Questions On The Identity And Nature of The Lord's Church

Answer In Matthew 16:16–18 Jesus promised that He would build His church. The Greek word for "church" is ekklesia, usually pronounced "ekkla SEE ah", though some pronounce it "ek KLEE zee ah (all of the New Testament was originally written in Greek, which was the most universal lan-guage of the day). The word ekklesia comes from a combination of two words: "ek," out of, and the verb "kaleo," to call (from which is derived the noun "klessis," a calling). Hence, the "out-called." Originally it was used of the citizen assembly during the "golden age" of Greece (around the 700’s BC) in which land-owners were "called out" of their normal routines to serve as an advisory board to the rulers of the day. By New Testament times, the word was used to mean "an assembly," though it is interesting that God’s people are a special people "called out" of darkness (the world) "into His marvelous light" (of the gospel), see 1 Peter 2:9. It is important to note that the word "church" in the Bible NEVER refers to a physical structure, even though our English word does. "Assembly" is a much more accurate translation of ekklesia. In Ephesians 1:22-23, the church is called the "body" of Christ, and then in Eph. 4:4-5 we are told there is "one body" even as there is one God, one Lord, one faith and one baptism. Jesus died for His assembly (Eph. 5:25-26), and His death brought sanctification to them. The conclusion is forced, then, that only those who are "in the body" are sanctified, unless all the world is His church (in which case, there would be no need to be "called out" of the world into His light). We are likewise forced to conclude that Christ died for only one assembly.

The problem, of course, is one of identification. We see many "churches" today. Although "one church" may have many separate congregations, they can not all be "one" unless they all teach the same thing. In fact, that’s exactly what separates churches: different teachings (or doctrines). In 1 Cor. 1:10–12 Christians are told to "speak the same things" because Christ is not divided. Even more sobering is the passage in Galatians 1:8, "Even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed." This means that what the apostles spoke and wrote is that which must be preached. Any church can call themselves "church of God" or "church of Christ" or "Christ’s church" or the "Lord’s body" or by any other Scriptural designation. But the name does not guarantee acceptance by God. Only adherence to His gospel can assure our hearts before Him. The best place for anyone to begin the search of the "one church" is of course the gospels. Then read the book of Acts. The book of Acts chronicles the birth and growth of the church. Notice, for example, the result of the first gospel sermon ever preached, in Acts 2:47, "The Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (some Greek manuscripts read, "The Lord was adding to the church daily those who were being saved). The point is, that people didn’t "join" the church! They "joined" Christ, and Christ "added them" to the assembly of those "who were being saved." That means they weren’t saved before, and that only those who are saved are "added" to His body, His assembly, His church. How were they added? When Peter preached, he said that the prophets predicted that "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). After convicting the people of having crucified Jesus (who was raised from the dead and coronated King of kings), they were "pierced to the heart" and asked, "what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Notice what Peter did NOT say: he did NOT say, "call on the name of the Lord" (they needed to know HOW to do that); he did NOT say, "accept Jesus as your personal savior;" he did NOT say, "pray the sinner’s prayer;" he did NOT say, "believe in Jesus and you will be saved" (they already did believe, or they wouldn’t have been "pierced to the heart"). Instead, he said "repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." Now continue reading through the rest of the book of Acts, and you will see this same pattern over and over: believe, repent, confess, be baptized, be saved—in that order. Any church which teaches more or less than that does not teach what the apostles taught. There are, of course, other things to be considered, such as what does a particular church teach about other things? Like the deity of Christ, or the work of the church, or the organization of the church. But these things also are covered in the book of Acts. Look for a congregation which is willing to live by the Scriptures only, and not afraid to answer questions when asked. Be humble in your search, but be patient, persistent and diligent. The Lord’s promise is plain: "Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened." It is logical that if God expects us to seek, then the material is available to us whereby we may find Him. I believe this is why the Scriptures were written and preserved to this day. It makes sense that whatever produced a Christian in the 1st century can produce one in the 20th (or 21st). Anything more or less than that, however, falls into the realm of speculation. Contact Doug

Question 2. What is the purpose of the Church if the LORD JESUS CHRIST?

Answer Thank you for your question on the church. First of all let's look n at the meaning of the word church as used in the New Testament. It's different than what many people think. According to Thayer's Greek/English Lexicon it means:

1577 ekklesia {ek-klay-see'-ah} from a compound of 1537 and a derivative of 2564; TDNT - 3:501,394; n f

AV - church 115, assembly 3; 118

1) a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly 1a) an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating 1b) the assembly of the Israelites 1c) any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously 1d) in a Christian sense 1d1) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting 1d2) a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake 1d3) those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body 1d4) the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth 1d5) the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

Its basic meaning is a "called out" group. In the sense of the New Testament it is the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth for all time, or it is a local assembly of faithful Christians who meet together to worship and do God's will.

