Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: December 30, 2007
THE CHURCH – WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES
H. Leo Boles
No one should be interested in any church except the one that is revealed in the
New Testament. Everyone should be interested in the church that Christ built.
Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hades shall
not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18 ASV). Jesus' church is the greatest
institution in the world and membership in it is the greatest privilege accorded
to man.
What Is The Church?
We must let the New Testament answer this question. Man can define human
institutions, but only God through the Holy Spirit can tell us what this divine
institution is. Since Christ built this church and purchased it with His own
blood (Acts 20:28), he can, through the Holy Spirit, define His church.
The New Testament declares that the church is the body of Christ. "And hath put
all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all" (Ephesians 1:22-23).
Here we have the Holy Spirit saying through Paul that "the church" "is his body."
Again, the Holy Spirit calls the church the body of Christ: "Now I rejoice in my
sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the
afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church"
(Colossians 1:24 ASV). So here we have the Holy Spirit calling the body of Christ
"the church." Hence, "the church" "is the body of Christ," and "the body of
Christ" is "the church."
Moreover, the church is the "kingdom of God." Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will
build my church... I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:18-19). Here —
in one sentence — Jesus calls this institution "my church," and in the next
sentence he calls the same institution "the kingdom of heaven." Again, the Holy
Spirit said, "Who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us
into the kingdom of the Son of his love" (Colossians 1:13 ASV). These same
Colossians who had been translated into the kingdom also constituted the
church at Colosse (Colossians 1:2).
The church is also said to be "the house of God." "These things write I unto
thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly; but if I tarry long, that thou mayest
know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the
church of the living God..." (1 Timothy 3:14-15). The family of God dwells in "the
house of God." "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, from whom every
family in heaven and on earth is named" (Ephesians 3:14-15 ASV).
Further, it is called, "the church of God." Eight times the church is called "the
church of God" in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:22; 15:9; 2
Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13; 1 Timothy 3:5, 15). The plural is used three
times as "churches of God" (1 Corinthians 11:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; 2
Thessalonians. 1:4). One time we have the expression "churches of Christ"
(Romans 16:16). Here, the term "church" is used in the local or congregational
sense as the "churches of Christ" (congregations) in various locations.
Again, the church is called "a spiritual house." "Ye also, as lively stones, are
built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood..." (1 Peter 2:5). These and other
scriptures teach us what the church is. No institution but the church of our Lord
answers these statements of the Holy Spirit.
How Many Churches?
The New Testament answers this question also. It may be clearly seen that the
term "church" is used in a general sense and in a local sense. All Christians
constitute the church in the general sense, and the different congregations of
these Christians compose the churches in the local sense. There is but one
church over which Christ presides as head. There is but one kingdom of God on
earth and but one body of Christ. "But now they are many members but one
body" (1 Corinthians 12:20 ASV) "For even as we have many members in one
body, and all the members have not the same office: so we, who are many, are
one body in Christ, and severally members one of another" (Romans 12:4-5 ASV).
The New Testament frequently declares that there is but one body, and that this
one body is the church. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were
called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-6 ASV).
When used in the plural, "church" has reference to the different groups of
Christians meeting for worship at different places. We have "the church of God
which is at Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2), "the churches of Galatia" (Galatians 1:
2), "the church of the Thessalonians in God" (1 Thessalonians 1:1), "the church
which was in Jerusalem" (Acts 11:22), "the church of the Laodiceans"
(Colossians 4:16), and the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17).
There are 27 different churches mentioned in the New Testament and all of
these churches had the same faith, wore the same name and practiced the same
things. Their form of worship was the same. They were not different
denominations as we now have them. The New Testament does not teach
anything about the different denominations constituting "the church of God."
Each member of a denomination wear the peculiar name of that denomination,
believes certain tenets of faith as prescribed by that denomination, and practices
different forms of worship as may be outlined by that denomination. There is no
resemblance between denominations today and "the churches of Christ" of New
Testament times.
How To Enter The Church
The New Testament answers this question as well. It teaches how to get into
the church of God, but not how to get into any other church. Thus, if one joins a
denomination, the New Testament does not teach him to do so. One who joins a
denomination does so without any divine instruction, without any word of God.
The New Testament teaches clearly and definitely how to enter the New
Testament church. Surely Christ would not establish a church on earth and not
tell people how to enter it. Since the church is a divine institution, we must
have divine instructions on how to enter it. Human instructions may guide into a
denomination, but it takes divine instructions to guide one into the divine
institution, the church.
People are added to the church by the Lord. "And the Lord added to them day by
day those that were saved" (Acts 2:47 ASV). Here, at the close of Pentecost Day,
the day on which the church was established, about 3,000 souls were added by
the Lord to the church (Acts 2:41). Acts 5:14 says, "Believers were the more
added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women." Here we learn that only
believers were added to the Lord. Babies or infants are not believers and cannot
be added to the church. From the above Scriptures, we conclude that Christ adds
folks to His church and does not add anyone to any other.
How does the Lord add to His church? Whom does He add to it? These are
important questions. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Except one be born of water and
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5 ASV). What is it to
"be born of water and the Spirit?" That which puts one into the kingdom of God
also puts one into the body of Christ, into the church of God.
One must have faith in Christ. Those who hear the gospel and believe it have
one qualification of a citizen of the kingdom of God. Without faith it is
impossible to please God (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6). Those who heard the
gospel preached by Peter on Pentecost and who were convinced that Jesus is the
Son of God asked what they must do to be saved. By inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, Peter answered, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins..." (Acts 2:38). They did what
Peter commanded and were thus added to the church by this process. Hence, the
Lord adds those to His church who believe on Him, who are penitent of their
sins, and who are baptized into Him.
The only way people enter Christ is by baptism: "Or are ye ignorant that all we
who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were
buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in
newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4 ASV). Again, "For ye are all sons of God, through
faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on
Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27 ASV).
This is the way one enters the church. One cannot be in Christ and not be in
His church. Neither can one be in His church without being in Christ. The
church is His body.
Can One Be Saved Out Of The Church?
The question is not, "Can one be saved out of a denomination?" but, "Can one be
saved out of the church of the Lord?" Many attempt to evade a direct answer to
this question by saying, "The church does not save one." It is true that the
church does not save one, but God, through Christ, saves. But where does God
save one? Does He save in the church or out of the church?
God is in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). God
saves people in Christ — that is, He saves people in the church. If people can be
saved out of the church, then they can be saved out of Christ, out of the kingdom
of God, out of the house of God, out of the family of God, out of the body of
Christ, out of the building of God, and without becoming living stones in the
spiritual house of God. The New Testament declares the church to be all these
things, and if one can be saved out of the church, he can be saved out of that
which the church is.
Again, if one can be saved out of the church, he can be saved without being
redeemed (Ephesians 1:3, 7). Redemption and forgiveness of sin are in Christ
(Ephesians 1:6-7). Therefore, if one can be saved out of the church, then he can
be saved without redemption and forgiveness.
Moreover, the blood of Christ is in the church, which is His body (Ephesians 1:22-
23). If people can be saved out of the church, then they can be saved without
coming into contact with the blood of Christ. If salvation is out of the church,
there was no use for Christ to establish His church and He paid too much for it
when He purchased it with His blood (Acts 20:28).
— via “Gospel Preceptor,” www.gospelpreceptor.com