What Is The Church Of Christ?
Nearly all people who profess faith in the Bible are agreed on many points: For example, a fairly general agreement can be found on the following propositions: (1) That God is; (2) That Jesus is the Christ, God's Son; (3) That the Bible is God's word; (4) That all have sinned and are lost; and (5) That all are saved by faith. There may be some disagreement as to the nature of this faith, but generally we are agreed that we are saved by faith of one nature or another. That we are agreed on at least some things makes for a most happy situation. I wish some avenue of discussion and debate were open so that we could finally come to agree on everything.
But on some points we are divided. The presence of more than 200 churches attests the fact that we are divided on the question of the church: Which church is right? Of which church should we be members?
May I suggest that all too often these questions have been answered on improper grounds. Too frequently the decision is made on the basis of convenience rather than conviction. Such questions as: What did my parents believe? What is popular among my friends? What is the most advantageous socially, economically, or politically? have gained precedence over the one question to which the matter should he subjected: What is the truth? Much too often man has forgotten his place; he has also forgotten who God is. We need to remember that God is God, and man is not God. It is God's part to set forth His will. This is not man's business. Man's part is simply to read and comply with God's will. We worship God (Matt. 4:10; Jno. 4:24), not ourselves. Hence, what pleases God should be the basis on which all religious questions are answered. What pleases God ought to please us. But certainly we have no right to exalt our wills above that of God. Those who try to do that shall suffer the most disastrous consequences. (Matt. 15:1-14)
It is my task to answer the question, What is the church of Christ?' I, of course, think you ought to be a member of the church. But I would even discourage you from doing anything, or being anything, just because I think you ought to, for God's will, not any man's, is what must be fulfilled. (Matt. 7:21) Thus, I plead for your most open-minded and sincere hearing and examination of the evidence I shall present that it is God's will that you be a member of the church of Christ.
The answer to the question falls naturally into two major points of discussion: (1) What do we claim to be?; and (2) What is the foundation of that claim — the evidence to sustain or uphold that claim?
I earnestly believe: (1) That if we are what we claim to be you will want to be a member of the church; (2) That I can show a foundation of evidence that upholds that claim and proves that we are in fact what we claim to be; and (3) That, therefore, when we shall have completed this study, (a) the claim will have been upheld, and (b) you will want to be a member of the church of Christ.
Our Claim — The Right To Our Name
Our claim is involved in the name we wear. We wear the designation "church of Christ" because we believe we are in fact the church of Christ — the one He built, and therefore, a divine institution.
What we claim is the right to thus identify ourselves as the church of the New Testament. In the New Testament we may find the following:
4. A historical statement concerning the Methodist Church is given in the Discipline of the Methodist Church. The following is a quotation from this section of the Discipline:
(Continued from page one)
1. Jesus promised to build a church. (Matt. 16:18) He was to build His church — hence, the church of Christ.
2. Jesus built only one church. (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4; cf 1 Cor. 12:20) Only one church has the sanction and approval of God. No other has any right to exist; no other exists by God's authority. See Matt. 15:13.
3. All The Saved Are In This One Body:
(1) God adds the saved to the church. (Acts 2:47) Hence, all the saved are in it; no saved persons are out of the church.
(2) We are reconciled to God in the one body (Eph. 2:16) Hence, if we are not in this body we are not reconciled to God.
Let me remind you at this point that we are studying the New Testament church and not a human denomination.
The New Testament Church Is A Divine Institution:
1. It is the house of God (1 Tim. 3:14, 15)
2. It has a divine founder or builder — the Son of God. (Matt. 16:18)
3. Its foundation is Christ. (1 Cor. 3:11)
4. It was purchased by the blood of the Lord. (Acts 20:28)
5. It is inhabited by God. (1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:19-22)
6. Its head is Christ. (Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1:18)
7. Its saviour is Christ. (Eph. 5:23)
8. It belongs to God and Christ. (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28)
9. Hence, it was called the church of God (1 Cor. 1:2) and the church of Christ (Rom. 16:16), thus indicating its relationship with God and Christ.