Let's look at a couple of passages to see its purpose. Eph 3:10 to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly (places) might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,

So the church makes known the manifold wisdom of God. In God's wisdom it is the church that does his will. In the sense of the whole body of Christians, "universal church", there is no organization. Therefore each Christian does God's will in his daily life. Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, (which is) your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

In the local, "congregational", sense Christians worship together and work together under the oversight of elders (1 Peter 5:1-2). This work involves evangelism (Philippians 4;16), benevolence (1 Corinthians 16:1-2), and edification or building up the local Christians (Act 20:32 And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build (you) up, and to give (you) the inheritance among all them that are sanctified.)

In Ephesians 1:23 Paul wrote the church, "congregation", in Ephesians and said, " Eph 1:22 and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." So the church is also called the body of Christ. How does one get into that body? Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. So the church is the body of Christ and is made up of those who were baptized into him. Contact Larry

Question 3. I was wondering if you might be able to give me a little bit of information regarding the Church of Christ, its beliefs, beginnings, etc. I am under the impression that it was founded sometime in the 1800's by Alexander Campbell, but I could be wrong. I've been told by several Church of Christ >members in this part of the country that they are the only denomination whose members will find salvation, that everyone else in every other church will perish. I certainly don't believe that, and the Bible will support me. Do Church of Christ members in every part of the country believe that way, or is that just some miscommunicated notion that those in this area have >come up with?

Answer Yes, there was a movement early in the last century in different parts of this country concerning people seeking to rid themselves of traditional denominational teachings and simply follow what the bible teaches. Independent of each other, men, primarily from varying Protestant backgrounds, began to leave these groups after seeing that the Bible did not endorse or indicate that any of them should be followed.

They concluded that they should simply be called Christians and meet in independent local groups as the New Testament indicated. They also called themselves churches of Christ for that is one place where they could read of people being called that in the Bible. Romans 16:16. For the most part, they adopted the attitude of speaking where the Bible speaks and being silent where the Bible is silent.

As to my affiliation, I meet with a local independent group who seeks to follow the bible and only teach that which is revealed in the Bible. Therefore, we call ourselves a church of Christ and seek to follow Jesus rather than men.

The only affiliation we have in the movement mentioned above is, we follow those things that are found in the bible and if these men followed them, then we are in agreement. However, there are instances where we disagree with what some of these men came to believe. And, therefore, not being tied together by some organic binding, we reject these things and follow the Scriptures only. We are an independent group of Christians making decisions that are cleared at the local level and not accountable to answer to any higher level of human authority. Acts 14:23, 1 Pet. 5:1-4.

Are only members of the church of ?Christ going to be saved? Read your Bible and answer this. Just as we have one Savior, Jesus, so also there is one acceptable relationship wherein we can be saved. He is the one that determines this, not me, you or anyone else. If we obey Him, we will be a part of His church (saved people) and we will be saved. If we do not, we will be condemned. Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2, Gal. 3:26-29, Eph. 4:4-6, 5:22-25. Contact Gary

Question 4. What are the qualifications of an Apostle. Are there apostles today and what are their relationship to the original Apostles?

Answer This is an excellent question and we will try to answer in a concise but thorough manner.

First, what does "apostle" mean? It comes from the ordinary Greek word "apostolos" which means a messenger, one sent on a mission. It is not especially a "religious" word by nature, but it was used by the New Testament writer in regard to various men.

Who were the apostles? That depends on who you are talking about. The most important apostles are the apostles of Jesus, those 12 men that He choose to be with Him from the beginning of His ministry to the time that He ascended back to heaven. Their names are in Matthew 10 and Luke 6. Their qualifications are basically what we have mentioned. They had to be witnesses of Jesus from the beginning of His teaching to His ascent ion. Acts 1.

What was their mission? It was to be witnesses to the people about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and to speak those things which had been revealed to them by the Holy Spirit. They would confirm their words as being from God by performing miracles among the people. See Acts 2, 4 and 5.

Although they had the ability to pass on the ability to perform miracles to others, it is obvious that those individuals could not impart that power to others. See Acts 8:1-25. Also, although Judas, who committed suicide, was replaced by Mathias, it is clear that their were no successors chosen to follow them because after their unique mission was complete, then we are pointed to the result of it, the confirmed written word of God that is to be followed and not disobeyed in any way. Gal. 1:6-9, John 20:30-31, Jude 3, Eph. 3:1-7, 2 Peter 3.

Of special note, Paul was an apostle, but not of the original 12. He was given a special mission where he was primarily sent among the Gentiles to preach. He also wrote many inspired letters for us to follow today. See 1 Cor. 15:1-11.

Their authority was beyond a certain locality and went to all Christians in all places, just as it does today through their written word. Anyone who claims to be an apostle today is in error because he or she nether had the qualifications of an apostle or the mission of the original apostles. Gal. 1:6-9. Contact Gary

Question 5. What happened to Love and Unity in the Church. How and when do you think it will happen.