What Is The Lord’s Church?

 

 

What is the Lord's church?  This is a question that is often asked, and there are all manner of differing views and answers regarding it.  Some believe the Lord's church is made up of all the denominations in the world.  Others believe that the Lord's church is made up of people scattered throughout the denominations of the world.  We would do well to consider what the Bible says the Lord's church is. 

 Jesus promised to build one church.  He said, "for you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).  It is at this point that we should understand that Jesus did not build a denomination, nor several different churches.  Rather, he built His one true church.  This church is singular in its nature.  Paul wrote "for there is one Body and one Spirit…" (Ephesians 4:4)  He would write to the church of Christ at Colosse,  " He [Christ] is the head of the body, The church…" (Colossians 1:18).  The idea that there are many churches and  that they all  belong to the Lord is patently false!  It sounds good to those who want to remain in error and feel good about it, but it is not taught in God's word. 

 The fact is that, the idea behind denominationalism and  the idea of "unity in diversity" is decried and condemned in God's inspired word.  The Apostle Paul wrote that there were "divisions" among them   (which is the very definition of denominationalism)   was "carnal"  and that they were "behaving like mere men" (1 Corinthians 3:1-4).  Paul gave the prescription for unity in the first chapter of this same epistle.  He wrote " Now I plead with you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing , and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment"  (1 Corinthians 1:10, emphasis mine KGJ).  The Bible does not teach that Christians follow after the teachings and ideas of men nor that we can create creeds and confessions apart from the truth, and still remain faithful children of God in spite of this division.   This is an affront to the very nature of God almighty!  Also, it would violate the prayer for unity that the Lord prayed for (John 17:21). 

The Lord's church is made up of those added by the Lord to His church (Acts 2:47).  In a universal sense, all who have obeyed the gospel (Romans 10:16) have been added by God to his church they make up the lord's church "the Body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12).  As we earlier noted, Christ has but one body (Ephesians 4:4).  This body is the church , over which Christ serves as head (Colossians 1:18). 

In the New Testament, we find that members of the Lord's church were joined together in local churches. We have the example  churches at Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, Pergamos, Sardis, etc… These were local, autonomous bodies of Christians, for which the Lord provided a divine organization.  We read in Philippians 1:1 that In local churches there are "saints" (Christians), Bishops (also called elders Acts 20:17, Pastors Ephesians 4:4), and deacons.   In the Bible there were no one man "pastor" systems, no centralized human organizations who directed the work of each local church, but rather local bodies of Christians who did the Lord's work. 

This is the pattern for the Lord's church today as well.  Let us never begin to think that time has changed the plan of God.  Let us not begin to think that our ideals are higher than God's.  But let us "hold fast the pattern of sound words" (2 Timothy 1:13).

—Kurt G. Jones

Woodland Hills Church of Christ

 Practicing New Testament Christianity in Conroe, Texas.