No denomination can be identified with this institution, for every denomination was established and organized by men:
1. The Catholic Church was established by men in an apostasy from the faith. The claim is made that it is the first church. But it does not have the same name, organization, worship, work, or doctrine as the New Testament church. Hence, it is not the same church. The New Testament church existed for hundreds of years before an apostasy from the faith came into full bloom and produced the Catholic Church.
2. The Lutheran Church was established upon the teaching of Martin Luther. Luther's Catechism contains the following: "The name Lutheran was first given to our Church by her enemies. But she accepted it, because she believes the doctrine which Luther taught." (p.112)
3. The Episcopal Church, or the Church of England, was established by King Henry VIII as he broke with the Roman Catholic Church.
"The Methodist Church is a church of Christ in which 'the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered.' This church is a great Protestant body, though it did not come directly out of the Reformation but had its origin within the Church of England. Its founder was John Wesley, a clergyman of that church, as was his father before him."
At least two conclusions become obvious from this: (1) The Methodist Church claims to be "a church of Christ." (2) The Methodist Church admits that it was founded by a man, John Wesley.
5. The Presbyterian Church can be traced back to John Calvin and John Knox.
6. Edward T. Hiscox, in his The Standard Manual for Baptist Churches, says: "American Baptists are decidedly Calvinistic as to substance of doctrine...." (p. 57) Thus, the Baptist Church is founded upon the doctrines of John Calvin, as this Baptist scholar indicates.
We must go all the way back to the apostles, hundreds of years before the first denomination appeared, to find the New Testament church — established not by any man nor set of men but by God's Son; hence, a divine institution. This church was called the church of God (1 Cor. 1:2) and the church of Christ. (Rom. 16:16) We wear these same designations today in order to identify ourselves as the church which you read about in the New Testament.
The Evidence — Does It Sustain Our Right To The Name "Church Of Christ"?
Names, or words, are important. Names represent something. Similarly, words are signs of ideas. If the proper word is used the proper idea is conveyed. But if the wrong word is used the wrong idea is conveyed. The designation "church of Christ" involves a claim to be the church of Christ. If we are the church of Christ, then why not wear that designation which indicates what we are? But if we are not the church of Christ, then it is deception and hypocrisy of the worst sort to wear that designation.
Are you now willing to come to the evidence and examine it with an open mind? Jesus, on trial before Caiaphas passed judgment upon him without even considering the evidence to see whether he might really be the Son of God. (vv. 65-68) I pray that you will be more open-minded than that.
We, of course, do not claim to be members of that original congregation in Jerusalem. We do claim to be members of a congregation just exactly like those in the New Testament. Thus, it is a local congregation of the church of Christ — the one Christ established.
We (the churches of Christ) claim to be exactly like the churches of Christ of the New Testament on the ground that we have followed precisely and exactly the same pattern which was followed in those churches. If you build a house according to a blueprint and follow that pattern exactly, and I follow the same pattern in every detail, our house will be identical. If one woman follows a pattern exactly and never varies from it, and thus makes a dress, and a second woman follows the same pattern without any variation, the two dresses will be exactly alike in every detail. This is the basis on which we claim to be the New Testament church.
Paul followed a pattern as he taught from church to church. (1 Cor. 4:16, 17) In v. 16 he tells the Corinthians to be imitators of him — to mimic him, or to do like he does. In what respect they are to imitate him he indicates in v. 17. Timothy will remind them of Paul's "ways" — "even," he says, "as I teach everywhere in every church." So Paul's teaching was a pattern which the Corinthians were to follow in every matter of faith and practice. Paul says the "ways" which he taught are the same in every church. Hence, when we find what Paul taught in one church we have the pattern which was followed in all the churches and which we can and must follow today.
Paul taught Timothy, and Timothy was to teach these same things to other faithful men who would, in turn, be able to teach these same things to others...(2 Tim. 2:2)
Paul's "ways" — his teaching — are the pattern. If Timothy teaches the same which Paul taught in every church, then the churches planted by Timothy will be exactly like those planted by Paul.
If the "faithful men" teach these same things, then the churches they plant will be exactly like those planted by Paul and Timothy.
If "faithful men" today teach these same things, then the result will be the same even in this twentieth century.
(To be concluded)
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