus said: "Upon this rock I will build MY church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Romans 16:16, Paul said: "The churches of Christ salute you."
Jesus purchased the church with His own blood. In Acts 20:28, we find that Paul said: "Take heed unto yourselves and to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with His own blood." Since Jesus did die and His blood was shed for the church, then it follows that He is the one who purchased it.
The Bible Teaches That … 3. THE CHURCH WAS BEGUN AT JERUSALEM. There are four particular passages of scripture that show that the church was established at Jerusalem.
Matthew 16:18: Jesus said: "Upon this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." In the next verse, Jesus said to Peter: "And I will give unto thee the keys of kingdom of heaven." This shows that the church had not yet been built and that the church and kingdom of heaven are the same.
In Mark 9:1: Jesus again said: "There be some of them that stand here that shall not taste of death until they have seen the kingdom of God come with power."
Acts 1:8 states: "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both at Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
By these three passages of scripture we see: (1) that Jesus would be responsible that the church would be built (2) that it would be His, or the church of Christ (3) that the church and the kingdom were the same, (4) that some of the people living in the time of Christ would still be living when the kingdom came, (5) that the kingdom would come with power, (6) that the power would come with the coming of the Holy Ghost.
Then we compare Acts, chapter 2, beginning with the first verse, we find that the Holy Ghost came just as Christ had promised and on that day (Pentecost day after the resurrection of Christ) the church was established, for Acts 2:47, the scripture says that they were "praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." This event took place in the city of Jerusalem. Hence we see that any organization established any place else would not be the church you read about in the New Testament.
The Bible Teaches That… 4. JESUS IS THE SAVIOUR OF THE CHURCH (BODY). In Ephesians 5:23, Paul said: "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the saviour of the body."
Therefore, we must be in the church in order to be saved. We are told in 1 Corinthians 12:13: "For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body."
The Bible Teaches That… 5. IN ORDER TO GET INTO CHRIST WE MUST BE BAPTIZED INTO HIM. In Romans 6:3-4, we are told: "Know ye not that so many of us as have been baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raise up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
In Galatians 3:26-27, Paul again said: "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
The Bible Teaches That… 6. THERE IS ONLY ONE CHURCH. In Ephesians 1:22-23, we read: "And hath put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.”
In this passage of scripture we learn that the body and church are the same. Then when we turn to Ephesians 4:4, we find: "There is one body." If the body and the church are the same and there is one body, then there must also of necessity be one church. With this conclusion then we should realize that in order to do the will of God, we should get into this body by obeying the gospel and being baptized into Christ that we might be added to the body, the church, and therein find rest.
The Bible Teaches That… 7. THAT THE CHURCH BELONGS TO CHRIST. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said: "Upon this rock, I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." If Jesus was to build the church then it would be Christ's church or the church of Christ. Paul said, Romans 16:16, "The churches of Christ salute you."
There are many organizations today claiming to be the church of Christ but wearing human names. These are unfounded in the scriptures and constitute a division among religious people. Jesus prayed that "They all might be one" (John 17). Paul pleaded: "That ye all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you" (1 Corinthians 1:10). Hence, we should be united in one body, the only one mentioned in the New Testament which is the church of Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
If you are not a member of the church which is mentioned in the Bible, certainly you should study the Bible and find out what to do in order to become a member and then do exactly what the Bible tells you to do. Let us strive to establish everyone in the one body of Christ.
Section 1 - Choose the correct answer/answers
Question 1 The Bible teaches that the church is a ________organization. New TestamentOld TestamentNon-Biblical
Question 2 The church was established ____________ as recorded in Acts, chapter 2. in the days of John the Baptistin 1914 A.D.on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ
Question 3 The Bible teaches that the church belongs to _____ . MosesChristElijah
Question 4 Jesus said that the gates of ________ would not prevail against the church. daysparadisehell
Question 5 Jesus purchased the church with his _______ . lifedeathblood
Question 6 The church was begun at ______. Nashville, TennesseeBoston, MassachusettsJerusalem
Section 2 - Fill in the blanks.
Question 1 The four passages of scripture that prove that the church was established at Jerusalem are ______, ______, ______ and _____.
Question 2 Jesus said: "I will build _____ church.
Question 3 Jesus gave _____ the keys of the kingdom.
Question 4 The kingdom was to come with _____. (Mark 9:1).
Question 5 People who were saved were _____ to the _____.
Section 3 - True or False
Question 1 It is not possible to join the church you read about in the Bible. TrueFalse
Question 2 The Holy Ghost came to guide the apostles into all truth. (John 14) TrueFalse
Question 3 The Holy Ghost came to give the apostles power to witness for Christ. TrueFalse
Question 4 Jesus is not the saviour of the body. TrueFalse
Question 5 The body and church are different. TrueFalse
Section 4 - Yes or No
Question 1 By one spirit we are all baptized into one body. YesNo
Question 2 In order to get into Christ we must be baptized into Him. YesNo
Question 3 The Bible teaches that there are many churches. YesNo
Question 4 The Bible teaches that we must be in Christ in order to be saved. YesNo
Question 5 We must repent and be baptized in order to be added to the church. YesNo
Question 6 The church belongs to Christ. YesNo
Question 7 It is all right to have human names for churches. YesNo
Question 8 Jesus prayed that God would bless all the religious bodies. YesNo
Question 9 Paul said that different opinions and churches would be all right. YesNo
Question 10 We should all be united in the one body the church mentioned in the New Testament. YesNo
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