The church of Christ?

As one begins his journey toward the truth it is likely that he will become very confused as he looks into the doctrines and practices of those churches which bear the name of or which claim to be the church of Christ. In Massachusetts and New Hampshire there are fellowships in Danvers, Chelmsford, Manchester, Nashua, Lawrence etc. who advertise themselves as the "Church of Christ." But this isn’t all! There remain those groups known as the Church of God and the Assemblies of God – who are not to be confused with one another. Eventually one will come across something called the United Church of Christ and the International Church of Christ. Then there is the Church of Christ in Christian Union, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the Worldwide Church of God. Even the Methodist Church, in her creed book –The Methodist Disciple, claims to be "a church of Christ in which ‘the pure Word of God is preached …."

Any group can nail up a sign or place an ad that identifies it as a church of Christ. All of these groups previously mentioned claim to be churches of Christ. Yet each group gives a different impression as to what a church of Christ is. Thus we can’t rely upon them to give a definitive answer to the question, "What is the church of Christ?" The only place where a definitive answer is given to this question is the written word of God – the Bible. Since the death of the apostles, the New Testament Scriptures have been the only infallible source of information about the church of Christ.

The first appearance of the word church in the NT is found in Matt 16:18, where Jesus said, "I will build my church." Jesus, then, has a church—the church of Christ. It is his because he built it. Furthermore, it is his because he purchased it "with his own blood." Paul met with the elders of Ephesus at Miletus and told them to be on guard…

"His own blood" shows that Paul was speaking of Christ when he spoke of "the church of God." So it is the church of Christ because he not only built it, but it was bought and paid for with his own blood. Hence we see Paul sending a greeting to the "beloved of God in Rome" (1:7) "the churches of Christ" in Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 15:26).

So there is a church in the Bible described as the church of Christ—the church which belongs to him. It is his church because it was built by him and purchased with his own precious blood. However, on the night of his betrayal, while in prayer to the Father, Jesus said…

In other words, what belongs to him belongs to the Father too and vice versa. Thus, the church belonging to Christ must also belong to his Father. And this is clearly stated in the scriptures. Paul, for example, writing to the saints at Corinth, describes them as "a church of God" (1 Cor. 1:2). In Galatians, this same apostle said that he "used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it" (Gal 1:13). Thus the church which belongs to Christ belongs also to his Father. It is the church of Christ and the church of God.

And so the question is, "What is this thing which is called a ‘church,’ and which is not just any church, but is specifically that church which belongs to Christ and to his Father" (L.A. Mott, Jr., What is… the Church of Christ [Silver Springs, FL: L.A, Mott, Jr., 1975]).

The church is people.

While speaking about how Christians are to deal with sin in the lives of others, Jesus encouraged his disciples to go to that individual in private to speak with him about that sin …

Notice what the church can do in this situation. It hears and it speaks. In Acts we find that the church can do things and have other things done to it. In Acts 5:11 we learn that the church can fear.

In Acts 8:1 we discover the church can be persecuted.

In Acts 12:5 we see the church praying.

(Chart 1) So the church hears, speaks, fears, is persecuted and prays. What then is this thing in the Bible called the church? Is it bricks and mortar – a building? Can a building do these things? The church, then, that belongs to God and Christ is people.

But it is more than this! It is people who have been purchased – redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus. Remember earlier when we read Acts 20:28 where Paul speaks of "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood"? The church, then, is the people who have been purchased with the blood of Christ and who, therefore, belong to him. In writing to the church at Corinth Paul spoke of this while encouraging the Christians to avoid sexual immorality.

In his letter …

Peter wrote something very similar to what Paul had written to the Corinthians. Again, the context has to do with why they needed to live holy and righteous lives, and not like the Gentiles.

So the church is people – people who have been redeemed not with silver and gold, but with precious blood … the blood of Christ.

The People Are Disciples and Saints

The book of Acts reveals more about these people. (Chart 2) In Acts 8:3 we read

In the next chapter Luke continues the story by telling us that Saul was…

Do you see the point? The church persecuted by Saul is "the disciples of the Lord." The church of Christ and his disciples are one and the same. Furthermore, in Acts 9:13 those people persecuted by Saul are called the "saints" of the Lord. When Ananias was told by the Lord to go to Saul with the gospel…

So the church of God is the saints. "Saints are not some special group of people in the church—men canonized after death. They are the people who belong to God, God’s holy ones (which is the meaning of saints)" (L. A. Mott, Jr., What…the Church of Christ)

This same point is made in 1 Cor 1:2. Paul writes…

The church is the body of Christ

So what is the church of God? It is people, but not just any people. It is people who have been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, people also known as disciples of the Lord and saints. Viewed in another way, these people are also known as the "body" of Christ. In speaking about the authority of Jesus, Paul told the Ephesians that God has …

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says that Jesus is also the…

A few verses later (vs. 24) Paul says it again. He calls Christ’s church his body.

The church of Christ is the body of Christ and the body of Christ is the church. It is not uncommon to hear preachers say, "Get saved; become a child of God; then join the church." In this way these men show off their ignorance. For every saved person, every saint, every disciple of Christ, and every child of God is already a part of Christ’s church. For what made them God’s children, what made them disciples, what made them saints, also caused them to become a member of the body of Christ – the church of Christ.

While speaking about the unity of the body, one of the first thing that Paul mentions is that all men are added to the body in the same way.

"By one Spirit" – under his direction or influence men and women from every walk of life and every nationality are "baptized into one body." It is in the act of water baptism that a person becomes a member of Christ, of his church. This same apostle reiterates this point in Rom 6:3 and Gal. 3:26-27. (Chart 3)

Conclusion

One cannot become a member of the body of Christ, the church of Christ without first being baptized in water according to the commandment of Jesus (cf. Mark 16:15-16; Matt 28:18-20). Are you a member of the church of Christ?